Hey all, I'm always grateful to everyone who visits my page even when things are at a lull. Things have been a bit tight and I'm trying to get back in the groove of keeping my heat straight instead of getting angsty and anxious about the future and the seemingly stagnant present. Much prayer needed, is all I can say.

I've been doing illustrations for my company's website and it's a nice change of pace from the usual studio work (I get to use the left side of my brain a bit more, yay!)

Hope you all have a good and restful weekend when it comes and Happy Mom Day!

Which reminds me, what do you think would be a good mom-day picture idea based on my gallery (content, characters, etc.) I humbly draw deeply from your well of inspiration and madness

Hmm... I discovered that I'm primarily a melancholic personality type in both the positives and negatives. Wow.

[link]
[link]

And being a melancholic artist can be the WORST. You look at your old work and face palm, "WHY DID I POST THAT???" And the occasional depression... not fun.

It even reflects in my faith in that I stick to the theology by the letter. I love it because I see how it can make the world a better place and I see the dangers of the smallest compromises. My standards are high, sometimes too high for myself, and I have to be careful not to be critical of others. I've been told I even think like a guy because my logic tends to be governed more by pure logic than emotions, (though I still get emotional at deep stuff). I do recall that ever since I was small, and even before I was a Christian, I always had a strong sense of right and wrong and I was very cause-driven and saw the world in abstract concepts. Protecting quality and moral standards in every institution and area of life are very important to me because it keeps quality high and people happy; in the end and it is worth sacrificing short term for. So I tend to see people thinking only short-sighted as selfish.

The personality type God gives us seems to play right along with the abilities he gives us for our respective missions. A lot of prophets in the Bible were melancholic types, like Jeremiah. I once heard a Bible teaching that actually broke down the suggested personality types of key people in the Scriptures.

What do you think you are? (the sites should link to other types at the end of the articles)

Hope you've all had a good week, enjoy the weekend***

This photoshop by tigershinigami made me laugh a bit, especially considering how insane the plot would be if they both got combined...

[link]

That should be a crossover challenge. Take two plots and combine them into a behemoth story with all the plot elements melding or running wild. No after the fact when the events of the stories are over, but running parallel and meshing.

What I'm up to:

-1 spread of Operation SQ posted
-Some Silver Foxes WIPs uploaded.

Commissions: No (at least not for the next 6 weeks)
Requests: No

I also left off some discussions with some of you.  I haven't forgotten, I had some things that needed urgent attention in RL.  Thank you for your patience.  I look forward to picking up with you again!

---

Ongoing research about marketing and networking you may find useful if you want to get your work out there:

[link]
[link]
[link]

---

[link] Song from one of my favourite artists.  Hope it blesses you too.

Romans 8 [link]

Hope everyone has had a wonderful and blessed week.

What I'm up to:

-1 spread of Sonic SM comic uploaded (sporadic but discontinued for the most part)

-Inking Operation SQ pages (ongoing) Will be posted on Saturday 03/16/13

-Developing new project for publication (ongoing)

Commissions: No
Requests: No

I also left off some discussions with some of you.  I haven't forgotten, I had some things that needed urgent attention in RL.  Thank you for your patience.  I look forward to picking up with you again!

---

Ongoing research about marketing and networking you may find useful if you want to get your work out there:

[link]
[link]
[link]

Hope everyone has had a wonderful and blessed week.

... since he banned me unprovoked?

I didn't even really say anything to him yet. Perhaps my existence provokes him 0_o?

Anyway, here is my response should you choose to drop by my page again, Fiskefiren.  You're always welcome ... but your insults against fellow Deviants is not.


***

vgrzen34 Jan 26, 2013
don't let that angry soul get you down. i'm a buddhist and i think this is awesome. respect to all beliefs, for they're all sides of an infinite sided coin.

***

Tazi-san 5 days ago  Student General Artist
Hi Vgrzen!

No problem and thank you! You never now what happened to him to get him to that point, I felt and empathized with his words

I can't say I believe in that infinite sided coin but Christ who said he was the only way.

I DO however believe in respecting all beliefs, not because I think they are all true, but because of the significance it holds to the person.

I like discussing matters of the spirit mutually and amicably. That kind of friendly challenge is very healthy and ironically brings people together despite differences.

So I'm glad fiske voiced his feelings, now I can pray for him And if he wants to talk more, that's great too.

***

~fiskefyren 4 days ago
I like how you pretty much just told him that his beliefs are false and he's too stupid to realize it ^_^ oh, you people are all idiots, tsk tsk

***

Hi Fisk,

As I matured and learned, I'm more secure in my convictions because I experience the power of Christ in my life everyday.  No amount of arguments can erase that so I'm not offended if people tell me I'm wrong

People do that ...

Every

Day

... and they will do that 'til the day I die (or until Jesus comes again) so why get hung up over it? It doesn't change a thing. We will all still face God and his Kingdom WILL come.

But from a logical standpoint, we can't all be right because different beliefs are even opposite.  For example, one may say the world had a beginning, other says it always existed. One says you live once then meet your Maker, another says you are reincarnated over several lifetimes until you break the cycle. One says you can eat animals, the other says we may be eating a reincarnated human. They can't all be correct, can they?

Also, I do not think vgrzen34 deserves you calling him names...but given the content of your page, your purpose here is to flame people Your anger is tangible and I'm curious as to what got you to this point.

I didn't answer the points in your previous post because it seemed your mind is already made up and something else is going on. Otherwise, why not forget about the Bible and move on with your life? Whether you answer or not, God be with you and help you.  You have no peace and it leaks out to everyone like a broken vessel.

Taz

Hey fellow Deviants!

I've been rather quiet on here lately because I'm in the process of sorting out my life, career, spirit, etc. 2012 was also a rough year where I faced some tough battles in the mind and heart.  It revealed that there were some very serious fears, bitterness, anger, rejection, depression that I needed to resolve inside and with others.  I'm still on the process of resolving them as I build a new lifestyle centered around a deeper walk with Christ. No more rushing ahead on my own devices. It's not enough to read bible go to church go home--we have to have a circulating, living, breathing communication and love with God (cant stress enough how useful fasting is). I kept holding back from that because that level of vulnerability and loss of control is scary but that's where trust comes in. Jesus allowed himself to be vulnerable to us so I can fellowship with him in that because he is the living Heart of God.

I also realized even more the depth of my human weakness and depravity and just how much I really need him.  Call me weak but the irony is our weakness becomes his strength because we give him more room to work through us. He have given me a lot of gifts and abilities but...

"...Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

We become less as we become more and I would say that is the ultimate goal of a Christ-follower on this planet.  That is certainly the good thing that came out of 2012.

I find it interesting that the number 12 in the Bible means the "Perfection of Government."

Sure I read about these principles in the Bible and knew them well but experiencing it is a whole new world.  STUFF JUST GOT REAL 0_0

It's a harder but better life, you feel alive instead of dead and numb. No wonder returning veterans miss the exhilaration and purpose of combat and the iron-clad bonds they forged with their comrades.  When you come back to civilian life you're suddenly at a loss and I an relate to that.

It also impacted my art life--that is an integral part of me because I was called to the creative by God.  I realized that I didn't really have a set direction to focus on and that's a disaster for a one-track personality like mine. My gallery feels quite scattered and when I got pumped on a project I feel like God quenched my enthusiasm because it was not a direction he wanted me to pour my energy into.

I was torn because I wanted to do SOMETHING but I didn't want to do something outside his purpose only for it to end in futility.  This resulted in a lot of unfinished projects and broken dreams. I just feel there has been a lot of even spiritual resistance against my drawing.

A friend said (you know who you are!) "Your drawing is a main way God designed you to share Him with the world, so of course there's resistance.  I'm glad you aren't going to take it anymore."

That really hit a nail And yeah, I got sick and tired enough of sitting in my cesspit to want to throw myself on God wild crazy freedom. When you're used to bondage real freedom looks scary but it's WONDERFUL. You just have to be desperate enough and the passage in Matthew 5 about "hungering and thirsting for righteousness" really rings a bell. I started losing hope that I could overcome this and God could change me but I just had to get sick enough of the stagnation and my pride. The way the crowds followed Jesus to the point where they almost crushed him just reflects their desperation and how desperate I need to be.

I was afraid of giving up my personal projects and letting them go to him. But this is a good thing because I can't put my art above him so I allowed him to just clear off the desk and wipe the canvas clean.  I can't love the gift more than the Giver, so I decided to let it all go.  I asked him for a project and I feel I received something new and fresh from him.  So I am timely working on it as more new things develop.  I don't care if I'm tired after work, I will still do what I can, even just a paragraph of script or concept doodle.

A lot of people ask God to take away their troubles but he uses them to grow you.

One time when I was praying and a funny image came in my head to illustrate this.
You know how when you play an RPG like Final Fantasy and you're too weak to move on in the game?  You find that one area on the map full of strong monsters, whip out your best weapons, and do some level grinding. (My area of choice in FFV being that Dinosaur Forest). I kept trying to do things my own way and Satan would just totally dance on my head. Those demons would come after me in my prideful weakness and WHAM, there went all my HP. But I had to keep trying and eventually I leveled up and made a joke out of those monsters.  Same way God allows certain demons to come after you mentally, physically, spiritually. They will be like the Joker to your Batman so you better stand on Christ the Solid Rock and KNOW THE TRUTH.

The twisting and perversion seemed to happen to no end to the point where I even had trouble discerning reality.  I was living in an illusion and I was watching characters in my mind have a life instead of taking action and having a life of my own. I was using my power of character creation for my own selfish desires instead of using them to help others. Satan used my own characters against me and I ate it up!  How low is that!? It even isolated me from my family and my nieces and nephews who love me because I'd rather stay home in my head than go and visit them.

That's what vice does.  Your dependency on anything but God makes your love for others grow cold. If you depend on God, you would have an unlimited resource to fill you with plenty extra to share with others.

It's like how Satan tempted Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness, trying to persuade him to use his powers for himself. But he succeeded where I failed because instead of turning that stone into bread for himself, he later multiplied the fish and bread to feed OTHERS. He had the power to deny himself and I must draw from that power.

My imagination is big but that tends to leave it susceptible to spiritual attack if it is not protected with truth and submission to the Holy Spirit. I find you are especially susceptible if you are gifted with the creative because the creative has the power to bypass the mind and reach straight into the heart. That's why powerhouses like Elvis, Michael Jackson, Whitney were so attacked because they had the power to move souls to God (with style). (Any celebrity in general with the power of influence for that matter. People are watching every detail of their life but instead of walking a walk worth emulating many of their lives are even more dysfunctional than mine!  Then we love to watch them fall.  We don't truly love our celebrities...:sad: )

Well those are my thoughts for the moment.

I hope everyone is doing well in their projects and life!

Taz

Yaay ringing in New Year with this yummy little blog I found whilst researching careers in illustration:

[link]

The watercolour cutouts look so nifty and she has some other artists featured as well.  I thought this was a cheery little bit to look at. Is it strange to say that the blog makes me kind of hungry? I think it's the colours and patterns.

(Yay Brits!)

Blessings

Taz

2 Chronicles 7:13-15

13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

We can go on about economy, crime, money, etc. but it all starts in the heart.

All of the above is a promise.

. . .

In response to [link]

I don't think it will be zombies according to Hollywood but the closest thing I ever found was in Revelation 9:1-7:

Revelation 9:1-7

"9 Then the fifth angel blew [his] trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth; and to the angel was given the key of the shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit). 2 He opened the long shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit), and smoke like the smoke of a huge furnace puffed out of the long shaft, so that the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the long shaft. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came forth on the earth, and such power was granted them as the power the earth's scorpions have. 4 They were told not to injure the herbage of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree, but only [to attack] such human beings as do not have the seal (mark) of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not permitted to kill them, but to torment (distress, vex) them for five months; and the pain caused them was like the torture of a scorpion when it stings a person. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it; and they will yearn to die, but death evades and flees from them. 7 The locusts resembled horses equipped for battle. On their heads was something like golden crowns. Their faces resembled the faces of people."

It says there will be a judgment where the lost people who worship the Anti-Christ with 666 mark will be so tormented they will long to die but can't.  Can you imagine people flinging themselves off a building but not being able to die?

These will still be people with reasoning and sense, not mindless corpses.  But their hearts are so hard against God and their minds are so depraved that even in the midst of this they still won't turn to God. But they will be in so much pain/torment I can imagine them lashing out and attacking each other because there will just be no other outlet.

I think we are are so fascinated by zombies because we have an affinity with death, it is our element of habitation.  We are creatures of sin and death, it feels dark and good, which is why it is so tempting and just easier to do (you don't have to teach a kid to lie or steal, it comes naturally). Light hurts our eyes because we are so used to the dark and consuming and consuming to satisfy ourselves is a visceral urge we all have.

John 3:17-20:

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

God put eternity into our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) so unless you've forfeited a part of your humanity, deep down your souls knows. I think we make all these 2012 end of world movies because intuitively we just know what has a beginning also has an end.  Even the most atheistic scientists will acknowledge some kind of beginning of the universe due to it's entropic makeup.

The real zombies are those whose spirits have not been resurrected by Christ.  Until then, you really are walking dead, I know I was because when I met Christ it's like I was suddenly awake, asking myself what the heck I was doing all this time? You can see, learn and react like a zombie but have no understanding because "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7).

The question is not whether you're good or bad but whether you are alive or dead.

Are you resurrected or reanimated?

My feisty little island is now 50 years old

The Olympics just made it all the sweeter.

Gw'aan deh

Usain Bolt
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
[link]

(If they got married their children would be the fastest things alive, hoo-hoo~)

And

Yohan Blake
Asafa Powell
Veronica Campbell-Brown

You all did us PROUD!!!

Gi dem a run! 'Nuff respec'!

I believe you have big plans for our island, Jesus.  You gave us much gifting and I hope we can finally excel in our homeland the way we do abroad.  Set us free from corruption in Jesus' name.

BTW. I want to know how the heck we got so fast.  Jamaica is TINY and we hardly have that many square miles to run around on!

He's been in prison for 1000 days so far . . . and the case has been gaining international attention which is good because it delayed their attempt to execute him for apostasy (leaving Islam).

Please continue praying for/supporting him.  He'd rather stay in jail than renounce Christ.

[link]

We honor today all the people past, present, and future who fight for freedom. Their sacrifices and deaths are precious and I hope people like those don't become a dying breed.  I want to be one of those . . .

Lord Jesus I pray for all those families who have lost brave soldiers, police, and other servants who put their life on the line to protect us.  You said yourself there is no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friends.  You know about that most of all and you did it for people who hated you.  I pray that you will soften the hearts of this nation again so that we will have that heart of sacrifice and service even on the everyday, civilian level. Rid us of selfishness and vice and please turn our hearts to one another and the least of us who need that love the most. Forgive us for worshiping sex, money and people when you deserve that praise.

We can't be free on the outside unless we are free in our hearts.  That only comes when we turn from sin and make peace with you, YHWH. Please help the U.S. stay free and help other nations like Sudan, North Korea, China, etc. Please calm the violence in those places and touch the hearts of the people. I pray for peace in Israel and for the whole middle east.

I pray for the protection of our troops, police, firefighters, and other servants local and abroad.  Dispatch angels to back them up in their fight against evil, in Jesus' name, Amen.











UPDATE: Thank you all for volunteering your art.  I have found some artists so everything's good.  Thanks again!

I've been doing commission for my Malta client for a while but things are getting busier and I am no longer able to turn out quality work for them due to other responsibilities.

I normally do a rate of $100 per coloured page (couple extra $$ for high details).

Check out my Biblical gallery and you will see the quality and style they are looking for:

[link]

We want crisp, clean, believable art with life in their eyes.  Normally the client sends reference images and panel descriptions, but you must also be willing to do a little visual research so get the image right if necessary.

And since this is a ministry, I am also specifically looking for an artist who believes the content ie. believes the Bible is God's Word from cover to cover, who is a born again Christian and loves, I mean LOVES Christ. It is vital to have the Holy Spirit behind the art.  I actually pray over my work that it will bless its viewers.  So it's pretty serious bidness. If you are able to take on this job, please note me.  I would appreciate it.

Lately I've split the work (and pay) up in a 3-man team via. Paypal so I'm really just looking for a line artist. If you do the line art, you will get 50% of the pay while the colour fill and graphic artist each get 25%.

Thanks in advance!

Taz

Thank you, you're all very encouraging.