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RAT WEDNESDAY

@ratwednesday / ratwednesday.tumblr.com

full-time freelance artist | 28 | I take commmssions! contact: [email protected]
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"HEY, RAT! Are you taking commissions?"

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Hi y'all! Since I've had a few people ask now, I wanted to put a post out about this. The short answer is that I am currently planning to open for new commission projects in June for August/September completion!

The longer answer: I am currently at 4 pieces remaining on my queue with an estimated total work time of approximately 70-80 hours, and then I will be doing Patreon print and sticker catch-up followed by one last round of patron requests before I retire the digital art reward tiers. Additionally, I'll be vending at AnthroCon in July, and need to factor that into my schedule for the next few months.

The other thing I need to do is finish updating my commission sheet website, with refreshed examples, clearer project guidelines/interests, and updated pricing for 2024. Please understand that my artwork is my full-time career and my rates will reflect this! I love to offer budget slots when I can, but they are the butter, not the bread. I'll have more details to share soon regarding standard project rates, but right now I'll say to expect for them to be in ranges of $95-$230 for timed pieces, and $225-$1200+ for high-detail rendered work.

As always, thank you so much for the support of my work <3 It seriously means the world. I love getting to make beautiful things for people, and I can't wait to do more!

#rat chatters
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calibreon
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knightofleo

Kestrel-dad not sure how to dad but he’s trying his best.

Dad loves you and feeds you. But he is also dumb and feeds you a wonderfully done wagyu steak. You are 3 days old.

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swan2swan

Okay, but check out this video from mid-May 2022 of a Kestrel Dad who just kept piling up voles and mice beside his babies when the mom was injured/killed/mia’d by owls…but then watched one of his babies just swallow a lizard and went “OH. I can feed them small food!” and learned to tear it apart!

EDIT: There’s a not-zero percent chance that this could be the same dad???????? The source is the same–Robert E Fuller–but they could be different birds. 

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swan2swan

UPDATE: Not only has Mister Kes learned to feed his chicks all on his own…

….the three chicks who were taken out of the nest for intensive care after the mom disappeared were put back in, and he just started feeding them, too.

He’s a single father of six who does not possess the instincts to feed even one of his offspring, but he learned and adopted that behavior without difficulty and is now hunting and providing for six kids all on his own. 

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tuulikki
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random-chaos-thoughts

Happy father’s day to the Krestel single dad of 6 Who is doing a wonderful job

#happy father's day kestrel dad
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calibreon
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guerrillatech
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swinging-from-my-cable

How is it is supposed to work: your emotions are a response to your situation and surroundings. It is OK to feel the emotion. Now take that emotion and use your logical brain to decide which parts of the emotion fit the facts of the situation and which do not and why, and how you're going to respond to said emotions (which is what tweet said, and what therapists say)

How people seem to interpret it: any emotional reaction is perfectly fine and I am not responsible for what I do out of emotion.

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bendingsignpost
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phantomrose96

Oh, hey, hey there! Hello! Sorry to bother you. Yeah I'll be out of your DMs in just a second. Yeah it's just I was passing by and realized the way you're expressing your gender or sexuality really doesn't cohere with the way that my extremely insular groupthink faction of the internet thinks gender and sexuality should be expressed. What you're doing is really problematic actually, given how much it really doesn't gel with how my group thinks gender and sexuality need to work. I just wanted to give you a friendly heads up and give you the chance to change before I do anything like call you out publically.

Oh what's that? If you change what you're doing to satisfy me, then a completely different extremely insular groupthink circle of the internet will be mad at you instead? Yeah that's completely true. Luckily this is easy! My groupthink's group-think is the correct and progressive one. Their groupthink's group-think is really problematic and narrow-minded. I hope this helps?

Oh you're still doing what you're doing. :/ Okay man it's just that there's kids in my group, you know? Teens. They're literally kids, and you're making them super uncomfortable because we told them to be uncomfortable. Won't you think of the kids? This argument has never once backfired on a member of the queer community.

Oh. Okay. Well, I mean I was being really polite and respectful and you've just been rude so. Tell you what. If in 5 years from now the narrative has shifted such that the common queer community now supports what you're doing, I'm gonna act like I actually always supported this and have always been on your side. That's a good compromise right? Cool.

Anyway, I think that's totally fair of me. I'm gonna go warn everyone I know about how you're an unsafe person to interact with. This is for protection of the queer community. I'm a very good person.

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tickfleato
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tnerdbean

Know what I’m salty about?

In all my art classes, I was never taught HOW to use the various tools of art.

Like yes, form, and shape and space and color theory and figure drawing is important, but so is KNOWING what different tools do.

I’m 29 and I JUST learned this past month that India Ink is fucking waterproof when it dries. Why is this important? Because I can line something in India Ink and then go over it with watercolors. And that has CHANGED the ENTIRE way I art and the ease I can create with.

tldr: Art Teachers: teach your students what different tools do. PLEASE.

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spookyscaryscouticus

WAIT INDIA INK JS WATERPROOF ONCE IT DRIES????? THE ENTIRE REASON IVE AVOIDED MARKERS MY ENTIRE LIFE IS BECAUSE JNK BLEEDS AND YOURE TELLING ME INDIA INK IS

F U C K I N G W A T E R P R O O F

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theshitpostcalligrapher

yall calligraphers out there this is extremely fuckin important if u wanna get into illumination shenanigans because i swear to you there will b discoveries like these^

heres some of mine, pls take with a grain of salt im a total gotdamn amateur:

  • a lot of the time, the ability for colored ink to bleed will vary wildly WITHIN A SINGLE BRAND OF COLORED INKS. my cobalts bleed like fucking CRAZY compared to my reds, which, when u reference manuscripts that tend to put white ink ON TOP of either red or blue… you see where shit gets real and real annoying. 
  • u can buy an aeresol, fully transparent workable sealant for like 5-10 dollars at your local art store. when i realize a piece ive been working on needs a color on TOP of a bleed happy ink, i give it a layer of this stuff. trouble is it CAN warp the paper so its important as soon as it dries to use heavy things (paperweights, books) to counteract the paper curling.
  • ink solvent, like koh i noor’s rapido-eeze, is only compatible with SOME inks, but will work on most acrylics. If you happen to be working with sturdy vellum that you have pre-sealed, it can be possible to literally use ink solvent to wipe away your calligraphy mistake like a goddamn bounty commercial
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sarahlumweejee

Shit I Learned Working At Dick Blick: 

  • WD40, found at your local hardware store, will remove Sharpie marker from almost any hard surface. 
  •  Acrylic inks will show brush strokes in large areas but are waterproof and quick-drying. 
  •  Acrylic gouache is vivid, fluid, dried matte, is UTTERLY opaque on black paper, handles exactly like watercolor, and is waterproof. 
  • Putting an oil painting in the sun will turn the yellowed portions back to their original white and wont hurt the painting. 
  •  Cheap acrylic paintings will bleach out if left in the sun - get UV protectant spray or varnish. Nicer acrylic paints are less prone to sun bleaching, but they still do. Plan accordingly. Oil paints are much less prone to this. 
  • Solvent-based markers blend together MUSH MORE SMOOTHLY than alcohol-based markers. 
  • There is an acrylic paint medium for literally every effect you can conceivably think of (fabric paint medium, gloss medium, fluid medium, sand medium, fast-dying/slow-drying medium, etc.). 
  •  If you’re going to buy student-grade paint to save cash, buy earth-tones (burnt sienna, ochre, etc.); they are made with cheap pigments already, and you wont tell a difference. You WILL tell a difference between student-grade and artist-grade bright colors (all yellows, blues, and reds). 
  • If you’re working with markers but aren’t using marker paper, you need to switch. Markers don’t blend on printer paper, they just layer (even expensive markers). 
  • If you want a glass palette for paint mixing but don’t want to shell out the cash, buy a giant picture frame at Goodwill, take the glass out, and electrical tape it to a piece of foam board the same size for stability. 
  •  Hog bristle brushes are for oil paint, sable brushes are for watercolor, and synthetic brushes are for acrylic and oil (but not watercolor because synthetic bristles can’t absorb water). 
  •  If you’re going to splurge on any aspect of your creation, splurge on the paper. Get the good stuff - crappy markers/paint/pencils look good on good paper, but not the other way around.  (There is more, but these are the big ticket items)

Some more, also from working at Dick Blick:

- Palette knives are for mixing paint and TRUST ME you want to learn how to use them. When you mix with your brush you loose paint and it’s hard in your brushes.

- DO NOT FIX YOUR ARTWORK WITH HAIRSPRAY. If you’re proud of your work and want to keep it, buy the actual spray fix. Hairspray is not archival in the slightest and will damage your work.

- On top of that, be careful how you store your work. Newsprint is handy and cheap, but also not acid-free and it will yellow your paper. Foamboard? Matboard? Also not always acid-free (but you can get them acid-free).

- There is no food-safe paint. Period. There are lots of ways you can decorate pottery that aren’t glazes, but only glazes are food safe (and even some of those aren’t).

- Also not food safe: Polymer clay (sculpey), air dry clay, oil-based clay, ceramics that have not been glaze fired, oil pastels, sharpie, glues of any kind, or mod podge (even the ‘dishwasher safe’ kind).

- Don’t even get me started on mod podge. It’s not consistent. It’s not archival. It’s not a sealant, it’s a glue (setting aside some of the weird hyper-specific ones they make that I’ve literally never seen in real life).

- If your glue isn’t archival or at least acid-free, don’t use it in your artwork.

- There are so many different kinds of paper out there, just go try them. But also make sure you know if it’s acid-free or not (it probably is).

- Marker paper is usually 15 to 20 lbs. News print is usually 30 to 35 lbs. Tracing paper is usually 25 lbs. Rice paper can range from 20 to 50 lbs. Printer paper is 20 lbs. Vellum paper is usually 48 to 55 lbs. Sketchbook paper is usually 50 to 60 lbs. Drawing paper is usually 70 to 80 lbs. Cardstock can range from 50 to 110 lbs. Charcoal paper is usually 50 to 65 lbs. Pastel paper can range from 70 lbs to board. Bristol paper can range from 50 lbs to board. Mixed media paper can range from 90 to 140 lbs. Printmaking paper can range from lbs 90 to 300 lbs. Watercolor paper can range from 90 to 500 lbs.

- The heavier and rougher the paper is, the more it will absorb. If you’re using a paper too smooth for your medium it will take forever to dry and may smudge. If you’re using a paper too light for your medium, it will warp and curl.

- If you’re working heavily with water, you need to stretch your paper (aka seal down your edges of the paper to a hard, water resistant surface). If you don’t like doing that because it’s a hassle, buy a watercolor block instead of a pad/individual peices.

- If you’re working on a thicker paper, and make a mistake that your can’t erase or cover- you can scrape and/or cut it out! With a really sharp exacto knife, you can very CAREFULLY remove the top layer of paper fibers on most paper.

- DO NOT USE ACRYLIC AS BODY PAINT. It’s plastic.

- If you paint with oil, buy a silicoil jar. It’s the best $10 you’ve ever spent.

- Acrylic paint is basically water-based plastic. It will basically fuse with anything plastic (like a plastic palette), and will not stick to anything oil-based.

- Acrylic paint and house paint are not the same thing and you cannot mix them together. Acrylic paint is made from a water-based acrylic polymer, and house paint is almost always latex and can come both water-soluable and not.

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auressea

@pamelab has this amazing reference crossed your dash yet?

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not-poignant

I got more (I haven’t worked at Dick Blick, but I worked as a colour pencil / ink artist for over a decade):

  • Coloured pencils can be very waxy and leave a crayon-like waxy residue behind, which you will notice most when burnishing (pressing down very hard). Prismacolors are famous for this, Derwent Studio does it among the least (Derwent Artist does it more, Derwent Lightfast is oil based and Derwent Procolor is a Prisma dupe). If you tried expensive coloured pencils and didn’t like how they felt or looked, the waxiness might be the issue! You may love it or hate it, try lots of different kinds. You almost never need Caran D'ache unless you have money to burn or you’re a professional artist re: pencils.
  • Soft pastels are among the most pigmented mediums there are other than straight pigment. If you buy Schmincke and drop it on the carpet and step on it, especially a carpet, you will have to buy a new carpet. Only use high quality soft pastels in areas where the surfaces don’t matter so much if they stain!
  • Not all ink felt-tip markers are made equal. Micron is superficially waterproof, but will not stand up to repeated heavy washes of water or brush rubbing. Artline Drawing System can stand up to several washes of water. Don’t trust whether it says waterfast, water resistant, or waterproof outright, test it based on how you want to use it.
  • A malleable eraser is your best friend if you ever work with any kind of pencils, pastels, charcoal, graphite etc.
  • Cheap coloured pencils will sometimes have inclusions in the lead that will literally scratch your paper. Often what makes some of these cheap is often the wood quality, which means the pencil lead will crack more often as a result.
  • If you ever want to experiment in sketching with lead pencils, HB to 6B+ indicate the darkness/creaminess of the graphite! 2B is a very nice place to start with sketching, HB is excellent for technical sketching, and 6B is fantastic for deep black work but terrible for fine detail. Pacer/technical pencil leads often come in HB, B and 2B! Make sure you buy a lead density that you need. I prefer 2B in my technical pencils for thickness. Technical pencils also come in different lead thicknesses! You can create a lot of different drawing experiences by changing it up (and red leads can be fantastic too).
  • Good pastel paper will always have decent tooth on one side. Don’t bother with cartridge or worse, lithograph paper for something like soft pastels. Shell out for something with tooth. You will see the difference immediately.
  • Tortillons (and blending stumps) are smudge sticks for smudging soft pastels (some pastels still use toxic pigments and while we all smudge with our fingers sometimes we really shouldn’t do it all the time). You can buy them from the store, but you can also make your own by rough-tearing the edge off a piece of printer paper, or thinner watercolour paper, and then rolling it up and taping it. If you roll it very tightly, it behaves more like a tortillon. If you roll it more loosely so there’s a visible hole in the middle, it behaves more like a blending stump! These are great for blending in fine details.
  • Pencil extenders cost about $10-20 for two, and will extend the life of your coloured / graphite / pastel pencils until they’re nothing but nubs, while making them extremely comfortable to continue using. Derwent make two that suit all their range, but you should be able to find many kinds. Trust me, if you’re a heavy pencil user, it’s worth it.
  • You will almost always run out of white coloured pencil faster than any other colour, this is why many art stores will make it very easy for you to just stock up on white pencils. Do this if you’re getting into coloured pencil work!
  • Experiment with different coloured paper!
  • Acrylic pens should never be stored point down, but on their side. Black felt-tip pens like Microns should be stored pointing down, or on their side, but never pointing up. Make sure you know the best way to store your art pens!
  • If you’re working heavily with soft pastels, and have asthma or respiratory issues, mask up around the dust. Most soft pastels don’t use heavy metals anymore (but not all! I’m looking at you, Schmincke), but even so, inhaling dust is not a good idea. Make sure if you’re working on soft pastels you’re not blowing the dust away. If you’re not working with your paper upright, then tap the dust off if necessary.
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junlohkron asked:

Will you be selling TAILBITER as a print online? I really like it!

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Howdy! I’ll be stocking a small amount of 11x17s for Anthrocon, and if I can figure out how to safely pack and ship a big ol’ piece like that I will definitely be putting them online. Otherwise, I’ll have mini prints available either in July or August! Thank you so much for your interest in it! 🫶🫶

#ratmail
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bendingsignpost
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jelreth

i cant even imagine where id be without "thats a really mean way to think about me, i wish you wouldnt think that i dont know what im doing when i love you." and "people want to be useful, trying to do everything yourself makes the people around you think that you dont trust them or that you think theyre incapable" and "people are made to be burdens. we are made to carry each other and not leave anyone behind." and "its rotten work / not to me. not if its you."

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