bearlyfunctioning - Tumblr blog

[bearlyfunctioning]

On and off over the years I've been asked: Have you drawn a Short Faced bear? Cave bear? Any extinct genus? So with Prehistoric planet out I figured now might be a timely moment to finally do so ;) Cave bears basically look like huge Kodiaks so I chose the WIERD ANATOMY bois Arctodus Simus.

The short faced bear had... an...incredibly short face! Plus oddly long legs, they were built a little more like a hyena in shape. I dressed them speculatively like their only living cousins; the Spectacled/Andean bear. My inspiration for this was all those old extinct animal posters/illustrations that were everywhere in my childhood. Usually showing a m/f pair of the species with some faded or generic local environment. Hope you like it! I was drawing more realistically here.

[bearlyfunctioning]

Don’t panic ‘The Bear Minimum’ will still show up every now and again, just a lot less than it used to. This is a continuation of my thoughts on the comic I posted here last. I’m just not enjoying making art anymore, like -not at all- & it’s really getting me down. Art is an intrinsic part of my identity, so not wanting to do it feels awful. This reticence has been building for at least 4 years now & as of last year I have been acting on my desire to leave art as a career, before I burn out to a crisp. Please note this is the first time in a long time I am feeling mentally healthy & have the resources to go without my portion of our income for some time (while I try to get IRL work). So, I really need to seize this moment of security to make big life changes. Even if it means we’re going to have to tighten our budget a lot while I try to find work. Some of you may remember that I am attending school full-time for an assistant administration diploma, ideally to have a broad skillset to bring with me while job hunting. I’ll be graduating from that course at the end of May if everything goes as planned. I have been on a commission hiatus since the start of this year to put schooling in action, continuing only with the weekly comic & monthly Patreon exclusive work. This brought my monthly income down to 1/3rdof what it usually is, but that was all I could manage alongside fulltime school. Doing so much less drawing has been incredibly beneficial to my RSI hand pain! For the first time in years, I can go to sleep without restrictive arm braces & I don’t need maintenance from the physiotherapist. I honestly thought that was permanent so I can’t even convey my relief there! However, despite drawing a lot less, my love for making art did not return. I enjoy making comics, but they are a whole lotta line-art & that can be a very repetitive process. Being a comic artist has been extremely good for my growth online; to the point where I owe half or more of my current following to it. Some people don’t even know I draw other things, that’s how good their reach is compared to my other art. Despite that I am going to be taking the comic off schedule. Even if it means sacrificing most or all my Patreon income and kneecapping my reach on every platform. I’ve been making the comic 4 times a month, with little break for 6 years. It started as a good outlet for my thoughts & an exercise in consistency, as I had never had a schedule of any sort prior. Doing the comic weekly was a great lesson in self motivation, but no one is forcing me to continue with it other than me. Plenty of times the deadline came I didn’t have a good idea & just made something I wasn’t proud of, because it was income and because I had just done it every week for so long. If you don’t enjoy my non bear/comic art, then I suppose we’ll part ways. In the end I must do right by me though & I feel like this is the best choice right now. Patrons have been notified on what will be happening over there in their own post.

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #336: Tipping Point - Website links: Here! I know a concerning amount of people who have gone through artistic burnout, many of whom once they found alternate income, just stopped making art. Some even disappearing from the community all together. I don't want that future for me...I don't want that future for me... I have made some decisions about what to do & will share those plans with you soon

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #335: Spot the AI - Website links: Here! My MIL means well, but she was being fooled by detailed art-dolls of baby animals before AI became a thing! Now so many people like her are going to have a legitimately hard time knowing if photos are real or not & it is only going to get worse. I've definitely been fooled too, but if I spend more than a few minutes looking at something I can usually tell it's generated crap.

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #334: Go go Goblinmode! - Website links: Here! I wanted to make a comic conveying just how GOBLINMODE my brain has been in lately. I give school 100% then am usually released early, where I   promptly go through a feral energy state, then all the tired catches up to me at once 😅🐻🌪️💤

[bearlyfunctioning]

It's been a long time since my last tutorial! From popular demand on a recent content poll I have made a tutorial on how I go about designing animal hybrids! Featuring the Bullion! (Lionbull) 🦁🐮  See it: here!

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #333: Glasses - Website links: Here! It's me! Your Four-Eyes Friendo I'm near-sighted & can't really see much beyond 5 feet in front of my face. Glasses are a necessity for doing just about anything in my life, but they remain separated from my self perception. Funny how that works!

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #332: Subverting Expectations - Website links: Here! Who's that Pokemon?? IT'S- not what you expected! 😂 Oh lawdy, my relationship with Pokemon may be on the rocks right now. but love for this little green sparky remains 💚💛 Do you have an unusual favorite?

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #331: Imposter Syndrome .png - Website links: Here! I'm not kidding when I say I dislike like 70% of all the art I make, not even considering work stuff, JUST counting personal art. I forget half of everything I draw after 3 months. Yet ya'll are wilding out here with extremely sweet compliments & amazing artists are following me. It clashes with my self perception so hard I just end up CONFUSED!? Anyway thankyou for liking what I do even when I'm feeling real critical.

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #330: I’m a WHAT?! - Website links: Here! Husburr with the Drive By EMOSHUNUL DAMAGE! Based on real events lol. Once I was done squealing in disbelief from the insult he explained it was because I stole food off his desk & I was like: "...fair" 😂

[bearlyfunctioning]

It's my Bearthday 🐻🎉🎈 🍰

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #329: Dumb reasons to have kids #1  - Website links: Here! I have had some genuinely stupid reasons for having children leveled at me but this one... hooo... this one my whole family's existence disproves! I am ending a long line of wanderlust ladies skipping all over the commonwealth & that's just fine! Let ppl live their own lives🐻🚫👶

[bearlyfunctioning]

Bear with me while I do my top of the month promo 💸

The latest supported illustration was a continuation of my bear tarot/Bearrot series! Join up if you'd like to see it a year early along with the other bonuses I offer 💖🏮 🐻‍❄️🏔️❄️

See it here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/bear-tarot-79296639

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #328: Spending on yourself - Website links: Here! What is the most expensive thing I've ever spent on -Just me-... well schooling! More of a need than want. Having been poor for so long in my adult life, making big expensive decisions is like pulling teeth. You can only hope the 'self investment' pays for itself later ʕ´ಠᴥಠ`ʔ

[bearlyfunctioning]

Bearrot Cards - The Fool -   Card meaning: It's a fantastic day to go walkies, don't forget to look before you leap! Ooo a doggy! I may not know much about Tarot card readings but I have enjoyed their illustrations for a very long time! If I was gonna make them myself I always had in mind to do them in my 'shapes' style like this. The Fool features a youthful cinnamon black bear striking out on it's own path, fraught with danger though it may be. The prancing dog changed to a bear hunting hound to keep on theme. I wanted to keep a bunch of the symbology of the original card which is why it has the white rose & such. Since apparently those things have meaning :P This illustration was funded by my patreon supporters over a year ago and is just now releasing publicly. If you'd like to see more bear artworks like this please consider supporting me there <3 https://www.patreon.com/TheBearMinimum

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #327: Moist - Website links: Here! This is my first tango with eczema (Dishydrosis technically) flared up all over my hands & I am discovering the horrors of having perpetually slippery grabbers. My devices thankfully have survived their many falls 🥲 thankfully I am not drawing full time right now 🐻💧

[bearlyfunctioning]

Comic #326: Exercise on low battery - Website links: Here! If you're a Whiner, whinger, doomer, Debbie Downer, belly acher, grumpy pants, crybaby, glass half empty grumbler like me, you're in good company ;)