Summer is here! Time to bust out the lei’s and do the Hula! Since our last collaborative badges, the Bell Collar Badges, were such a success, Rochelle “Digitalblood” Steder and I are offering a new collaborative badge style: Summer Luau!

What they look like:

Check out our sample and completed badges here, and see several examples from our last badges below!

With this badge, you get:

• The artwork:
  • Your character drawn from the neck up, inked and colored in quality, highly-detailed real media
  • Your choice of facial expression (suggestions: cute, sexy, serious, snarling, happy, sad)
  • Your choice of accessories within reason (suggestions: sunglasses, glob of sunscreen, balancing a beach ball on the nose, etc.)
  • Your name written boldly on the colored cardstock (if there’s a unique way you want it written, let us know!)
• Laminated front and back
• Badge clip/key ring attached
• Colorful Lei added that dangles around the neck
• Tropical Sticker added (current choices: palm tree, green leaf, pink flower while supplies last)

Ready for your next con or event!

We can get your badge done in under two weeks from the time we receive your order (in reality, we’ll likely get it done in just a few days!).

Our badges are incredibly sturdy! In addition to the cardstock itself being quite strong, the double-lamination makes them very durable! Great for people who run around or like to suit at cons.

Badge and shipping prices

• The badges are $25 each.
• US shipping is $2
• non-US shipping is $3

We currently accept payment through PayPal only at danalarson111@gmail.com.

A note on shipping: We may ship your badge with the key ring/clip unattached. This is to avoid any possible damage from the clip nudging against the badge during shipping. WE HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH SHIPPING OUR BADGES! They arrive cushioned in bubble wrap and cardboard.

Samples from our last badges

Note: We do our best to give everyone as unique an appearance/expression as possible! Sometimes several people request the same thing, however.

Reviews from our last badges

“Just to inform you, the badge arrived safe and sound today and I absolutely LOVE it! Seriously it’s so cute! The bell idea is genius! Thank you so much [...]! You both did a smashing job!” ~Jezzabelle

“WOO! I just saw my badge picture on here! I LOVE IT! Thanks” ~Beshon

“Just recieved the badge in the mail, love every bit of it and can’t wait to show it off at the next furry gathering I get to!” ~Azlan

“Your Badges Rock! XD I <3 MINE!” ~Polar Joe

“just saw the pic of my badge and all i can say is wow thank you soooo much!!! X3 can’t wait to get it so i can show it off at the next fur meet” ~Thumper

“just got my badge and its so cuuuuute!” ~Chakat

“My badge looks AWESOME! Can’t wait to get it.” ~Starfox

“these were really cute, cant wait to see your next style” ~Truevampiress

“Oh yay, so glad to see mine finished! I’m excited to have a jingly badge, thank you guys!” ~Idess

Want one? Tell us here!

Current Queue

You can track the progress of your badge with this color code:

Order received –> Payment Received –> Sketched –> Inked –> Colored –> Re-Inked, Cut, Cardstock on name added –> Laminated, Lei & Tropical sticker attached –> Shipped

Note: You may not see every step in the above progress for your order. Usually we just work really hard and get the whole process done in one night!

1. Micheal S. “Kodyax D.” [Ready for Anthrocon]

1. T. Leap “Starfox”
2. Cassandra G. “KaiChanti”
3. Steven H. “Sun”
4. Crystal C. “Lakota”
5. Tyler “Rei”
6. Rachel “Kura” R.
7. Michael M. “Mangi”
8. ______
9. ______
10. ______
11. ______
12. ______
13. ______
14. ______
15. ______

Thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to view our badge offer and our art! We look forward to making these unique badges for you! Please share with your friends!

The form above is to place a formal order, but if you want to leave a comment or helpful critique, feel free to use the comment space below.

Last weekend my friends Rochelle and Andrea attended FCN, or “Furry Connection North,” all the way up in Novi, Michigan. It was a 6 hour drive each way, we slept about 4 hours each night there and are now left thoroughly sapped of energy. Though, I take that as the mark of a good convention. Per my last con report (and the first of many I hope to do!), here is a run-down on my experience along with some photos I took.

As a disclaimer, I want to note: Rochelle, Andrea and myself do not draw or distribute any unsavory materials, nor do we engage in any illegal or unsavory activities besides having a few too many now and then.

And a particular highlight this blog has that I hope to continue at further conventions is a collection of furry license plates or car decals I found. I don’t know why I enjoy taking pictures of such things, but I guess after the first one I saw at MFF I found the concept absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, here’s a rough break-down:

Room + Roommates

I roomed with VooDoo, Dearc, Aheria and Kash, and the whole situation turned out absolutely wonderful and far better than I had expected. I met these guys at MFF and talked to them online, but of course rooming with someone is an entirely different experience. They brought lots of food, a toaster, extra blankets for us, showering equipment, and we were all awake and asleep at roughly the same times. It was just a perfect set up and more than I could ever ask for.

The first night I ended up falling asleep laying on only a towel. My back was destroyed for the first half of Saturday as a result. :’-( But other than that…and, well, getting only 4 hours of sleep each night…things were good.

Artist Alley

The artist alley greatly upset me at this con. Now, I don’t know if I’m ’spoiled’ from landing a spot with no problems at MFF, but in my opinion the set-up at FCN was horrible. There were incredibly few tables and spots set up, which was especially frustrating when it was obvious many more tables could have easily been added. In fact, two table spots remained empty for hours until I got a little snippy and convinced those running the Alley to open them up and choose from the lottery of people waiting.

Rochelle and Andrea and I all got in on Friday (they got in first and then I got in after an hour’s wait). Friday Rochelle and Andrea again got in, set up and left me with really no one to talk to or anything to do. Although I had signed up the night before, people who had signed up that morning “won” a spot instead of me, and again people besides myself kept winning spots even though I kept checking in every half hour. I understand there is a high demand to get tables and not everyone can get a spot at every convention, but it was just all-around an extremely unfair and poorly set up situation that left me in a very sour mood for most of Saturday.

Although, there was some good to the situation. I set up my own spot with my supplies in the lobby with a mock “Back-Alley Commissions” sign and ended up getting a surprising amount of hits out there. A group of people stopped by and thought what I was doing was pretty funny and enjoyed my style, and they commissioned me there on the spot. Best of all, Venaul, whom I met at MFF and did a badge for, ran into me and sat with me for an hour or so and kept me company. He also did a great job of flagging people down to my table to check out my art. To the left is an ink I did for “Amma” of an 80’s hair femme husky. Strange request, but a lot of fun to do!

Unfortunately after a few hours of being out there I got yelled at by staff to take my sign down, but at least I was left with a enough to do and some people to talk to. A bit after that I finally got a table and a few “legit” hits while in the Alley.

Lobby

The lobby at this hotel was a blast to hang out in, and in fact I spent most of my time there. The set-up was pretty cool with lots of tables, some open space, some lounge area and a bar accessible on all sides. Rochelle, Andrea and I often found ourselves drawing our commissions or other doodles down here, attracting randoms to talk to us and buying a round of drinks at the end of the day to wind down. Best of all, lots of people in costume kept coming through giving us something amusing to watch. One guy in a bunny outfit had a giant speaker attached to his back and was playing hits from the 80’s on the first night.

Dealer’s Room

This was also a disappointment compared to MFF. This was a small, cramped room that felt more like an Arabian Bazaar than a convention dealer’s room. Nonetheless, there were some interesting wares there, including a comic salesman who had a used copy of BlackSad sketchbook, which I eagerly shelled out cash for. I first discovered BlackSad when it was on display at my college’s library during their comic theme month and fell in love with the art.

Dance

The dance at this convention rocked the socks off MFF’s, and I only went to the Friday night one! (I heard Saturday’s was even better, unfortunately I missed it) The music was great, there were lazer lights, a fog machine and all kinds of neon light graphics. My only gripe was that it was a tad too dark to really see…well, anything! But it was still a lot of fun.

Unfortunately I didn’t take many pictures, but there’s me dancing with Fuego!

Oh yeah, after the dance we took advantage of this abandoned dry-erase board. I mean, that’s what happens when you leave a dry-erase board, complete with markers, at a convention full of artists! The next morning I found the woman running the actual massages and she actually enjoyed the artwork for her sign. She erased the rather, uh, profane parts, but felt the art helped attract more people to her set-up. Hey, it was fun to do! Feel free to request it anytime!

We noticed the next night that even more artists caught on and violated the board! They should definitely put up more of these at cons, it was a lot of fun. We wrote and drew some ridiculous stuff and had laughs all around.

Parties

After Artist Alley and hanging out in the lobby getting commissions done for a few hours, we were invited to a room party in 337 that apparently drew in a lot of people. They had a cooler full of a mixed drink they named “Slurm” (just alcohol and Mountain Dew, this wasn’t that kind of party!) and it was delicious! We met even more awesome people and had a blast.

A handful of guys we spent most of our time with (until, gawd, 4 a.m. I think!) were particularly awesome. They had hilarious stories to tell and I learned a lot about web design from one fellow continually breaking out in a British Accent. I really wish I captured their stories on camera, because I was simply dying. I can’t really elaborate too much of what they said here, but uh…just take my word for it.

This costume was amazing with the LED lights. Very cool effect, especially outside in the dark.

Instead of partying, Rochelle found it imperative to work work work on commissions. So, any of you people out there looking for an intensely dedicated artist, definitely check her out!

Overall

Overall, amazing experience. Much more social than MFF; I can’t remember a time I heard more hilarious stories and laughed harder in my life. It was great meeting new people, seeing all the artwork and costumes and hanging out until 4 a.m. like I used to in college. Definitely a great break from things, although I am beyond exhausted now from the lack of sleep! So, my apologies for not writing this with a more dramatic flair!

Thank You!

I am sending a formal e-mail to everyone who commissioned me, but to those and anyone who talked to me, told me a story or joke, commented on my art, danced with me, let me room with them, partied with me, hugged me or just hung out, THANK YOU! This con was definitely a blast, and I hope to attend many many more.

I was to give two particular shout-outs: First of all, the fellow who bought me a few drinks and showed me his web design stuff, please send me an e-mail! I want to hear more about your design and learn more tricks of the trade.

And to the person who asked for an autograph from me (haha, I’m “known” in this fandom?), please leave a comment or send me a note! I’d love to make an icon for you! Asking me for my signature totally made my day!

Alright, and without further ado, FURRY LICENSE PLATES!

Furry License Plates

We’re sorry to disappoint, but fret not! We will be offering a NEW, summer-themed badge style very soon! Stay tuned and look for a new ad to be released on FA!

If you have ordered a badge any time before April 30th, regardless if you have paid or not, you can and will STILL get your BELL COLLAR BADGE (once you pay, if you have not already). In addition, Bell Collar Badges may be available at Anthrocon and possibly Midwest Furfest (other cons TBD). As usual if you have any questions, just send us a note!

Rochelle Steder is currently open for other kinds of commissions if you are interested. I (Dana) have a waiting list for other, non-badge commissions if you would like to get on that (refer to my “commission information” page).

Hey everyone! I’d like to announce a collaborative art project between Rochelle “DigitalBlood” Steder and myself. We are offering “Bell Collar Badges!” The badges feature your character’s portrait from the neck up, a collar of your color choice, your character’s name, a badge clip, lamination and a real, jingling bell!

On this page you can see what they look like, read all the details about them, and leave a note to place an order if interested.

What they look like

Please click this image for full-view to see what the badges look like both ‘plain’ and laminated with the clip and bell:

For more samples, look below our queue list at the bottom. We post all the completed ones there.

As you can see, we both put a lot of detail and care into these!

Our process (and real, jingling bells!)

They are drawn and inked by me on smooth Bristol stock with Micron inking pens, colored by Rochelle with quality markers, and laminated. We attach a clip and sew a bell on and they’re good to go!

The bells really do jingle! They are not loud and obnoxious, but if you clip the badges on your pants and walk around, people will definitely notice!

With this badge, you get:

• The artwork:
  • Your character drawn from the neck up, inked and colored in quality, highly-detailed real media
  • Your choice of facial expression (suggestions: cute, sexy, serious, snarling, happy, sad)
  • Your choice of collar color
  • Your name written boldly on the collar (if there’s a unique way you want it written, let us know!)
• Laminated front and back
• Badge clip attached
• Real, jingling bell sewn on!

Ready for your next con or event!

We can get your badge done in under two weeks from the time we receive your order (in reality, we’ll likely get it done in just a few days!).

Badge and shipping prices

• The badges are $25 each.
• US shipping is $2
• non-US shipping is $3

We currently accept payment through PayPal only at danalarson111@gmail.com.

A note on shipping: We may ship your badge with the clip unattached. This is to avoid any possible damage from the clip nudging against the badge during shipping.

Want one? Tell us here!

This particular badge offer is now closed. We’ll be offering a new badge style very soon!

More samples of our work

More samples of Dana’s inks:

More samples of Rochelle’s marker work:

Even more available on FA.

Current Queue

You can track the progress of your badge with this color code:

Order received –> Payment Received –> Sketched –> Inked –> Colored –> Re-Inked, Cut, Laminated –> Clip and Bell attached –> Shipped

Note: You may not see every step in the above progress for your order. Usually we just work really hard and get the whole process done in one night!

1. Lady Sin
2. Andrew “Kristjian” M.
3. Reddy Wolf
4. Jenny M
5. David G.
6. Troy M.
7. Taylor S.
8. Arty B.
9. Douglas P.
10. J Hitchcock
11. J Hitchcock 2nd
12. Jordan L.
13. Metatsopholies
14. Bradley “Braduz”
15. Chrissy M.
16. M. Sherwood
17. T. Leap
    
18. Brian “Crafty Fox”
19. Luke “Frosty S.”
20. Micheal “Thumper” J.
21. Je. “Tohcat”
22. Christopher “Chakat Winsoar” K.
23. Alex “Fire Fox”
    

(more spots can be added as we receive orders)

Completed Badges

Reviews

“Just to inform you, the badge arrived safe and sound today and I absolutely LOVE it! Seriously it’s so cute! The bell idea is genius! Thank you so much [...]! You both did a smashing job!” ~Jezzabelle

Thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to view our badge offer and our art! We look forward to making these unique badges for you! Please share with your friends!

The form above is to place a formal order, but if you want to leave a comment or helpful critique, feel free to use the comment space below.

Harmony comes with a pretty unique set of tools and rules that make it both interesting and difficult to draw with. For example, the “sketchy” tool creates a pretty realistic shading effect, but it will start shading any time it detects a nearby line. In the examples below, you can see where the tool went overboard and started completely filling in my drawing in black. There is a “web” tool which creates spider webs between the lines (which I used in the joints of the dragon wings), a chrome tool which randomly selects colors to paint with but which ultimately muddles together in a pinkish gray tone.

There’s definitely a lot of possibilities for this tool, especially if erase or undo capabilities are added in the future. In the meantime, give it a try! Feel free to share your results!

Character Name: Zelaphas (zel-LAH-fuss)

Nickname: Zel

Species: Striped Hyena

Sex: Female (originally male, explanation below)

Creation Date: March 2008

Purpose: Zelaphas is my representation within the Anthro Fandom

Origin

Zelaphas was created shortly after the movie The Golden Compass was released in theaters. In The Golden Compass, an entirely alternate world is shown where the souls of humans exist outside of their bodies (as opposed to within, as they allegedly do in our world). These souls take the form of an animal, and the animal reflects the true personality of the owner. These soul-animals are called daemons.

I saw the movie in theaters and became absolutely enthralled with the concept of daemons and the world they existed in. I looked up as much online info as I could on the subject, and found a whole fandom of people equally engrossed in the world created by Phillup Pullman in his series His Dark Materials (of which The Golden Compass is the first book). I remember being up until 5 a.m. some nights during my senior year of college reading this series, regardless if I had a class or exam the next morning.

As I explained in a forum I briefly joined for fans of the series, I found a variety of fun quizes you could take to find your “true daemon,” and one of my results was a hyena. After a bit more research on the animal and its different sub-species, I decided the striped hyena fit me the best. At a glance, their appearance is ugly or off-putting, but in truth they are beautiful, unique creatures. They both hunt and scavenge, eat meat or vegetation, and are solitary creatures some times and family-oriented pack animals at others. All in all, their general demeanor very much reflects my own personality and behavior. Not to mention the association between hyenas and laughter!

Creation

Much like the image above, I researched as many pictures of this creature as I could find. What I found was that all striped hyenas look different from one another. They share the stripes and dark coloration on their ankles and faces, and the distinct tufts of hair outlining the front and back of their necks. After looking through enough pictures, I sketched out a few designs until I created a very distinct look for a striped hyena to have, and one that would fit how I wanted to be represented.

I tend to exaggerate features I find interesting in an almost Dr. Seussian style, and as such I gave Zelaphas such long chest hair it nearly drapes to the floor. In the photos of striped hyenas I saw, I noticed their ears came in all sorts of odd shapes and sizes, and I gave Zel some embarrassingly large and twisted ears as a result. I loved the stripes on the ankles, which I feel make whatever pose the creature is in (be it stationary or in movement) more interesting. I didn’t like how some striped hyenas had stripe overload all over their bodies, so outside of a handful of stripes on Zel’s rear back, the rest of her body is white or grey. Additionally, I wanted to give Zel some features that most creatures don’t have; Most creatures have a lighter underside and a darker backside to blend in with their environment. Zel, however, has a slightly darker belly and a completely black underside to her tail.

I also created Zel at a time that I was venturing more heavily into graphic and web design, and wanted to create something that would lend itself to a particular design scheme, possibly for Twitter or whatever other sites I sunk my teeth into. Ever since I was young, pink and blue has been a favorite color combo of mine, so I used a dull pink for Zel’s fleshy features and a bright blue for her eyes.

I felt the striped pattern deserved some sort of repetition on the face, and thus Zel got some odd, white stripes over her eyes to help them stand out a bit more against the black and dark grey. Although her mane was originally a dark grey, I later added in black stripes to add more interest and color variance to the overall design.

It took a lot of drawing and re-drawing before I finalized the design, but after tweaking the features I mentioned above, I was able to settle on a design that was true to the nature of a striped hyena, over-emphasized per my own style, fairly unique and overall interesting and appealing to the eye.

Bringing Zelaphas to Life

Name

According to His Dark Materials, a daemon isn’t given a name; it has one at the moment of its owner’s birth, and the owner simply knows it. Once the owner comes into knowledge of words and names, it simply looks at its daemon and knows what its name should be. In the same vein, many of the fan sites I visited suggested you name your own daemon, however real or imagined, in the same way – simply think of it, and know what it should be called. Perhaps because hyenas are associated with laughter that I had the word “laugh” in mind, but the rest of the syllables forming the name Ze-laph-as just sort of spilled out.

Gender

Originally, Zelaphas was a male. This is because in the world of His Dark Materials, daemons are the opposite sex as their owners (with a few exceptions). I introduced Zel to the Internet as a male character and as my imaginary daemon, but more recently I decided Zel should instead simply represent myself within the anthro fandom, since I otherwise had no anthro persona for myself. Zelaphas is now simply “me” as a striped hyena.

Use

I’ve grown more interest in drawing Zelaphas and bringing her to life through art now that I’ve finalized her design and decided to use her as my representation. As per my post on MFF ‘09, I used the name Zelaphas for my attendance badge. As I may attend more conventions or other events in the future, I will probably continue to use Zelaphas and proudly display art of her when I go.