Some of you may have seen this video floating about, since it seems to be one of those 'videos of the now' in rat communities, 'cute' communities and such.
[link]

Since it is currently so popular, I'd like to just let people know that this kind of preadator/prey interaction is totally and utterly irresponsible. I've been meaning to write about this subject for ages, so this seems an ideal time.

A lot of people, it seems, don't see an issue with mixing a rat with a cat, or a dog, or even a smaller rodent. But what they fail to grasp is that no matter how well you think you know your cat or dog, animals are never 100% predictable. I don't deny that this cat seems quite chilled out around the rats, but its a fucking cat, and they're not known for their patience or restraint when it comes to their instincts. Cats are super quick, and it would take that cat seconds to fuck up that rat if it wanted to, far quicker than any human could intervene.
I don't care if there is only a 1% chance of that happening, its 1% too much.

The crux of this issue, to me, is that this kind of interaction is completely UNECESSARY. This is not done for the welfare of the rat, or the cat, as both can live perfectly happily without ever meeting one another. This sort of thing is done purely for the 'aaaw' factor.
Responsible owners do not take risks on their animal's safety unless it is utterly unavoidable. We don't put rats through surgery unless we have to, because there are always risks of them not pulling through, for example.
If something is done in the name of the animal's welfare, then it can be argued that it is a risk worth taking. But this? This is not for the benefit of either animal.

Im not even saying that cat is a horrible cat who will kill the rat, definately. It probably won't, it seems quite comfortable later on in the video (doesn't look too happy at the beginning though). But if you pretend that there isn't any chance of that happening at all, then you're being incredibly naive and ignorant.
Animals aren't 100% predictable. Hell, PEOPLE aren't 100% predictable, and at least we speak the same language as one another!

I have known people who owned rats and dogs that they allowed to interact like this, and in at least one case that I can remember, it ended in disaster. The dog and rat had been 'friends' for over a year, no signs of any problems with it. Then one day, out of the blue, the dog turned and killed the rat. No obvious provocation, no obvious explanation, it just acted on impulse and instinct, as animals tend to do, and ratty was no more.
And this was an owner who was absolutely adament that her animals were totally safe with one another. Suffice to say, she will never mix her predators and prey again.
Its just sad that it took that sort of incident for her to wake up and realise.

The bottom line is that when you cannot predict an animal's behaviour 100%, there is always a risk there.
When you have a pet, you have a responsibility to keep it safe and NOT put it at unecessary risk. Thats your job as a pet owner. Domestic rats are trusting and they rely on you to cut out the dangers in their lives. They do not have as sharp a self preservation instinct as a wild rat (a wild rat would rip this cats throat out!)

And just so we realise, it also goes both ways.
Mixing rats and larger predators like cats and dogs is a bad idea, but similarly, mixing rats with other small caged pets is equally bad.
Rats are themselves predators. In the wild, they commonly kill and eat mice, voles, frogs, small lizards, birds, anything big enough for them to take down. They're omnivores, and they hunt their food a lot of the time. Unfortunately, I've seen my own rats kill and eat wild mice that ventured into their cage.
So putting a rat with a guinea pig, gerbil, mouse, hamster etc is just as irresponsible as the video you see above. Rats have even been known to kill baby rabbits!
There was a story floating about the rat communities some years back about a girl whose pet rats escaped their cage one night, and Killed her pet chinchillas. She was obviously distraught by this, and I remember it being a horrible story to read.

Im just saying that when a risk is taken that is NOT for the animal's benefit and is totally avoidable, it cannot be considered responsible ownership.
I would never put my rats at any risk that could be avoided an... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/22326420/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/22326420/ Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:03:37 PST

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

my absence

I, since december the 1st, have been working 2 jobs. This accounts for my lack of art recently. Prior to this, I had one job, an evening job. I could work on art for a while during the day, and late nights when I finished work.
Now, I have my evening job, but also a day job too, plus the ever present rat care, which is a full time job in itself almost. So my time is quite limited now.

In the evenings, Im still doing tech at the theatre, but during the day, I work as an assistant vet nurse at the practise in my town. This is a stressful, active job in which I have to learn everything about animal nursing while I go along, from labs and blood tests, to in patient care, surgical instruments, dealing with clients, medical procedures etc
I was lucky to get this job, as dozens of people applied, but only 4 were chosen. There is the potential for me to possibly become an actual vet nurse in this position. This is the work I want to do ultimately, but in a shelter rather than a vet's. Its a fantastic opportunity for me to get closer to that goal.
I work on shifts: lates one week (1:30pm - 7ish) and earlies the next (8:00am - 1:30pm) while still keeping my evening job, which often starts at 8:00 in the evening. To put it basically, on late shifts, I can finish work at the vet's, then have just enough time to get home, get changed, have a fag and a cup of tea, then be at my other job less than an hour later.
There have been several days when I've not even had the time to eat at all until gone midnight when I finish at the theatre.
On earlies, I have to be up at 6:30am in order to get up and make the half hour walk to the vet's in time for 8:00am. And when you take into account that my evening work often doesn't finish until midnight, or often later, it gives you an idea of how hard it is to find time to sit for the hours needed to get going on an art piece.
And still eat, sleep and give my rats attention.

I am still doing art, but it is taking me a lot longer on each piece as I no longer have the time to sit down and devote 6+ hours at a stretch to one piece. I have to work on it for 30 minutes here, an hour there, whenever I can.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21496588/ Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:09:31 PST

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

rat pics for teh artists

Just to let people know that if anyone is ever in need of reference pictures of rats for their art, my rat photo journal is here:

[link]

feel free to ref any of my guys/gals if it helps.
I know things like ratty feet, hands, noses and such can be tricky without refs. I use my kids all the time for help with my art, so thought I'd offer them up to help others who might be rat-less.

If you need a specific pose or something, I can *try* and get them to pose for you, and send you a photo, but theres never any guarantee they'll play along

Cred isn't a necessity (but its always good form to mention when you use photos in art anyway) but if you wanna link to the journal for the sake of other artists who may find use in it, that'd be cool.

And it should go without saying that I'd rather people not use my pics for reference for anti-rat/rat cruelty pictures. I can't really do anything about it, but....y'know.....respect.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21483391/ Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:55:11 PST

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

oh LOL

Im not feeding the trolls....There are more important things.

Here is a thread about carl:
[link]


Seriously, Carl matters INFINTATELY more than people's E drama right now.
He's in with me right now, on a gluten free diet to try and figure out whats making him so ill He's having baths in malaseb twice a week, and having his steroid cream and eye drops, and his eyes have definately improved, but hes still very thin and his skin is still not right. I hope that now he's away from the group, he'll get a chance to put on weight as he doesn't have to compete for his food. I hate having to keep him alone, though. Its horrible. But its hopefully only temporary until we figure out whats wrong.
The vet has tried everything, he's been back and forth so many times and nothing seems to work.
Steroids, vitamin A drops, antibiotics, creams, shampoos, anti-histamines, coupled with his tumour removal surgery, and he's almost LIVED at the vet of late! But Im not going to give up on him until I know we've tried everything.
Cutting out gluten is just one more attempt to isolate what this is. A long shot, and difficult since all commercial rat foods contain gluten!
He's living on gluten free baby food, fresh veg, fruit and scrambled egg right now.


Someone has given me the email of a lady who rescues bull terriers and deals with skin conditions a lot, so Im hoping to contact her and see if she has any advice. I've also emailed debbie duccomen, as a last resort.
No rat people seem to have a real answer for me. But we'll keep trying. You don't give up on your kids. He deserves the very best.
If anyone has advice, or knows people with a lot of rat knowlege who they can pass this on to, please do!

Stamps

~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21472511/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21472511/ Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:16:12 PST

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Character meme

Because everyone else is doing it.....

Name a character that you know I write/draw or have written/drawn, and I'll tell you:

a. What initially prompted me to write/draw them.
b. One of their best traits.
c. One of their worst traits.
d. How easy/difficult I find it to write/draw the character.
e. The moment where I feel that I truly captured the character.
f. My plans to write/draw the character in the near future.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21355745/ Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:22:16 PST

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Jigsaw vs Billy

One thing the peeves me?
People who make characters that are supposed to be Jigsaw, but base them entirely on Billy.
Billy:
[link]

Jigsaw:
[link]

No, its not a big issue, but put Jigsaw into the DA search and look how many characters that are based on him are ACTUALLY just based on Billy.
I know its the OBVIOUS markings to use for a Jigsaw character, but....they're seperate characters, really.
I'd love to see more people base Jigsaw characters actually on Jigsaw rather than Billy. Make em all pale and sickly and apathetic.
Search Jigsaw on DA and my horrible, dying rat is like the only 'based on Jigsaw' character that IS actually based on Jigsaw.

Meh. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

Stamps

... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21278015/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21278015/ Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:53:51 PST

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Ref sheets

I will, eventually, be re-doing most, if not all, of my characters reference sheets.
Not because their designs have changed, but because I feel Im a slightly more polished artist than I was when I did them originally, and I'd like to add more details to the sheets too.
They were originally done just to get the characters down on paper, and provide some sort of ref for commissions and trades and such, and aren't as involved as I'd like them to be, but they were the first refs I'd ever really done and I wasn't as comfortable with the idea of them as I am now.

This obviously excludes characters like hamilton and co, because they're fairly recent anyway.

I saw SAW 5. Not enough Jigsaw (as expected). But still ok.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/21218080/ Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:19:29 PDT

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

DRAMA HO!!!

Because someone has to present the 'other side'.

Take a look at this screenshot from the journal of deviant (screenshot because she tends to delete journals at the drop of a hat):


[link]

You'll see that I have been added to this 'blacklist'.
According to her, the people on this list are there for'harrassment', being'stupid', 'causing drama', or being 'ignorant'.

I'd like to make it known that the majority of deviants on that list have not done, or been, any of the above. In fact, most of the people there, myself included, were guilty of only one crime: not kissing her arse.

Jess is a major dramawhore, to the point there is serious speculation about whether, despite her protests, shes actually enjoying this. She is one of these deviants who flip out at other people for the heinous crime of having a character with the same colours as one of hers, or a coincidentally similar marking. She has threatened to 'sue' people online for ''slander' because they didn't worship the ground she walks on. She does not know the difference between a trademark and a copyright, despite having it explained to her countless times by the people she then went on to block.

She has a bitch fit about the amount of 'drama' following her about (which is clearly PURELY the fault of her opposers, and nothing to do with her behaviour at all) but does everything she can to encourage it, including posting journals aimed at her opposers every 10 minutes, posting a 'IM LEAVING!!! BRB!' journal, implying her watchers and supporters are whiney, pulling the internet tough guy act of 'mess with me and I'll make your life a living hell', and so on and so forth.
She complains excessively about people copying or stealing her art, but has proudly admitted she sees no problem in stealing Avatar skins from second life without the artists permission.

She cannot take any critisim of either her art or behaviour, which is what has led her to blacklist so many people.

Most of these people, myself included, did nothing but explain to her that she sort of brought the drama on herself by continuing to allow herself to be baited. Many of us simply gave her advice on how to get people to leave her alone.
Feel free to browse my activity, you'll see whatever comments I may have left her, I have nothing to hide. I did not harrass her, I did not call her names, I did not spam her, I did not troll her. I merely advised her how to get the drama to lessen.

The point of this? The people she is blacklisting are not being given the chance to explain what really happened, and merely being touted as spammers and trolls by her, which most of them are not.
Be aware, this person is childish to an extreme, stubborn, pretty ignorant about a lot of things, and seems to have a horrible sense of entitlement.

I cannot tell anyone what to do, but I advise you to look further into what this person is really like if you watch her. She has no respect for her watchers or supporters, and will blacklist you in a heartbeat if you dare say anything that might even be possibly edging toward maybe being less than complete adoration.

Stamps

... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/20773227/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/20773227/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:39:29 PDT

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Update

I've been quiet lately. I have plans, I have plans for retrovertigo, I have commissions and a trade to do, Im on all of it, you know what I mean? My day is consisting of sleeping, working and rat tending.
My grandad died a week or so back (Im fine, please don't give me sympathy, it makes me feel awkward) which Im only mentioning as its made things a bit tough at home. Well....very tough. Im in one of those 'lack of inspiration' kinda pits right now. Be patient with me. Stuff will get done.

And just....jesus, shut the hell up. You know who you are.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/20436926/ Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:53:54 PDT

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

When commissioning me....

Just a few things to note for when commissioning me.
These aren't aimed at anyone in particular; they are things I've noticed from several different commissioners over time.

1. I charge in UK pounds. This is because I am English. It makes sense to charge in the currency you use, yes? I don't see many US residents pricing in euros, for example!
And with paypal making it so easy for people to pay in any currency they wish, there is no reason not to.
Please do NOT pay me in US dollars.
Paypal allows you to pay me in pounds, so please do so. This is because if I charge, say, £5 for an icon, and you convert it to the equivilant in dollars and pay me $9, Im actually not getting the full amount for my work and am being underpaid. It may only be by 30 or 40p, but thats a lot when I get paid an average of only £2 an hour for a commission anyway!
If I am paid in dollars, I will reject the payment and request pounds as there is NO REASON for someone to not pay me such. Please understand.

2. It is not my job to convert my prices into US dollars for you. Several people have asked me to do this. There are currency converters on google that you can use to turn any currency into any other currency and find out for yourself just as easily as I can. Im not sure why I have to be the one to do this; we both know how to use google.
When I commission someone from the USA, I always use a currency converter to figure out what the cost will be in my own currency. Its your responsibility to do this, not mine.

3. Please give me details! I find it very hard to do a commission if people are vague, or else completely lacking in details of the character. Just telling me 'its a blue wolf with white on its face' is really no use to me at all. Where is the white? What shade of blue is the wolf?
Im not telepathic, and unless you're a friend already, chances are I've never even seen your character before so you need to really let me know a lot about them, its like Im meeting a whole new person. Personality? Would they likely be grinning inanely or growling menacingly? Personality of the character is vital to me in being able to draw them right. A physical description is obviously important, but to me, a personality description is just as important.
Obviously I probably don't need back stories or who their mother and father was, but I do like getting as much info about the character as possible, otherwise I feel Im kinda working blind.
I don't have a problem with people leaving certain details up to me if they're not sure themselves, but people must be aware that if no details are given, I WILL be forced to just do what I personally think looks best.
If you're cool with this, no problem.
If you're not, you really do need to make sure you tell me everything you want otherwise don't blame me for improvising.

4. Contact me! I know internet is unstable, and we can lose usage of it, or else get ill and no be online, but if at all possible, please try and keep in contact with me regarding your commission. I will email you until Im happy with the idea you want, and then send you a sketch for approval before I begin inking and colouring. Its not unheard of for me to have a commissioner seemingly drop off the face of the earth after the discussion stage, or after the sketch stage, then come back a month later to carry on with things as if there was never any delay.
I find this a bit awkward. I have a mood disorder, and as such, my creativity and inspiration for pieces of art come in fits and starts and I can't predict them. It can be a bit disheartening to be all raring to go on a commission, then have the person disappear for ages. By the time they come back, my inspiration for that piece might have disappeared.
Of course people are paying customers and have the right to take as long as they choose to get back to me, this is more just a favour.
It makes it easier for me if I can be contacted consistently and without month long gaps in between!

Thanks for listening.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/20385628/ Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:43:18 PDT

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Facebook

Im on facebook, just in case anyone wanted to add me.
Im Ziggy Ziggles.

Im also on myspace but I don't tend to add people I don't know well on there, so facebook is best.

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/20276608/ Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:17:38 PDT

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Commissions open

Just a head's up that commissions are open.

This page here should tell you all you need to know, but if it doesn't, just note me!

[link]

Stamps

http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/20253050/ Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:27:39 PDT

Website | Character refs | Commissions/trades |

Species change

species change, a first!

So, some of you might remember this character, Oreztar:
[link]

Some of you may not, primarily because I think I've only ever drawn her twice. And thats because I just wasn't feeling the whole lioness thing. Don't get me wrong, I love them as animals, but I wasn't very bonded to her as a character. She was created for usage at TLKFAA, but I wasn't ever crazy about her design, and had trouble getting the urge to draw her.

So, for the first time ever, Im changing the species of an existing character of mine, completely. I generally don't like to do that once a character is drawn up, but I think I'd get more usage out of her this way.
Much as I love felines, I just wasn't feeling like she represented me well. My personality is much more canine, for better or worse.

So, Oreztar is now an African Wild dog.

I find their design much more appealing from an artistic point of view, and I feel I can go a bit more crazy with the colouring without seeming too over the top, them having such zany markings as it is.

Hopefully, I'll get time to draw her up soon. She may even have an anthro version too, we'll have to see how it pans out.

Opinions?

Stamps

~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19768923/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19768923/ Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:43:04 PDT So SO fucking sick. Canines in general, actually.
What the fuck IS it about these animals? Whats so amazingly special about them? Why does every second submission in the digital animal section have to be a canine of some kind? Why does every second furry you run into on second life have to have a canine avatar?
I seriously dont get it.
I mean, I like canines. Shit, I LOVE wolves. Im a therian, I probably have more of a connection to canines than 95% of people drawing nothing but doggies. I even draw the occasional canine myself, and OMG I have a wolf avatar on secondlife.
But I draw and play with canines no more readily than I'd be prepared to draw or experiment with any other species. To be brutally honest, I'd be just as happy drawing nothing but rats, but I DO branch out into other species just for the sake of learning something new as an artist.

And I don't even have a problem with someone having a gallery that is 95% canine art. After all, I have a gallery that is 95% rat art, so it'd be a bit hypocritical to slam someone else who has a favourite subject too.
But what I can't understand is why there are so MANY people who are just interested in wolves/dogs. While I can see the appeal of canines, hence my own canine characters, I can't understand why that appeal is so huge that they're pretty much all you see in newest uploads, and why it takes precendent over all other species.

Is it that people had dogs as pets when they were kids, so they grew up around canines and they are familiar/safe to them? I never had a pet dog, never have had. I had cats though, and you don't see my gallery full of feline art so no, Im not buying this reasoning.

What I think the reason is, and feel free to debate with me if you have a better reason, is that EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. And thats what pisses me off.
I have no problem with people drawing something excessively if they GENUINELY, deeply, truthfully adore that animal to that extent. There are several artists who clearly have a very deep love of canines above all other animals, just like me with rats, and I have no problem with those people.
But I genuinely think that a lot of people only draw canines because its the done thing, its 'what you do', its popular.
Sometimes perhaps its not even a conscious decision, but they're just influenced by the art they see around them, which is always canine centric.

And its not just the whole canine thing itself; its the TYPES of canines.
Its always the fucking grey wolf species, the red fox, or, if its a domestic canine, then its a husky or a malamute or an akita, or something that looks like a wolf anyway.
Can we not even have variation WITHIN canines, if we must draw them?
The crab eating fox, curious little thing, no one chooses that. The andean wolf, rare, elusive, mysterious, cool looking. The raccoon dog (though not a TRUE canine, near as damn it) GORGEOUS little things, with a lot of potential for artistic modification.
Hell, even some of the more obscure domestic dog species. How many people have an old english sheepdog fursona compared to those with huskies? How many people have a boston terrier, a chihuahua, a pug, a cairn terrier, a basset hound? The canine family is SO huge, with so many vastly different looking members, that is seems ridiculous that people just stick to a small group of them.

I will happily admit I skip right past the vast majority of newly uploaded art that features wolves or huskies or foxes. There is just.......nothing that art can do for me. Most of the time its the same subject matter (either emo whining angst pics, native american shaman stuff or sparkledogs doing some OMG CRAZY STOOF!!!) and usually its drawn in the same style (either huskie rip off fur texturing, goldenwolf style, or for the sparkledogs, usually balto/anime rip offs)
Interestingly, of the huge amount of people drawing canines, so few are actually drawing them in a unique style. Now, I know its hard to be unique, especially when so many other people are drawing the same subject matter, but there seems to be just 3 or 4 styles which are used constantly. Surely we can be a little more original than that?
I know uniqueness isn't everyone's interest; some people don't care about that.
But Im sure we all want our art and characters to be recognisable and memorable, don't we?

I mean, I draw rats, but as far as I can see, I don't draw rats like anyone else. I know its a lot easier for me, as so few people do them anyway its a lot easier to be individual within that field, but my 'style' of drawing rats comes directly from studying the actual animal, and then 'cartoonising' it. I don't leech ideas on how to draw rats from anyone else, because I don't HAVE anyone else to turn to!
Aside from the rats of nimh, and recently ratatouille, there are n... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19636790/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19636790/ Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:22:33 PDT It sucks to have people greet me as 'hi ziggy!' when Im playing as Kyuss, or whitey, or whoever.

Any ideas?

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19588256/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19588256/ Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:21:59 PDT

[link]

[link]

As you can see, it aint great.
Im basically wondering if anyone could make this look a bit more like Raseri, offer me some tips or tricks (because I am genuinely a complete secondlife imbecile. I can modify to a tiny extent, but not anything fancy) or even tell me if its POSSIBLE.
I'll pay money, either in game or real, to anyone who can make this look like Raseri.

The body shape is actually ok, its just the markings. I need to get rid of the white tattoo-like markings and make the face blaze look less......slapped on. She needs a white belly and chin too. I know there probably isn't much that can be done, but if anyone can help me, I'd be grateful!!!

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19233822/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19233822/ Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:04:44 PDT [link]

Also, I've sketched all of my commissions up now and sent the sketches to the commissioners for approval before I can progress. However, I did this perhaps 4 or 5 days ago, and on FurAffinity, as this was where all my commissioners contacted me from originally.
But FA is down, as we all probably know, so if anyone on there who has commissioned me also has an account here, note me and I can send you the sketch here instead as I don't know how long it'll take FA to get back up.
I have the sketches sitting here, but can't go any further until I get people's approval

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19184662/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19184662/ Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:17:58 PDT I went with Cibex's suggestion and that seems to be working well for now so I think I'll stick with that.
Will keep all the others in mind though in case anything goes wrong.

What Im currently looking for right now is a way to put a link onto one's webpage which is difficult to find.
I have a couple of 'secret' DA accounts, basically, and want to be able to upload the art I do for them to my website, BUT I don't want them to be just stuck in with my SicPuppy art as, obviously, everyone will know my secret!
I'd like to make a link to said galleries that you have to search a bit to find, or that is otherwise hard to come by.
I don't mind people seeing the art, but I want it to be a bit of a challenge, if you know what I mean. Like, if you were lucky enough to stumble on it, or find it, you get to see the art and my secret self.
Make sense?
How do I go about doing that? Whats a good way of putting a secret link on one's website, other than just making it the same colour as the background and making it tiny?

Also, I am planning to do something with the retrorats DA account soon. Im off work tonight so have some time to mess with it.
I just want to double check one more time that everyone in retrovertigo doesn't mind having their pictures uploaded to the account, obviously with full credit and links.
I want it to be a resource for anyone who wants to look up the rats in the group. This means any picture containing a retro rat would be put there, not just refs.

I want to make sure this is ok with people before I begin uploading them.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19181245/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/19181245/ Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:56:43 PDT
Thanks!

Also: [link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18888845/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18888845/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:08:53 PDT
[link]


I’m sick to death of seeing people say crap like 'Josh should be ashamed of himself, he earns all this money from those fans and he treats them like that, if I were that kid's parents I'd sue' etc etc

For a start, what kind of prick goes to a gig just to abuse the performers? That is NOT a 'fan'. I don't know what your definition of 'fan' is, but to me, it’s not someone who goes to their gigs just to fuck them up for everyone else, and the performers.

The kind of people who get up in arms about Josh's reaction are the people who have never fucking played in a band, or been an entertainer. Being heckled, or having things thrown at you, is NOT NICE, no matter what level of success you reach. Everyone has the right to go to work without fear of being physically assaulted by the people they're trying to entertain.
In any other job, if you had something thrown at you by one of your customers for no reason, you could sue that cunt for all they're worth.
It doesn't become acceptable just because you're a musician.
People defending this kid are basically saying that as musicians, we should put up and shut up and accept our abuse with good humour.

What other occupation is expected to do that? How insulting to entertainers the world over that we should be expected to put up with that.

Josh was ill, he was simply doing his job, which is to entertain. Just because he is successful and gets paid a lot for what he does, since when does that mean he is obliged to put up with abuse? I wouldn't, and I bet if any of you people were in your place of work and had someone come up and lob something at your head, you'd kick off too. Especially if you were feeling shitty to begin with. Josh is the kind of guy who soldiers on through illness and refuses to cancel gigs when he's sick as he doesn't want to let his fans down. He's actually collapsed on stage before because he continued on through illness just to avoid letting people down.
He doesn't need to do it for the money; he does it for his fans.
And pricks like that show their appreciation for that by throwing things at him?

That kid deserved everything he got, and more. I still can't understand the mentality of going to see a band just to abuse them. If you don't like them, why on earth would you waste your time and money going to see them?! What kind of brainless cunt are you?

There is absolutely NO defence for that kind of disrespect for performers. Musicians and entertainers in general get a really bum deal with regards to working conditions. You don't go into a mechanics and chuck a spanner at their head. You don't go into a kitchen and pour ravioli over the sous chef. You don't go into a convenience store and bung a tin of beans at the head of the cashier. Why should musicians be expected to put up with it then when they, like any other job, are just trying to make a living?

The fact that Josh has a lot of money and fame makes NO difference to how he should expect to be treated. QOTSA, and Josh in particular, are extremely loyal to their true fans. But that kid was not a fan. He was a pussy, and I wish Josh had ripped his head off and spat down his throat. Cunt.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18871057/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18871057/ Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:42:35 PDT Im sleeping a lot, and trying to go to bed earlier as I feel shitty, so may not be as punctual with replying to notes or comments for a while.

Obviously Im still working on commissions, but just so you know, if you don't hear back from me instantly. I read everything I get but may take some time in replying.

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http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18771385/ Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:37:07 PDT
[link]

This is an overlay I threw together in seconds.

Come on people. If you get caught for tracing, the best thing to do is just say 'ok, I did trace it, I wasn't aware it was against the rules, I'll remove it'.
Shit, no-one could hassle someone if they were that upfront about it.

But when people continually harp on about how its SO not a trace, even though the lines match up 99%, and a friend of this person also has a gallery full of line art that also matches up to screenshots 99%, you just make yourself look an even bigger pillock.

Yes, some people can eye-ball well. Im actually pretty good at it myself. I can look at a photo, and manage to get my sketch of it pretty close to the original a lot of times if I really concentrate and am going for that kind of reproduction (I just see things as geometric shapes rather than actual body parts or whatever, which makes it easier to get something looking like it does on the picture to draw the shapes that form it) But shit, NO-ONE can get lines to match up like that without tracing. NO-ONE.

Now her little hug-box friends are noting me telling me Im SOOO MEAN for pointing out her tracing, and that its none of my business, and that they actually watched her draw it from scratch etc, all the usual bullshit that tracers say. Oh how many times I've had a 'friend' of a tracer pop out from a nearby rock and pull the old 'I'VE WATCHED HER DRAW IT MYSELF!!!!'.
Obviously, I've been blocked, which all art theives resort to.

I must add, I was very polite when I first pointed out that it seemed to be traced, as I know some people genuinely don't realise thats not allowed. Had it been removed there and then, there would be no more issue. But when people insist on soldiering on with their theft, and personally, I find it a bit offensive that people honestly think I, or anyone else, is dumb enough to believe that kind of pap.

Learning to draw for yourself isn't hard if you have the passion for it. In fact, its a pleasure.
If you don't have the passion for it, leave it to those who do.

For a last giggle, check out this extract of one comment I was given by one of her brown-nosers:
"I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS IS NOT THE SAME FROM THE SCREEN SHOT. THE OVERLAY MAY SHOW THAT IT'S THE SAME BUT THAT DOES NOT IN ANYWAY PROVE ANYTHING!!!!"

THE OVERLAY MAY SHOW THAT IT'S THE SAME BUT THAT DOES NOT IN ANYWAY PROVE ANYTHING!!!!
THE OVERLAY MAY SHOW THAT IT'S THE SAME BUT THAT DOES NOT IN ANYWAY PROVE ANYTHING!!!!
THE OVERLAY MAY SHOW THAT IT'S THE SAME BUT THAT DOES NOT IN ANYWAY PROVE ANYTHING!!!!

Fuck, Im about to piss myself laughing.


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http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18747684/ Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:58:22 PDT That’s these guys here: [link]
Thought I'd explain a bit more about them as people occasionally ask.

As we know, I’m a bit erratic when it comes to mood. As such, I have a tendency to create characters to represent certain mood-states that I’m in, as they can be so wildly different from one another. One character would never be enough for me as I can be like two different people depending on my mood, so why not have several different species to show that?
I have Ziggy as my main 'fursona', who encompasses everything. She's like a catch all; she's me on my level plane.
I have Raseri as my bitter, evil, cynical, vengeful side.
I have Memphis as my caring, passionate, romantic, social side.
I have Sic as my intense, artistic, philosophical and slightly unhinged side.
And I have ZigZag to represent me stoned.
It was a natural progression.

Now Ziggy, as my main fursona, can be used to represent ALL the above too, but I like the idea of having specific characters for specific moods, as it allows me to create many different worlds and other characters around them that Ziggy wouldn't be able to have on her own.

I created ZigZag while smoking one day, he just popped into my head. He was my first male fursona; I'd always been attracted to representing oneself as the opposite gender once in a while. He started life as a kangaroo. Yup. But the first sketch I did of him, my brother told me he looked like a llama instead. We both decided a llama was a much better stoner species than a kangaroo as they're kind of shaggy and unkempt and a bit dim anyway.
Since we both adore alpacas, he was redrawn not as a llama, but as an alpaca. Subtly different (though in all honesty, he is drawn these days as looking not completely like an alpaca OR a llama, but for the sake of argument, he's an alpaca)
His name was taken directly from a pack of rolling papers.

Obviously one has no fun getting stoned on one's own. ZigZag needed a smoking partner, and of a species large enough that he could comfortably interact with it, so likely some other large hoofed mammal.
So enter roach, and her decision to be represented by a Zebra. She's always liked stripes, and purple, so Rizrah was born, named after Roach's amusing mispronunciation of the word 'rizla'.

Stoner animals were born, and, tacky and cheesy as the name is, 'Stonersona' seemed too ridiculous to not use. About as ridiculous as 'fursona' really.

I've been asked on several occasions whether it’s ok if people create their own stonersonas, to which I reply, of COURSE its ok. In fact, it's damn cool.

However, there are rules to these things, you know.
The rules about stonersonas are as follows:

1. Species: Must be a hoofed mammal. That’s a pretty broad family, so it shouldn't be hard to find SOMETHING you like. This site pwns: [link]
Try and choose something which is at least vaguely like you, either in appearance or temperament.

2. Colour: Stonersonas are one primary body colour, with perhaps differing shades of that colour within the body/face, BUT most importantly, they always have another colour, often a bright or 'unnatural' colour, on the extremities. If you look at ZigZag, he has blue on his tail tip, hooves, ear tips and his accessories are blue. Rizrah's colour is red. It’s on his hair, tail tip etc. Pick a colour you like, and use it to highlight your beastie.

3. Gender: Your stonersona can be any gender you like; it doesn't have to be the opposite gender to yourself, as mine is.

4. Drug usage: While I created stonersonas with the intention of expressing my stoned side, I understand not everyone is comfortable with drugs, and it'd be pretty lame for me to say people can't make one unless they get off their tits on a regular basis.
Therefore, you are perfectly welcome to make a stonersona of your own, even if you don't touch drugs. However, the CHARACTER must indulge in some kind of drug; that’s the point of them. Any and all drugs acceptable.

5. Style: Stonersonas are deliberately absurd. Pictures featuring them are never intended to be amazing artistic revelations or technically perfect down to the finest detail. They are intended as comic relief, as something colourful and zany to amuse the eye for a second, to illustrate funny situations we may find ourselves in and want to look back on and laugh at. As such, do not overly concern yourself with what is or isn't realistic. Rizrah can hold a cup of tea even though he has hooves, he can roll a joint even though he doesn't have fingers and I see no reason to even think about explaining how. I love that kind of cartoon silliness; things that SHOULDN'T be, but are, and are ju... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18694672/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18694672/ Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:59:46 PDT If you wish to see pics and a few shitty videos of my holiday, and god knows why you wouldn't ;D They're here:

[link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18580939/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18580939/ Fri, 30 May 2008 17:23:17 PDT

[link]


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TO-DO LIST:
$12 head-shot commissions:
Wolfsangel - Sketched
Prowler7 - sketched
WarszawaScream - ref given, not yet started
Krimis - ref given, not yet started
Arinaca - ref given, not yet started

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18317297/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18317297/ Wed, 14 May 2008 08:20:56 PDT Also have my trip to amsterdam coming up, AND a festival in july so Im trying to get a bit of extra cash.

I virtually never open commissions, but Im in the mood for it today.

I am willing to do head-shot/bust commissions, in digital, with a simple or no background, for $12.
I have no examples of a head/bust specifically, but you know from my gallery the type of thing I do.
It would simply be your character's head and neck, with full shading and a simple or blank background (your choice).

I am also offering single character drawings (Digital, with shading) for $30 - $45. Depending on how complex your character is (things like leopard spots, stripes, feathery wings and such would be the top end of the price range) Simple or no background.
Any and all species except humans

Paypal ONLY. I will ask you to approve a sketch before I ask for any money.

Thanks

TO-DO LIST:
$12 head-shot commissions:
Prowler7 - ref given, not yet started
WarszawaScream - ref given, not yet started
Krimis - no ref yet


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http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18287886/ Mon, 12 May 2008 11:25:09 PDT
This is hugely tl;dr, but if you don't bother reading it, don't bother commenting on it because I refuse to repeat myself and nothing bugs me more than 'I didn't read all of that, BUT Im gonna comment anyway'.

First off, what is probably the crux of this whole issue is that I do not draw for approval. I draw for venting, for relaxing, for self expression, even just for fun.
Therefore, the only thing that really matters to me about my art is that I personally like it, and that it served its purpose in allowing me to express myself.
I am not trying to reinvent the wheel, nor have I ever claimed to be doing anything that hasn't been done before.
I can fully understand the concept of branching out into other species, tools, media, or genres if you intend to make a living from art. You will be lucky to get anywhere if you DON'T do these things. You can't go for an art related job interview and say 'well, all I REALLY wanna draw is rats, maybe the odd canine’; you just won't be taken seriously if you do not demonstrate a huge range.
But I do not crave a career in art.

I began drawing when I was old enough to hold a pencil. My room as a kid was just chock full of paper, doodles, pictures, monsters and characters I'd created. I've always drawn, but a good deal of my art never saw the light of day. I didn't even really CONSIDER showing anyone; I couldn't really see the point. I drew for me, for my enjoyment and for my personal self expression so as long as I enjoyed it, why did I need an audience?
This has been my view since. To this day I draw many, many pictures I never upload or show a soul.
I’m also a musician, and 99% of my music never gets heard by anyone else either.

Now I suppose anyone who puts their work online is craving a TINY bit of recognition, but I honestly don't think that was ever the case with me. I've never cared about being popular, and it still boggles my mind to this day that people actually call themselves 'fans' of mine. If I was concerned with being popular, I'd just draw shit loads of emo sparkledogs, or chibis.
I think I put my work up to get tips on technique, to learn new methods of working with the media I enjoy.
When I first began doing digital art, when I was around 19, I was just scanning in sketches, using absolutely NO layers (didn't even know what they were) and just flood filling the lines, resulting in ugly white pixel borders, and a general piss-poor appearance. My knowledge of the programmes I was using was horribly basic.

Now, I am competent in layer use, layer styles, inking my original lines without them being too wobbly and many other things I never dreamed I'd use. I’m learning all the time. I also like to think the online art world has given me perspectives I may not have developed on my own. It taught me the importance of studying your subject matter before attempting to draw it, of studying anatomy and bone structure before even attempting to put flesh on them.
The only thing that is actually still the same about my art now vs. my art 7 years ago is that I still use a mouse and primarily PSP7. But I like to think everything else has changed and possibly improved.
So yes, I've gained from watching other artists, and I hope my watchers have gotten something from my work, even if it’s just a giggle now and then.

But to cut a rather long rambling spiel short, I have always drawn for myself first and foremost, and if I am personally happy with something, I will continue to do it, even if others don't like it.
I was sometimes told as a child to draw 'something other than animals'. But I’m 26 now, and what do you know, I still draw animals. Because I like drawing animals, and if I like it, I do it. What other people tell me I should use as a vehicle for my personal self expression doesn't really mean very much to me.

If other people find my subject matter boring, they have every right to go and pick up a pencil and draw something more to their taste to amuse themselves, because I am not changing what moves and drives me just to please strangers online.
I am not drawing to express or illustrate YOUR feelings, I’m drawing to express and illustrate MINE. And I personally feel rats do that best for me.
I know it’s an old cliché of 'if you don't like my art, don't watch it', but it genuinely IS that simple. I started out with zero watchers, I'd be just as happy now if I still had zero.
That doesn't mean I don't appreciate people's enjoyment of my art, I really do, but it is not and never will be the reason I draw.

The vast majority of artists, especially in this particular genre, have a pre... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18225890/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18225890/ Thu, 08 May 2008 11:53:46 PDT But its not hard to find under your own steam.

And I'd just like to say its true. All of it.

oh, except I have 18 rats, not 10.
And Im well aware I need to draw more pics of kyuss from different perspectives; way ahead of you there. Im working on it.
Oh, and Jigsaw from the saw movies, and my rat named after him are two seperate beings.


Other than that, I can't complain, its mostly true, lol.

On an unrelated note, new series of the F-word on this coming tuesday in the UK. I is excited.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18106884/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18106884/ Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:24:08 PDT [link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18057314/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/18057314/ Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:19:09 PDT
2nd of june, Im out of here.

3 nights of drugs, prostitutes and no sleep.

If I don't come back, avenge my death.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17990131/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17990131/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:47:28 PDT
Yes, Im slow. I can take an age to do something that, if I put my mind to it, I'd get done in a few hours. Im not lazy, Im scatterbrained and quite selfish.
Im manic depressive (not online-diagnosed wannabe manic depressive, doctor diagnosed manic depressive with meds and all that exciting shit) which is something you'll be fucking lucky if I ever mention again but feel I should at least state once since you're my friends and such.
Drawing is one of the only ways I can vent and make myself feel better, so this, coupled with my general attitude of 'if it feels good, do it', means that I often put aside things I SHOULD be doing in favour of things I WANT to do.
Call it comfort art. Doing personal art makes me happier and fuzzier than doing a commission or request, so I tend to put them off in favour of something that will make me feel good.
Oh, sometimes I wake up and think 'fuck yes, I can't wait to start drawing that request pic!'
Other times I like to pretend its not there and bury my head in the sand.

I know its wrong, and there is no excuse for it other than my own self indulgance. We're all capable of being lazy fucks, and I strongly admire those artists who churn out good quality work on a regular basis and get all their work load sorted in a reasonable time frame. I hope one day to be that reliable.

Im also a perfectionist. I will work on a pic for hours, then scrap it if it isn't sitting right with me. This isn't an uncommon thing with my art. I refuse to 'finish it off anyway' and submit something I don't like. I do not have the drive to finish art Im not 'feeling', you know what I mean?

Also, I work evenings/nights. I got to work at 9 at night and don't get home til 2am sometimes. I don't go to bed until, on average, 5-6am. My schedule is probably not like yours.
I don't get up in the morning, I never see morning unless I specificially have to do something I can't get out of. Im useless much before 10am at the absolute earliest.

The days off I do have, which are about 1 or 2 a week, I spend drinking, going out, smoking and binging on everything. I have 18 rats who take up the remainder of my free time with free ranging, cooking for them, cleaning out, spot cleaning, individual med treatments, vet trips and emails from people about rat related issues.

Basically what Im saying is that I am inconsistant in my art, and I know this. I don't submit things as soon as I should, I don't complete projects as quick as I should and I need a kick up the arse sometimes.
This is one of the reasons I rarely open commissions. While I feel I would be more professional when money is actually changing hands, I don't like the stress of having them hang over me. Even when the person tells me to take as long as I want, that doesn't help. There gets a point where that becomes a joke. 3 years? Oh, take as long as you want! The same goes for trades.

So now you all know Im a procrastinating, scatter-brained bitch, don't feel offended if I take a week or two to get back to you when you contact me/fave something/comment on something. Its not that I hate you (fuck, you'd know....) or that Im ignoring you. I read EVERYTHING.
But it then goes into my 'to reply to' pile and sometimes that pile gets big. Real big.

Oh, and one more thing.......swearing doesn't mean someone is uneducated OR aggressive. You cannot cannot CANNOT judge someone's personality over the fucking internet. I swear. I swear a lot, I always have done. I know its not ideal, but its something that has never figured as a big issue to me, ever. My parents were pretty leniant on it when I got to a certain age, and the idea of the word 'damn' 'crap' or 'hell' actually being offensive is something I'd never ever heard of before I came online. Those are not swear words.
To be honest, it still amazes me that some people still find the word 'fuck' offensive.
Thats cute, but don't whine at me for my language, there are many more things you should be whining at me about.

Stephen says it best:
[link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17923086/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17923086/ Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:39:46 PDT Its HERE, for anyone who wants to still see it. You can remove it from my gallery, but I own my own website, sweethearts:

[link]

Now, while I could understand if there were genitals, 'juices' or sex toys on show, I don't quite know where the DA admins are coming from with this one. Can anyone point out to me where we can see ANY genitals, any love juice, any indication that these rats are doing anything more than dominance humping?
Hey, here is a photo of two of my MALE RATS doing the same thing, OMG ITS ATROCIOUS!!! BAN NATURE!!!!

[link]

You can tell how overtly sexual and dirty and kinky this is by the fact that Bob continues to eat while its done. MUST BE SEX.

Despite the fact that there was nothing remotely sexual on show in my misfit love pic, I still slapped a mature warning on it, just to avoid drama. During the live feeding fiasco, a lot of people allegedly reported that image in a vain attempt to get some kind of victory over me, sort of a 'we can't win with any kind of argument so lets just get one of her deviations removed!!!!! We can probably just about do that!!'

The amusing thing is, that pic could be whatever you want it to be.
My own intentions in drawing it COULD be sexual, or it COULD just be dominance humping. Whether it is sexual in nature or not is COMPLETELY DOWN TO THE VIEWER.
I said nothing either way.
So tell me.....if you people are seeing sex everywhere you look, is it really ME that has the problem here? Im just drawing 2 rats mounting one another, something animals of all species do for a number of completely NON sexual reasons.
Would it have been removed if it were two wolves dominance humping? Unlikely, because people 'get' that. People understand that wolves do this, it would be accepted as an illustration of a behaviour that animal displays.
But not rats, oh no, THAT MUST JUST SIMPLY BE SEX.

And from a website that allows, from only a 10 second search, these gems:
[link]
[link]
[link]


And I could find a lot worse if I could be bothered to search for them, even some that had been given daily deviations!

A throbbing wet clit or a hairy arse hole or a dripping cock are a-ok here, folks, but don't you DARE ever draw a cartoon of two animals standing one behind the other. Thats just SICK!

To end, here is my totally depraved, sick, twisted, pervert rat Jigsaw being sexual and lewd on all the other boys. I really must take him to a sexual therapist, since obviously he is a pervert and totally not just dominance humping at all, the sick little fuck:

[link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17808467/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17808467/ Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:30:44 PDT If you've sent me a pic and I've missed it because Im a tard, just slap me.
Im going to update the account today so it'd be cool to know who is still in and who is out!

To date, I don't think I've recieved anything from:






If you guys could let me know your thoughts, that'd be ace.

Also, a couple of people who have submitted rats have dead links to their pics. If you could check your rat is still up, and if it isn't, let me know a new URL to link to, that'd be good.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17752254/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17752254/ Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:39:00 PDT [link]

Most recent entry, my new babies and general pics from today.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17665239/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17665239/ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:33:47 PDT I will get on updating the RetroRats account asap, and lavishing my obsessive love on you all.
Also very very tentatively considering opening a couple of comissions, possibly even whoring Kyuss out for a fee (ie, do pretty much what you want with him for a set price). Im not sure yet. I doubt anyone would be interested, but meh.

Going to pick up some new rats tomorrow night, will obviously post pics. Excited!!!!

In the mean time, have a few of my favourite pictures of Josh being a ponce *swoon*:
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17537873/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17537873/ Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:36:21 PDT
Retrovertigo

Alpha female Ziggy by SicPuppy
Alpha male Kyuss by SicPuppy
Beta male Plague by Pipe-organ-wolf
Beta female Triela by tsumeuchiha
Soldier rat Kinix by FireFur
Soldier rat Burnaby Gunnar by Anklebones
Soldier rat Griffin by Doom-Weasel
Soldier rat Chester by Plunder
Soldier rat Liesserex by WolveKit
Gatherer Tegan by Aeriskya
Gatherer Charcoal by FlamesWolf
Gatherer reserved for literatehyaena
Gatherer reserved for linacrow
Gatherer Juno Waterwill by JuneMonster
Food checker Sydon by Araktugage
Food checker Super Toxic by fubatsu-enkou
Scout Gutter by Freakzter
Scout Akai by DivineDecedance
Scout Rail by whitewingeddemon
Scout Ada by tehcutiepie
Runner Zackery by JadeGerbil
Runner Vortex by Fawnheart
Runner Ritchfield by Cibex
Runner reserved for AKAcrash
Baby sitter Leeta by ImaginaryGoddess
Baby sitter Alice by Darknevilkitty
Baby sitter Ainsley by Devonrex551
Subordinate Morphine by Swiftclawflamewing
Subordinate Acid by razanur
Subordinate Sika by catharicdissonance
Subordinate Bloodloss by sinmisericordia21
Subordinate http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17522434/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:50:43 PDT If you're not on the list and you think you should be, mail me. A couple of people I removed because I recall them saying they didn't have time to do a character. If I was mistaken about that, let me know and you can be put back.
I have 5 new slots open, and likely these will be the last ones I open (can't keep going forever!)

First come, first served.

Im already working on a pic featuring some of the characters, and more will come.


Retrovertigo

Alpha female Ziggy by SicPuppy
Alpha male Kyuss by SicPuppy
Beta male Plague by Pipe-organ-wolf
Beta female Triela by tsumeuchiha
Soldier rat Kinix by FireFur
Soldier rat Burnaby Gunnar by Anklebones
Soldier rat Griffin by Doom-Weasel
Soldier rat Chester by Plunder
Soldier rat Liesserex by WolveKit
Gatherer Tegan by Aeriskya
Gatherer Charcoal by FlamesWolf
Gatherer reserved for literatehyaena
Gatherer reserved for linacrow
Gatherer Juno Waterwill by JuneMonster
Food checker Sydon by Araktugage
Food checker Super Toxic by fubatsu-enkou
Scout Gutter by Freakzter
Scout Akai by DivineDecedance
Scout Rail by whitewingeddemon
Scout Ada by tehcutiepie
Runner Zackery by JadeGerbil
Runner Vortex by Fawnheart
Runner Ritchfield by Cibex
Runner reserved for AKAcrash
Baby sitter Leeta by ImaginaryGoddess
Baby sitter Alice by Darknevilkitty
Baby sitter Ainsley by Devonrex551
Subordinate Morphine by Swiftclawflamewing
Subordinate Acid by http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/17055125/ Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:01:26 PST Retrovertigo

Alpha female Ziggy by SicPuppy
Alpha male Kyuss by SicPuppy
Beta male Plague by Pipe-organ-wolf
Beta female Triela by tsumeuchiha
Soldier rat Kinix by FireFur
Soldier rat Burnaby Gunnar by Anklebones
Soldier rat Un-named by Doom-Weasel
Soldier rat Chester by Plunder
Soldier rat Liesserex by WolveKit
Gatherer Tegan by Aeriskya
Gatherer Charcoal by FlamesWolf
Gatherer reserved for Freaky-arctic
Gatherer reserved for Shnook
Gatherer Juno Waterwill by JuneMonster
Food checker Sydon by Araktugage
Food checker Super Toxic by fubatsu-enkou
Scout Gutter by Freakzter
Scout Akai by DivineDecedance
Scout Rail by whitewingeddemon
Scout Ada by tehcutiepie
Runner Zackery by JadeGerbil
Runner Vortex by Fawnheart
Runner name pending by Cibex
Baby sitter Leeta by ImaginaryGoddess
Baby sitter Alice by Darknevilkitty
Baby sitter Ainsley by Devonrex551
Subordinate Morphine by Swiftclawflamewing
Subordinate Acid by razanur
Subordinate Sika by catharicdissonance
Subordinate Bloodloss by sinmisericordia21
Omega male Five by Lowf
Omega female http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16976132/ Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:30:47 PST I am working on 3 seperate pics of Kyuss with various other people's fursonas (and PR0N takes me a lot longer than regular art as Im not so familiar with it) aswell as Gaina's birdy, which has taken me FAR too long already, and some retrovertigo rats, and one piece of gift art.
Couple this with me working evenings/nights and often not being home from work till gone midnight, and having 3 seperate rat groups to free range daily, Im taking a while with things.
I also HAVE to do personal art when the mood strikes me. My artistic muse is so fickle at the best of times that I cannot shun it when it does appear.

As such, I just wanted people to know I am on everything, and it will all get done. It just might take time.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16972900/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16972900/ Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:42:58 PST
People have accused me of wishing to sexually abuse my OWN animals recently, and I was totally and utterly confused over where they would get such an idea. My pet rats are my children, and spreading shit like that is tantamount to accusing a parent of wanting to sexually abuse their child! Its just sick.

Further conversations with said person revealed one quite telling and interesting fact: they thought my characters were based on my real life rats. Therefore, when I draw Kyuss being sexy, they assumed it was a representation of my real life pet rat. When I talk about Kyuss being sexy, they assumed I was referring to my pet rat rather than the character!

I DO have a pet rat named Kyuss. I also have a pet rat named Jester, and one named Warlock, all named after my characters. But the big difference is that they were named AFTER THE CHARACTERS, not vice versa.
My real life rat, Kyuss, is a topaz dumbo, which is what my character of Kyuss is supposed to be. This, coupled with Kyuss just being a lovely name in general, prompted me to name him after my character. I've had the character of Kyuss for many years, but I've only had my real life Kyuss for a few months!

The same goes for my other real life rats who are named after my characters. If I have a black and white splodgy rat character called Jester, and I find myself with a real life black and white splodgy rat, why not call him Jester? People need to realise....I have 16 rats at present. I've had rats over 10 years. I've owned almost 50 in my time. Names become a bit of a mission to keep interesting, relevent and unique. So I tend to gank my character's names!


What is clear now is that people have seen me making comments about how Kyuss is sexy, or whatever, and assumed I was referring to my PET RAT.
I'd like to make it known now, so there is no more confusion, Kyuss is NOT based on my pet rat. None of my rat characters are based on my pet rats.
I find the idea of beastiality offensive and pretty gross. I consider it animal abuse. To be accused of such is just mind boggling to me, as I've always been pretty vocal in my opposition to it.

In future, people, PLEASE just ASK me if you have a question about something. Im a brutally honest person. I will be straight with you. Next time, instead of just assuming I wanna fuck animals just because my pet rats were named after my characters, please just mail me and ask if this is the case before you begin re-broadcasting this to everyone.

Below are some of my characters, and who they are ACTUALLY based on, so hopefully we don't have this bullshit happen again.

Kyuss - Kyuss is based on Josh Homme, the guy from Queens of the Stone Age
[link]
[link]
I consider this to be pretty obvious. The knuckle tattoos, the name, the fur colour, the chain smoking, the fact he was born in california, the titles of the deviations he is in (tend to be either QOTSA song titles, or sometimes lyrics, or Eagles of Death metal song titles) I really didn't make my character very subtle this time.
This is my character Kyuss: [link]
This is my real life rat, Kyuss: [link]

Jester - Jester is based on James Root of Slipknot [link]
Again, not all that subtle. The eye markings, the fact he is called Jester when James is known for wearing a Jester mask, the fact his other name is '4' which is James's number in slipknot, the HAIR, PEOPLE!!!
This is my character Jester: [link]
This is my rat Jester: [link]

Warlock - based on Mick from Slipknot [link]
Named Warlock because mick used to play a BC Rich Warlock guitar. Again, my pet rat of the same name was named AFTER the character.
This is my character Warlock: [link]
and this is my rat Warlock: [link]


Photos of all my pet rats can be seen in this journal, fully public and you are free to add it:
[link]

I have nothing to hide, and would appreciate it if people would not spread rumours about me without checking their facts.
We all ma... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16941495/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16941495/ Mon, 18 Feb 2008 07:48:32 PST

Just chillin'
NinjaWeasel does the best rat avs on second life.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16924551/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16924551/ Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:01:54 PST It will load the page for a few seconds, then give me the page not found' page, need to be re-loaded, then do it again.

Firefox doesn't have this issue, so Im not using that. But thats why I've not been active much lately.
I will be updating retrovertigo, and starting on drawings of some of you, asap.

Im also addicted to second life right now. Im Ziggy Jiminy on there.

Does anyone know anyone on SL who does good doberman avs? I have one, but Im honestly not that keen on the face, Its kinda....ugly. I wanna recreate Sic, my pink dobe girl. But Im finding it hard. If anyone knows good dobe av makers, let me know!

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16720104/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16720104/ Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:51:21 PST I have opinions on the usage of this particular tool, and what constitutes 'abuse' of it.

First off, let it be known that I have never been one for drawing backgrounds. I know I SHOULD, I know all artists SHOULD be into doing backgrounds which demand as much attention as the foreground subject, but I’m just not. I find them dull to draw, they don't hold my interest so I tend to do a half arsed job to get them over and done with.
Not to mention that usually, I've just spent 6 hours or more doing the foreground characters and by the time the background needs doing, I just wanna upload the thing.
So usually, I slap on a background these days, just because I feel I HAVE to, but let it be known that it isn't something I enjoy, or even consider necessary for much art.

As my rat characters live primarily in the wild, and hang out primarily in the farmer's field, that doesn't leave you a hell of a lot to play with with regards to backgrounds. Remember, all my rat characters are from a book I've written, so I can't just slap them into any surrounding that takes my fancy just because it would have a more interesting background. What does a field have? Grass, occasional patches of worn grass/mud, some hedgerow, maybe the odd tree, a rock to make things interesting?
Not the most fascinating of things to make a background from.

Now take into account that my characters are rats.
They're probably 10 inches tall, if that, and that’s standing on their hind legs.
Take a rat on all fours, and you're looking at probably no more than 5 inches or so above the ground. Unlike canine artists, or big cat artists, or whatever else is common these days, I don't have the 'luxury' of being able to draw a background not far different in perspective to how we ourselves would see it.
No, I have to get right down to ground level, and think 'how would this look if I was 5 inches tall?

So grass blades can be huge. Even a short grass blade could come up to a rat's wrist/foreleg. Then take into account how crouching down to that level would make the entire background pretty much just field trailing off into the distance. You'd be lucky to even see sky within the confines of the drawing, given the length of grass compared to a rat.

So yes, I use a lot of grass, through necessity rather than desire.
I’m afraid my rats don't live in a bustling, futuristic city. I’m afraid they keep to the borders, the holes, the cracks, hidden up and not posing happily in front of a colourful background.
If someone can think of a way to get around this, while keeping rat perspective and the surroundings the characters should be in, I'd like to hear it.
This brings me to the grass brush ‘abuse’ argument.

I have seen some terrible grass brush usage.
It seems some people just say 'right! Grass is green, isn't it! *selects vivid lime green, and proceeds to swipe brush all over the background to retina damaging levels*
All neon green blades, all going in the same direction, the roots of the blades not even sticking in the ground, all one colour. I know what atrocities the grass brush is capable of creating.

But I genuinely don't see that I 'abuse' the grass brush.
I use it fairly heavily, yes, but I spend a long time over my grass. I don't just slap it on and be done with it. Little of my grass is actually green. I use a whole spectrum of different shades and colours for my grass blades. Black, brown, even red I've used before.
I use a variety of different sizes, and I also don't keep it all in one direction. I do multiple layers, flip them, rotate them, and add the odd hand drawn blade here and there to break the monotony.

And let me ASSURE you people; that comes out looking a lot better than any grass I could draw by hand.
That’s the rub.
I don't see why the grass brush should be shunned in favour of something far inferior (like my mouse-drawn grass) just so I can say I haven't used teh dreaded grass brush!
If it looks good, who gives a shit if it’s a pre-made brush or not? Why are we supposed to be ashamed of having used it, just because of its name? I can guarantee you, if I were required to draw all grass myself, with my mouse, for each picture, it would be atrocious. Not only that, but it would probably never get completed.
I've tried it. I've tried doing my own grass: it’s hideous, and detracts from everything/ruins the whole picture.
Worth it, just so I can say I didn't use the grass brush? I don't think so.

I've seen a lot of artists attempt their own grass purely to lose the stigma of being a grass brush user, but the results aren't that good and I find myself wishing they'd stuck to the grass brush!

My pics are not overly toony. My rats have proper rat anatomy, they live in wild sit... ]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16674548/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16674548/ Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:59:43 PST [link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16664967/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16664967/ Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:40:26 PST
Ok...maybe not. But Wheee! I loves me some cheesey, big band swing and sillyness!
And my stash has been replenished too so I is feeling pretty happy about everything right now.

Retrovertigo will be all updated and back into the limelight soon, no worries. Temporary pause for the drama, but hope to return you to your regularly scheduled programme shortly!

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16642288/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16642288/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:13:10 PST Excuse the water on the sideboard, Springer had to have a bath

[link]

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16631632/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16631632/ Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:18:59 PST
Jerry Springer once said something akin to 'there is no point censoring those you disagree with. The best thing to do is let them say their piece. Let everyone see for themselves how stupid they are, and they will eventually crumble under their own weight.'

This is exactly what happened, and I'd like to thank my opposers for not only bumping my page views, but for demonstrating EXACTLY what I originally said in the first place: live feeders are morons. Point proven.

You guys are gold. Thank you so much.

]]> ~SicPuppy http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16554915/ http://SicPuppy.deviantart.com/journal/16554915/ Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:59:14 PST
If you're stupid, good for you. But if you want to bring your stupid to my page, then don't expect for a second that I am going to shrug it off and ignore it, especially when your lack of intelligence results in animal suffering. I’m sick to death of people who inflict their idiocy onto other beings.

It should be pretty clear that I’m a rat lover. I mean, fuck, if you can't grasp even that extraordinarily obvious fact then there is no hope for you. 95% of my gallery, the photos, the fursona, the tattoos, the journals, how much clearer do I need to make it?
If you're not a rat lover, if you enjoy torturing rats because you're thick as shit, why on EARTH would you think I would be ok with that? Then to act surprised when I express my distaste for it, well, it’s a whole new realm of duuuh.

If you're an idiot who tortures rats by live feeding (or any other method)FUCK OFF. Don't watch me, don't comment on my art, and don’t interact with me, because it will be completely and utterly pointless. Why would you even WANT to interact with someone who is opposed to you? Why would you even want to look at my art, featuring primarily rat characters, when you know exactly what you would do to those characters were this real life?
'Oooh, he's so cute! But in reality I'd be feeding him to my snake!'

I don't care what you have to say, I consider you sub human and unworthy of life, and I wish horrible, brutal torture upon you which will make what those rats go through look like fun. If I knew where you were, and that I wouldn't get caught for it, I'd be the one to inflict it upon you.
Oh, not as simply revenge, not as venting. No, it'd be a fucking service to the human race. We don't need people (and I use the term loosely) like you on this planet and the sooner you're wiped out, the better.

Its people like that who make me despise the human race. Just when I start to think 'y'know, humans are an ok species really' one of these inbred, cousin fuckers comes along and just pisses all over that idea. You're grotesque, you're sickening, and if you fuck with me, you will be told such.

If you don't like it, there is one easy, quick, way to ensure we do not clash

LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE.

I don't go looking for drama, I don't go searching for people to hate, they come TO ME. It’s depressing enough that these psychos exist; I don't want to go SEARCHING for them.
But you approach me, unasked, and begin slobbering retard juice all over me? You'll get told exactly where to go.

]]> ~SicPuppy