WildSpiritWolf

 Contact Info 

Would you like to place an order for some custom art? Have a question about your pre-existing order? Just have a question in general? I can be contacted here on deviantART but also be reached through these other means.

Email: art.of.wildspiritdesigns@gmail.com

WSDesigns On Facebook: www.facebook.com/art.of.wildsp…

Portfolio Website: wildspiritdesigns.wix.com/wild…

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions on my last journal entry concerning the prolific theft of my work. I read each and every comment and am taking a new route when posting my designs. Instead of uploading high quality scans of my work with bright white backgrounds, I have started taking low resolution cell phone photos and posting those after adding a couple fairly unobtrusive watermarks. Hopefully this will make them (at least somewhat) less of a target now.

In other news, I am now present on many of the popular social media platforms!

Don't check your deviantART account much but still want to see my new uploads? Follow me on Tumblr! Or Pinterest. Or Instagram. I'm regularly posting content to all three of these locations now. Hope to see you there!

Tumblr: artofwildspiritdesigns.tumblr.…

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/artofWildSpi…

Instagram: www.instagram.com/art.of.wilds…



 Contact Info 

Would you like to place an order for some custom art? Have a question about your pre-existing order? Just have a question in general? I can be contacted here on deviantART but also be reached through these other means. Please keep in mind that, while I try to respond to all emails and messages right away, this is not always possible due to my busy schedule and college-related obligations.

Email: art.of.wildspiritdesigns@gmail.com

WSDesigns On Facebook: www.facebook.com/art.of.wildsp…

Portfolio Website: wildspiritdesigns.wix.com/wild…

Hello all! Hope your summers have been going well! I've been having a wonderful time not having to worry about classes or upcoming school assignments and wish the summer could just go on forever! Alas, the school season will be back upon us soon but at least I only have one year left to complete my degree! Anyway, it's been a long time since my last journal update and I have a couple things to discuss.

 In Need of a New Photo Hosting Website 

To start, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good free photo hosting website for storing sketches, completed works, and photos? Photobucket has been getting more and more glitchy and obnoxious over the past few months and I've decided it's time to finally end the twelve year relationship. What I am looking for in a new photo hosting website is something that allows organization of images by folders that can be made private or public, allows hot linking, and a reasonable amount of storage space (I had 2GB on Photobucket which sufficed for my purposes). Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Art Theft/Copyright Infringement 

I know I have brought up this topic in the past but theft of my work has gotten so bad for me lately that I feel compelled to discuss it again. In just the past few months, my art has shown up on snack food packaging distributed by a large US grocery store chain, on the cover of a book from an author in the UK, and as countless decals and embroidery patterns sold all over the internet including on large websites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. And all this occurred without my awareness or consent. Seem bad? This is only a small and recent sampling of the instances where my art has been stolen and used/sold without my permission or compensation.

This lack of respect for others' intellectual property seems to stem from the general attitude toward artists, which is that the act of creation is something that simply comes to them and is easy so they can just readily make more. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Behind each work of finished art, there must first be a concept. Sometimes this concept comes together in a flash, but frequently it is more of a challenge. Then, once the concept is clarified, comes the labor of bringing the idea from the mind of the creator out into the world where anyone who views it can see the artist's vision. This can take a couple hours or it can take days, weeks, or months, and sometimes even years. Hours of focused work on a project can result in eye strain, cramps in hands and wrists, and sore backs from crouching over a work in order to maneuver pens, pencils, paint, etc in such a way that every little line or splash of color is where it needs to be. When a viewer looks upon the end product of an artist's efforts, the behind-the-scenes work is not always readily apparent. Though it may seem silly to point out, artists are living breathing human beings that work hard for their art. We are not machines that exist to churn out art for the benefit of whoever wants to profit from our labors.

Commission work is my sole source of income so preventing theft of my intellectual property is particularly important to me. I use that money to pay rent, bills, and my college tuition. To help protect my work, I do my best to make it as clear as possible that I do not allow the unauthorized use or sale of my art. This involves me heavily watermarking each and every image that I post to any of my online galleries and asking that it is not used or posted elsewhere by third parties. Regardless of this being against my wishes and in violation of US copyright law, it does still happen, and very frequently at that. 

The solution to this problem lies in awareness. Many are unaware that using or selling others work, even if "it's just something they found online," is actually illegal and can lead to very serious consequences if the artist decides to sue. Before grabbing pictures off of Google images, stop and consider that, if you did not create it, you do not hold the copyright to the image and are likely not legally allowed to do with it what you wish, even if the website where you find it might say it is royalty free and may be downloaded free of charge. To err on the side of safety, it is always good to find the original artist and talk to them about their terms in regards to the use of their work. Some artists will not mind at all, though many will prefer that their work is not used or sold by others. So please, be aware of this when looking for art, tell your friends that copyright infringement is an illegal thing, and if you're curious to learn more, the US copyright department has an excellent FAQ page with lots of good information. This page can be found here:

www.copyright.gov/help/faq/ind…

On a much more relaxed note, I want to add that I am not against tracing/copying for the purpose of learning. It is a great method of "learning the ropes" and, as long as drawings made after my works are used *only* for personal learning and enjoyment and are kept private and not posted anywhere online, I am perfectly fine with it.


 Contact Info 

Would you like to place an order for some custom art? Have a question about your pre-existing order? Just have a question in general? I can be contacted here on deviantART but also be reached through these other means. Please keep in mind that, while I try to respond to all emails and messages right away, this is not always possible due to my busy schedule and college-related obligations.

Email: art.of.wildspiritdesigns@gmail.com

WSDesigns On Facebook: www.facebook.com/art.of.wildsp…

Portfolio Website: wildspiritdesigns.wix.com/wild…

Again, a great big thank you to all who have purchased work from me already or are planning to in the future. Your support for me and my art is helping me pay my bills and college tuition and I can't thank you enough for that!

 Fourth Coin In The Predator Prey Series 

The 4th and final installment for the coin series that I have been creating work for will be ready to order soon! This one might be my favorite so far so I am excited to share it with you all upon it's completion.

My client commissioned this art to use on coinage that is being sold as a collectible but can also be legitimately used as real currency in the Cook Islands! These coins are .999 silver with the raised areas gilded in black rhodium. They are large and heavy and weigh in at 1 troy ounce.

The first coin in this series featured a wolf and caribou in a yin yang design and represents the balance of the relationship between predators and the animals they hunt as prey. The second coin, keeping with that same concept featured a grizzly bear on one side of the yin yang and a school of salmon on the other. The third coin fits in with the yin yang theme and depicts an eagle attacking a snake that is valiantly retaliating.

If you would like to obtain one of these limited edition coins for yourself, they are available for sale here: www.bullionstop.com/ and if you use the limited time promo code WILD16, you can get a 10% discount off your order.

 Cover Art For Award Winning Book 

I recently had the opportunity to create the cover art for an awesome new ebook, The Pirates of Montana by Erin S. Evan. The story is about a 15 year old girl who goes to a dinosaur dig out in Montana and is an exciting blend of paleontology and mythology. The art was a absolute blast to create since I have an avid interest in both of those topics.

You can find this ebook on Inkshares here: www.inkshares.com/books/the-pi…

 Contact Me! 

Would you like to place an order for some custom art? Have a question about your pre-existing order? Just have a question in general? I can be contacted here on deviantART but also be reached through these other means. Please keep in mind that, while I try to respond to all emails and messages right away, this is not always possible due to my busy schedule and college work.

Email: art.of.wildspiritdesigns@gmail.com

WSDesigns On Facebook: www.facebook.com/art.of.wildsp…

Portfolio Website: wildspiritdesigns.wix.com/wild…

Hey, all! Another year past and another semester completed since my last journal update! I am already wrapped up in my new semester and chugging dutifully along with it. I wish I could say that my last semester was another round of all A's for me, but Chemistry and Latin turned out to be pretty challenging! With a hefty amount of effort on my part, I did at least manage to get B+ in both of those classes! Latin is thankfully starting to make (a little) more sense this semester so the title of "most challenging class" now goes to Geology, which is really quite chemistry heavy! My studio art class this semester is 3-D and has us working in clay, plaster, and wood. I just completed my clay project yesterday and have been enjoying that class very much.

In the midst of my hectic college life I am happy to say that I am still accepting and processing commission orders albeit at a slower pace than before I began college so I extend my sincerest gratitude to all of you who have purchased art from me during my college career, to those who are currently in line to have their art completed, and to those who are looking to place orders. I am, as always, working steadily through my queue and have been taking advantage of between-class times when I can ink sketches that have received approval from my clients. I have a file folder on my computer that is just brimming with completed commission art that has yet to be posted to my gallery, which I really need to begin doing on a regular basis so that you all have new art to look at!

Again, a great big thank you to all who have purchased work from me already or are planning to in the future. Your support for me and my art is helping me pay my bills and college tuition and I can't thank you enough for that!

Third Coin In The Predator Prey Series

The coin series that I have been creating work for now has a 3rd installment! This one features an eagle and a snake with a prickly pear cactus.

My client commissioned this art to use on coinage that is being sold as a collectible but can also be legitimately used as real currency in the Cook Islands! The eagle and snake coin is .999 silver with the raised areas gilded in black rhodium. It is large and heavy weighing in at 1 troy ounce. This coin was displayed at the 2015 ANA World Money Fair and is a limited mintage of only 2,000 coins.

The first coin in this series featured a wolf and caribou in a yin yang design and represents the balance of the relationship between predators and the animals they hunt as prey. The second coin, keeping with that same concept featured a grizzly bear on one side of the yin yang and a school of salmon on the other. This newest coin fits in with the yin yang theme and depicts an eagle attacking a snake that is valiantly retaliating. The 4th coin is currently in the works and will conclude this series.

If you would like to obtain one of these limited edition coins for yourself, they are available for sale here: www.bullionstop.com/ and if you use the limited time promo code WILD16, you can get a 10% discount off your order.

Cover Art For Book Series

Another exciting place you can now see my work is on the covers of Jenny Martin's young adult fiction series. The first novel is titled Tracked and is available for purchase from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or direct from Penguin. The second one will be available this May and is called Marked.

I am responsible for the lion on the cover of Tracked and both the phoenix and the flames around the shield on the cover of Marked are my work.

For more information on these books, please check out the author's home page here: readjennymartin.com/my-books/

Contact Me! 

Would you like to place an order for some custom art? Have a question about your pre-existing order? Just have a question in general? I can be contacted here on deviantART but also be reached through these other means. Please keep in mind that, while I try to respond to all emails and messages right away, this is not always possible due to my busy schedule and college work.

Email: art.of.wildspiritdesigns@gmail.com

WSDesigns On Facebook: www.facebook.com/art.of.wildsp…

Portfolio Website: wildspiritdesigns.wix.com/wild…