#send a character you want me to draw 4 as mayhaps!!!

[dailyagent4]

day 143

kirb

[thelooniemoonie]

Thank you to everyone who voted! There's still a few hours left in the poll but I think it's safe to call it from here.

I'm genuinely surprised how many people voted, much less people who voted "yes", so the verdict is I will start getting into adopts!

If you wanna hear me ramble how I'm gonna plan it + pricing I'll put it under the cut:

So obviously a lot of people voted "unsure" which is totally understandable, as it's pretty much subjective to each design and what each person likes so there's no pressure there. The goal again is that I'll likely have these in my Ko-Fi shop and figure out how to set it up, so if people change their minds it will remain as a shop item until purchased.

The goal is I'll make some "starter/appetizer" adoptable sets of about 4-5 adoptables all centering around a basic theme, and see where it goes from there. I've already started sketching the first set, and I don't know how many sets I'll make as it will depend on feedback, but that's the general idea. I think each one will simply have the adoptable itself (fully colored) and maybe a flat color and/or the color palette of each character. Pretty basic stuff.

Edit: as for character DESIGNS themselves as similar to the example art above, most of these will be "humanoid" adoptables. I wanna do some variation between humans/humanoid monsters and throw in some furries in there. That's always been kinda my niche of designing characters, but I figured it would be better to describe what for people to expect.

I've thought about it a bit and decided I'll make each adoptable $15 USD. Yeah I know artists shouldn't be undercharging themselves for their work, but again I'm in the unique position where I already have a job and I can afford bringing the price down, plus factors like I'm not necessarily an artist that gets many commissions. Plus let's be real-in this economy? Many of us can barely afford a luxury commission these days so I figured it would be more fair for the wider audience.

(If this was a few years ago where I didn't have a job mayhaps I would bring the price up, or if this project gets successful maybe I can bump up the price later on or have additional bonus content for each adoptable. But again that's something to work out later.)

Ko-Fi does thankfully fix the pricing conundrum though. From what I'm aware of each adoptable will be a "purchasable item" in a Ko-Fi shop, and will mostly be placed on a "minimum price basis". So as such each adoptable will be priced for a minimum of $15 but there will be an option to tip at the buyer's discretion. I think it's also on a first come-first serve basis so there's no bidding, simply whoever buys it first.

Future feedback: again where this project goes from here kinda depends on how it's received, I think Ko-Fi let's you make comments to the buyer whenever you send money/buy stuff? Or even comments on the body of this post also work but I don't really know much else. I guess in the future if there's certain themes you want me to draw or feedback in general that's open, but I kinda have to figure out the system.

Uhh I think that covers most of my thoughts. Just planning and how I'm gonna approach it since I've never done adoptables before. I'm sure I'll update in the coming days but that's the general idea for now. Again feel free to add on your thoughts to this post if you wanna share, and thank you to everyone who voted!

Future plans for art?

So I've been thinking where I should go from here lately, given I'm technically an "artist" on here. Since I'm no longer posting on Instagram/Redbubble and mostly on Tumblr, and will be doing a Masters degree this coming January, I wonder if I should be taking a new approach?

Aside from branching out to newer sites, I was thinking maybe I can do adoptable designs? Given I extremely rarely get commissions and will likely be busy, Ko-Fi seems pretty good with posting adoptables/designs/posters as they can simply remain on there until whoever buys it (as opposed to rushing through a commission order). It would probably be a good replacement for Redbubble as I was never quite good at "merch designing" and just stick with art.

Although I would have to ask if people would be interested in this. So, if y'all know me for my art:

Some example character designs I've done just for reference:

[manuscripts-dontburn]

The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era

Author: Gareth Russel

First published: 2019

Pages: 423

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 4 days

This is a beautifully written account of the Titanic which concentrates on a handful of selected passengers and delves into their pasts, feelings and how they lived after the tragedy. It has enough new information to engage those who already have read on the subject (like me), and it takes time to dispel some of the popular myths and contested theories. The only thing which I slightly minded was the fact that from time to time the attempts of painting the picture of an era the reader is actually taken away from the Titanic for far too long and so the narrative is disrupted. But this happens mostly in the first part of the book. The story of the sinking and its immediate aftermath are done a very respectful and moving manner.

My Dark Vanessa

Author: Kate Elizabeth Russell

First published: 2020

Pages: 384

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 7 days

This was a really difficult book to go through. So much about it is so messed up, so disgusting. And through it all, though Vanessa herself never admits it, it is a cry for help which so many girls and women have sent into the unfeeling world, which still does not care.

Seduction: A History From the Enlightenment to the Present

Author: Clement Knox

First published: 2020

Pages: 516

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 8 days

First of all: this book does not cover the entirety of human civilization, in fact, it only starts with the era of enlightenment. And if you are only after the discourse on seduction and sexuality, you might as well only read the last portion of this book. However, if you like engagingly-written accounts of interesting people (in this case chosen as representatives of ever-changing stances on the question of seduction), you might enjoy it as much as I did. True, the author sometimes goes into such details that have very little to do with the original topic, and I was also surprised that the focus was pretty much only heterosexual, but overall I found this interesting, well-written and food for thought.

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

First published: 1886

Pages: 320

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How long did it take: 1 day

Soooooo The Secret Garden is one of my absolute favourite books and I also loved The Little Princess, but this book.... is really boring and ridiculous simply because the kid in the centre could never exist. Also, poor people are to be PITIED, but also HATED when they want something. Or was that not the message?

Brontë's Mistress

Author: Finola Austin

First published: 2020

Pages: 320

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 3 days

This was.... fine. It is well researched and read very easily.... it does make Lydia Robinson into a real, flawed human being (still unlikeable though).... but on the whole it did not excite me in any particular way. I did not understand Lydia´s fascination with Charlotte at all, in fact all of the references to the Brontë sisters, besides Anne being the governess, felt rather forced.

The Hobbit

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

First published: 1937

Pages: 374

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 17 days

This was a re-read. I loved it of course. Utterly charming.

The Pull of the Stars

Author: Emma Donoghue

First published: 2020

Pages: 304

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 2 days

Three days on a small maternity ward for pregnant women afflicted by the Spanish flu. On one hand, it does move very slowly and goes into great detail. But for all the relative "shortness", this story is full of intense emotions. Meticulously researched, it also offers a grim, but fascinating view into the reality of an ordinary Irish woman at the end of the WWI. After I have finished, I needed a long, deep breath to calm down everything I was feeling. What else can I say?

Sea Prayer

Author: Khaled Hosseini, Dan Williams

First published: 2018

Pages: 48

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 10 minutes

A cry for help made of painful words and stunning pictures. A cry for humanity. A silent cry. No less heartbreaking for its quiet tone.

The Other Bennet Sister

Author: Janice Hadlow

First published: 2020

Pages: 655

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 13 days

What a wholesome, comforting book! It is very respectful to the original Jane Austen novel, draws and builds upon it and always managed to stay true to the atmosphere and nature of it. It is not plot-heavy and is more of a character development story, but that character development is truly wonderfully done. Janice Hadlow lets Mary Bennet bloom!

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South

Author: Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers

First published: 2019

Pages: 320

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 3 days

Though some of the points are repeated over and over again, this is an excellent book both as a source of learning and engaging reading material. It is also painful. And necessary.

High Society: The Portraits of Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Author: various

First published: 2016

Pages: 256

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 2 days

This book is made stunning simply by featuring a vast number of Wilterhalter´s paintings. It is hardly a detailed exploration of his life or development as an artist, but it gives a casual admirer of art enough information to create an image of him as he was and as he worked. I especially appreciated that the descriptions of every painting included a life story of the sitter. All in all this book is a tribute to Winterhalter, a beautiful gallery of portraits and an introduction to some of the most prominent members of the high European society of the 19th century.

Sin Eater

Author: Megan Campisi

First published: 2020

Pages: 304

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 2 days

This book has the most intriguing premise, presents a little known but fascinating institution of sin-eaters, is heavy on atmosphere and above all is compulsively readable. The constant theme of death and dying is handled with great respect but could be too much for more sensitive readers. What the book needed though was some more editing. Certain thoughts and sentences appear way too often and lose their meaning, becoming more annoying than powerful. And I swear that the word "mayhap" constituted like 20% of all of the vocabulary used.

Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag

Author: Orlando Figes

First published: 2012

Pages: 352

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How long did it take: 20 days

I feel kinda bad giving this book mere 2 stars, but I would like to point out that it is not the story, but the overall presentation of it that made this book an unpleasant chore. The whole time I was reading I kept having the same thought: This book should have been an edition of selected letters with explanatory footnotes, not a "proper book". Considering the 75% of the text ARE the letters anyway, the writing by Orlando Figes usually just jerked me out of the story and frankly seemed redundant. Interesting subject and admirable main characters, whose love and devotion is inspirational, but somehow still not a good book.

All My Friends Are Dead

Author: Avery Monsen

First published: 2010

Pages: 96

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 5 minutes

Gave me a few chuckles and was cute. Nothing deep about it though.