I have successfully transferred my gallery from here to my new account,  xena-michele and will be closing this one within three days (on Friday) If you wish to continue seeing any activity from me, please go check out my new account. Thanks for your support! You guys have been wonderful.

~Xena

Go here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4231324/

Thanks!

To those of you who did not get the first message, I will be transferring all of my art to a new account, which is here:  xena-michele

If you wish to continue to see more new art from me, be updated about sales and when commissions are open again (which I'm looking to do in the spring or summer), I suggest you either go and watch my new account or bookmark the link somewhere because I will not be posting here anymore. That includes artwork AND journals. This account will essentially be dead.

I wanted to give everyone a fair warning before I finally made the switch. I'm re-uploading my art slowly, because it is an obnoxious process, but hopefully I will have completely switched over within a week. (sooner, more likely)

Thanks again for all of your support! You guys are wonderful. :)

~Xena

I am moving. My new account is  xena-michele So! To those of you who want to continue watching me, go follow me there, because I will not be posting any new art or journals on this account, and will delete it if that is an option.

Just wanted to let everyone know. I'll keep this one up for a few days to give people a chance to switch with me. Thanks for your support!!

~Xena

I can't sleep. It's 6 am and I can't fucking sleep because my brain won't stop yelling at my mom all the way in St. Peters, hoping to hell that maybe she'll hear it. I'm tempted to call her tomorrow and chew her out. Because if she can't get her shit together then I don't think I have any choice but to duck away from my family until she dies. Sounds harsh but I think that is my new reality. Everywhere I go, she seems to somehow find me and follow. So everywhere I go, I seem to bring her shitstorm with me. And not only am I tired of pulling that weight, hell, 21 years can be a long ass time depending on your burdens, but I'm tired of poisoning the lives of the ones I love. When I was a little girl, half of the time I raised myself because she couldn't be a full-time mother for me. When I was a little girl, she acted like I was more her property than her daughter. When I was a little girl, she brainwashed me so that I would be completely dependent on and loyal to her. I had to ignore the marijuana, the cocaine, the many men that seemed to constantly be walking in and back out of my life, not a single one of them my father. I had to ignore the alienation, and anger, the rage. I didn't get a nice childhood, but then again, no one really does. Still, I'm not going to let that or her bleed into my adult life and poison that too. I'm too tired. I'm a warrior that's been fighting the same battle for far too long. I just want the war to be over......

I'm going to start the auction probably tonight, so be ready if you're interested in owning a member of a new species.

For each winner (there are three possible) you will receive a full, un-watermarked image of your new character, rights to the character, and permission to post your image anywhere in your gallery or blog, so long as you credit the original artwork and species to me.

I'm hoping to have everything ready within a few hours, however it is possible that the auction might not begin until tomorrow.

Anyway, good luck to everyone and have fun! Further rules will be posted in the auction itself.

In the next month or so I'm hoping to have the new design for my humanoid species, the Darkara, complete and published. A while back I announced that I was going to have custom adoptables up for auction and I still intend to host that sale. Those adoptables will be of my Darkara and I am very excited about it. Hopefully the sale will be successful... I was thinking about starting them at about $15 each, seeing as their images will be decently detailed and coloured.

Way cool.

But in all seriousness, I am very excited. I'm sick of being in a rut and being artistically blocked, and I'm so happy that my schedule is going to open up again so that I can actually MAKE new art as opposed to just posting old shit no one's seen yet, like I'm doing now. So there will be good things ahead, and I am looking forward to it. Hope you guys are too!

~Xena

"I love Halo 4 because it's easier for me to play and the shit's all sparkly and colourful and amazing, and the story line is SOOOOO in-depth and awesome, and it's just great."

No. Halo 4 is shit. The points system is jacked, online gameplay is nerfed to hell, ALLLLL the weapons are OP, and playing on Campaign isn't really even that big of a challenge. 343 can suck my giant horse dick, because they took the beautiful thing that was the Halo series and covered it in pig shit.

Listen, I'm not a big gamer. I'll admit that. I'm not. But out of the small collection of games that I do play, I enjoy Halo, and I've seen its previous structure and they just threw everything right out the window.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just sayin'.

What bothers me though is that it's not even about skill anymore. It's about who you can kill and how many with the biggest weapon, which is complete bullshit. Bigger guns get you more points. If you want a REAL gauge of how well you did, they should award more points to more difficult weapons, like, say, NOT the fucking rocket launcher.

Shit's ridiculous. But I guess if you're a noob and didn't like other Halos because they were 'too hard' then Halo 4 will be great for you, bro, Enjoy!

Also, for the record, why the fuck is the Covenant involved? Also, if there's a legit answer for that, then would someone PLEASE tell me why the Elites are there? Because the Elites left in Halo 2. So if THAT isn't a plot hole, then I don't know what the hell is.

So, since I've been so busy I haven't really been able to put out much new work. Still, I don't want to be forgotten in the busy, ever-refreshing art world that I enjoy so much. So, until I can get enough down time to start making art again, I will be posting older pieces that have yet to be seen by the public, just to keep my gallery current and updated, and also to let you all know that I am not in fact dead.

When my time lets up a bit, which will probably be in about a month or so, I will let you know and will begin to work on new pieces. Thanks for understanding and continuing to support me even in my absence. It means a lot, guys. I hope to see you soon!!

Happy New Year!!

~Xena

 gabrielle-wolf and myself are considering doing magnet commissions. We bought some magnet sheets and took some prints of our work to test out the new craft and we like the idea, so we might sell a few if anyone is interested. Here are two (kinda sad) examples of our magnets:
http://xena-michele.deviantart.com/.....gnet-341892278
http://amazon-gabrielle.deviantart......lery/#/d5njra3

Each magnet is about the size of a normal badge. Naturally, they look better in person. Depending on the kind of magnet, we will charge extra. Traditional magnets will be a bit cheaper, about $15 to $16. Digital magnets will run anywhere between $16 and $20, depending on complexity. Full body magnets will obviously be more expensive, and headshots and busts will be a bit cheaper. We can make them like badges and include the character's name or they can appear just like this.

We're also thinking about offering a protective sealant to those interested so that customers might put their magnets on their car. We haven't tested this out yet though so for the time being, this option is not available.

Anyway, feedback is appreciated. Our magnets will more or less be of the same quality of our badges, so those of you who have purchased from us before know what to expect. New customers won't be disappointed! :)

Looking forward to hearing from you.

~ Xena and Gabrielle

Gonna be there all day and I'm really excited to go. I never got to go to the local one, unfortunately, because I had to work, but this will be a fun adventure!

I'll be attending with  gabrielle-wolf and  tyrse , as well as at least 7 others. If you're going, let me know. Maybe we'll see each other!

I've decided to close commissions and take a break. (after I finish the ones currently in progress, of course) I've gotten too far away from traditional art and personal, emotional and mental release, so I think it's time I put down the tablet pen and pick up my prismacolors again. Working on these few badge commissions made me miss traditional work, and also realize that I am out of practice.

So, for the time being, commissions will be closed for me. I will open them up again eventually, I promise, but for now it's time to rediscover my roots. I apologize for the inconvenience. If you were really wanting a commission from me, allow me to direct you to my mate,  gabrielle-wolf She's about on the same skill level as I am, though she does have some skills that I do not possess.

Thanks for understanding, guys. Be on the look out for fun traditional work from me within the next few months. When I open back up for commissions, trust me, I'll let you know. :)

~ Xena

I keep getting a lot of questions about what I will and won't draw, and other inquiries about my art. I think I should just make it real simple and answer all of you right here. Ready?


* Are you willing to draw porn?
~ Are you willing to pay me to draw it? Cause I don't really do it unless it's very personal work, but you can buy virtually anything these days. So check my base prices and note me and we'll discuss.

* Can you draw penises, vaginas, etc?
~I can research and render almost anything with enough study time. :) If you can be patient, and if your request isn't outlandish, more likely than not I can replicate it for you.

* Will you take all commissions?
~ Even if I'm open for them, I reserve the right to decline and refuse any commission I am uncomfortable with. That's just the way I do business. I rarely refuse a commission, though. I think I've actually said no to one person so far.

* Do you do trades, collabs or requests?
~ Requests I will never do. I pay rent and bills with the money I make from commissions, so I can't just go around throwing out free art. Trades will be a case by case basis, but you can almost count on my saying no if you ask for the same reasons I don't do requests. Plus, I'm picky, as rude as that may seem. (hey, at least I'm honest) But if I'm going to do a trade with you, I want to feel like I'm actually doing a trade with you. By this I mean I want to trade evenly, and that our abilities should be evenly matched as much as possible. If my abilities surpass yours, it's nothing against you, it's just that I don't really see that as a trade. Collabs I don't do with anyone but my mate. I live with her and can count on her to get her half of the piece done. Plus, I see collabs as a more personal thing.... Sorry. :/

* Will you put lots of cum and goo in a picture for me?
~ Absolutely not. For one, it's completely unrealistic; While some creatures can produce a lot of semen, or other lubrication, almost nothing can produce what I see in a lot of furry porn. Secondly, it's not very tasteful, and, with a few exceptions, I try and remain tasteful in my art when I can. It's a personal preference.

* For my adult piece, I want scat, vore, cub, hyper, etc, etc...
~ Well that's unfortunate, because I will not be doing any of that for you. If you can convince me to do a pornographic piece for you, then you should expect some pretty basic stuff from me. But I will NEVER do ANY fetishes more outlandish than certain kinds of bondage and restraint. This goes ESPECIALLY for 'cub' or porn featuring youthful characters. Don't even bother coming to me with that shit, please. It's sick.

* If you have such an issue with porn and furry porn, why the hell are you here?
~ Because I know that not every furry is a sex-crazed demon. I also realize that all of my anthro and therian artwork will be well-received here, and that's awesome because it gets me good feedback, which in turn helps me grow as an artist. And that is always my goal. I always want to get better at what I do. :)

* I want you to draw something for me, but I don't want anyone else to know about it... How do I commission you?
~ Send me a note telling me what you want and that you want the commission kept secret. Include your email. This way I can send you the final product without anyone else seeing it, but you still get your work.

* Why do you only take payment up front?
~ Honestly, because I've been screwed over plenty of times by scumbags who got a hold of my work and then decided never to pay me. So I don't even show w.i.p.s until I've been paid. Now, you don't necessarily have to pay me all at once if the commission is a larger one, but if it's a $20 commission on less, one lump sum payments are appreciated. I understand times are hard though. Talk to me if there's an issue. We can work something out. I don't bite, I promise.

1.) I want to commission you but I'm broke. Is there something we can work out?

I don't put my work on layaway, if that's what you're asking. And you can bet that I will almost always say no to an art trade. My artwork is a source of income for me. I pay rent and bills with the money I bring in. So to give my art away for free or almost free is a big risk, considering I like living with a roof over my head. My prices are ridiculously cheap, too. I've looked around and I don't even charge half of what other artists of at my skill level charge. If it's really a big deal, talk to me and we can discuss options. But until I have the payment in full I won't start a commission.

2.) Do you ever do any discounts?

Yes, actually, here and there. I'll do specials for major holidays and such, but otherwise my sales will just be on a whim, so you'll just have to pay attention.

3.) What is your turn-around like?

Honestly, it depends. I try to get pieces back within a week or two, if not sooner, but some pieces just don't allow that to be an option. Plus, believe it or not, I have a life outside of the internet, so that may or may not delay my posting date. But if it's a big deal just send me a note and we can discuss.

4.) Do you do refunds?

If it's past the sketch stage, no. If you have seen the finished line art and/or anything more progressed than that, I cannot give you your money back. Again, my prices are cheap as hell and I'm not stupid. You can file save anything online and have it without paying. So no. Not after the sketch has been viewed.

5.) What won't you draw?

Unfortunately, I've finally caved and will draw porn now. Anything less than that I will also draw, so nudity, simple head shots, anatomy sketches, etc etc. However, if it's a fetish like vore, scat, babyfur, hyper, or anything of the like, I will not draw it. (I shouldn't be saying this, but if you want to pay me a shit ton more I MIGHT consider being a sell out and drawing your fetish for you anyway. but I will decide the price and if you don't want to pay it, then I will not be making the piece for you. You'll just have to go elsewhere)

6.) Your artwork is really great, but I don't like what you've done with my character. Can you change this and this and this and this?

Bottom line: If you don't like my style, then don't commission me. But if there are issues with your commission I'm pretty flexible and can change or edit details about your piece. Just let me know in a note or, if I've posted progress, in a comment. I'll fix it as soon as I am able. :)

7.) What's the difference between furry and anthro?

I get this question a lot. But basically, furry remains closer to its human side, whereas anthro remains closer to its animal side. Anthros are digigrade, (meaning their legs are structured and jointed like that of a cat, dog, or horse, and they only walk on the balls of their feet) while furries are plantigrade (meaning the whole foot touches the ground and the legs extend straight up and down, like humans) Furries tend to have full heads of hair, like humans, whereas anthros either have no hair on their heads at all, or have native-looking, stylized hair growth. (think of a natural wolf. it doesn't have bangs and curls)

8.) I noticed your price chart does not include character ref sheets. Does that mean you don't make them?

Actually, no. I will make a ref sheet for your character if you want. I just hadn't decided on a price at the time that I made my commissions guide. The price will depends on all the details you want. But as a base price I charge $30, and this includes one full-body flat colour shot of your character, basic stats and three accessories and or weapons that the character might carry off hand. For more than that, we'll just have to talk.

9.) So what are these Deep Space Dragons I keep seeing in your gallery and on your front page?

The DSDs are a dragon species created by my mate,  gabrielle-wolf Talk to her for more information. :D

10.) Can I have a DSD?

Of course you can! Just make sure you do your research if you're going to design your own. If you don't want to design your own, you may commission either myself or Gabrielle to create one for you. This gives you the rights to your new character, the ability to post our art or the dragon anywhere online (so long as you credit the species to its creator), use it in RPs, and make new art or have new art commissioned featuring the dragon if you choose. If you want to commission either Gabrielle or myself, Gabrielle charges $25, and I charge $20. This gives you a flat colour, single view piece. Another option would be to adopt a dragon. There currently are 6 adoptables available, $8 each. These come pre-designed and equipped with names. They can be found here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7371685/

11.) What is a Therian?

Check out this journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3623601/

12.) Will you make my own character for me? Like, from scratch?

If you're willing to pay for it, sure. The price depends on how in-depth you want to go though. Note me.

13.) Why do you livestream?

I stream for a few reasons, one of them being that it's fun. I also noticed that people often ask me about my artistic process, and streaming seemed to be the best way to show them. So I stream to help people learn by seeing what I do. I also like the feedback. It helps me improve, which is always what I'm after.

14.) Are you a Therian?

Yes I am. Recently awakened. My Theriotype is a black panther.

15.) Are you a furry.

No, I am not.

16.) If you aren't a furry, then why are you here?

Honestly, I'm here because my artwork is received well on this site. But I am not a part of the fandom, nor do I consider myself a furry. Not saying furries are bad, I'm just not one.

17.) When you go to cons, will you have a booth set up?

My mate and I have discussed it a few times, and we might next year just to test it out. If it turns out how we want we might make a habit out of it. Should we decide to set up a booth at a con, we'll let you know.

18.) Can I commission both of you, you and  gabrielle-wolf to do a piece for me? I like your collaborative results.

You sure can. Just send either of us a note. We live together, so it won't be hard to relay the information.

19.) How do you take payment?

Through paypal only. It's the safest way to send and receive money. Sending it in the mail is asking for it to get lost or stolen, and I don't trust people with knowing my bank account information. Paypal is free and easy to set up. If you don't have one, it really doesn't take that much time. You don't even need to have a bank account to have one.

20.) How do you manage commissions?

I usually make a to do list for myself. Because while I will not forget that I have commissions, I do sometimes forget the details for each separate customer. So those lists help me keep track of all the little things I need to include. I find that usually I get commissions in a huge wave in between dead periods though. So while I try and knock out as many at once as possible, some commissions are more time consuming than others, or more challenging, so often times I will take breaks and do personal work. Some people think this is rude or unprofessional but honestly, as an artist and as a girl with attention issues, I can only work on non-personal pieces for so long before I get burned out. And I try not to work when I get like that because I tend to get lazy, and I want to produce quality every time I post commission work. So if you see me posting personal work and you haven't gotten your commission yet, please don't freak out and PLEASE do not start harassing me. Believe me, your commission is important to me and I will get it to you within a reasonable time. More likely than not though I just got frustrated with a part and didn't want to make careless mistakes, so I took a break. :) Scout's honor, I promise.

For any additional questions, just shoot a note my way. I'll be happy to answer.

I've had a lot of people ask me what the difference is between a furry and a Therian. As it happens, a lot of people actually get quite confused about the two and will often mistake one for the other, or, in a lot of cases too, will claim them to be the same. So I'd like to do my best now and try and clarify the difference between the two for those of you who have asked me or have otherwise wondered.


Spiritualism:

Therians at their core and foundation are spiritually-based. In their definition, they are a person with the soul of an animal within their vessel (more or less). A furry is a person with what is called a fursona, or an animal character that represents them in the furry community, or furry fandom. While a furry can be spiritually connected to their fursona, sort of like a totem animal, that does not mean that they possess the soul of that animal or actually are that animal. Further, a Therian must be awakened, either on their own or with help from another person. But it is not something that a person decides to be. If you are not born a Therian, you never will be a Therian. But a furry can become a furry at any time.

Mentality:

A Therian has the ability to mentally shift into their animal. Often times, if a Therian is not confused with a furry, they are confused with a lycanthrope. I'd like to stress that these are NOT the same thing either. Lycanthropes believe that they can physically shift into their animal, like classic werewolves for example. Therians do not believe this and know that it is impossible. But the mental shift is. Furries don't really have anything like mental shifts at all. Furries, if they have a fursuit, are just people that dress up. If not, they just enjoy the artwork of their fandom, attend conventions, and so on.

Associated Groups:

Therians do not have a fandom. They instead have a community. Therians also do not have conventions and are less known for fursuiting (although it happens often enough) than their furry counterparts. Furries are known for their fursuits, conventions, parties, and whimsical characters.

Fursonas and Theriotypes:

This is probably the biggest characteristic that separates furries from Therians. A furry can and will pick their fursona for any number of reasons, and often times will go further and design and customize their fursona. A furry's fursona is their representational character, or something that they created or picked out. It may accurately represent them as a person, or it may not, but it is a conscious decision made by the individual. Therians do not have this choice. A Therian's theriotype (the spirit animal within their body) is something that they discover, not something they choose. It takes a lot of soul searching, meditation, and deep, internal analyzing. Theriotypes cannot be changed or altered like a fursona can be. Whatever theriotype a Therian has, that is what they are. Consider theriotypes to be like ethnic race or gender; something your born as that cannot be altered. (disregard surgery. naturally, it would never happen)



I hope this helped. If you have any more questions, let me know. :) Thanks for reading!!

Hey guys, I know it's a weird hour but I'm bored and wanna kill some time, so I'll be working on this picture: http://xena-michele.deviantart.com/.....61301#/d4yfsci

Join me if you're interested!! Here's my channel: http://www.livestream.com/roxmysox?t=819656

I was going to draw Scarlett Johansson....
I was going to draw Black Widow...
I was going to draw a random female figure...
I was going to draw something...

I accomplished nothing.

Literally, I just spent two hours getting absolutely nothing done. I must have some serious creative blockage going on or something, because this is some bullshit right here. I'm incredibly disappointed. This is like finding out a really great, hot, financially stable and emotionally connected person is actually terrible at sex. THAT is my level of disappointment right now. Seriously. This is not okay.

But perhaps maybe tomorrow it'll be better, or the next day.... Or never. That's cool too.

You ever drop an unopened can of soup on your foot? You ever drop an unopened can of soup on your foot without shoes or socks? Did it ever ONLY hit the last two toes? Yeah.... my life as of last night. Boo. This is some crap

Literally, all I wanted was some cereal. That's all I wanted. But no. I go to the cabinet and there's soup cans sitting on the counter and in my sleepy (I'm also sick btw) stupor, I knock one of the cans off of the counter. Now, all is fine and good for a moment because my body is a little slow when it comes to registering some forms of pain, so it took a few seconds to realize that the UNOPENED AND VERY FULL can of soup had actually hit my foot and not just the ground. More over, it hit my pinky toe and the toe just to the left of that on my right foot. When the pain actually hits me I don't even have words, I just make incoherent noises of anger and pain and grip the counter top.

Long story short (too late) I get my cereal and come into the living room to join my girlfriend who is watching The Avengers for the umteenth time and working on stats sheets for an Avengers RP we and some friends are gonna do, and find out that my pinky toe is bleeding and both toes are swollen and bruising.

*facepalm*

As of this morning, my toes are sore but I can walk more or less. I'm lucky I have two days off in a row here, otherwise I might be in trouble. I consider myself to be VERY lucky too, because neither toe is broken. I can bend them on my own without much struggle. It just hurts a tiny bit, nothing serious. I would have been screwed though had they broken. I have no doctor and no health insurance, so..... That would have been pretty fucking shitty indeed...

Hey guys, I'm streaming again. Come visit if you're free. Gonna be working on Natasha some more. :)

http://www.livestream.com/roxmysox?t=819656

Also, again, I can't chat with you cause my shit's busted, but if you want to talk to each other or send nice comments my way anyway, feel free. Just don't feel ignored when I don't respond. :) Thanks!


***Sorry guys, I started to feel sick so I decided to call it quits. Maybe more tomorrow.

***NEVERMIND, we're back online! Come check me out!! http://www.livestream.com/roxmysox?t=819656





I'm so fucking sorry guys... My computer is a fucking moron and nothing is working. I can't even get into the liestream.

Literally, my computer shut down and I'm fighting to get back online, but it's just not happening right now. Maybe in an hour I'll be back. I'll let you know.

You wanna see me work on this? http://xena-michele.deviantart.com/.....lery/#/d52bpor Wanna learn how I render hair? Well I'm about to go live and make some more progress, so if you're interested, drop by. :)

http://www.livestream.com/roxmysox?t=819656

Would you be interested in seeing a livestream of the rest of this project?

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/811...../#cid:56492395

Hey guys!  gabrielle-wolf and I are still offering badge commissions if anyone is interested.

We are offering line art, flat colour, and full colour badges of both head shots and busts. Each badge will include whichever of these choices of your character, as well as your character's name. Once complete, your badge will be sent to your home. Unfortunately, we cannot ship out of country, so if you do not live within the United States then please do not sign up for a badge. We're both very sorry for the inconvenience. We also require payment up front, and only through paypal. No exceptions.

Examples:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7850782/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6845111/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6845156/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6845173/

Each badge is a collaborative effort between Gabrielle and myself, and can vary in size by an inch or so.

Line Art Badges: $6-8
Flat Colour Badges: $8-10
Full Colour Badges: $10-12

For an additional $2 you can have your badge laminated, but this IS NOT STANDARD so you need to let us know if you want it, otherwise it won't be laminated.

Send one of us a note if you want one! Thanks guys!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f.....678&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f.....678&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f.....100&type=1

Share if you understand. Flame me if you're ignorant.

http://lawiscool.com/2012/05/11/10-.....-gay-marriage/

Ignorant mother fuckers, I swear to the gods...