moondustowl's avatar

moondustowl

Fantasy Artist | Illustrator
447 Watchers652 Deviations
70.9K
Pageviews
A warm hello to all of you, my friends!
Flowers and stars - F2U  divider Pink Flower Flowers and stars - F2U  dividerPink Flower  Flowers and stars - F2U  divider 


Many of you know me from the very beginning, that has been a long time ago... others joined me on the road, sooner or later.
 Nine years ago I registered deviantArt, started sharing my first drawings online, which have all been traditional art,
as I had no skills nor tools for digital art back then.
I was so happy to be part of such a nice and friendly art community... and I still am! 

Times have changed, I've learned and practiced a lot, struggled but also been encouraged by your nice comments.
I would never forget those times, and these memories will keep me going now, when I have to make some serious decisions. 
Things are not that bad, actually... so this is no way a goodbye letter, rather a huge thank you to all my friends
who saw that little sparkle and supported me, even though there wasn't quite much interest for my works, downloadables or even commissions...

The time has come. I've mentioned before, that one day I will have to chose between my dream or to make a living. I did...
Nobody can buy food on exposure or Instagram likes, even though I highly appreciate them, I just wasn't able to work myself up on that success-ladder that could help me strive. I have to chose the longer way of getting up, putting aside what I love and working harder for an income, so that one day I could be able to take it all back up and give it another try...

I didn't give up my dream, I just put it on a long hold, as there is no other choice at the moment. 

Pixel Rose Divider 3 - Black - Bottom Right Pixel Rose Divider 3 - Black - Bottom Left  

tiny leaf l What does this mean? tiny leaf r 

I will no longer be a freelance / self-employed artist, which includes:
no more commissions for an undetermined period of time ✦
stock & print shops will be closed: Shutterstock / Envato / Society6... ✦
✦ I also unpublished my Patreon page, as it has no activity since I started my page despite the tons of stuff uploaded ✦
✦ none of my works will be available for commercial-use, as I can't get royalties for some time ✦
✦ my self-published books will become unavailable, but will republish a new edition of them as soon as I can ✦

What remains:
I will keep creating: will post drawings / illustrations as my time & powers let me do so, probably less often ✦
✦ will try to post process videos, but they will be posted far less often ✦
✦ I will try keeping my Ko-Fi creator account in case if anyone might still want to support me ✦

Pixel Rose Divider 3 - Black - Bottom Right Pixel Rose Divider 3 - Black - Bottom Left 

Why am I telling you all these?
You gave me a huge support through your kind comments & likes all over the last few years, and I don't want that any of you might think I'm going to disappear because of the fewer posts I make. I will have a hard time until I get used to my new schedule between work, family life and personal time (but just as other artists having a side job manage it, I will do so as well),
I will no way give up on art... only on freelancing as my hands will be "bound", so to say.

Lots of things happened in the last few months, some sad, personal things as well, and all the things in one just made me make this decision right now, as there is no more time for hopes and maybes...

Pixel Rose Divider - White
So just as a little summary...

I will desappear from the following places:
Society6 | Patreon | GraphicRiver | ShutterStock | Amazon | Freelancer | Curioos 

But you can still find me here:
ArtStation | Behance | Ko-Fi | Instagram | deviantArt | Tumblr | Twitter | Pinterest

Pixel Rose Divider - White 

Slowly, big changes will be made on my accounts, but I will still be here, posting and replying as much as I can....

Thank you all for believing in me when nobody did, for the encouragement you gave, and for all the strength you still give me,
so that whatever may come, I know that there is a place I can come back from time to time and people will remember me,
despite the lack of activity I may show...

I'm not giving up on becoming an artist, I'm just chosing a different, longer path to my final destination...
Meanwhile I will learn and practice more, to grow up to the level required & get a nice job in art industry.
Thank you for helping me to make this decision and not letting me give it up all at once!

Spring is the time of new beginnings, so I might be lucky to start my new journey right now....

cherry blossoms c green 
See you soon!
Keep lurking around..!

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
...so here we are at day 3 of #showyourheart ...
Nice event, nice prompts for each day!
Today's prompt: "I love you most" - aka. "A topic I love"

Wizard Hat, complete with Wizard Fire! Poof! WITCHCRAFT Wizard Hat, complete with Wizard Fire! Poof! 

That's what I really like and I'm interested in... 
I'd like to gather as much knowladge as possible, 
also faving all the possible great artworks from around the world 
as it's such a huge and interesting topic!
...and of course also drawing my own versions too...

Here are 5 randomly selected artworks from my dA favorites folders:
(enjoy them!)

   <da:thumb id="641718210"/>    Polypore by loish   Witch by armandeo64   
Strong and independent witch with 40 owls by GaudiBuendia
Pumpkins by depingo

Have a wonderful weekend!
...and don't forget to Show Your Heart...
Beating Heart Emote (Free to Use) Beating Heart Emote (Free to Use) Beating Heart Emote (Free to Use) 
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Hello Friends & Followers!

As I promised before, the time has come to clear up some things, and let you know about future plans as an artist and person...

NOTE: all the mentioned changes below will only occur in January (at the end of year or beginning of 2019)!

Let's just start at the very beginning: this is not a journal of complaint nor a cry for help. I made a serious decision regarding my carreer, future as artist & person, which involves some important changes all over my online content, so I must let you know...

When I started all this I imagined things will work out and I will manage to find clients and commissions so I can somehow sustain an artist / freelancer life, but that depends on lots and lots of things. Now as I dove in, I see the dark side of being a freelancer and I failed it. I was blinded by the feedback popular artists gave about being a freelancer, and I thought It might work... it didn't.
Still it was a great time, I had the oportunity to learn a lot and to prepare a portfolio (which still needs some additional things but at least I have something to start with) and of course I gained some basic experience of working with clients and keeping myself to strong deadlines... 
Hopefully with the experience gained in these few years I can get hired for something art related so that I can keep working in my profession (not as a saleswoman/shop assistant as before), but I'll be grateful for whatever comes because I know that it will take us closer to our dream...

Now after a bit more than three  years I will close my authorization at the end of the year (no longer being a self-employed / freelance artist) which will affect my online portfolios, sold prints & commissions and other purchasable media, as well as my donation pages (maybe). I still have to make sure which one will I have to fully close, and what kind of income can I still get as a non-freelancer...

THINGS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS CHANGE:
- PATREON : I will no longer upload exclusive content to my patreon page (first of all because I already have 3 years worth downloadable content for which nobody shows interest - this means about 3x12month work - aka. at least 36x$25 worth content prepared for nothing). So I feel that there's no point I should continue...
- PRINTS : As some of you know, I have more than 100 prints on Society6 available, but probably after giving up my authorization I will no longer be able to keep my shop open (local laws are kind of messy regarding such income). Not a big deal, didn't make quite big sales anyway...
- STOCK PACKS : My stock pages are less popular, but still have to mention. Currently I'm selling digital stock images on Shutterstock and Envato (which the same way as Society6 will probably be closed soon)
- FREE CONTENT : this does not depend on any local or global law, but after taking up a full-time job I will no longer be able to share as much free content as before. This does not mean that I will no longer post any tutorial or process video, but I will post far less than I usually did each month (of course all the free content already online will remain there, downloadable & free).
- COMMISSIONS : I will be limited by time and law as well... I will take commissions very rarely and only donationware ones as I will no longer be allowed to "sell goods & services" after closing my authorization.

THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE:
DONATIONS (KO-FI) : I'm not 100% sure but maybe Ko-Fi will be the only site I can keep after this change, as I will be able to accept donations (still not sure so keep watching for later updates regarding this).
- ART : I will still be an artist, I will share wips and finished artworks as well. I will no way disappear, will continue drawing as much as my time will let me do so... couldn't give up art for good! No way!
- SOCIAL MEDIA : I will not disappear from deviantart, nor Instagram or other social & art sites, so you can keep following me if you like my works (and are patient enough to wait for the new ones)!

---

I have to mention that this decision is permanent for long-term & I will surely not change this in the close future due to personal future plans and other struggles. I just can't stay in front of my PC waiting for a miracle to get some client work & get payed, nor that my husband struggle to pay everything while I sit at home and wait...

PS: this year I didn't make the whole amount for my taxes to be payed, so in this last month (November) I will still take commissions and keep my shops updated so if you need anything, check them out or contact me for cheap commissions!
Time is ticking...

---

HONESTLY THANK YOU all who still keep watching me / following my works (even though I will post fewer things)!
It is still a huge support for me as an artist! This decision was hard to make but would've been harder to keep staying at home and see myself achieving nothing but expecting my husband to pay all the bills and buy food... that's not fair and I won't continue this...

This is not a "last goodbye" so feel free to comment / note / ask etc. as I'll still be here, just on a different way!


Wish you all a wonderful holiday season for the coming beautiful time of winter & thank you for being here!
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Artblogcover 001 by moondustowl

HEY FRIENDS!


A few weeks ago I had a public poll on Twitter about posting monthly public art themed blogs to my ko-fi page, and people voted for it, so starting from this month (August) I'll post each and every month something related to art (you can find out more in original post linked below).

My first post highlights not only the future art themed blogs, but also scheduled artworks & freebies for each month (in general), commissions & supporter rewards, so if you are interested, make sure to check out the link below! No need to be registered or anything, just click the link & read the full post!


VISIT MY KO-FI PAGE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE!


... and maybe, if you find my freebies & blogs useful, consider sharing a cup of coffee with me, so that I can share even more goodies & reward more people for their kind donations! Furthermore, if you are a ko-fi member already and wish to switch to ko-fi gold, I can offer a MAGIC LINK so that you have a lifetime 10% off!

See you soon! :wave:
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

 .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu Hello Lovelies!  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu

Nestharon & I are facing life in it's full, with all it's happy moments & obstacles. So... after 10 years together,
now we've arrived to THAT BIG STEP in our life, which we MUST take now, but we'll need an enormously big amount of money, so I will do extra freelance work & paypal commissions and also planning to release free content of "your choice" 
(vote based as a little "reward" for my kind supporters) to gather as much as I can to be able to SAVE UP

Once you see my GOAL line on my Ko-Fi page filled
(which you can check from time to time to see I'm totally not cheating),
 you'll know, we've made it to our biggest DREAM of life with your help!
Every little support count a lot (even spreading the world)! 

You can also follow me on PATREON or subscribe to a monthly membership plan there
for some exclusive goodies (which will grow too with each smalller goal achieved)!

For all this to happen, I’ve made a much better schedule to incorporate more stuff I can share with you, to be able to spend more time on creating, writing blogs, recording videos & preparing looots and lots of goodies ( and of course, as it has always been, more than 50% of my content is and will remain FREE and accessable to everyone, everywhere )!


.:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu

Just in big, what I did & what I’m planning to do…

TAKING COMMISSIONS 
Seriously, all kinds of PayPal commissions, eventhough I have a price example, contact me for more details,
cuz those prices vary a lot when applied, I’m trying to work for an affordable price!
I need to put aside a huge amount of money, so I’m taking this extremely serious,
will work a lot on commissions, so please contact me if you are interested!
(For questions you can PM me on any social media as well)
[ zita.illustrations@gmail.com ]

MONTHLY BLOG POST 
Q&A | themes chosen by YOU | general art blogs
(feel free to comment, I’ll take in consideration all requests & questions)

MORE ART POSTS 
Seriously! I’m working more (daily - in full-time - always)
on content so that I can share more with you! I’m planning to post even more art, lots of freebies & exclusive extras too…
Creating art on a daily basis takes a lot of time & effort - of course a
TINY-LITTLE SUPPORT might be a huge help, especially now, when our life is sort of “upside-down”!

YOUTUBE VIDEOS 
As you may already know, I’m posting one full FREE drawing process video of an illustration each month,
beside the one Patron-Only video. Now, I’m planning to record more, and post more free process & tutorial videos as well.
 
PLUS: 
Sketchurdays are coming back! 
This time my sketchurday videos will be about study sketches
( anatomy, gestures, body parts, fantasy elements, hair styles, outfit …etc )
[Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you wish to stay up-to-date!]

.:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu

FOR ALL THE MOST RECENT UPDATES FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM!
That’s the No1 place where I share everything, than twitter | facebook | tumblr…

image

Always feel free to share your opinions, thoughts & suggestions! My eyes & ears are wide open and I truly hope, you’ll enjoy my new content, and with the adapted changes I can give you more of what you love!

A huge thank you to everyone who’s already following me, supporting with kind comments & sharing my art pages & important information so they get to even more people! I highly appreciate everything, as in such a crowded world of artist every little kindness counts a lot!

.:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu


Lots of love! Stay tuned! See you soon…

.:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu ♥ Have a wonderful week! ♥  .:Tiny flower:. by Chipi-Chiu

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Featured

...the winds of change... by moondustowl, journal

ShowYourHeart Day3 by moondustowl, journal

UPDATE : PERSONAL and ARTIST LIFE by moondustowl, journal

MONTHLY ART BLOGS - Schedule and General Info by moondustowl, journal

BIG STEP - NEW SCHEDULE - EVEN MORE CONTENT by moondustowl, journal