If you have a question that isn’t answered below, feel free to ask! Email is okay if it’s very time sensitive or a serious business-related inquiry, but I prefer to keep casual q’s to social media. Tumblr asks and dms are best; replies on tumblr posts and comments on instagram are fine but I do miss them sometimes. Don’t bother with instagram dms or twitter at all please I will not notice for months/years :’)

see also: my “about” page, and the #replies tag

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Can I use your art for _____?

Generally speaking you’re welcome to use the art I post here for personal things like your own social media icons or playlist covers. Please do list credit/a link back to me when possible. I also don’t really care if you print it out on your home computer to stick on your wall or notebook or whatever. I do ask that you don’t redistribute it (even freely, such as in icon packs, PNG blogs, etc) or repost (either on social media or as part of blog posts, etc) without permission. You can ask me about those or other usages! (and Ko-fi tips are also always appreciated if you’ve found my art useful :))

If you’ve commissioned me, allowed use has been covered in the ToS and any additional licenses/agreements. Please reach out by email if you have any questions.

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Can I get a tattoo of your art?

Sure! As long as it’s not something I’ve made for other people, it’s fine. I’d love to see the result if you’re comfortable sharing pics!

At the moment I don’t sell “tattoo tickets” specifically but I do appreciate it if you leave a tip or buy something from one of my shops. 

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Will you draw _____?

Polite suggestions are welcome when they fit with ongoing series/themes, or when I specifically ask for ideas. I may not draw everything, but all are considered and appreciated.

My ask box is always open for talking about art and animals, and sometimes I may include sketches or other art with my answer. But please try to ask a question or otherwise prompt discussion rather than simply asking for art of something.

If you want specific art from me, the best thing to do is email me about commissions.

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There’s an error in your description about ____.

If you spot a mistake please shoot me a message! I do my best to provide correct up-to-date information, but I don’t have a formal background in anything and it’s definitely possible that I have made a mistake, or in my attempt to simplify information wrote something unintentionally misleading. I also make very stupid typos sometimes.

(However before messaging please check the original post to see if I’ve edited it or addressed the issue in the tags, and look at replies/reblogs in case other people have beaten you to it)

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Why do you describe images in posts?

I use image descriptions to help make my posts more widely accessible, particularly for people with vision impairments, or who might have difficulty parsing images for other reasons. Across the internet this is usually accomplished through alt-text. Before alt-text was an option for Tumblr posts, many people opted to put the description in plain text below the images. All of my art posts from 2020 onward should have an image description either in the alt-text or the body of the post.

If you want to learn more about image descriptions, there’s a great collection of posts here.

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What kind of materials do you use?

Digital: My digital art is primarily made in Procreate on an iPad Pro. I often do final touch-ups and editing in Krita on my desktop computer with a Xencelabs tablet, and occasionally sketch in there as well.

Photos: When photos are incorporated into my art, I use my own photos as much as possible (either shot with my phone or Canon T6i currently). If they aren’t mine, they are public domain or otherwise appropriately licensed for my intended use, and were probably found via unsplash.com or wikimedia commons.

Block Print: For lino/block printing, I prefer Speedball Speedy Carve Blocks now, though I started with and am still working my way through a stash of Blick Battleship Gray Linoleum Sheets. I use an Essdee lino cutter although for replacement blades I’ve bought Speedball.

If you’ve seen another traditional artwork of mine and want to know what was used in that specific piece, please ask and I’ll answer as best I can!

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How do you make your merch?

I get all my prints from Catprint! I’ve used them for many years and am really happy with them – generally any discount/mistake prints you see me selling are due to my error and/or could have been avoided if I took advantage of their great free hard proof service more often :’)

My pins and keychains are all made by Zap! Creatives. Good quality, good pricing, and easy file set-up and ordering process.

I’ve got stickers through StickerApp before and was really pleased with them. But since I’m getting pins and such through Zap anyway, I usually get stickers from them as well now.

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Do you use references?

Yes, frequently! But aside from sketches/studies, I usually don’t closely reference a single image. Instead I compile a spread of several different images for each subject, and look back to those as guidelines as I draw my own unique version.

There are exceptions – for example, most of my Avian August 2022 drawings are based on a single reference. I’ve linked the reference in each tumblr post and also put them all in this Pinterest folder. You can also see other folders there for references used in the sketchbooks I previously posted on Patreon.

When I’m drawing something based on a single reference and intend to post it, I try to ask permission from the photographer; or (more often) use images that are out of copyright, under a Creative Commons license, or somehow otherwise provided for derivative uses. As an example again, all of my Avian August bird refs are either found through Wikimedia or iNaturalist and were posted with a CC license.

References are invaluable for growing as an artist, but it’s important to be respectful to whoever made what you’re referencing. This is how I personally handle it right now!

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Why does some of your art have a different signature, and posts have broken links?

I changed my art name in 2023. I’ve updated a few older artworks, though old versions of the posts are still circulating in reblogs. Still me I promise :)

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