Since 2006, I’ve been paid to create. Even longer if you want to count beautifying my classmates’ notebooks for tips. Buuuut most people (including myself) don’t count that.My resume includes private commissions, freelance projects, and full-time studio work; all in various industries ranging from film, animation, graphic/web design, children’s illustration, music, and even edible artwork for a niche market in confectionery industry.It’s all been great fun and I’ve enjoyed aspects from each industry. However, one pursuit has been present throughout my career. And that’s the creation of art for the furry fandom. 😺

I just love the clever, cool, and beautiful art that emerges from the sci-fi fantasy genres, and animals have been my primary interest ever since I was a child. So it’s not hard to image why I gravitate so strongly to this merging of interests.

Today my full-time business is sustained mainly by private commissioners who share my enthusiasm for imaginative anthro and animal artwork.

Beauty and wonder fuel my artwork at it’s core. I create art to inspire, provoke thought, energize, and generally pull at heartstrings; to take people away to an alternative head-space.

✨ Also prepare for your character to look their best. I believe in quality!✨

Make it easy, make it fun, and treat your commissioners like the rare gems they are. Seriously, you guys rock my socks off. 💯 My passion and career are fueled by you. My best projects and ideas stem from your requests. And on top of that, you continuously treat me with unrivaled kindness and respect. My heart is constantly full with gratitude! It is my sincerest endeavor to provide a unique experience and work of art that rival, if not exceed, what you’ve given me. 😘That’s how I run my business. I’ve learned that if you give people your best, you’ll receive it in return.
It’s a beautiful thing for everyone involved.

It varies each year. So far, I’ve only traveled to events in the USA. Eventually I’d like to visit other conventions outside the states. 🌎
Here’s a list of conventions I’ve attended:

🔸 Megaplex (Art Staff, Vendor, Panelist, Volunteer)
🔸 Anthro Northwest (Art Staff, Vendor, Panelist, Volunteer)
🔸 FurSquared (Vendor, Panelist, Volunteer) GOH 2018
🔸 StratosFur (Art Assets, Vendor, Panelist) GOH 2022
🔸 Texas Furry Fiesta (Art Assets, Vendor, Panelist)
🔸 Furry Weekend Atlanta (Vendor, Panelist)
🔸 Midwest Fur Fest (Vendor, Panelist)
🔸 Fur the’ More (Vendor, Volunteer)
🔸 Furlandia (Vendor, Volunteer)
🔸 AnthroCon (Vendor)
🔸 Furry Migration (Vendor)
🔸 FurtherConfusion (Vendor)
🔸 Biggest Little FurCon (Vendor)
🔸 Anthro NewEngland (Vendor)
🔸 Anthro SouthEast (Vendor)
🔸 Painted Desert FurCon (Vendor)

… And plenty of other small events.

As much as I love pigeons, they are messy and hard to keep track of. Same with messages sent to my social media accounts.

To keep every conversation cataloged and in one place, I ask that you contact me via email: GoldenDruidArt@gmail.com

Sure! If your commission is larger than $500+ we can certainly do payments in phases. Your commission will be started when full payment is received.

This depends. Sketches can take mere hours. Large paintings can take several months. I typically give myself 3 months tops to complete most jobs. If it’s a small job, expect delivery of your commission much sooner.

That depends. I deliver all my digital art via email. While all traditionally drawn sketches are delivered via regular mail (USPS). You can also request your badge be mailed out too. 💌

It’s worth mentioning that if you and I will be at the same convention, you can request free at-con pick-up for your badge or sketch. Just find me at my table and I’ll deliver your art that way.

The creator of the art (me). When you commission an artist, you are paying for their time and the materials it takes to create the art, not the ownership of the art. Copyright ownership remains with the artist unless you both negotiate additional terms to transfer the rights.

Here’s a handy little guide for more info.

Absolutely! All I ask is that you credit me as the artist wherever possible. 💞

It’s rare that I livestream, so likely, no.
However, on the off chance that I do, I’ll let you know about it.

Nope. I only paint traditionally for my own pleasure. 🖼 I can’t guarantee the same speed & quality in traditional media because it’s not my strongest skill set.

If you didn’t find the answer here or in my ToS, please feel free to contact me personally.
📬 My email: GoldenDruidArt@gmail.com

🔸 Photoshop CS6
🔸 Wacom Intuos 3 tablet
🔸 Both PC and Mac computers (desktop & laptop)

These brushes here are all pretty awesome. Try them out for yourself. See what you like.

Yes. I have a Bachelors in Illustration from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale FL.

There is no general yes/no “one size fits all” answer to this question.
The most honest answer is: it depends.

It depends on a lot of factors actually.

🔸 First of all, whichever avenue you choose, you must be self disciplined and exceedingly motivated. Nether college nor self education will work if you are lackluster about it.

🔸 Art School: What are your finances like? Will going to art school require you to take out a student loan? Think long and hard about this. Statistically art majors make far less money than other graduates. They also rack up more debt.
Do your research! Look at the cost and course material for various institutions and degrees.

But formal education is great for a lot of people who need that structure. Also the connections you make in college with your teachers, fellow alumni, and other professionals will serve you long into your career.

🔸 Self Education: It’s obviously cheaper to teach yourself. Online classes are far less expensive, or in a lot of cases free. There is a wealth of information out there and even if you go to college, you’ll most likely continue your education in this way afterwards.

The hardest part is combing the internet for suitable/relevant study material. After that, it’s the challenge of implementing your own academic routine. You most likely won’t have anyone in person to help guide you. So this approach can take longer than a 4 year degree to see the results you want.

🔸 This is obviously a very brief answer to a complicated question. If you’re serious about art as a career, whether you go to college or study on your own, it’s good to research first. In fact, treat your research like a homework assignment. Now go forth and educate yourself!

🔸 Make scheduled time for art. I only paint when inspiration strikes me. Lucky for me it strikes at 9am sharp every day. The hardest part is sitting down and starting, but after that you really get a groove going. Regularly scheduling chunks of time helps generate inspiration and focus.

🔸 Use this time to study and practice the basics of art and design. Look at lots and lots of tutorials.
This will also train your hand coordination. Hand dexterity is a huge part of translating what’s in your brain to paper.

🔸 Understand that every piece of art goes through the “crap phase”. Sometimes it’s easy to get fed up with your art if it’s not turning out how you want. It’s just part of the process. Work through the tough parts and challenges.

🔸 Keep a positive attitude. When you start to hate on your work, pause and think about this: If you’re feeling this way, an artistic break through is right around the corner! It’s very exciting that you are noticing the flaws in your own work. This means your artistic eye is becoming more attuned to areas that need improvement. You’re about to level up! Keep going!

So at this point you’ve been painting and sharing your art online frequently for a while now. You’ve built up a decent following. You get regular requests from your fans for commissions. Great! All these things are going to make it easier to sell your work.

Start by researching. I’ll give you a few of the questions you should be asking:
🔸 What’s a fair hourly wage for commissions?
🔸 How long does it take me to complete certain artworks?
🔸 What materials do I use and how much do they cost?
🔸 What kind of commissions do I want to sell?
🔸 Do I want to do prints/merchandise as well as commissions?
🔸 What’s that going to cost and how long do I have to wait for a return on my investment?
🔸 What should I put in my ToS?
🔸 What’s the best way to advertise my commissions?
🔸 What kind of taxes will I need to pay?

Answer these questions systematically as you research. Once you have your answers, you’re ready to rock n’ roll.

One thing to remember above all, is don’t sell yourself short. Always price yourself much higher than minimum wage to start with. If you are already getting requests for commissions, you are in demand. By charging too little you take on the label of “bargain bin artist”. It’s really hard to climb out of that stereotype when you finally decide you are ready to be taken seriously as an artist. Start taking yourself seriously now!

And if you need help with a specific problem that can’t be googled, ask your fellow artists! Most of us are more than happy to help!

You’re at a point where you’re getting more commissions than you can handle. Perhaps you work a full or part time job doing something else, and when combined with your commissions, you are working 50-60+ hours a week. It’s getting to be too much. Somethings got to give. You want to ditch the day job and do freelance art full time.

As with every stage in your career, it all starts with research. Take a hiatus from commissions and make time to educate yourself on what it takes to run a full time business.

🔸 I personally spoke with an CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and a Business Lawyer to help structure and launch my business.
🔸 There’s a good chance that your area has a local Small Business Association that offers free classes on many aspects of running a business for the first time.
🔸 Some people say to save at least 6 months of your current income before quitting your day job. I say go for a year’s worth of savings or more.
🔸 Have a plan for dry spells where the money isn’t flowing in. Always have something in the works to generate income.
🔸 Diversify your income: Commissions, tangible products, digital products, teaching, licensing, etc.
🔸 Prepare to test your willpower and focus everyday. You no longer have a boss looking over your shoulder. You are the boss and the employee now.
🔸 What are your options for health insurance? It’s more important than ever to be able to answer this question.
🔸 Most people are scared to make the leap into business ownership. I understand why. I like to visualize this little analogy to sum it up: Imagine a towering high rock ledge looking out over the world below. I call this the Business Cliff. If you take a leap off the Business Cliff with little to no thought, you’re going to plummet. If you do your homework and come back to the business cliff with the fancy Hang Glider of Preparation, you can have a marvelous (if not slightly terrifying) leap into business ownership.
🔸 In other good news, if you fail at your first attempt at being a freelance artist, that’s ok! It’s not over. Do what you need to do to get back on your feet in a stable financial position, figure out what went wrong, improve it, and try again when you’re ready. 💪

Maybe in the future I’ll be able to offer personalized one-on-one mentoring and online classes. For now I have a few options.

🎬 My youtube channel has lots of speedpaint time lapse videos where you can watch my painting process. Also, I host a variety of panels about art and business at various conventions.

A ‘Daily’ is something you do everyday.
For several years I was journaling and painting daily every Mon-Fri. This practice benefited me artistically as well as emotionally. My hope is that others too can experience their own growth this way.

Here are my tips for starting your own Dailies:

🔸 If you can, start by anchoring your Daily to an existing habit.
I chose to start speed painting because I’d been wanting to improve my speed for a long time and I needed something that wouldn’t take too long each day. The journaling was something I’d already been doing and the two habits just sort of merged into one. I anchored the two together. If you can find something you are already doing daily, try tying your Dailies to that established habit. The established habit helps remind you to do the new habit.

🔸 Set aside a specific chunk of time everyday to do it.
I set aside at least an hour Mon-Fri between 8:30am-9:30am. I almost always have that time available and it’s the first thing I do in the morning when I sit down to work at my desk. Setting aside this time in advance ensures you always have time to do your Daily. Then you just show up! Consistency is key to establishing long term habits in your life.

🔸 Keep a journal/schedule.
Life gets busy. Writing in a planner and/or calendar helps keep you on track with your goals. It also serves as a log so you can look back and review your progress. I check my journal several times a day to keep on track with my tasks. I find it’s easier to empty my brain onto a piece of paper and refer back to it rather than trying to keep all my thoughts, plans, tasks, and goals in my head.

Really the hardest part can be just remembering to do it. Having a schedule is my big secret. Show up everyday and do what you love. Don’t allow other distractions to hold your attention during your scheduled painting time.

I don’t do much streaming these days, but I record a good number of my paintings. You can watch them here on my youtube.

Probably no. Unless you are an artist I’ve admired for many years or a very close friend, the likelihood of this happening is slim. And even if I do want to collaborate with you, I also have to factor in my commission workload. If I’m too busy, it would be a bad call to take on a trade.

No thank you. I consider your time valuable, please extend me the same courtesy.

Absolutely! If you’ve put effort into your search (more than a few hours worth) and still can’t find an answer, I’d be happy to help.

Go for it! I don’t mind if others learn from my work. In fact I’m honored. All I ask is that you don’t post it online or claim the tracing or derivative work it as your own. Use it as a learning tool.

If you are looking for images you can modify and reference without fear of copyright infringement, search the public domain. It’s a great source to work and study from.

I’m an ENFJ. 😃 I have the passion to reach for my goals and dreams, and also the enthusiasm to encouraging others to reach for theirs too. I guess a good summation of ENFJs are analytical optimists who believe in self-improvement, strengthening their community, and applying creative problem solving.

ALL ICE CREAM 🍨

… but if I had to pick, mint chocolate chip.

Yes indeed! My husband and I said our vows in 2011.
He’s my absolute best friend. 💛

Two silly kitties 🐱🐱 and one machinating chinchilla 🐭

Besides the obvious art related ones:
🔸 Paintball
🔸 Reading
🔸 Gardening
🔸 Games
🔸 Family and friend time
🔸 Kayaking
🔸 Swimming

“Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back.
Learn to create your own opportunities.”
– Sophia Amoruso

Jetty, who’s always chinchillin’ 🍍  calm and kind GoldenDruid 💛 and a silly green deer, Avocadoe 🥑

Yup! It’s for my invention, the Ultimate Badge Lanyard, which you can find in my shop.

This lanyard has multiple built-in clips down it’s entire length. It’s made for those of us addicted to collecting and showing off our favorite badges at cons.🏅 And who knew! No one had thought of it before.

A long long LONG time ago I was known online as YellowCat. 😺 At some point I decided to give that name an ‘upgrade’. Yellow turned into Golden and Cat turned into Druid. Ta Da!

Why “Druid”? Because GoldenShapeshifter is just too much of a mouthful.