Shifting into gear and getting started here on Blogger.

First post and I've just spent a long night messing with art uploads, html and old files. How coherent can I possibly be at 9am after being up all night? I suppose we'll find out.

After much mucking about on the site and installing a translation script, I am up and running over at Pixiv, which is a Japanese art site akin to Deviant Art. I originally registered there about a month ago with the sole intention of browsing the work of other artists. However, after a while I got tempted and decided to try uploading a little of my own work. People there do not seem to comment nearly as often as on Deviant Art as a general rule. Some might consider this a bad thing, but for me it works as a sort of shield against the language barrier. Unfortunately, I do not understand Japanese at all, so any comments I would leave anyone would have to be in English. It is my first language and the only one I am fluent in, though after three years of Spanish in high school and having a mother who taught the subject to middle school aged children for thirty-some-odd years of her life, I've retained enough to manage a basic understanding so long as I'm not wading through a lot of slang. And so long as it's not being spoken to me too quickly. Japanese, however? Aside from a few words I have learned from anime, I don't know any. Such is life. Though thus far, artists on Pixiv have been pretty accepting. I am grateful for this, particularly to one artist in particular by the handle of Nekomushi who has put up with my English only compliments. :)

I will be opening up online sketch commissions shortly via my Deviant Art account in order to help pay for supplies at this year's Izumicon. In the meantime, I am working to finish up a couple of very belated trades I owe a couple of people. Aside from that, I have the task of planning, working on and completing at least one original art piece for this year's Oklahoma State Fair amateur art contest. Hopefully my addled brain will come up with a few good ideas before the month is over so I can get started. The Fair is in September, after all.