Goodbye Rocko the Cat

This is a sad post. You will need to hug an animal after reading it. Or a cake if an animal isn't available.

Rocko the Cat is gone.

My cat life partner had to be put to sleep this past weekend. He was 13 and some, and he had some ongoing health problems, but on Friday his little body stopped working correctly. He went to the cat hospital but it turned out he wouldn't recover.

So I am super crazy sad, and its so quiet in the studio. This little guy was my 24/7 companion for almost all of my adult life and its going to take some getting used to to not have his annoying, but sweet fat face around. Rocko has always been heavily featured on my blogs over the years. I thought one final post for him would make me feel better.

Baby Rocko. Ok, maybe teen Rocko. I think its 2001 or so. Ugh so small. 

He was SO NAUGHTY and a bit wild in his youth. He wrecked things a lot. Chewed expensive things, scratched stuff. He also slept in drawers and would get fur on ALLL the black things.

Always so helpful when you are trying to work.  I have hundreds of photos of him in my studio, hanging out while I work.

He liked both of us for different reasons. Nathan was the soft touch who spoiled him. Rocko craved the particular petting and baby talk Nathan gave, and I could not replicate. It made him purr like nothing else.  

I was the one who gave him constant attention, he follwed me from room to room and slept on me. I think I was his cat wife.

He got fatter and fatter as time went on. He is a big cat to begin with, but he did love to eat. His face got very round. All of him got very round. 

This beige/grey fade on his foot is his best feature. Its lovely.

Here are some glamour shots of him. Fancy cat. Like all cats he doesn't like to pose. I just took SO MANY photos of him that I have dozens of very pretty headshots if he decided to become a cat actor.

This one is film.

This looks like a stock photo. haha. 

He lived in 3 different apartments with me. Was there through all of university, dull jobs afterwards, my working at home days...I have never really lived in a house without a cat. I mean, who do you even talk to?? People???

Here is one of the last clear shots I have of him. Taken with the iPad. He also lasted through film cameras, shitty 1.8MP digital cameras, flip phone camera, iPhone camera, all the way through to iPad. :-)

Just chillin' on the couch, being handsome.

And the last one isn't as pretty, but it really sums up how he changed in his final years. He was snugglier and sweeter then ever. Started to get very strict cuddling routines. He talked constantly in the tiniest squeaks and chirps and was generally attached to me all day every day.  Even though he had started to get sick and I often had to manhandle him, give him medicine, bath him...he never ever got upset at me. Near the end he took up A LOT of my time. He would get confused and have to be steered to do things, but he repaid with so much cuteness that it was ok.

This was a sunday morning, before breakfast. We would spend quality cuddling time for a few hours by ourselves. It was one of my favourite times of the week.

Bye little bud.

Some new stuff at Redbubble

Added some new items to my Redbubble recently.

If you don't already know, Redbubble is a print on demand site. How it works is: I upload designs, and when someone buys it,  they are printed and shipped directly to the person who purchased them.

Strawberry Tea at Redbubble

This lil teapot is actually from a digital download set I did for my cutesy Etsy shop. I just changed some  colours and added a few bits. I think the patterns came out well.

Kitten Thoughts at Redbubble

Cats are probably hating on your right now. Even the sweet ones.

I first did this little guy with no knife in his mouth. I think he might get a few other weapons......heh heh  

Digital Downloads

I have had a second Etsy shop since 2009, it was a place for my sweeter creations. I sometimes make cute animal things, kid friendly things, and its kind of hard to showcase those type of items in a shop with my regular coffins and vampire items.

This year, I only had a few items in my cute store, so I decided to test out Etsy's new-ish feature that allows you to sell digital items. Like, knitting patterns, design work or printable/digital scrapbook items. I often get messages from people who want to use my work for other purposes (wedding invites, birthday cards, etc) so why not?

DON'T FREAK OUT. This stuff is pretty cutesy. Its just a sideline, its not a total personality shift or something, haha.

Strawberry Tea Set

So for a few dollars, you can download a ZIP file of a bunch of high quality images for use in any of your personal projects. This was the first one I did. Its the closest to my regular colour preferences...You get a bunch of super clean PNG files with transparent backgrounds, repeating wallpapers, printable posters and also JPEG copies of everything.

Fox Party

I updated this older set of illustrations so they could be blown up large and still be smooth. I want a fox party!

This is a combo of Clipart Cat Faces and Printable Label / Bookplates

See? Pretty kid friendly stuff. Not that I know anything about kids or being friendly... 

Lastly, I made a printable Bat Garland! 

A few different colour combinations of a nice bat, and printable pages with directions for cutting and stringing them.

Doing digital-only work has been a nice change. I think it gives me space between making physical items to relax and just work without struggling or problem solving too strenuously. 

My next post will have some of my less sweet work I have been updating my Redbubble with.

A few new things

I have listed a few new items today!

A super lady-like cat doll.

I struggled with deciding which of my Etsy shops she should be listed in. She is definitely sugary sweet and an animal (blackforestcake?) but she also is similar to cats I have sold in the past (blacklilypie?) I suppose it doesn't really matter.

I also listed a weird little rabbit...

The little circles of grey behind his eyes instantly turn him from "cute rabbit" to "Tim Burton inspired creepy rabbit." Haha. Such a small thing. They give him sort of a skull like face. He is a test of a new pattern, really. I haven't decided if I will be making more of his type of doll yet...Probably!

I also added this:

A cat face chalkboard.

This item has been hanging out in my studio for QUITE some time. I finally decided to make a "Scratch and Dent" section at blackforestcake, for projects with more quirks than others. This blackboard has some scratches on it from my first chalking attempt. (See them?) But thats ok, its still cute and works great!

I am already working on a new tiny fox plush, and have a little glittery fox mobile to Photoshop and list. It must be the Spring that is making me make animals like mad. :-)

NOW!

I am in NOW this week!

Now is an independent free weekly news and entertainment newspaper that pretty much one trillion Toronto people read on the subway every Thursday. Its basically the perfect audience for people like me. Its an "Authors Fest" issue and my little bookmark got chosen!

Hello little cat!

Here is a link to the web version of the little article. I like it that my name got into the little blurb at the top. Not too shabby.

So that is fun. Its pretty much what I expected when I was contacted by the fashion reporter. Its teeny tiny but its still in print. I tried so hard to pitch the "Book Vampire" one to him! Ugh, doesn't anyone like vampires?! ;-) haha

So HI NOW READERS!! If any of you manage to trickle this far I am going to celebrate by getting myself a present. Or if none of you do, I get a present. I basically just get a present.

Busy doing nothing.

My parents visited this past weekend. So I took a mini vacation with them and ate fish and chips in the park and looked at antiques. Rocko the Cat had trained them to give him treats and feed him by the time they left.



Its nice to be able to put your life on hold when you want to.

Brain Vacation

I didn't go anywhere, but my brain did.

I just haven't been in the mood to make things, and when that happens, you just gotta go with it. Forcing yourself to "be creative" or whatever you call it, makes you hate making things. And thats no fun. It always passes.

Then I finally managed to make these dudes...

Batcat bookmarks! (Yes, more Batcat Bookmarks...)

I wish you could buy your own stuff and somehow make a living that way. I love this little design, and would pay money for it. Too bad I have to ask other people to pay money for it...


His tail is a soft and nubbly acrylic yarn, which was hard to photograph. I love it to bits. maybe I should learn to knit so I can buy yarn more often.

So aside from organizing supplies, making zucchini muffins and cursing my dashboard widget for showing me only cold temperatures, I have been completely useless the past week or so. Is there any way I can write those off as "personal days" or something. Normal people get them, I should too.

Wait, does looking at Flickr count as shop promotion? Scratch this entry, I am a workaholic.

Oh, thats what it is...

The post below has a little sketch, which turned into THIS!

It a dry erase memo board!

Now that I made a few of these I am all feeling all Gollum-like, wanting to hoard this idea all for myself. Its my wonderful idea and no one else shall ever make another memo board. (Haha, if I put that in writing it will come true right?) I am selfish like that. I feel like this one worked so well, I am going to make more and more!

Black Friday

Ending up on the front page on Black Friday is pretty awesome...
Especially among some other really fantastic black and white goodies! Check out that mug! I am going to resist going on about how every Friday is black Friday for me (Haw haw!) No, they were wrong, I am NOT going to grow out of it!

Being on the front page always brings tons 0f traffic to your shop. I am thankful!! Its nice to know new people are checking out your stuff. Hello new people! :-)Boo! Check out this Spooky Kitten Skeleton! Scary isn't it? Terrifying? Slightly creepy? Ok, maybe just cute...Black and white beasties are the best. I wanted to make sure to post a picture of him so he isn't lost and forgotten. I am just really happy with how he turned out. Awwww.

Oh, and 599 sales. *EEE!*

I think its going to snow...

Ugh. I forgot what it was like to be cold.

But it does help get me in the mood for winter things. Like listing this little dude!
Haha! Is he an evil elf? Or a good elf? Who cares. The hat says evil but the scarf says not evil. I never want to sell these little critters, but if I kept them all I would have to eat them so its not a very good option. Haha.

I am working on Holiday cards and have stockings to list and more more more stuff. You would think I am a Christmas nut or something. I *thought* I wasn't...Am I?

And with all this self imposed rush-rush, my little cat dude has become increasingly naughty ,loud and demanding. He hates his food, he hates his bed and he hates me for not spending enough time looking at his cat-face. So annoying!! He sounds like a lost sheep, bleating and bleating all day.

You think I could get a picture of him being bad??? NO, of course not. My "little cat" knows when I am trying to catch him being bad to prove he is the baddest cat in history. He is too smart for that.
He just curls his enormous body into his beer box (where it came from we have no idea) and refuses to perform his devil deeds on film. ARGH.

FREE for Halloweeeen

I am giving away FREE sets of Halloween pins with Etsy purchases on October 29th,30th and 31st!Head on over to my shop to check it out.

I am destroyed from my weekend of Halloween fun, it was worth it. :-) But even though my party is already over, I want to keep in the Halloween spirit. Boo!

Process post! Danzig the Cat.

Another little custom order, a portrait of a much loved and "right up my alley" sort of wild and naughty little boy cat named Danzig. (How could I turn it down, a boy super-loving his cat and naming it Danzig is like a freaking fairytale to me!)

It was fun and fast and I took a few photos of...
This was the original design sketch. I had some photos of the little dude for reference, so it was more working out what would be around him. I did another separate one for the actual cat, and then spliced them together for the final sketch. This is the scanned pencil drawing on illustration board. Thats why its a bit muddy, I had to up the contrast. On to the painting! I guess you aren't supposed to give away your secrets to painting, but its not like I even paint the same way each time so there isn't really any secret. I tried to keep this one from getting too tight, and colouring it in like a colouring book, but it just happens like that at the beginning. I use really watery acrylic and blast it with a hairdryer every five seconds. And I listen to HIM.I think I should have taken another one in between this and the last one.I basically just added dark and light a few times...dark then light then darker than lighter until its high contrast enough for me. Like this. With a paintbrush! Secret REVEALED! Ok, here is the final guy... Danzig! I think its pretty cute. He is a sort of bad boy, but with a heart of gold, like all orange cats are. :-) Whatever bad thing he did, you'll forgive him.

Wow!

500 sales!!Aww! My dude is the best and always surprises me with one for every hundred sales. This one may be the last as 500 is "the big leagues" to me. At 600 I will buy something for myself! :-)

I can't belive I am almost too busy to make Halloween stuff (aside from bat cookies and my costume and all my regular stuff) But I did manage to make this little lady...She is evil witch in training, but it isn't going very well because she is too nice and cute. Gawd, I love to make these cat things.

:-)

Custom Cat

I have been working on a custom order for one of my best customers at my shop. I hope she doesn't mind me posting the progress here. I love seeing other peoples works in progress, it feels a bit like you are are learning their secrets...

This is the original sketch I did for her.This is Neo, this little man cat went off to kitty heaven to cause havoc. He has a wonderful interesting face with lots of character...
I did a few roughs first, to get it all set up and then sketched my "final rough" onto illustration board. I have a drafting table thats devoted to painting, so I can leave out projects and work on them over time. I use a Sta-wet painter's palette, which keeps your paint wet over days or even weeks. I spread a few pictures of Neo around to make sure I get his splotches in the right place.
I rarely paint two paintings the same way. I learned from a few fantastic illustrators in university that everyone has their own way, some work on the whole image, some finish small places then move on to the next. I am usually an "all over" kind of worker. I kind of painted him in reverse, using the background to carve him out. On a lot of my paintings, I use a pigment liner to draw the image then kind of colour it in with paint. But Neo needed a more "traditional" painting feel to him.Ok, I could have put another photo before this one as its progressed quite a bit. I usually go progressively darker and darker, and then start all over with lighter over top to get more contrast. Make sense? My best friend is the hairdryer. I lock each paint wash by drying it.

You can see that even though this is a somewhat realistic painting (for me) I messed about with his face a bit to make him smile. I had to fight the urge to give him fangs, even though his don't show like my cat. And here is the final face. I will admit, its a bit "prettier" than the real cat is. In the photos he is a bit more handsome and masculine, but I have come to terms that I just paint pretty. Its what I like. Most portraits do it intentionally anyway... As always, the original painting looks vastly different than the scan, the computer just can't capture it. You loose the transparency of the paint and it deadens the c0lours. So here is is! The final painting. I wish I could frame it up in a antique oval frame painted black and rubbed with white, and hang it up at my house. :-)

Bye Neo.