Artist Interview: Crystal Pangolin

my links:

twitter: https://twitter.com/crystalpangolin
commission info: https://crystalpangolin.carrd.co/
patreon: https://www.patreon.com/crystalpangolin

Name: Percy
Artist tag (different from name?): crystalpangolin

1. How would you describe your art style?:
   Cute, colorful, and a little cartoony.
   
2. When did you start doing art?
   I began to seriously pursue the hobby around June of 2019.
   
3. What has been your favorite thing that you’ve drawn/created?
   It’s actually really hard to say! I’ve created so much art in the last year and a half that picking a favorite is nearly impossible, but everything I’ve made with cute characters and bright colors just makes me happy 😀
   
4. Typically how long does it take you to complete a commission?
   Barring any unexpected delays, I tend to finish within two weeks. Even with delays, I try to keep my turnaround under two months.
   
5. Is there anything you refuse to do?
   I tend not to draw things that I’m not personally familiar with; that includes things like drug use, guns, or mech characters.
   
6. Are you open to NSFW or do you want to keep it clean?
   I’m a purely sfw artist! No nsfw here ❤
   
7. Who is your favorite artists? Are there any you follow and would love to give a shout out to?
   I’d love to shoutout my good friends @neon_shrimp and @DeerlyBearloved (also on twitter). Their art is just so great!
   
8. Where can clients see examples of your work?
   I keep my commission info site updated with my most recent examples of each commission type! I also regularly post on twitter and patreon.
   
9. What would you like new clients to know when they decide to contact you?
   Don’t be afraid to share extra info on your characters! I love to know a little about the subjects I’m drawing. I want to express the characters I draw as accurately as possible!
   
10. Where can people contact you?
    The best place to contact me is twitter!

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Artist Interview: I Am Doot!

Hey everyone! I wanted to give a shoutout to some of the fantastic artists I have had the good fortune to meeting over the years. Today I want to introduce you my incredible friend: I Am Doot! 

Name: I Am Doot

1. How would you describe your art style?
 Honestly, I don’t have an exact style. I can do cartoony in one piece, and then semi-realistic in another. I’m fairly versatile when it comes to style, but I’m also learning every time I do art, so it changes often.

2. When did you start doing art?
I’ve been an artist since I was a toddler, but I got more serious with art starting in middle school, when I got a Wacom tablet. I was about 12 when I got the tablet.

3. What has been your favorite thing that you’ve drawn/created? 
I have an affinity for dragons, so those are generally my favorites to draw.

4. Typically how long does it take you to complete a commission? 
The amount of time taken to finish a commission varies greatly depending on the style. If I work on a cartoony or simpler style, it can take a couple hours. It can take several hours for a painterly style full body piece.

5. Is there anything you refuse to do? 
For the most part, I won’t do humans or mecha for now. As I get more experience with art, I’ll feel more comfortable with offering a larger variety of choices.

6. Are you open to NSFW or do you want to keep it clean? 
I am okay with NSFW, but I am still very inexperienced with it. For the time-being, I’m okay with doing simpler pieces.

7. Who is your favorite artists? Are there any you follow and would love to give a shout out to? 
Personally, two of my top favorite artists are @Tokyozilla and @Kronos_Jackelhound on Instagram.

8. Where can clients see examples of your work? 
My website has a handful of examples: https://iamdoot.weebly.com/

9. What would you like new clients to know when they decide to contact you? 
I would love for them to know that they don’t need to feel put off by anything. I want them to feel comfortable when they commission me. If they need to ask me something, I highly encourage it.

10. Where can people contact you?
My website has contact methods listed. People are free to use any that are listed.

Wings

I don’t really have a title for this one….it is based off the prompts of a few friends at the discord group The Lovely Grove.

Prompt: Basilisk, Bat, Blue, Orange and Pink

Arney stared out over the ocean, his claws clicking against the rocks at his feet as he sat and thought. The weather was starting to cool and soon he’d have to find a warm cave to hide in during the snows. He didn’t have to, strictly speaking, but he found it much more enjoyable than having to trudge through all that muck and cold wetness. Being a creature of earth and fire, he had never been overly found of this part of the year.

A soft chirping at his ear drew him from his thoughts. Ahms hovered next to his ear, their wings fluttering softly as they maintained their position, waiting for Arney’s attention.

“Hello, chirper, what is it you want now?”

He didn’t actually dislike the little creature, he found the bat interesting in truth, but still their requests were often a bit odd, even to him.

“Just saying hello big one. Lots of tasty bugs out this evening. Mother and Papa says the Big Cold is coming and I must fatten up. Do you fatten up too? Will you stay in our home again during the Big Cold?”

He sighed slightly and looked to the heavens for patience. There was no response. Instead, the sky only darkened ever so slightly and the air grew just the tiniest bit cooler. With a flap of his wings, he heaved himself up into the air and began a slow, lazy circle around the cliffs. The rock was riddled with caves, including the one the bats called home. He hadn’t decided where to stay yet, but the bat home had proven cozy the previous Cold. Ahms followed close beside him, thier little wings flapping frantically to catch up to him, slowing only once they was again on level with his head.

“I do not know, chirper. I have time still to pick my resting spot. And yes, I do fatten up, though not as much as you it seems.”

Ahms gave an indignant squeak, but did not leave his side. Instead, they gobbled any bug unlucky enough to cross their path. The two creatures continued on like this for most of the evening and late into the night. It was only when the sun once again peaked over the horizon that they found their way back to the caves, Arney settled on the ledge of a large cave a dozen feet above the ocean’s soothing waves lapping against the sand and Ahm’s back to the family cave halfway up the cliffs.

It would have been another normal day had it not been for the flash of bright blue light streaking across the sky. The light lasted only a moment but in its wake it left a glowing rip in the otherwise gray sky. Arney drew his lips back and tasted the air with his long tongue. Lightening and metal seemed to dance on the air. Drawing himself up, he pushed from his ledge and flew toward the rift, his eyes glittering in the pale light it emitted.

“No, no, no, don’t do it friend…. don’t go into big light!”

Ahms appeared at his elbow, their tiny claws pulling futilely at his forearm. He shook them off with hardly any effort but stopped his progress and eyed the small beast.

“Why do you bother me, little one?”

“It’s not safe, big one. The lightening, it tastes wrong. The sky…. The sky is broken!”

In their agitation, Ahms chittered incomprehensibly for several moments before seeming to regain their composure. He glared down at the bat and gave a loud huff, his breath grazing the tip of the little one’s ear. It was enough to make the tiny hairs turn to glittering stones. Ahms squeaked and whimpered.

“I am sorry little one, I did not mean to stone you. Come here, I will fix it.”

The bat flew to him slowly, eyes wide and dark. With a careful paw, Arney flicked the stones off the fur and trilled softly to turn it back to the soft sable fluffiness it had been before. Within moments it was good as new and Ahms flew several feet away from him.

“Thank…. Thank you Arney. Please don’t’ go up there, It feels wrong. Big Wrong.”

He could not deny the truth of the little one’s words. It really was “big wrong”.

“This is a matter to take to Grandmother Stoneclaw.”

Without looking back, Arney dipped and dived back towards the land, pulling up only when his wings skimmed the top of the water. Flying as fast as he could, he made his way to the mainland, careful to the avoid the homes of men. They were not fond of his kind and the same was true in reverse. Passing around one particularly large village, he flew up among the clouds just to be safe. At last, he landed back on the ground at the foot of a forest, but it was one particular tree he sought, a large, old tree that had died nearly a decade before. It was only through the magic of Grandmother Stoneclaw that it still stood. She hid there, safe from the prying eyes of man and beast alike.

“Grandmother, I come as a friend. Please, I have need of your learned wisdom.”

He bowed deeply in front of the tree. His tail swept the ground as his wings pressed against his back and his chin touched the stone of the ground. He stayed like that for several moments before heard the creak of old wood. Looking up, he watched as Grandmother rose from the tree. Her long, serpentine body uncoiled and twisted around the old trunk. Her skin glittered like the finest of sunsets, oranges transforming into pinks as her body continued to rise. At last she flew down to him, her wings ethereal feathers of dusty pink tipped in burnished orange. Her eyes glittering amber jewels.

“Ah, such pretty words from such young lips. What brings you to me, child. It has been so long since I was sought out by anyone.”

She settled her bulk into a loose coil on the ground, her wings laying against her body like a fine cloak and her head tilted slightly as she spoke.

He gulped slightly then sat up straight and tried to regain his own composure. She was the oldest of the Kin on the island, a dragon from another era.

“I saw a rip in the sky, there was a flash of blue light and then the rip appeared. It tastes of metal and lightening.”

She looked up at the sky and nodded her head slowly. Even now the rip glowed brightly. She flicked her own tongue out, hers not nearly as snake like as his but still long and thin. Her amber eyes glowed as she took it all in. She huffed and looked back at him, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“I know this, it happened once before. A long time ago. This is the magic of man. Leave it, do not meddle. The magic of man is foolish and volatile. The rift will close soon enough. Likely taking the fool with it.”

He blinked at her and looked from the sky and back to her. She could not be serious. Leave it be? What if it did not heal itself.

“Do Not Mess with it!”

She glared at him and thwacked her tail against the ground as she spoke. He would have said something but a loud crack filled the air and a flash blinded them both for what seemed an eternity, but he doubted it was more than a few minutes. When they could again see, the rift was gone. In it’s place there hovered what appeared to be a new moon.

“Fools, they never do learn.”

With that she shook herself out and returned to her tree. Her shimmering body slithering and sliding until the dark bark obscured any hint of her beauty. A moment later, Ahms fluttered onto his shoulder.

“Old one knew what to do. Humans are fools. Their magic is strange. Big Cold almost here though. We go sleep now?”

He frowned, as much as a basilisk can frown, and nodded his large head. It took less than an hour to fly back to the island of cliffs and caves and far less time to get settled back into his home for the coming months. The bats were all happy to see him again and several settled against his warm scales to sleep and ready for another night of feasting. The Big Cold would be here far too soon and they all knew it.

Currently – September 2020

Inspired by Amanda McCormick, I decided it’s high time I did a little update on life, love, and writing.

2020 has been a challenging year for just about everyone I know, myself included, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some good along with the trials. So let’s jump into, shall we?

Loving: This is a hard one because it seems as if lately there’s so much negative and hardship going on, both personally and socially. I had to give this a lot of thought. I love that I have the ability to work from home, even with a pay cut it allows me to at least try to take care of bills and responsibilities. I love that even with the quarantine I have friends that keep in touch.

Reading: Lately I’ve been really into audio books, especially LitRPG books. Two of the authors that I’ve really grown to love are Tao Wong and Eric Ugland.

Watching: Thank goodness for YouTube and Netflix. On YouTube I’ve been watching lots of videos by Hyram and learning a lot more about skincare. On Netflix I’ve been doing my best not to binge watch any one thing. I have been watching more Lucifer and The Umbrella Academy though.

Writing: I took quite the hiatus from writing, just a over a year in fact. Recently though I have started working on 2 stories.
The first is a reworking of the story “Little Red Riding Hood”. My take is focused on the idea of what if Granny wasn’t so sweet and innocent and the Big Bad Wolf wasn’t just some hungry monster.
The second story is about an Ancient dude living in the modern world and having to figure out how to not stick out like a sore thumb.

Listening To: Mostly I’ve been listening to audio books, though I’ve also been playing Celtic jigs and filk music in the background. If you’ve not heard filk music, I’d suggest giving it a lesson.

Thinking About: My health and work situations. I’ve recently injured my knee further and so it has made doing every day things easier. Also, I’ve been looking for a new job and having little success (thanks covid).

Anticipating: I am anticipating the ability to go to the beaches again. Also anticipating being able to be more independent again. Only time will tell when these will come to pass.

Wishing: I really wish this quarantine and Corona/Covid 19 episode was over with. I also wish people would follow the mandates and do what they need to do in order for this pandemic to die out. I also wish I knew what the next few months held in terms of work and health.

Making Me Happy: Friends, my dog, and Final Fantasy XIV have been making me happy.

Secret Santa Story

My prompt (my choice of which to use):

Ghosts and Witches, Possession, An Unexpected Gift/Package, A Haunted Place, or Something Involving an Ouija Board

 

THE STORY: 

 

The windows glittered with fine webs of frost, the ground outside was snug under its fluffy white blanket and most creatures great and small snug in their homes. Marlaena should have followed suit and snuggled under a warm blanket in front of the fireplace of her cabin. Instead, she was standing in the middle of the forest, a white candle in hand as she stared up at the gray sky. To the west and north evergreens filled her peripheral with green while the trees to the west extended crone like fingers to the sky. She had hoped to spend her day reading and cooking a stew. Instead, she had been summoned by the spirits to the middle of the forest.

“Can we go home yet? My feathers are nearly frozen.”

She shook snorted and shook her head at Damocles, the small white owl sitting on a log nearby. He was barely larger than a house cat but crankier than any auntie she had ever met. She focused on the elements around her, hoping to feel of the pull of something, anything.

“No one’s here, Marls. They aren’t foolish enough to come prancing around in the snow.”

Again, she ignored the bird and focused. Finally, when she was about to give up and admit Damocles might be right, she felt the slightest tickled at the edge of her mind.

“Shush, I feel something. They are here, probably spooked off by your whining.”

The owl huffed at that and turned his back to her, grumbling under his breath as he ruffled his feathers and hunkered down on the log again. She reached a hand out, beckoning to the presence she felt. Tendrils of the spirit tickled her fingertips before enveloping her hand and sliding slowly up her arm. A warmth settled against her chest and clung there. Setting her candle down carefully in the snow, she embraced the feeling and closed her eyes. Focusing inward, she took a deep breath.

“Now then, what do you want?”

She spoke out loud, but the presence knew her question before her words ever left her lips. It hesitated, shifting slightly against her. For her part, Marlaena held still and waited. Holding her hands against her chest, she willed it quietly to answer her.

Present. Give you. Speak again.

Marlaena frowned but nodded slowly. The presence left her, but she could feel its pull as she followed it through the woods, carefully dodging fallen trees and sunken soft spots. At last, they stopped and she looked up for the first time since they had started walking. She stared at the back of her house, the windows were shuttered and the yard bare. It was exactly as she had left it early that morning.

“I don’t understand, what are we doing here? If you wanted to talk at my home, why didn’t you just come to me.”

She wasn’t angry, not exactly at least. Exasperated was more like it as she sighed and tried to listen for the spirit once again. This time she didn’t feel it. Instead, she saw something glittering near her back door.

Stalking closer to her home, she saw that it was a package wrapped in brown paper and tied up in a wide, glittery, red ribbon. The bow was lopsided and the ends dragged in the mud near the door, but the rest of the package was clean and dry. Picking it up carefully, she brought it inside. Setting the package on the table, she gingerly unwrapped the paper and laid it to the side. What sat before her was a large wooden box, stained dark brown with scrolling and twisting designs carved into the wood. Animals were painted in dark gold along the top, their bodies formed through the braiding and curling of thick and thin lines.

“Whoo sent you that?”

She could only shake her head. She wished she knew. It was a gorgeous old box, nearly as large as her small table, though only a few inches tall. In the center was an old lock of what looked like dirty gold. There was no key, only the lock with a small keyhole taunting her. She picked up the paper again, shaking it and hoping a key would fall out. Nothing did. She huffed and frowned.

She tried picking at the lock, hoping it wasn’t actually locked. It was. Holding her hand over the lock, she whispered a small spell, but to no avail. She checked the ribbon, just in case. Still nothing. Finally, she flopped down in a chair and stared at the dark wood. Brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, her finger brushed a hairpin and she grinned. Quickly pulling it out, she slipped the thin metal into the keyhole and jiggled and wiggled it until the box unlocked. A soft moan seemed to come from it opened the lid. It split down the middle to reveal its contents. Inside was a dark purple cloth encasing a wooden board.

“A spirit board. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid. My aunt had one she let me try before my training.”

She fingered the board gingerly. The writing on the board was painted in dark red and covered in a shiny lacquer. The board itself was a golden wood, the grain fine and smooth.

“You… you don’t think this is from her, do you?”

Her aunt had passed nearly three years prior, but no one else she had ever known had used a spirit board. She picked up the small paddle that sat beside it, a triangular bit of wood with a lens set in its middle, the whole thing was roughly the size of her hand. It felt warm to the touch, its smooth edges felt at home in her hand.

“Auntie, are you there?”

Nothing happened at first, then slowly, she felt the paddle begin to hum under her touch. Letting it take her where it willed, it slid over the word yes in the upper corner. Then slowly it slid over several other letters. Telling her beyond a doubt her aunt was her mysterious presence and gifter.

“I have missed you so much, Auntie.”

She smiled as she felt the warm presence settle against her once again, this time hugging her and settling on her shoulders. She had been so lonely, but now it seemed she was once again home. She once again was with family.