You sure have a lot of commissions coming in.

They come in bursts it seems - I usually have 2 or 3 on the boil at any one time and sometimes they are completed within a short period of time of each other. And I love collecting artwork The biggest problem is finding artists who are happy to draw the kind of things I ask - a lot are a bit wary about some of the themes from the story that I want illustrated. And others don't want to tackle things as complicated as the Vanguard are.

I don't mean to be demeaning, but they don't seem really THAT complicated. They have an extra pair of limbs and eyes, but their body is still basically humanoid...

You're not being demeaning at all. And compared with some characters they aren't overly complicated. I'm just aware that some artists have difficulty in handling a second pair of arms in a manner that looks somewhat natural. After all, most conventional dragons are effectively double-armed beasts, but for some reason they are easier to draw than regular arms for many.

I'm always on the lookout for new artists, however. So if you know of any who are accepting commissions please feel free to lay some names on me.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/faint/ <--- He would probably mesh well with the kind of art you like. Faint is awesum.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2132419/

Don't think I'll work with him again though. Took him several months and he wasn't particularly forthcoming with information when I approached him to enquire as to the status of the commission. Nothing against him personally, and I do like his artwork. Just think I'll stick with watching him rather than engaging his services in future.

I appreciate the suggestion however, thank you.

Looks good, I like it =)

They really seem to care for each other ^^

Thank you for the lovely comments The scene is one loosely based on a scene from one of my stories, brought to life by Kartos...

awrr this is so lovely and warm ^^
I love the softness in colouring and also in the character showing <3
such a warm moment <3

Aww, thanks Veny. Heh, not all the stuff I get done is dark and nasty

PS: haven't forgotten about the computer, you just need to be a little patient with me for a little longer.

Haha yeah I know, if you see my inked work in my gallery, you will be surprised ;)
I really LOVE emotional pieces which reflects back love and warmness next to my dark works ;)
BLAME my boy for this :D

Take your time with the computer and clear up everything you have to I can wait I still own many traditional pieces for my job, so I have my to-do-list still ;)
Also tanks again your kind and gentleman offer <3

Your boy has certainly helped to change your outlook on things, that's for sure. In going through your galleries you have a lovley mix of things, both darker and more happy. You express a lot of emotions in your work and that's really obvious to see.

Always love seeing new work from you <3

Cute

Heh - thanks. Makes for a nice change of pace

This is such a sweet style! And a sweet picture, to boot. It definitely made me grin, giggle and then go "awwww!" in real life. I love seeing what you commission, they're always so awesome !

I like the little waterfall in the background a lot, too. It really finishes up the composition!

This is what I love about commissioning people and leaving many of the details to them - you get some lovely little surprises like that And thank you, m'dear - it's good to get a real mix of things. The hard part is finding people who can draw good humans - they're an integral part to the stories, it's actually not all about the Vanguard

Is that a tattoo'd head on him?

No idea... artistic licence I think

Actually I've been trying to find artists who can draw humans as well, so I can get more pics of both human and Vanguard together. After all the stories I write are just as much about humans as they are demonic looking space lizards

Kartos did a great job in bringing warmth into this picture, that's for certain.

Now this has a very soft and warm feeling about it. I like how it was done :)

Heeeeeee... not all my pics are about Aliens doing awful things to kitty-kats

Awwwww....see, Vanguard can be big softies when they want to.

Awesome commission piece by the way.

Thankee, Sir The challenge is finding artists who draw humans as well as anthros. As I mentioned to WolfBlain above I'd love to get more of these mixed commissions, but it is not easy to find the artists able to do both.

If you happen to stumble across any in your travels, I'd be forever in your debt if you could point me at them

I can definitely tell you from personal experience that drawing humans is not the easiest thing to do, while the body may not be too big of a deal, I keep finding that getting the face and head down is a royal pain. Always easier to draw out fictional critters and creatures, guess that it's easier to cover up mistakes that would other wise be caught.

You might want to try out these folks by the way,

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hbruton/
I believe that she has drawn out humans before, not sure about commissions though, but great artwork still.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kaemantis/
Another really good artist, she can draw out humans really well, and I do believe that she is accepting commissions at this time.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/spunky/
I never seen Spunky draw out humans, but she has an awesome toonie style when it comes to creatures, monsters and such, I have no idea if she does commissions or not, but if she does than I bet she would do a killer job on your Vanguard guys or gals.

If I do come across any one else that does draw out both anthros and humans I'll PM you with the info.

Oooh, some good leads here, Karerease... thank you very much! Gonna go check them out now and will drop a note or two

Many years ago in a galaxy far far away I used to try and draw as well - objects and creatures ARE much easier to draw than a realistic human, annoyingly You are so right. Given that we are so familiar with them, I guess you're right when you say it would be easier to notice mistakes.

I can't possibly "daww" hard enough in a way that would do the "adorable" factor in this pic justice. I could try, but I'm pretty sure it would reach a point where I try so hard that I sound like I'm being taserd.

Lovely work on this one here. You can really feel the level of affection and trust these two have for one another. Particularly when you consider that the Vanguard is currently holding a what looks to be a twelve-inch claw against the brain-cavity of the lil' human here, and he's somehow shrugging it off as an act of affection, rather than a direct threat against his life.

Also, nice how it's a lil' erotic, yet tasteful. :)

Don't tase you, bro? It's an adorable pic, isn't it? The artist did a fantastic job of this actually, I'm really impressed. Kinda hoping that he might open up for commissions again sometime. As the human... well, not quite sure if this is a tasteful scene, or an erotic one...perhaps that's best left for the viewer to decide!
Thank you for the lovely comments, by the way, you wonderful bloke you!

What can I say? My mind is somewhat still on the "sexual gear" from some of the other pictures :P My first thought was, "I love that affection." The second was, "He'd never fit."

I'm not even sure how long I've been roving through your gallery now. However, I'm commenting. Again.

On a purely size basis, male Vanguard actually have small genitalia in comparison to their overall size. And they are self-lubricating. Where there is a will, there is a way

This pony has a will >.>

And if Rangi can do it...

Of course I'd have to find my own.

How does one hunt Vanguards? Is that included in the VanGuide?

Take down an Arbiter armed with nothing but your teeth and an attitude, and you would have to beat the Vanguard warriors off with a stick

*bites off the end of a stick of celery and chews vigorously for a few moments, thinking*

I'll need to get me some better toothpaste.

----

I've actually had thoughts of writing my own "fan story" in the Vanguard universe, involving my character and that of a Vanguard engineer, but I got the very distinct feeling that the blatant self-injection into a fan story, and the introduction of furriness would be a little odd >.> The thing with my character is that, in his story, he's the result of genetic experimentation by a somewhat militaristic sect of advanced humanity some years down the road. However, not only does that explain his furriness, but he's also used as an organic computer to run one of their space installations. I figured a Vanguard engineer would have a tough time not being fascinated with something like that X) I dunno X) It seems fun and silly at the same time.

Whoops, I hit the wrong reply link D:

May I recommend Sensodyne for sensitive teeth? And a really, really big can of industrial strength bug-spray.

And if you wanted to write something set in the Vanguard universe what is stopping you? I'm not precious when it comes to that sorta stuff Go for it, would love to see what you come up with, actually. Although not really much of a furry myself I did co-write that sort-of furry one with Sharlin (The Hunter & The Warrior). Don't think I will ever try anything like that again, but have no objections to others

DO IT!

XD I might. I'm actually reading the Sharlin story as we... comment. I expect I'll finish it later today.

I've never "co-written" anything before. What process did you guys follow exactly?

Also: wouldn't bug-spray violate the "nothing but teeth and an attitude" requirement? *practices on his pony GRRR-face at a mirror*

Warriors respect initiative in the face of overwhelming force

Most of the credit for the emotional aspects in that story you are reading now should go to Sharlin - credit where credit is due I just did lots of rewriting, editing and the sections regarding the Vanguard. Having co-written two stories, there is no simple way of doing it. But what we did for both was that I would write a section/chapter, then the other writer would write the next, all the while swapping them back and forth so he would edit my sections, I would edit his. That way it evened out most of specific distinctiveness of both of our styles to a smooth mostly consistent feel.

PUT ON YOUR GRRRRRRRR FACE, SIR PONY!!

I just finished the story, and I did enjoy it - I could detect some difference in styles but to be honest it was negligible enough to not be distracting. And I've decided I will go ahead with writing out the fan story. Problem being, I've got about 4 different intro ideas running through my head, and to be honest, I have to figure out how to.... smoothly, communicate the necessary history leading up to the actual plot.

We'll have to see how it turns out.

*makes 4 or 5 Arbiters bust into organic lumps with a sprayer of RAID reminiscent of a ghost-buster's backpack*

Prologue Finished: being revisted
Chapter outline finished: 45 chapters planned so far o.0 (expected to change as story is written)
Jaw Hurting: bit off a wee more than I could chew, but chewing vigorously!

I'll just be a dirty old man here and say "jaw hurting? Then you're not doing it right, boy!" Watch the teeth...

Quite a few people seemed to enjoy that story more, but then that is probably because it is more furry than anything else.