Hello, all! Gotta make that art party and icon streams happen! I almost double-booked myself with this for the weekend. On Saturday, I'll be down in Mt. Vernon, at Docking Bay 93, as part of their Free Comic Book Day event, drawing doodles for tips and free art for kids! If you're local, swing on by and say "hi". If you mention icon day, I'll make -you- a free doodle, too.

On Sunday, I'm celebrating a friend's birthday. It's gonna be a good weekend.

On Monday, I'll be doing an icon stream. I've been working on these, but haven't done a stream yet, and wanting to make a ton of progress in May, so let's do this. :D I do not have a specific time planned, but will post here when I'm about to start, that morning.

On Tuesday, I'll start the second art party at 8 am PST. I'll also make a lj post and link it, and there folks can leave their prompts that I'll randomly select for the prizes.

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Milo linked me to this video yesterday. It is adorable! http://vimeo.com/65107797

Ian linked me to -this- video yesterday, too. WARNING: THE WORST SHRIEKING NOISE EVER. But, tiny happy fox-puppy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su3ovMsFXMg

To make up for that, here's four minutes of leopard cubs playing, accompanied by soothing music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSOB8SdgdXQ

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Health-wise, I continue to feel better and better, which is really good, because I wanna draw a ton! And I will get my wish. So, that is pretty awesome. Nothing else here to report, really. I'm trying to keep a record of this in case things get worse again and I need to have that for my doctor, though.

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Okay, one more thing! I am setting up more designs in a zazzle store for my awesome friend Hats. As I've mentioned in the past, she is restoring a sailboat with the plan of circumnavigating the globe. Now that it's spring, she's been able to get back to work on some grubby-cleaning work on her boat. There's a lot to do, yet, but the projects means a ton to her, so I'm thrilled. The profits from this store will go to her, to help fund her, so check it out if you feel so inclined. And hey, cartoon pirate animals! You guys like those! Here's the first new design to post: Pirate Otter. Also there's a wall decal which shows some of the other upcoming critters.

http://www.zazzle.com/boatproject*/gifts?cg=196641095489767680

I do not want to spend too much time telling you my tales of woe, but I've been quiet because I've continued to be sore and exhausted and it's wonky, but does seem to be on an upward trend. Past two nights, I've been able to sleep soundly, which has helped a ton. I feel mostly normal today. Doctor's appointment will sort things out if it doesn't go away. So... I'm trying to get stuff back in order while taking it easy on myself, and having a good time. Just wanted to pipe up and let you guys know. I'm working on icons and such off-stream, but if I continue being not-sore, I would like to have icon streaming later this week or this weekend, and the second Art Party on Sunday.

Nothing much else to report. Neighbor's outdoor cat is super friendly but afraid of the dog. Getting to know more of the spring birds' songs around here. I found a SECRET PATCH with a ton of four and five leaf clovers. I guess that is pretty awesome. I pressed a couple, and my friend has one on a keychain, so we're testing to see if it keeps.

Also got some news on a fun summer project that I'll potentially doing ~for a play~. More details later. :D

I've spent the week being unusually sore, and it's been scary at points, but I think I have some ideas worked out for solutions, and if those don't work, of course I'll go in to talk to my doctor about it. I just had some routine bloodwork done, also checking up on minor anemia (VAMPIRES!), which is now gone. But, my doctor says my bad cholesterol is trending up - not over normal, yet, but trending, and since I'm on two medications that can have that as a side-effect, the net total is that I need to keep up with the positive changes to my lifestyle.

So, my current ideas are that I need to be doing more regular stretching (I made so many crackly noises this morning, but feel really good now!), increasing my daily exercise, and probably set up my computer desk and work desk so I can stand at them. And, I'm still saving up for my shiny new bike. So, there's my projects... and I'm chomping at the bit to get more work done. I have lots of sketches I need to get wrapped up and sent out, icons to work on, comics to sketch, and more streams in the future!

So, I wanted to let you guys know what was up with me this week. I still owe you guys a final count on the icons, too.

PS - I am still waiting to hear back from someone on who's won the pictures from the last stream. All of the emails have been sent out for that, and as soon as I have that squared away, I'll schedule the next session. WOOOOO! PRIZES!

Below the cut, there are the five adventurers from yesterday's art party, along with their stats and character info! Once I'm done posting 'em here and on my art galleries, I'll pick and email five winners to get the originals. Woo!

( art!Collapse )

This was so much fun! I'm looking forward to the next art party and maybe more in the future :O

Now I gotta get to work on commissions!

I'm about to start streaming the Adventure Art Party, so come on in and watch me make art! :D I'll be rolling dice and designing adventurer characters all day.

Please keep the stream's chat SFW. I'd like to promote a safe place to relax and take a break from current events, also.

If you see a dinosaur or other-such plastic or stuffed beastie on camera, that means I'm afk and will return! :D
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/icon-day

ETA - it's now 5 pm (wow, time flies!) and we had a great time in the art stream! We made up five characters - I'll scan them and upload them tomorrow morning. Now, after my work day, I gotta go do some paperwork stuff, and... chilling out evening stuff. Goodnight, all! :D

Here's a reminder that tomorrow is the Adventurer art party! I hope to see you in the ustream channel! I'll start streaming at 9 am PST, and will keep the art goin' at least until 5 pm - a work day, and yes, I'll be taking breaks. ;) The link is:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/icon-day/

but I'll make a post here when I'm about to get started. You can come watch and chat in the text chat while I work! It'll be good times.

I just got back from running the day's errands, and I need to get some other things done tonight, so I'll get to regular icon streaming soon after the first art party. Also - most of the tip incentives from the last batch are on their way in the mail. I have a couple keychains I still need to drop off, because I needed to get more bubble mailers, which have been acquired... and then everything will be off on its magical journey to your mailboxes. Some were sent out with some sweet modern art stamps I got at the post office last week. Some of them are not quite as lucky, but there is art inside all the envelopes, at least!

And finally, here is a link to a groovy nature sound mixer - http://naturesoundsfor.me/

It's 9 PM PST, and I'm about to wind down for bed, so I've closed the poll. First, though, while I was getting ready to make this post, I've been reading about the explosion/fire in Texas, on top of what else has happened this week. I guess all there is to say, no matter where you are, donating blood is always a good idea if you can, and being mindful and compassionate in our interactions with each other makes a world of difference. Life can change in an instant, but humanity is beautiful in its capacity to help and to love. We might not always live up to that, but we often do, in surprising ways. You are all wonderful and important and I am grateful to share the world - and online and offline community - with you. If you ever need help, with anything - I'm always happy to promote and pass on the word. I'm not always the best at talking, but I stand by keeping this journal a safe place to talk about what you need to share.

It's my hope that silly cartoons can bring some happiness or distraction, if needed - I'll be holding the first art party this weekend - Sunday the 21st. Bring your own snacks and I'll bring the art. Tomorrow I'm going to be out all day, and Friday or Saturday, I'd like to do a regular icon stream, first. I'll keep you all updated.

The poll was very close, so I'll have to keep the runners up in mind. Maybe art parties can become a regular thing. Adding in the votes that were emailed to me, we have a tie between Adventurers and Worldbuilding, both at 20. Pirates came in second/third at 15. The tie between the first two bounced back and forth all day long, and I thought about leaving it open for a bit longer, but I think I'll roll a die, and see where fate takes us. And, after the second art party is done, if I make this a regular thing, the third will be the theme that didn't win the die-roll, how's that?

Okay, odd: adventurers, even: worldbuilding. C'mon lucky green d20!

Lucky green d20 rolled lucky #13. Adventurers it is! Alien planet explorers, alas, your voyage has been delayed, but perhaps not for long.

So, it's time to get this thing goin'! Here is a poll where you can vote on the theme for our first of two streamed art party. Everyone is invited to vote, whether they participated in Icon Day or not.

Once we have a theme - voting is open until tomorrow (Wednesday) evening - I'll schedule a day and go onto ustream to draw! Then, everyone who votes here or participated in Icon Day will be eligible to win art that I draw during this session. If you don't have a LJ account, you can leave your vote as an anonymous comment below (and include a way to contact you in your comment, if you want a chance to win art!), or email it to me (coyotepuck@gmail.com) with THEME VOTE as the subject line.

Poll #1908878 Themes!
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 96

pick one

Anyway, last night, for some reason, I dreamed I was Don Quixote. Arsen was my sidekick. Neither of us could remember the horse's name, so we decided Rocinante's name was Rosencrantz... close enough, right? Uh... and then we were trying to ride through the drive-through of the Taco Bell in north Boulder.

What.

Wha, huh? I'M AWAKE! I'M AWAKE! Okay, let's do this... Icon requests are now closed, so now it's time for me to do my bit, and get to work.

Thank you to everyone who participated! The final tip tally is 1,549. Which means that we hit all of the tip incentive goals, and I am going to have some extra in my budget to splurge on some new paints. Yay!

Everyone who posted a request before the cutoff will get an icon.
Everyone who tip will get three icons.
I'll be scheduling both art parties, and posting more about that when they happen.
And, I'll be compiling the mailing list for folks who requested to be on it. I'll also be posting progress updates here.
And, of course... I'll be drawing icons.

I haven't done a final count yet, but I will be taking that as I get the mailing list together. Also, I want to make sure I have the right info for everyone who is getting a keychain, etc.