Frequently Asked Questions
Feel free to contact me with more questions if you don’t see answers listed here or in my Commission Info, Terms of Service, or Advice blog posts.
ABOUT ME AND MY ART
- How long have you been drawing?
- How did you get so good at drawing?
- What colored pencils do you use?
- What kinds of traditional mediums you use?
- What drawing programs do you use?
- Can I reference your drawing?
- Can I trade with you?
- Do you take requests? / Can you make me an icon? / Can you draw me a picture of my OC?
- If you’re a girl, why is your nickname “Crazdude”?
- Why do you call me “bub”?
MY CHARACTERS
- How did you come up with your OC/fursona?
- Can I buy your character(s)?
- Can I draw your character(s) for you?
ARTWORK TERMS
- What’s an ACEO?
- How do I make something with vectors?
- How do you make icons?
- What do you do to maintain a personal code of ethics and way to keep being polite (even with silly questions or requests?)
SOCIAL MEDIA
- I’m watching you! Can you please watch me back? (Follow for follow)
- Do you role-play?
- TAGGED!
ABOUT ME AND MY ART
How long have you been drawing?
The oldest recorded drawing I have was from when I was 2 years old; an apatosaurus. So I guess I’ve been drawing since 1988! When I was in elementary school, I drew lots of dinosaurs and some horses. And I mean LOTS of dinosaurs.
How did you get so good at drawing?
By my P.E.A.S. Method to Artistic Self-improvement! Or I should say, the P.E.A.S Method is based off of what I have done in my 25+ years of drawing. Practice, Experiment, Ask for suggestions, and Study the world around you!
What colored pencils do you use?
I generally use Crayolas with occasional Prismacolor pencil work. They all have different benefits so it’s hard for me to settle with just one set.
What kinds of traditional mediums you use?
Traditional materials: mechanical pencils, Pentel click eraser, Micron pens, Sakura Gelly Roll pens, Uni-ball Signo Broad pens, Sharpies, Prismacolor markers, Prismacolor colored pencils, Crayola colored pencils, watercolor paint cakes, Acrylic paints.
Papers: Strathmore brand of the following: Mixed Media, sketch, drawing, watercolor, and Bristol. Canson Illustration paper. Scrapbooking papers and maps to accent my badges.
What drawing programs do you use?
I use Adobe software for all of my digital art. Vector-based images are done in Adobe Illustrator and anything else I make is done in Photoshop.
Can I reference your drawing?
No. I’m happy that you ask rather than just doing it but I’d prefer that people not use my art as a reference. My artwork doesn’t have the best reference for anatomy (especially the cartoons) and it wouldn’t help you improve your art in the long run. Instead, I recommend taking a look at some stock photos, videos of wildlife, or studying actual animals (your pets or animals at the zoo.)
Can I trade with you?
I don’t generally trade for art these days. A lot of it has to do with whether I have time for trades; I have a lot of works in progress and so many new ideas to tackle!
Do you take requests? / Can you make me an icon? / Can you draw me a picture of my OC?
I will always lend an ear to suggestions for generic artwork but will not do specific artwork for people for free; if it is a suggestion for a scene or subject that many people would enjoy, I may draw it. Gifts are my choosing and are usually a surprise for a close friend or for a person I admire. (Remember: they wouldn’t be gifts if people asked for them. That would be a “request” and I don’t take requests unless I ask for suggestions first.) The best way to get custom artwork from me is to commission me. See my commission price list here.
If you’re a girl, why is your nickname “Crazdude”?
My dad had a band called “Crazy Daze” so crazy was a normal and positive part of our household vocabulary lol. I used to say “crazy” a LOT in school – especially to describe things that were awesome. I would call my friends “dude” even if they were girls and they’d call me “dude” even though I’m a girl. I tried to make my first AOL account when I was 10yrs-old and I wanted it to be “Crazydude” but it was taken already. So I dropped the “y” and gave that a try: Crazdude became my username.
I wanted “Crazdude” to be my nickname in school but it never was truly used until I was on Kiefer Sutherland message boards when I was in High School and made friends that called me “Crazdude” and “Craz”! I admit that a lot of people see my name and think I’m a guy and are probably thinking: “This person doesn’t seem crazy at all!” I used to say that I’m only partly crazy (I’m missing a “Y” for the full word) or that in this insane world, the sane people go a little crazy!
Why do you call me “bub”?
See my post about The Story of Bub!
MY CHARACTERS
Can I draw your character(s) for you?
Sure! I always love to see my characters in another artist’s style! Just make sure to message me so I can see, comment, and favorite it! My character reference sheets are located here.
How did you come up with your OC/fursona?
I have a grey wolf as my fursona/OC named “Craz-wolf” I know that there’s a huge backlash against “ordinary grey wolf” characters but I started before I knew it was popular. Heck, I didn’t even know that other people drew themselves and friends as animals (except I was aware of this in the Furry community but I didn’t consider myself a furry.)
Back before I knew about DA or FA, I was raising my Siberian Huskies for dog show competitions. They were a significant influence on my art and inspirational to me. I was also obsessed with Kiefer Sutherland at the time. I was friends with a lot of people on a message board dedicated to him and we planned to see him in person in NYC! I was so excited, I wanted to draw us meeting him, having drinks with him, and so forth. I wasn’t much of a human-artist so I drew him as a Siberian Husky my friends and I as wolves (because we were a pack of girls on the prowl lol) I took to drawing my friends and myself as wolves from that point on.
A year or so later, I was advised to join DA. Little did I know, it was the height of the “wolfaboos” and my art was surprisingly well accepted! I started giving my OCs markings and accessories (mostly so my watchers were able to distinguish which plain grey wolf was me and which wolves were my friends!) I liked keeping them as different shades of grey since it’s easier to draw/sketch with a plain pencil.
In my first few years in the fandom, I noticed the backlash; anti-wolf statements and accusations of being another wolf-obsessed “wolfaboo”. I never considered myself wolf obsessed — I was really just a lazy artist that wanted to draw wolves based on memories of my huskies! — But since I started drawing Craz-wolf to represent me, she’s really stuck. Siberian tigers are actually my favorite animal but my Siberian Huskies made such good drawing muses!
Can I buy your character(s)?
No, my characters are not for sale.
ARTWORK TERMS
What’s an ACEO?
An ACEO is best described at this site: http://www.aceo.org
How do I make something with vectors?
There are a number of tutorials available for vector artwork online; search Adobe.com or Google for “vector tutorial”. I use Adobe Illustrator for my vectors but it seems that SAI, Photoshop and other programs have vector capabilities as well.
How do you make icons?
I use Adobe Photoshop (it’s a pricey program, unless you do an online trial – google “Adobe Photoshop Trial”) I set the size of the canvas to be 50×50 pixels and the resolution is set as 72dpi (that’s the standard resolution of the internet.) I make sure I use the pencil tool with the “Anti-alias” function turned off (for the pencil, lasso, select tool, and eraser) so that I make little pixel squares that have sharp edges and won’t visually smooth the pixels (that Anti-aliasing makes art look less pixelated which isn’t what we want for pixel artwork!) And I usually “Save for Web or Device” so that I can create a transparent .gif file.
SOCIAL MEDIA
What do you do to maintain a personal code of ethics and way to keep being polite (even with silly questions or requests?)
I have been on DA for 10+ years and I try to make information readily available but I know there are new members (some of which are very young, may not know to look for commission info, or have only interacted with artists that only take requests) and I like to enlighten them but also interact with them with as much patience and positivity as if I just joined DA myself! ^^ My husband tells me not to answer “silly/redundant questions or requests” — that they “aren’t worth my time” — but I don’t want to ignore people and I don’t like being mean! This is a much better way to keep friendly and not scare people away than being mean, rude, or just plain ignoring them. D: I never like it, so I never want to do it!
I’m watching you! Can you please watch me back? (Follow for follow)
I only watch friends and artists that I admire or see have definite potential to grow. I usually stop by the galleries of the people that watch me more than I visit the people I watch. I am interested in seeing my watchers evolve their styles and techniques but I know it takes time. Be patient and keep improving – one day I could be idolizing YOU!
Do you role-play?
Sorry, I don’t Role-play.