Life is all about moving forward, because you can't go back. How you handle those challenges in front of you is the hard part. Especially when you don't know the outfome.

My current employer lost the contract for the site I work at. This isn't unusual and each time the new vendor comes in to grab as many of the existing staff to carry over site knowledge. I've been through three vendors so far and now the fourth job change is in front of me with the newest vendor. They say they want everyone to transfer over, but their job recruitement process has been rather disjointed and incomplete, leaving most of us in the dark as to what is happening. They have until July 1st, so I hope they figure it out soon. I was offered a position, but at far below market rate. Damn. Still, anything that keeps that mortgage paid is a realistic goal for me, so you do what you need to do.

Or is it?

A friend has recommended I apply at their place for a position and title that I have held unofficially before, I have the skill set needed, and it would honestly be a real challenge and fun experience to try out for. I don't think I'll ever advance in my current position, so this might be an opportunity to go forward into the unknown. Probably won't get selected, but knowing an inside person and what challenges they face, I might have an advantage. You don't know unless you try. Sometimes those opportunities are slapping you in the face to wake up and stop just accepting things the way they are.

Take a chance.

What's that phrase? Why not me?

It has been quite a shock to learn that Dragoneer has passed away. He had been fighting some medical issues, but none that seemed to be life threatening in the short-term.

He really did bring this site together and had made it home for many. I know I have him to thank for my time here.

I don't know what the future holds. It will be an adventure.

.... I'm not there.

I've been watching people flee Twitter to Bluesky and I have to say that it is probably best for them to do so. From the cliques, political extremes and fetish groups that Bluesky has become known for, then Twitter wasn't really a good fit for them and it's good that they can go to a place they feel more welcome to express their interests. I don't share those interests, and I don't care to deal with the extreme political views they share, so that's fine too.

Mind you, I haven't been on Twitter in many years myself, and never was political, but the high school drama I see from people going to Bluesky has convinced me I don't want to be there either.

I'll just stick around posting silly art here, Telegram and Discord.

Tonight's theme is "Awkward Phone Calls". Bad timing, sensitive subjects, weird situations. When IS a good time to talk about your car's extended warranty?

Http://piczel.tv/watch/flinters

7 PM - 2 AM PT!

Stumbled across a new anime series on Netflix called Yakitori that is worth checking out.

Earth gets visited by the sudden arrival of aliens of the Federation (not ST). These highly advanced species defeat all of Earth's militaries without effort and claim the planet. From top of the food chain to the bottom, humans find themselves as basically third world resources as cannon fodder, food or whatever is needed.

Their new masters?

Anthropomorphic animals.

That's right, furries are the aliens. Dogs, cats, rats, mice, guinea ligs, horses, zebras, etc. Humans are given options to be soldiers on the front lines on different planets.

The story focuses on 5 humans from different countries whom must learn to work together. Fairly typical stuff there. With the assistance of a virtual AI in the form of a lop eared bunny girl, they get treated like equipment, a decoy, and scapegoat (no goats were harmed in the making of this anime, though two fainted during editing).

It is an interesting one to watch, and only six episodes, easy to binge watch in one session.

New anime, good action, voice acting isn't cringing and over all worth watching. You'll be watching if only for cute little tufts tail of the bunny AI alone.

Yakitori, now on Netflix.

Do dragon anthros have to use underwing deodorant?

Sometimes you just got a craving to grab and hold a thick tail you cannot get your hands around, so thick, muscled, huggable. A big body pillow that's already attached to you.

But then there is the extra upkeep to deal with, and my shower is already pretty tight. Sharing space with what is essentially another leg will be a challenge.

Your legs get cold when outside in cool or damp weather. Do you wear a tail sleeve?

These are the things that keep me up at night instead of sleeping.

(Begin Rant)

This is not about the fandom or genre, but shows how keeping your online/fanfom connections are *critical* from your professional business ones. I will likely delete this journal shortly, but feel putting my thoughts into words might help me process them them into something I can deal with.

I don't like drama, yet even though high school is 30+ years behind me, I still get dragged into the same teenager level drama even at my age.

I have my own life, personal and private. I do not bring up my fandom involvement at work. I don't want my company searching and finding things they don't understand. Work and personal are separate for a reason.

Coworker is my frustration. They make good money, more than me and are near six figures, lives with their parents, and yet is constantly BEGGING for donations of money, food, bus fare, etc.

They beg on various social platforms to be black, female or male as best suits the situation, sometimes Trans, sometimes a refugee from Ukraine. They claim to be homeless, needs an operation, are disabled, etc. They find some group online and give a story about being unable to pay their utility bills (they live at home at age 35 and don't pay anything), need money for the bus, can you spare $10, $20, $200 for snacks, groceries, pet food or gifts for the family. Once they get someone to fork over the money, they delete the post and do a new one a day or two later. Or they repost the same post exactly, claiming to have not received any funds from that community, don't you care, etc.

If someone notices the repeat attempts and comments, that person is reported as racist/sexist/etc as needed to get them banned from the platform. Got to protect that begging income. Eventually they milk the cows dry and move on to another social site to start it all over again, deleting their history so new victims won't get wise to the scam.

Now my coworker isn't very clever about this, and normally I'd just handwave it off and ignore it, but he *brags* about how much money he gets in this second income easily $25-30k a year, all tax free. He talks about how easy it is to scam these people, just pretend to be black or homeless, and going after Trans groups are especially easy to exploit. I hate this. It is detestable and wrong.

It also isn't illegal in any way.

He will beg for computers, laptops, iPads, Switches, small electronics that he will resell locally with a week to a month. Lately it is countertop kitchen appliances. My company has an internal email list like Craigslist that you can sell stuff on. He will put up 15-20 listing a week of all these new items in box he has and sells them at a discount. Well yeah, it is all 100% profit because people donated them to him thinking he was in need as a Ukrainian refugee or whatever story/support group he was exploiting.

I checked with my company and while reprehensible, it isn't illegal or against policy as his personal non-business hour actions are his own. Scamming support groups isn't something the company wants to touch as those groups would likely come after my company in PR complications. And now my coworker is claiming everyone is out to get them, maybe they will just state they are now Trans to get protection from any action. This upsets the legitimate members of that group at the company. Pretend to be a wheelchair woman online needing $40 for a pizza delivery and nobody can really challenge it online without looking incredibly insensitive.

I seriously hate this. Exploiting groups that need legitimate help, scamming them, then bragging about it openly. But as it isn't illegal, no action will be taken. This guy will keep doing it. And calling g out anyone that even questions the ethics of his actions. Don't dare say anything or you are a racist or whatever.

Professional victimhood pays well.

I keep my mouth shut and avoid any interaction if possible. At some point they will scam or cheleat the wrong group and it will go badly for them. As in terminally bad. I don't know how I feel about that honestly. If they disappeared, they would not be missed, yet I keep holding out hope for change.

People like that suck big time. But it also reminds me just how awesome people like you and my friends are too.

Don't change.

(End rant)

 rabbi-tom drew up a roo girl and she is mighty fine. Happy pouch babe indeed. Go take a look at this marsupial lady at:

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/51580210/

I don't if the original is for sale, but you can certainly ask. He has other really cool hoofer girl art available and low prices. I recommend checking his stuff out

A person reached out to me recently to complain about another artist whom was having difficukt financial times and needed funds to make ends meet, and was taking in emergency commissions to do so. That artist posted a journal explaining the need for the funds and urgency behind the drive.

This person was offended and replied with unkind commentary about how unprofessional or nature the artist was to do so, and then immediately blocked that artist from responding to the accusations

They then started reaching and contacting those in Notes that spoke in support of this artist whom was taking in commissions to pay for said expenses, again claiming how unprofessional and immature the artist was. They added some extra lettuce and cheese with claims of how many hundreds of thousands of people they work with as a professional and would never stoop to asking for assistance because of how important and professional they are. I am not sure why they needed to keep reinforcing that tidbit, but there it is.

I did write up a curious response to what brought thus up or why they were contacting those that supported the artist openly, but they had blocked me. I don't block people typically. They are free to see and reply to this if they wish, perhaps to explain their actions.

To me, it is a mild curiosity for a person that kept repeating how professional and mature they are would block an artist for their effort to earn money for bills, block them from responding, then go behind their back to contact other supporters to complain at length how unprofessional or mature that artist is while they keep promoting their own actions.

Protip: If you are going to complain about someone not being professional or mature, perhaps you should consider your own actions present yourself as amateur and petty. Your message is lost in the delivery.

I won't identify them here. This was just unusual behavior. Have you artists that follow me deal with this sort of manufactured drama?

The world is divided heavily into left and right, up and down, Pepsi or Coke, and even silly things like politics. But what's REALLY important to people like me? What is it that I really think about?

POUCH TEATS: Yes or No?

Come on, those lil' bumpies in a roo girl's pouch have to be special and wonderful things to have. Tickly, teasing, or sensual, they are hidden away and kept mysterious.

Would anthro roo girls have pouch teats?

My father passed away about 3 years ago after an illness. He was an Air Force member, put on missions during the Vietnam War but only after his death did I learn he was in Cambodia doing something still not unclassified. Bit that doesn't matter.

To me, he was a truck driver. A Teamster. From job to job, the names on the doors changed, but he was the big man in the truck, moving freight and doing real work to my youthful eyes. He was my father, a hero to me. I wanted to be just like him.

And I did. I too became a truck driver, having been taught by the greatest teacher alive, my Dad. I hauled my Freightliner around doing my the work my father taught me. An accident involving a large photocopier falling down a flight of stairs and over me ended thar career, forcing me down a different path into IT. I don't regret that change, but I do miss sitting in that truck cab and becoming part of the great machine.

My father retired, lived well into his 80's, active until the end with trucking as a union advisor. I was there at his death bed as he lay there unconscious, artificial support the only thing tying him to this world. I knew his wishes. It was my nod to the doctor to turn it off and release my father to his next great highway adventure. I never got to say goodbye as he breathed his last.

That was several years ago. I just ran across this video, about the passing of the torch of a trucker to his son with a simple blast of an air horn.

For a moment, watching this video, my father was back, smiling abd nodding his encouragement. I was able to fully make peace with his passing.

I got to pull that air horn handle one last time.

Goodbye, Dad.



https://youtu.be/Jo5N0KoisR4

After several years of 'interesting times', cons are back and so am I. I'll be at Anthrocon this coming weekend with my table, Flinters RudeRoo Design in tables I04 and I05. I'll be next to Jarlidium Press over near the bathroom and concession stand along the back wall of the main space.

Concession stand- be aware that they are not taking cash, only debit/credit card this year. Covid precautions.

Along with that, masks are required everywhere on site.

When you first arrive at the convention center, go to the lower level hall to be screened for Covid- you'll need your card with you. Once you do that, you'll be directed to registration. If you decide to scamper off between those two spots, you'll have to go back and be screened again, so don't tempt fate. After you get your reg badge, you'll be allowed in the convention center like normal.

I hope to be doing all digital this year. The Evogenics badges, digital sketch commissions, and even Telegram stickers. I'll be able to print and laminate badges on site. I'm also going to set up a display so you can see what I'm drawing in real time just like attending my stream. If the convention center's network could handle it, I would try streaming, but that's not going to happen on an overloaded setup. Sorry, have to wait another week for me to be back then.

After AC: I hope to open up for commissions again. Probably in 5 slot batches to those on Telegram and maybe on my Discord server. Possibly here too. I'll have to cycle through each location. I'll open up for five, complete those before going to the next group. This will be where you can ask for color, backgrounds, and more complicated pieces as they won't be impacting the weekly stream.

So, who is going to AC? Come by my table and mention you read this journal for a special giveaway item!

Whoa, would you believe it, I have a Discord server?

INCONCEIVABLE!

Okay, maybe it's conceivable a little bit. Because it's true. It's at:

https://discord.gg/DaJCt6dK

(If this is outdated or expired and you still want in, hit me up on Telegram or Notes here and I'll update the link)

I interact with people there, chat, hang out, share some things that I can't post here or are not appropriate, talk about cons coming up, projects I'm working on, take suggestions for themes, and more.

It's totally not true that I turn everyone that visits into a female kangaroo. That's ridiculous.

Some of them are turned into female wallabies.

So come check it out. It's a good little community. It's a nice compliment to what you see here on FA. You'll be glad you did. So will your pouch.

Congratulations! You've woken up as the opposite gender, thanks to the amulet you put on last night. You're form locked for 24 hours as the opposite gender. What do you do?

Do you hide at home, checking out the bits?
Do you tell all your friends and show off?
Do you take pictures and video for later?
Do you go out in public just to see how the world treats you differently?
Do you get advice from same gendered friends about those annoying pinches and tugs from your new equipment?
Do you go total hounding and hook up with your roommate, friend, mate, or that cute retail clerk at the corner store for several rounds of sexual delights?


For me, I'd be curious and go out to check how your interactions are different in stores, restaurants, bus, etc. Be a good opportunity to see the world from a different perspective.

I'd also take lots of pics both clothed and not for pose ideas. Bits sag and weigh down due to gravity and the artist in me wants to have refs for what goes where in different poses.

And yes, I'd try to hook up with someone to test out the plumbing. No reason to deny it. Gotta try it out, right?

Feral form characters lack the manipulative paws needed for finer personal grooming like shaving excess facial fur.

But would more hybrid anthros shave? Or groom their fur back for convenience in the warmer months? You already have a warm fur coat, but it is rather warm in the summer so would you shave it back almost to skin?

How about whiskers? Animals have chin, muzzle and even eyebrow whiskers which help in navigating tight spaces, grazing, or even courtship with nuzzling. But those are very feral behavior aspects anthros do not need. So if your species grows whiskers on their snout, chin, ears, etc, would you shave those back? Or will you look all uncivilized with your frilly cloud of whiskers like some *feral*?

I like long whiskers and add them where needed in a sketch. What do you like?

Do you shave your whiskers?

I have a Patreon.

I don't talk about it and I am bad about posting to it because there are few people on it- as in less than 5. I want to expand on the offerings, make it more attractive and desirable.

My job role is changing and there very well could be days I will have to cancel my Friday art stream on Tigerdile (7 pm pt), so I would like to make something possible on Patreon.

My hope is to have possibly a stand by list of commission requests I could do as time and initiative hits me. I'd also love to open up for themed commissions like kangaroos, taurs, TF's, etc. But how to pick whom gets chosen is tricky. I cannot guarantee everyone in the Patreon would get picked, so not sure how to approach this.

Ideally I also want to draw more of my own characters, comic pages, Scavengers, etc. I have limited time to draw in the week and right now that is 100% for Friday night streams, so my SugarNutz girls don't get drawn. It is hard to just draw what you want when you have a customer demand for their own stuff too.

I would post to Patreon first and then to FA in two weeks, but I am only drawing stream commissions so there is no offset of any special access value currently.

What sorts of tiers/rewards/services from Patreon artists do you engage in? Tell me what you like or dislike in art based Patreons.

You wake up each morning to a new day. Yes, it throws challenges at you, knocking you down, making it a dreary and horrible existence at times. You really start wondering why even bother. What difference does it really make. Life is pointless and chaotic.

Just end it.

I am an artist and model railroader. When I draw a picture, I have only a rough idea what I want to do. I throw some lines down, focusing on some lines while dismissing others. Gradually a shape emerges, often times different than I intended. Through that process of discovery, I explore different options and learn from it. From that chaos comes creation. I go on to inks, yet keep my roughs, fading them to a faint image, I help blend them into the final inked image as their presence reminds me of the journey and where I started, merging past and present into an organic creation that couldn't exist otherwise. I don't hide from my past, but accept it as it is part of who I am and how I got here. Challenges each day in life are like that sketch.

In model railroading, focus is put on accurate reproduction of real life in miniature. You measure, you count, you produce copies in scale form. That plastic model building kit is an excellent reproduction, but it lacks originality, creativity, and life. Take that same building kit and throw away the instructions. Sure it had been a simple house, but replace the front wall with a wood wall and front porch overhang from scrap materials now it is a store front with big windows. Maybe it is the mining office in the mountains. Build some simple box shapes going out 100 scale feet one one side with windows and doors spaced out. Now that house is the front office to a motel. Nobody made a model of a motel, you did. You made it happen. And sometimes motels are run down, so you add weathering, drybrush effects on the walls, add a bent TV antenna on the roof. It is a clean and safe place, but the only one left with any vacancies. You add a station wagon with luggage on the roof, the family getting out, kids running to the fenced pool area. Now you have a story to share of a long road trip and parents eager to lay down while kids work out their energy having been stuck in the car for the last eight hours.

A simple plastic model kit of a house turned into an adventure. You made that happen.

My point in this is that things aren't always going to your way. Politics, social pressures, Covid-19 issues are really bringing people down right now. It is a real crap show at times. Sometimes that is exactly what is needed to break us out of our ruts. Throw some lines down on paper. Experiment. Throw those kit instructions out. Explore. Reach out to family and friends. No need to be the tough guy. Don't hide from reality. Just be honest and lay it out there. You may find new inspiration from those pencil roughs, or replacing a wall on that structure. Through such chaos comes hope and new possibilities.

Life is pretty messy at times, and I'm okay with that.

Thank you for reading.

Can you believe it's been a over a year since I posted a journal?

Amazing. And what's more amazing is that I have uploaded the 5000th submission.

FIVE THOUSAND

Think about that for a moment. That's like, massive. The equivalent of posting a new pic a day for 14 years. Crazy stuff!

With over 10,000 people watching me, it's been a wild and fun ride.

And it just keeps going. I don't have any plans to stop any time soon. With no cons, it pretty much means online streams are it. You can find me on Tigerdile on Friday Nights at 7 PM PT:

www.tigerdile.com/stream/flinters

See you there!

Soooo....

I like to chat and draw as those of you that visit my Friday night streams can attest. It us easy for me to get distracted and go off in a tangent to show how I draw something specific like mechanical items, paw pads, backgrounds, and art tools. So I am considering doing some off night weekday streams where I can just doodle stuff, take some questions, do some demonstrations. Show off how to use some neat features of Clip Studio Paint, tool organization, palettes, custom tools, templates, etc.

I'd like to do some kangaroo specific streams for similar. Why kangaroos? How are they built? What different types are there from feral to full anthro. Features that are roo specific like muzzle shape, ears, thick tails, and those delightful monster feet and claws.

I could offer to redline art submissions for artists looking for ideas on improving their work, rebuilding their art into achievable sections.

Would there be interest in watching me ramble on about such topics? No charge for anything unless I am actually doing a commission for someone.

Ever really admire an artist or group for their excellent work that you could never hope to match, but is a high hope to strive for? Their work is excellent, their stories well done, the line work so fluid, and designs that make you feel like you're looking at movie stars or star professional athletes? I am but a simple fan, adoring what they do.

They are the great ones. Popular. Talented. Humble. Open and honest.

Then you learn they watch *YOU* on FA too.

*blush*

Oh, um, ah.... gee, thanks. I don't know what to say, but it sure gives me a warm fuzzy to know that even our idols... are fans too.

Reach out, friends. Say hello. Meet people. Give someone a smile.

I decided to dust off the idle Patreon account I had created as a place holder for Scavengers only and use it for multiple things. I often draw more art than you see here on FA. I'm posting *all* of the Scavengers comic books to Patreon, up to and including the latest issue #5 that just came out. It will take a while as I don't want to dump over 100 pictures at once, but there will be some good content.

I also have plans to post more SugarNutz and other content. Probably printable versions of stuff if there are requests. I'm open to ideas and suggestions on what you'd like to see.

For the moment, it will be $5 for the 'tip jar' sort of thing, and $10 for unlimited access to everything. I'll be getting more non-SCAVENGERS stuff posted shortly over the next few weeks. I have to feel out how to really do this effectively. Like printable / exclusive stuff on drop box or Google and link it to the subscriber level stuff. Not sure yet. Patreon seriously needs folders. Swaggerdile has folders, and if that service picks up again, then that would be the superior service to use.

Oh, you should probably know where it is.

www.patreon.com/flinters

Because... flinters. It's easy to find.

Okay, here's something I didn't know about until today. Amazon has a program that lets you have 0.5% of your purchase go to a charity of your choice (over one million charities available) simply by starting your Amazon search begin at SMILE.amazon.com. That SMILE part is important. Once you start there, all your normal tools and links are where you expect them. No difference in your experience, only that when you check out, 0.5% goes to the charity you choose when you first visit the site.

Is this important? Well I have an Amazon addiction, and I know I spend a couple of thousand a year there on stuff, so half a percent isn't a lot, but it all adds up when many people do it. Amazon states they have generated $89 million to date through this program and that's not a small number. I wasn't even aware of it before today.

I searched their charity groups by typing "ferret" and found the local ferret rescue shelter group listed, so from now on, that half percent of purchases will go to them. Again, not a lot, but who knows what happens when more people are aware of it?

This could a way to help support your own local animal shelters or cause you believe in.

Every little bit helps.


smile.amazon.com

I'll be sitting in my usual spot, tables K12 and 13, pretty much dead center of the room. Just walk in to the center, look to the right and there I am. Can't miss my wall of badges.

This year I also have some nifty art supplies including pens, pencils, badge making supplies, rulers, pencil sharpeners, and all sorts of nifty things... from JAPAN. Yeah, got some interesting things you rarely see in the US except for a few locations, so check out the silly things.

I'll also have some portable LED tracing tablets that are USB powered. Perfect for tracing out badges or having to retrace when you made a mistake in a picture or have the characters too close to the edge of the paper. A4 sized, and only $20. Yes, $20. That's not a typo. Limited quantity. Check it out at the table.

And I'm trying out some Fursuit Furst Aid kits. They contain enough supplies in a handy bag you can put in your checked bags that have a glue gun, glue sticks, thread, needles, safety pins, zip ties, a brush, scissors, utility knife, guide on hand stitches, cleaning wipes to disinfect heads- there's a bunch of stuff in there and I forget what's in it currently. It's stuffed full and again, $20. Enough to reattach a limb or add a tail, fix a split seam and more. You're not going to build a suit with it- it's a first aid kit for your suit.

I'll be bringing my Copics, so color badges and full color commissions will be a thing too. Limited number since they take time, but they will happen.

OH! SCAVENGERS #5. Remember SCAVENGERS? Yes, well #5 finally got done and is now available from Jarlidium Press. Get your copy in person! I'll even vandalize it with my signature.

So come see what I have to offer. There is a bunch of things and I don't remember them all.

And lastly, Shawn the Girl is sitting at our tables, so visit my roo gal friend too.

Who ARE all of you people? There's freaking over 10,000 of you watching me here on FA. I mean, that's like an entire convention of Flinters fans. Wow. That's just crazy.

And awesome.

You guys make it all fun and cool to do this stuff. I love the comments as they are ego food pellets for artists. Favorites, responses, and when you visit my table at a con and mention you saw my stuff online, that gives me the warm fuzzies. Especially when you remark about specific pieces or my SugarNutz girls. I like my ego stroked. STROKE MY EGO. STROKE IT. You'll make me purr exactly like a roo doesn't. Well I'll start anyways.

Seriously, it's been a fantastic time and I'm curious how quick that number will shoot up to 11,000 or above. I'm trying to get more name recognition in the fandom to help my chances in getting dealer tables, so please share my art around. Tell your friends, your neighbors, even that cute check out clerk at the grocery store. "Hey there, would you like to see some sexy kangaroo pictures?" If they don't call the police, you might find a new furry fan.

To celebrate, the 10,000th watcher was  Doctor_Infinity, whom will be getting a free digital color commission.

So, what do you like about my art? Characters? Stories?