frankhightower

[frankhightower]

[WIP] Dragontaur

Work in progress dragon taur for a commissioner that wishes to remain anonymous. I had to dig up my knowledge of pre-chemical dyes to color the tunic correctly (can't believe I'd forgotten!

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#dragon #taur #woad blue #tunic #four-armed #octopod #green #horse-like mane #belt #gold trim

[frankhightower]

Happy birthday to me

Work, home, and some online friends are putting pressure on me…right at the time impostor syndrome hits me hardest…because it was performance review season at my old job (and before that, it was scholarship renewal season). It reminded me of when I made myself a birthday cake to share and brought it to class��and no one wanted it. I wanted to capture that feeling… because analyzing those feelings is incredibly taxing on me. This is why mid-to-late winter is my best time of year: because the good times end. To be clear, yes, I was meeting with friends after class, but they politely declined even after seeing the cake. And yes, it really is my birthday today.

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#mouse #cooking #baking #serving #cake #neglect #morose #melancholy #sad

[frankhightower]

Epilogue - you can't buy me

Epilogue for the #MacroMarch growth drive: The fact that it isn't canon, means the coachman doesn't get to KEEP the money, which is kind of cruel when you think about it, so I decided to let him spend it. The horse is still unamused by the whole ordeal. Just something I've been wanting to do for a while.

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[frankhightower]

Commission Prices 2023 (and FAQ)

It's that time: I'm open for commissions! Got questions on the general process? Please see last year's FAQ. Questions on the changes? Please see below:

Why the price increase? Mostly because of inflation, but some I raised because I had severely underestimated how long it took to make (for instance, shading now takes me about as long as coloring and the linework combined; the previous price sheet assumed it took as long as just coloring. This wasn’t because I was “bad” at coloring and “good” at shading, I just hadn’t done a lot of shaded pieces to get a good grasp on the time it took)

How can I know which were raised for inflation and which were raised for “difficulty”? As a rule of thumb, if I raised it by $5, it was because of inflation; if I raised it by more, it’s because I’d underestimated it

Why $5? In 2017 I set my prices as 5,10,15, etc. and it felt fair at the time, but there’s been quite a bit of inflation since 2017.

So why does black and white still cost $5? I am committed to keeping a $5 option for people that can’t afford more. As with the refsheets, I know that art is a gateway to wider participation in the fandom so I strongly believe in having an affordable option.

So why does lineless only cost marginally more than the lined equivalent? Most artists charge, like, double! Because I happen to like doing it.

It says prices are per “full body” character, that’s new. Yes. After the “dollar menu” experiment, I’m more willing to not draw the full character (which, as I’ve mentioned, requires me short-circuiting my own brain that “needs” to see “the rest of it”) and lower the price accordingly. This is also why I’ve set my comic pricing as “per panel”: you rarely have the whole character in-panel in a comic so that offsets the extra stuff that the panel needs.

Wait, that said “per prop” last year! Why the change? Same reasoning: I’ve decided not to charge for props. This means the total price people will pay won’t go up as much.

What counts as a complex marking? That’s also new. As with refsheets, a character with more than 3 spots or stripes per limb or more than 6 spots/stripes total (not counting tail for either).

Those numbers sound kind of arbitrary... They’re based on practice, and I arrived at them by studying several established character designs so I know they’re fair.

My character doesn’t have spots or stripes, he has markings shaped like [insert symbol here]! A marking in the shape of a “y” counts as two stripes. A marking in the shape of an “H” counts as three. Curves (up until a J-shape) are treated as stripes. C-shapes, circles and dots are counted as spots.

As a practical example, suppose you have a giant heart shape on your back—that counts as three spots (and your back as a limb) so you’re good. If that heart has a line through it, now you have 4 (3 spots and a stripe) so it counts as complex.

My character has those, but I can’t afford the complexity charge... I’m sure we can figure out a way to clothe them so that only a manageable amount of markings is showing.

I heard you charged someone complexity for clothes though? Yes, if your clothes are covered in spots/stripes/etc, it will take me longer to draw it!

You weren’t charging for this last year! Why the change? I noticed I was unable to predict the time it would take me to draw a character when this happened (kind of necessary to be able to do when you’re squeezing drawing time in between your job) and this is definitely a factor.

Just quit your job! No.

This is all ridiculous, just use a pattern fill! Although I respect newspaper comic tropes, that is not the kind of work I offer.

This is only valid for 2024, how much are prices going to rise next year?! They probably won’t: by my math, these prices should still work with the inflation expected for next year. However, I’m not quite convinced of the effort valuation for the more expensive options (lineless may prove either easier or harder than I’m anticipating, but I won’t know until I’ve done more of them!) so I want to leave the door open to adjust prices again in a year.

…How does the discount option work? Find a piece in my gallery and tell me you want “this but with _____.” If I can reuse part of the drawing, I won’t charge you for that part. I keep the raw files for all my drawings so I’m very likely to find something I can reuse.

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#sketch #color #shaded #commissions #5 #20 #25 #30 #35 #50 #60

[frankhightower]

April 2024 Explainer (part 1): Commissions Open

Commissions are officially open! I'll be posting the price sheet with more information soon as well as more information on how comic commissions will work

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[frankhightower]

Help Wanted (real offer)

Yes, this is a real offer! I really am looking for a colorist! I am mainly looking for someone to help with my monthly explainer comics which, for something that should go out on the first of every month, always seem to take longer 😟. I am also considering doing the donation drive comics in color with their help. I will not be using this arrangement to color commissions (after all, if people are paying for coloring by me, they should get coloring by me!) I am mainly trying to increase visibility of my work, which always drops when I post in black-and-white. I do believe this is a worthwhile investment of the "slightly better paying" job's wages, which allow me enough flexibility to take these kinds of risk. I believe this relationship will be mutually beneficial for me and the colorist. I do mean it when I say no prior experience is necessary. If you're looking to learn vector coloring from scratch, I will teach you. If you already have experience but just want to know how I do it, that's okay too. You don't even have to be an "aspiring young artist"! I'll take old curmudgeon artists too! (No AI though, that's non-negotiable. I need a real person.) Note, though, that I'll only pay you as much as I would charge myself for the same work (I know that may seem like a low number but consider anything extra you feel like you should be making to be paying for what I'll be teaching you) Behind the scenes: This is technically a redraw of a piece I did in 2011 for a blog post: https://frankhightower.blogspot.com/2011/04/web-standards.html 

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#want ad #job opporunity #part-time work #gig #poster #pasting #long-handled brush #mouse #fountain pen #nib #vector

[frankhightower]

Se Busca Colorista (Oferta Real)

¡Sí, es una oferta real! ¡De verdad estoy buscando colorista! Principalmente busco a alguien para ayudarme con mis comics mensuales (los "explainer") los cuales, para ser algo que debería publicar el primero de cada mes, siempre parecen tomar más tiempo 😟. También estoy considerando hacer los comics de las campañas de donación (Size Drive, TF Drive) a color con su ayuda. No estaré usando este arreglo laboral para colorear comisiones o encargos (después de todo, si la gente está pagando por algo coloreado por mi, ¡deberían recibir algo coloreado por mi!) Principalmente estoy tratando de aumentar la visibilidad de mi trabajo, la cual siempre decae al publicar en blanco y negro. Creo que vale la pena esta inversión del sueldo "ligeramente mayor" de mi nuevo trabajo, el cual me permite suficiente flexibilidad para tomar esta clase de riesgos. Creo que esta realción será mutuamente beneficiosa para mi y para el colorista. Hablo en serio cuando digo que no se requiere experiencia previa. Si estás buscando aprender coloración vectorial desde cero, sí te voy a enseñar. Si ya tienes experienca y solo quieres saber cómo lo hago yo, también se vale. ¡Ni siquira tienes que ser un "joven" artista con aspiraciones! ¡Aceptaré a artistas viejos y gruñones también! (Nada de Inteligencia artificial, sin embargo; eso no es negociable. Necesito una persona real.) Notese que sólo pagaré tanto como yo mismo cobraría por el mismo trabajo (sé que puede parecer poco pero considera que cualquier cantidad adicional que sientas que deberías estar ganando cubre el costo de lo que voy a enseñar) Tras Cámaras: Técnicamente estoy redibujando una obra que hice en 2011 para un blog: https://frankhightower.blogspot.com/2011/04/web-standards.html 

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#Se busca #se solicita #empleado #asistente #poster #afiche #anuncio #cartel #raton #pluma fuente #vectores #vectorial #antropomorfismo

[frankhightower]

30 enchanted forest

Yes, those are snow-capped mountains! I was always going to compare my size to them at some point! What's a town doing here? Short version: demand for ice is growing in this time and it has to be harvested from somewhere! Conveniently, it's also very close to The Enchanted Forest. Our fairy's legal name is "Camomille du Forêt", we just call her Camila for short There will be a "the end" page so you still have 1 more day to donate!

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[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 29: Incorruptible

Some people just can't be bribed. The British reputation for punctuality was just beginning at this time and Jacob (the flagman) was very much down for it! (That, and the fact that, for a wolf, it's really hard to get a job that isn't something ending in "guard" ...don't tell him a "flagman" is sometimes also called "signal guard") I was originally going to include the (human) train crew watching with bated breath, but I felt I'd already taken too long on this one. Yes, the flag had to be red. I tried to make it as muted a red as possible, but I feel it still draws a bit too much attention to itself

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#macro #mouse #distance #station #modified de-witt-clinton locomotive #clock #flagman #wolf #anger #pleading #12:00 #idealism

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 28: Going Off-Road

Susan isn't too happy about this!

In my defense, I'd have to go through pretty narrow streets if I didn't cut through this freshly-plowed field here (in my offense, those giant pawprints can't be good for the plowing!)

Yes, the terrain is THAT hilly in-universe.

I've been dreading this page from the beginning, to be honest. Maybe it's because I know how hard it would be to capture this with a camera (dark interior, bright exterior? No camera can handle that!) Maybe it's because I didn't want to design the inside of the coach. Or maybe it's because I had planned to put a logo on the back of Susan's T-shirt I decided was a bad idea at the last minute. 

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#furry #anthro #mouse #macro #giant #growthdrive #macromarch

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 27: Exhausted Fairy

Been wanting another shot at drawing Camila since the first page, and now that she set her camera down in the "seat" across, it is, of course, pointed to her.

The "seat" is the edge of my claw, REALLY showing the size difference.

Yes, I'm very original with names (don't fault me, it's supposed to be what a regular person would call it!)

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#macromarch #fairy #aerial view #wind #billowing #heights

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 26: for the love of oats

I told you I normally draw horses better even without references! (the coach could definitely benefit from one though) Susan is, of course, very happy to spend all this money because she KNOWS this is non-canon. (Herb and the coachman don't) Horses don't come up with these expletives on their own, they're the work of the Horse Academy.

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#macromarch #macro #mouse #horse #coach #anthro #furry #unwilling #bribe

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 25: Offering a perch

Possibly the last attempt at the "helicopter perspective" of this run. I dare say it's getting better If the bridge looks different here, that's because it's not the one we crossed before. There's three waterways between The Colony and the human city. Yes, those things behind the colony are the old stables. They, of course, have been given a different purpose now.

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#macromarch #macro #mouse #growthdrive #chateau #country home #plantation house #countryside

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 24: Although this is non-canon, let's avoid the cannon

The Cinderella Story is something like the Thanksgiving Story in this world (suure, we all came on the Mayflower). Though trust me, "what's your claim to legitimacy?" "Oh my great-great grandfather got turned into a horse once" is not the worst one out there, especially back then. The version of Cinderella the mice know is somewhere in-between Perrault's (where we don't even know they have mice until the fairy godmother asks her to check the mouse trap) and Disney's (where Cinderella interacts with the mice constantly). There is an element of truth in it though! The rat army is just mad I'm blocking the tracks. Normally the problem is a badger falling asleep on them, but me? I'm allowed to be here!

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#macromarch #macro #mouse #rat army #riflemen #gunpowder age #railroad #tracks #signal #fencepost #colossal booklet

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 23: The Colony

Before anyone complains about colonialism, a "colony" is what you call a group of mice. A group of rats is called a "mischief", but that didn't lend them much credibility with the humans, it really was better to let the mice speak for everybody here. Another looming perspective without guidelines. I'm getting better at it (I hope) The forest you see bordering the property is known in-universe as the "Forbidden Forest" ...because hunting is strictly prohibited (today, we'd call it a National Park)

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#macromarch #macro #mouse #growth drive #building #chateau #manor #plantation house #country home #forest

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 22: ten dollars

Another donation by Jespe, this time through Patreon! Being hit with a growth ray mid-step does throw off your balance! Another attempt at the "Helicopter perspective" today, this time using all the guidelines. We're close to another easter egg!

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#macromarch #macro #mouse #growth #drive #farms #countryside #plowing #coach #horse

[frankhightower]

2024 Size Drive 21: Down the Country Road

Another attempt at perspective today without guidelines, this time what I call the "Helicopter shot" of the macro. Passing a vineyard now and I just realized I don't know how to draw grape leaves so generic patch it is.

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