I will be at FWA and hopefully will have a spot at Artist's Alley.
I'll be bringing fanzines and swag with me; if there is something you have been looking to buy and want to guarantee that I have a copy of it with me, let me know and I can set up a preorder so you can pick it up at the con.
In addition to 'zines, I'll have coffee mugs and mousepads; check out my gumroad store at http://gumroad.com/jbernal to see the sort of stuff I have. I also have time to make custom mugs and mousepads if you are interested, just let me know.
Stop by my table and say hello!

Since I will be unable to attend MFF and have not heard back from other resellers/publishers, I am looking for someone with a dealer's table to help me sell a stack of fanzines at MFF. Will split the sales with you 50/50. If you have room on your table for 2-3 fanzines, please let me know. Thanks!

Well, the art was made for it last year but it will be new in print. I’m compiling all my succubus stuff into a fanzine for the Halloween season, and you can pre-order it here:

https://gum.co/bHBRR

There are a bunch of “new” old art packs with layered PSD files and high res images available on Gumroad now https://gumroad.com/jbernal

The new Champagne edition of GRIND is now in print at Rabbit Valley! Get them now while the ink is still hot and slippery :)

https://www.rabbitvalley.com/item/9.....-Jeremy-Bernal

The sketch-a-thon was a tremendous success! We managed to raise $1300 ($500 more than our target) for Elton and we managed to get through the entire roster of sketch requests that came in. Thanks again to TeeR, BigDad, and Charcoalmouse for generously donating their time, and all the donors who contributed their money to this event!

Here is the sketch pile from the event:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x3tk6ukt.....4A2OOdnia?dl=0

Elton needs financial help getting a new computer so a few of us are banding together for a sketch-a-thon in his benefit.
We will do a limited run of quick commission sketches for $20 each, first come first served, until we reach the goal of $800. All of it goes to Elton.
The artists so far are myself, TeeR, and BigDad. Ideally we will try for streaming it this Saturday, the 24th, beginning at 12:00 GMT-3 (11:00 EST). Time and date may change depending on when we can get everyone together.
More details at https://www.gofundme.com/elton-port.....ho-sketchathon

I made a Gumroad page to sell misc stuff and backlog things, etc. First thing up there is a sort of coloring book set of lineart, 20 pieces from the second half of 2016. DUH would help if I put a link. https://gumroad.com/jbernal

Sexyfur is not dead. It is not down. It moved to a new server. Please clear your cache and refresh if you are having problems.

 eluti did a killer new music track for my GunBunny game project, check it out here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/22596970/

It's been updated on my main page, the present order is as follows (barring 1 or 2 stragglers)
COMMISSION LINEUP:
1. wolf_2157
2. Infernium
3. Ricochet
4. Jventura
5. AlexLW
6. Lonestar
7. Kryo
8. Artica
9. Dagon
10. Hilorenzo

For those of you who are interested in a commission, please PM me with your email so I can put you on my notification list. The entire queue filled up this time just from the mailing list, which is why I did not make a public announcement.

I am hitting the road for the holidays and I will be gone for about a week, so no streaming. However, I will be able to do sketches and so I will set up the WHEEL for this purpose. So, instead of shouting out what you want to see me draw in the stream chat, do it here.
Basic rules: What the WHEEL chooses, I must draw. No OC's (unless they are mine/SexyFur characters) but cosplay of third-party OCs is OK, nothing illegal, etc. Character suggestions can be generic (example: sci-fi elephant fights giant squid). Limit 2 ideas per person. In order to keep it from getting super mega spammy, I'll limit it to the first 40 ideas. Post here in the comments.

I was excited to see the new release of Painter 2017. Why? Well, I’ve been an avid Painter user since version 6. And with each new release, it pretty much turned out that every other version was really good, and the alternating years were pretty crappy. 7 sucked, 8 was decent, 9 sucked, 10 was decent, 11 sucked, 12 was decent, 13 was so awful I didn’t touch it after the first few minutes of use and rolled back to version 12. That’s when they started turning to year versions. 2014/2015 was really good, 2016 was turned into dreck, and then I had high hopes for 2017.

And my hopes were dashed.

Version 2016 began great, with recognizably speedier brush response than 2015, but then degraded to unusable after the first patch. The main reason was that the brushes which previously loaded instantly (say, switching from an oil brush to an airbrush) suddenly took several seconds to load. I’m talking 3 full seconds sometimes. Which on a machine that is top-of-the-line with a metric ton of RAM is inexcusable. The brush resize also went from nearly instant to several seconds of time to “take.”

The pre-patch release of 2016 remains my mainstay for all my work.

First world problems, perhaps. But why add slop and lag to something that previously ran flawlessly? In my workflow I need to finish illustrations fast, and that time adds up. Not to mention it’s frustrating.

And so, I was hoping that these problems, which Corel knows about, would be addressed in 2017. Turns out I was disappointed.

At first glance it seems pretty much the same as the previous version of Painter (2016). They added some new interface organization stuff, which might be nice if it made any sense for workflow reasons. However it does not. I can accomplish most of the same organizational stuff with the pallettes in Painter 2016 that they offer in 2017. Besides I don’t need it that much.

New 2017 features = not worth it.

But how are the new brushes? Meh. Again, not worth it.

Did they fix the bug that automatically selects the topmost layer any time you move another layer? NO.

That brush loading and sizing lag will just rip out your creative heart, stomp it a few times, and leave it on the floor.

It IS, however, nice to see that the canvas view rotation got some speeding-up, as it was and is still pretty laggy in 2016. So bravo on that, but you missed the target on the rest.

To sum it up, Corel focused on adding new crap that nobody will use, and ignored fixing the bugs that plagued the second rev of 2016.

I hereby offer my kingdom to Corel if they stop adding new features that I will never use (who gives a damn about pallette drawers?) and simply make their software not lag all to hell again. I wonder if they even test their stuff on Mac? Like, actually give it to a real illustrator and get a real nuts-and-bolts review? They should be ashamed to release this. It’s unusable.

It’s clear they don’t listen to their community; I’ve been complaining about the lag problems since they squeezed out the dreadful turd of version 13. I will NOT be purchasing this version. Which will make it the first time I have stopped giving them money since the 90s.

Congratulations, Corel.

( was open for commissions but all slots are now taken. Until next time! )

I paid to renew my expiring ad campaigns (Campaign [id178] Sexyfur and Campaign [id184] Tailheat) on 7-17-16. It's been 2 weeks now and still no renewal, no reply, nothing. Can you please renew my ad campaigns? Thanks!

I have sent emails to advertising[at]furaffinity.net from several different sources, maybe they are being eaten by spam.

Please take care of this as soon as you can, or forward this to someone who can deal with it. I know it will only take a few minutes and a few clicks from your side to make it happen.

I've sent this message a few times in a few different versions over the past couple weeks to all the FA staff and been summarily ignored. Maybe someone somewhere can wave their arms and get their attention because direct messages are failing to do so.

Thanks,

-JB

Sanny is doing a YCH and I'm helping him get the word out. Have a look here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20129961/

All the talent in the world will not help you be successful with art (or any skill for that matter) unless you have time management skills. I do not want to write an entire treatise on time management, suffice it to say that there are plenty of good books out there about it. These two are the best IMHO.
Recommended Reading:

1. The Four Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss
2. Getting Things Done, by David Allen


Eliminate distractions in your workplace.
I cannot possibly describe how important this is, other than THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER.

1. Shut the door or shut the world out with headphones.
2. Turn off the phone.
3. If you share your living space with other people, have a way to inform them that you are “AT WORK” either verbally or by hanging a sign on your door, etc. so it is clear to them that you are not to be disturbed. Enforce this vigilantly. Many people assume, even though you have told them time and time again, that just because you are sitting at a computer somehow means that you are idle and your time is at their disposal. Do not let this happen or you will never get anything done.
If you do not have a door that can be shut, then housemates need to know that when your headphones are on, that is the exact same thing as shutting a door. Your “AT WORK” mode should be easily visible somehow. Doing this is good not just for keeping them away, but it also has a subconscious effect on you— when that door closes or those headphones go on, you shift to AT WORK mode.
4. Keep only things you need to do your actual work on your desk. Keyboard, mouse, tablet, pencil cup, etc. The more toys and doodads sitting around, the less you will accomplish. When you are in your office you are AT WORK.
5. Comfort is paramount. If you are too hot, cold, or uncomfortable, you will not be productive. Money spent on a fan, air conditioner, or heater and its use will pay for itself.
6. DO NOT PLAY GAMES ON YOUR WORK COMPUTER. Playing games on your work computer has several negatives: not only is it a distraction from you getting things done, it also wears you out from wanting to spend time in your workstation. People are also more likely to tweak their game machines for maximum speed, stability being secondary, and this is not good for a machine which you rely on to make your living. Your work computer should be the stable rock on which you build your empire.
There is only so much time you can sanely spend hunched over a computer. Make it count. Have a separate computer or console for your gaming, and keep it out of your workspace. That leads us to…



Your real life:
Ideally, we spend a third of our lives sleeping, a third working, and a third entertaining ourselves.

1. Keep your work life and your entertainment life separate. In separate rooms. When you are out of the office, you need to be OUT OF THE OFFICE. Do not answer work related calls or emails on your free time, otherwise it is not free time.
2. Gaming on your work computer will make you want to spend less time in your office and less time working. It’s just a fact. Don’t do it.
3. Seeing as how you spend a third of your life in it, invest in a good bed. Restful sleep is important for all things healthy, and if you do not have energy to get things done, you won’t. Beds are expensive but they are fortunately not something you need to buy every year. Think of it as an investment in yourself, your wellbeing, and your future. Because it is.
4. Sleep environment: Some people sleep much better in cold places than warm places, etc. Locate your bed somewhere with the best conditions for you. For example, I sleep best when it is cold in the room, completely dark, and I cannot sleep well without earplugs or white noise. Learn what is best for you because good sleep is the foundation of your energy level, and you need energy to get things done. Spending a few extra dollars on air conditioning to help you sleep better will pay for itself if you are well-rested and can get your work done.
5. Entertainment environment: What is the point of work if there is no reward? You need to shut down and unwind. Do it anywhere but in your office. Mental conditioning will have you in work mode when you are in your office and play mode when you are not. It is dangerous to overlay the two or keep wandering back and forth between them. Section them off physically and mentally, so that both will serve their purpose.



Efficiently upgrade your workspace:

Some things to think about: Your workspace is limited. Maximize it to get as much use out of limited space that you can. Not just your actual desk space but your monitor space as well.

It is better to make your existing stuff more efficient than it is to buy all new stuff. Your existing workspace (computer, desk, etc) are known quantities. You know when they crash, you know when they work well, you know how to use them. Shiny new computers take time to get tuned just how you like them, they all behave differently, and it will take time to get into the groove with them. Reorganizing your office on a massive scale will guarantee that you cannot find anything you need. Unless your computer is blowing smoke or your desk is falling apart, it is best to concentrate on what you have now, and make better use of it.

1. It is more effective to spend your money on a comfortable chair and desk than it is to upgrade your computer. All the processing speed in the world cannot help you if you can only sit in your workspace for a couple of hours at a time. I highly recommend Herman Miller Aeron or Mirra chairs. They are expensive but have a lifetime guarantee with free replacement parts (and I have tested this successfully, internationally even) so they will literally last you a lifetime. And for the comfort you cannot beat them.
Make sure your desk can accommodate all of your peripherals within easy reach— your keyboard, mouse, tablet, etc should all fit nicely where your hands can always reach them, and also have space to move them aside for other things if necessary. If you can’t do this, then you need to rethink your desk. Swing arms for mounting monitors aren’t good just for moving monitors around— they are surprisingly good for freeing up desk space. If you cannot afford swing arms to free up desk space, find a cheap way to remove desktop clutter with boxes or shelves.
2. Consider a second monitor and a swing arm to mount it on, to give you more computer desktop to work with. It doesn’t have to be super expensive to be effective. Hand-me-downs are great as secondary monitors. If you can afford to buy a secondary monitor the same size and resolution as your primary, do it.
3. Great minds have messy desks? Maybe true, but their workspaces must remain free of clutter. Let the junk pile up around you but the actual area you work in should be completely free of junk. clutter and other distractions that might get in your way. Better yet have a designated junk area where you let things pile up, and go through it periodically to clean and organize.
4. Make sure your computer is safe from any potential coffee or drink spills!!! I speak from experience.
5. Money spent on backups is money well-spent. Always keep backups. Of everything. Have a designated external drive.



Keeping on task:

1. Learn and use some form of GTD (Getting Things Done). Most of the book involves David Allen giving himself a long-winded pat on his own back, but the actual meat and potatoes of the Getting Things Done method works well. I myself use just a single-paper method with my to-do list, and when it gets full I recompile it into a new sheet. This paper is ALWAYS on my desk, and never covered up. That way it is always there reminding me what I need to be thinking about.
Put dates on the things you do when you do them, so that you know how long they have been unfinished or sitting idle.
2. If you find that you are restless and need frequent breaks, that is fine. Some lifehack studies suggest that we are most efficient if we work for 20 minute periods with short breaks to stand up and stretch. Setting timers for yourself is not weird or creepy. Lots of people do it.
If you take commissions, keep an organized list of what needs to be done. It should contain both the contact email and paypal/payment email of the commissioner, details on down payments, remaining balances, and a short description of the specific piece. See the file attachments for an example. Keep this somewhere visible, uncovered, on your desk. It will be satisfying to check them off as finished.
3. Do not bite off more than you can chew. Take commissions in small batches so as not to become overwhelmed. This is a good idea not just for organization but psychologically. A queue of 10 commissions you can handle. A queue of 100 is an impassable mountain looming overhead. Do not be seduced by the prospect of the money; I have made that mistake and do not care to repeat it.


Dealing with success:
(And general good guidelines for making actual wealth out of not-a-whole-lot:)
If you follow these rules as closely as you can, you will start to climb your way out of debt rapidly and accumulate what we actually call wealth. If you have no debts, then you can still work flipping burgers for minimum wage and pay the bills until you figure out something better.

1. When in doubt, invest in yourself. Take a class, read a book, learn a skill. You can never go wrong here.
2. Do not be tempted to buy all the new gadgets and geegaws. Concentrate on making your existing stuff more efficient first, or upgrading your workspace.
3. Pay down debt first before spending money on anything else.
4. Live within or below your means, especially if you have debts to pay off.
5. Never take on new debt unless absolutely necessary.
6. Save aggressively.
7. Adopt a cash-only policy: If you can’t afford to buy it in cash, you can’t afford to buy it at all. This means things as large as housing, cars, and appliances. This will allow you instant access to deals you previously thought impossible. People will take cash offers before they take bankcheck offers, and often at a surprising discount to save time (and fudge the tax reports). It also guarantees that you own what you buy, outright, no strings attached.
8. Rent before you buy, until you can afford to buy outright. (Have you ever seen a truth-in-lending statement? Over the course of a typical mortgage, people pay 2-3 times the actual value of the house. And that’s at a low interest rate.) This not only allows you to save but also leaves you options to move if you find a better deal somewhere else.
If you do buy, try to make your money when you sign the contract. This means that any profits you think you will make, you make when you buy it. A fixer-upper, for example, that you plan to live in while you renovate it, is one such example. A bank foreclosure is another. Looking for the worst place in the best neighborhood is often a great way to find a great deal— few people want to spend the effort fixing up a shabby house, but if you are handy, that time spent adds up and pays off later.
9. NEVER EVER take out a loan for school. Ever. Dumbest idea ever. You will be beholden to someone else for tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for an education that will likely be obsolete by the time you have your certificate. There are plenty of cheaper schools online and abroad that offer similar if not better educations, you just have to seek them out. You don’t want to work at a place that only hires people based on what school they attended, anyways. You want to work somewhere that hires people who are good. Better yet, you want to work for yourself! There is nothing wrong with going to school. There is everything wrong with going into debt for it.

Good news-- for those who wanted Break of Dawn posters and missed out on the first run, Sixth Leaf Clover has generously agreed to do some reprints. You can order it directly through them.

Please be sure to let them know it's for the Break of Dawn posters, specify SFW or NSFW, and what size you want. All the contact info, size, and pricing can be found here:
http://www.sixthleafclover.com/printing/

I went in not wanting to like it, because of all the hype and speculation and furry ridiculousness and Rule 34 and so on and so forth. "Oh hell, here we go, this is going to be Disney throwing gasoline on the bonfire" was what I expected. But I was wrong.

I have to say, I absolutely loved it.

To start off, it's not a furry movie. Meaning, it's not made for furries. Yes it has furries in it, but it was not made specifically for you. Sorry to burst your bubble. Disney made this movie as just another movie, and clever marketers that they are, saw how ga-ga furries would go for it, and rightly sold the ice cubes to you Eskimos. That said, they did a superb job. They didn't overdo the tired bromides that plague the fandom. In fact, I don't think I spotted any at all. Maybe they were careful to avoid them? Maybe they just did a stand-up job on the whole thing. Whatever they did, the recipe was just right.

Not just because it was longer than most of their animated features at 108 minutes. I think what made it is that they actually strayed from their tried-and-true-but-oh-so-tired "here is a stereotype character with hopes and dreams, ACTION!" and went for more of a "here is a stereotype character with hopes and dreams, and THIS IS WHY THEY ARE WHO THEY ARE, and this is why they are fighting to get past those stereotypes." Actual backstory, however brief, gives you a much closer connection to the characters and makes them more believable. Internal and external conflicts? WHAT PLANET AM I ON?! Bravo, Disney, Bravo.

Also of note, and things you will never ever see, was the care taken to localize the movie for the audience. I saw it in Spanish dub, and instead of just providing a subtitle or ignoring key elements of the story or environment, they actually changed the art and signage in places in order to not shit on their audience.

The environments are overflowing with detail, so much so that it's probably well worth getting the DVD to pause it and look through all the stuff they hid in the background.

Nick Wilde, as cool a character as he was, features as more of a secondary/sidekick role. I would have liked to see him bucking the system more than he was, but he still pulled off the role of an efficient, roll-with-the-punches, dead-inside, world-weary con man. Maybe they were just doing a good job in not supplying him with any shits to give.

Judy Hopps, I very much wanted not to like. I am not fond of cops and all they stand for, and oh no, will you really torture me with another Disney die-cast Pollyanna character? Thank you for breaking the mold. Judy goes into her job as a police officer with all the gusto of a stereotype rookie boyscout, and immediately has the carpet pulled out from under her, assigned to meter maid duty. She is put in her place, and receives a rude awakening to the realities of the world she lives in.

One thing I liked about the setting is that everyone has their ideas of what Zootopia is, and should be (just like Utopia), and in a dystopian twist, it is revealed that all is not what it seems. Zootopia is presented as a place where everyone gets along in peace and harmony, but the predators, a minority, are actually treated as second-class citizens.

Without spoiling too much (and stop reading here or do not whine to me that I spoiled it for you even though I am not), it turns out that a rash of missing person mysteries are predators who have gone feral. Judy and Nick work together to find out why.

Judy, in her attempts to blow the whistle on the plot before knowing the full story, fractures the fragile balance of tensions in the city, and ruins things for everyone.

And in the end, it is revealed that the majority wishes to sieze and consolidate power by any means necessary to bring into being their own twisted version of Utopia. Distrust of the government in a Disney flick!? Be still my beating heart!

In summary, go and see it; it’s a great movie. Just don’t expect it to be “furry” simply because it contains “furries.”

A few weeks ahead of the US and a month ahead of the UK. Chances are I will see something slightly different than you will see, as was the case with Prometheus and a few others. But anyhow, I'll be sure to spoil it completely for you tomorrow :) The Chilean market is of interest to movie publishers because they can drop an early release there, sniff around for commentary, and then do some last-minute edits to prep it for the main release.

Wow, a quick batch of viral bronchitis turned to a fullblown walking-pneumonia lung infection in 2 days' time.

I'll get back to things like counting up poster orders and figuring out who won the caption contest in a couple more days once the antibiotics kick in. I hope. Until then it's Fun with Fevers ™ and coughing up lumps of camouflage claylike substance. MMMMMm delicious.

If you would like a poster of this image ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/18844403/ ) then here is the deal:

I will be printing these through SixthLeafClover since she does an awesome job with her large print service.
Base cost for 24x36 inches is $25. If more than 10 people order, the per-poster cost is reduced to $20. Shipping is as follows:
Flat rate of $5 per shipment to anywhere in the United States.
Flat rate of $10 per shipment to anywhere in Canada and Mexico.
Flate rate of $15 per shipment to anywhere else in the world.

Let me know here if you are interested, and PM me your details (address, email, paypal). I'll take deposits for full price and if we go over the 10-unit count for special pricing, I'll send you back the difference. I'm not making any profit on this (but hey if you want to include a tip I won't complain!)

PLEASE specify if you want this SFW version or the nude version (both girls seem to have lost their bikinis).

CUTOFF DATE: Technically these will always be available on request, BUT... there will not be the possibility of a bulk discount for individual orders after this. So I'll say last call for this batch will be Jan 30, anything after that will be full price without possibility for discount.

I sent my advertising renewal money in for ad banners here for SexyFur.com and Tailheat.com on the 26th of December. I understand that the holidays are busy times, but all it takes is reading an email and clicking a few things on a screen to reactivate it. I have yet to receive confirmation of the renewal despite payment; I have emailed you twice and gotten no response. Sorry to post it here where it may be "louder" but private messaging has failed.

The traffic from FA's ads is important to me and my art team.

Can you please reactivate my ad banners ASAP? Thanks!

I don't know why you would be inspired to post a dozen false pledges in the highest tier of someone's Patreon. It's not like we're dumb enough to spend that money before it's sent out. Plus, all you do is make the particular patreon page look more desirable because it's got more folks backing it.

So thanks for the boost to my real customers! Bet you don't find it so funny that you actually helped me.

I have a tier in my Patreon where folks get randomly chosen to decide what I specifically draw. They could choose one of my girls, they could choose one of theirs, subject matter is really sort of irrelevant. So while the end result is available to the people in the higher tiers, it's not technically a raffle since there is no one single winner. I guess it could technically be treated like a commission but it's not quite a commission but it still sort-of is. Kind of hard to classify. It's one giant grey area, which is why I'd like your input on what to do with it.
Thing I am wondering is... should folks who win the "raffle" treat it like a commission or not? For example, should reposting the image by the winner be considered gauche or not? I don't know how to feel about it but then again I never specifically defined it as a commission, never set any real rules about it so I can't say they *can't* but I also don't want to be a dick and dump too many arbitrary rules on it either. What are your thoughts?