Below you’ll find answers to things I have often been asked, or things people have commented upon, that I thought I might address here. A lot of these are questions I was previously asked over on Instagram.
Question Summary
Click on any question to be taken to its answer, or just scroll to read them all. If you scroll all the way down, you can leave me a comment with any question you might have! 💕
🌈 How long have you been drawing?
🌈 Can you teach me how to draw?
🌈 Can you draw me something for free/for charity?
🌈 I want to commission you, where can I see your prices?
🌈 Do you work for royalties/exposure/a percentage of sales?
🌈 What do you use to make art?
🌈 How did you choose your avatar?
🌈 Will you do a trade with me?
🌈 What do you use to edit your photos and videos?
🌈 Where do you get the clothes for your bears?
🌈 Where do you get your teddy bears?
🌈 How long have you been drawing?
Drawing has always been my favorite thing to do with my time since as long as I can remember! But I took a serious interest in art as a career around age 12.
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🌈 Can you teach me how to draw?
I’m sorry, I can’t… Two reasons. One being, most importantly, I actively do not enjoy teaching. The second being, my work has a ton of shortcomings that I am always working to improve, and frankly no matter how much people like my art I do not feel I know enough to give classes. But I can recommend that you start where I did: with this book. Under $20 as of me writing this, its usefulness cannot be overstated, and it has a simple, friendly and approachable tone throughout.
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🌈 Can you draw me something for free/for charity?
I’m sorry, but my schedule doesn’t allow for this. While I have done fundraisers with my art before, they were started by me of my own accord.
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🌈 I want to commission you, where can I see your prices?
As of March 2023, my commissions are permanently closed, so I have taken my Rates page down. However, you can still get some forms of custom art from me by supporting me on Patreon.
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🌈 How do I get a commission?
As of March 2023, my commissions are permanently closed, so I have taken my Rates page down. However, you can still get some forms of custom art from me by supporting me on Patreon.
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🌈 Do you work for royalties/exposure/a percentage of sales?
As of March 2023, my commissions are permanently closed, so I have taken my Rates page down. However, you can still get some forms of custom art from me by supporting me on Patreon.
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🌈 I’m not friends with/dating (insert name here) anymore. Can you take down the art you drew of us together?
No, sorry. I never take down my artwork for any reason, except my own wishes. I determine whether it is posted to my galleries and how long it remains there. This, of course, doesn’t apply to commercial work to which I have explicitly transferred copyright of to you as specified in the contract I provide.
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🌈 What do you use to make art?
An iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate for most of my work. But I still rely heavily on my Cintiq 13HD and Photoshop CS for all post-processing. I very much recommend the iPad Pro as an art tool; it changed my life.
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🌈 How did you choose your avatar?
I picked it because squirrels are my all-time favorite animal. I didn’t see a real-life squirrel until I moved to the US, though. I never saw one in Argentina, where I grew up. So to me they still feel kind of exotic, and watching the ones in my backyard is a lot of fun.
You could say I’m sort of squirrel-like myself, a bit all over the place, easily distracted, and always hiding snacks! 😅
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🌈 Will you do a trade with me?
If you want to approach me for an art trade, you will have to do your half first (AFTER I agree to do an art trade in the first place) and please understand that I only trade with people with a skill level at least somewhere close to my own, and who have a good track record for completing trades.
I take my trades as seriously as paid work. If you give a trade less priority because it’s an exchange of labor as opposed to money, please don’t approach me for a trade! My time is worth money, please give the time I put into your work the same value you’d give a money payment. It’s what I would do for you.
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🌈 What do you use to edit your photos and videos?
LINE Camera, Gif Toaster, Burstio, Square Fit and RAKUGA-cute. These are all iPhone apps and I wouldn’t know about Android alternatives, or if Android versions of them exist. I often use 2-3 apps for a single photo! Also, on LINE Camera I’ve definitely invested a lot of $ in frames and stickers over the years, as well as made my own stickers from transparent PNGs. So if you can’t find a sticker or frame I used, that may also be why.
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🌈 Where do you get the clothes for your bears?
Many different places, since I have bears of different shapes and sizes! I’ve gotten them from the obvious sources (Build-a-Bear) but also from the baby section at Walmart and Target, lots of things from AliExpress, some from eBay, some from Etsy. I buy a lot of dog clothes for my bears, as well as real baby clothes and accessories. You are welcome to ask me about a specific piece and if I remember where I purchased I’ll tell you! 💕
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🌈 Where do you get your teddy bears?
See this page. If you ask me where I got a specific bear, usually I no longer remember and/or the teddy will no longer be in stock. But the info there should help you find it, and I can probably remember the official name or brand of a teddy if you ask me, which can help you find it for yourself. 😊
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🌈 What is a “squelf”?
The character that I originally used to represent myself online was a squirrel-elf hybrid, with squirrel-elves being a common species in the universe of my fantasy book series, Meganeea. Many years ago, a friend of mine, Zorinlynx, referred to my character as a “squelf” and it stuck. So even though my little online avatar is a full squirrel now, I still like to use it, and people still call me that. 😁 Hence… “Squelfland”!
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