Commissions Open!

Traditional artist specializing in portraits: pen & pencil, white charcoal, watercolor, and acrylic

[art-by-trekscribbles]

Commissions Open!

I'm leaving my teaching job at the end of this school year so I can stay at home with my kids and focus on my writing dreams, so I'm opening up art commissions because I'll actually have time to draw again (and, you know... no income)!

I work with pencil, pen, white charcoal on black paper, watercolor, and acrylic. I can send you a digital copy of your art and/or mail it to you (US only for now, sorry).

What I'm Offering

Pencil or pen sketches, shaded

Pen sketch with watercolor wash

White charcoal on black paper

Watercolor or acrylic

Prices

Head and shoulders

Pencil or pen: $15

Pen with watercolor: $25

White charcoal: $20

Watercolor: $30

Acrylic: $35

Half body

Pencil or pen: $25

Pen with watercolor: $35

White charcoal: $30

Watercolor: $40

Acrylic: $45

Full body

Pencil or pen: $35

Pen with watercolor: $45

White charcoal: $40

Watercolor: $50

Acrylic: $55

Backgrounds

Priced according to difficulty and media

What I draw/paint

Fanart

OCs

Real people

D&D characters

What I don't draw/paint

NSFW

Excessive gore (injuries are fine--ask if uncertain)

Process

Contact me through DMs at @art-by-trekscribbles

We'll discuss commission details, dates, and payment. I will then send you an email with a contract outlining our agreed-upon terms

Payment is due at the time of contract signing

I'll complete an initial sketch(s) for you to approve before I begin work on the final product

Once finished, I will either email you an image file of your art, mail it to you, or both!

I reserve the right to decline commission requests for any reason.

Thank you for your time and interest, and I hope to draw for you soon!

[art-by-trekscribbles]

My first (completed) digital portrait! This was mostly an attempt at figuring out how layers work and experimenting with brushes. I need to wrap my brain around the "digital" aspect and figure out how to not treat it like traditional painting but on a screen, but I'm learning! I'm very excited to try more!

[ID: A digital painting of Eliot Spencer standing with his arms folded in front of a dark green background. End ID]

[sandersstudies]

I feel like in the rush of “throw out etiquette who cares what fork you use or who gets introduced first” we actually lost a lot of social scripts that the younger generations are floundering without.

[sandersstudies]

A lot of tough situations where we now feel like we “don’t know what to do or say” had social scripts just a couple of generations ago and they might have been canned phrases or robotic actions but they could still be meant sincerely and unfortunately we haven’t replaced them with any more sincere or easier new script.

[beemovieerotica]

a lot of people are giving examples in the notes of things they just find annoying like not using headphones in public, but OP is talking about actual literal scripts of things to say in awkward situations

if you have a date or two with someone and you don't see a relationship developing? most millennials / gen Zers just end up ghosting. but a social script that might have been taught and rehearsed in the past could be:

"I really appreciated getting dinner with you the other night and I enjoyed your company, but I'm afraid I didn't feel a spark. I wish you the best, and hope you find that special someone!"

like it sounds kind of trite but it was at least something to say and it can still be meant with kind sincerity. it also communicates in 2 sentences that you don't want to see them romantically again, but there aren't any hard feelings about that. that's it!!! that's all it takes!!!

[misfit-toy-haven]

Another example is that at parties a lot of people talk about how awkward it is to mingle or talk to people they dont know. But at old timey parties that was traditionally the HOST'S job, and there was a specific scripted way of doing it that eased the process! The host would bring you in, introduce you and maybe even a little bit about you like what you did for a living, and then guide you to a group you could talk to. They didn't just let you in the door and then ditch you to fend for yourself in a sea of strangers. That would be unthinkable and no one would be surprised if a get-together like that wound up being awkward.

[demonprincex]

I still do the party-host thing and yall can, too! (Thanks Mad Men for teaching me a lot of outmoded social scripts... no really tho)

Remember things about your friends! Ask people about their weekends, hobbies, holidays, studies, and jobs! Listen for the concerns people have and what they are working on! Draw connections between one person and another to get the ball rolling. "Oh, Maura, you just got your first cat! You should talk to Felix, he used to work at a rescue. Felix, please tell Maura all the new-cat-guardian pointers."

"Bill, Sheila, Xan, this is my friend Kale. Kale is really into Star Trek, Bill you and them should talk about it!"

Orrr whatever! After you make the introduction and draw the connection you just float on into the next interaction with someone else at the function. Just listen, care about your friends, get our of your own head, and think of how you can bring other people together and you will feel 100% less awkward.

[3liza]

hi i am so excited about this post because i have posted this exact thing MANY times on here, often in the specific context of how formal etiquette is so useful for autistic people especially, but also for everyone. even if you come off a little bit formal, which you will sometimes, having Old School Manners (or just knowing what they are) for various common scenarios is like having a magic ticket that will just sail you through all kinds of social iinteractions, gatekeeping, social weirdness, and as is pointed out in the above posts about introducing people to each other, can make you into a really valuable and helpful person for an entire gathering or group of people.

i also want to point out that knowing what the polite thing to do in all situations makes you a lot more effective at being rude and obnoxious when the situation calls for it, which is also a valuable and necessary adult skill

[dailymanners]

#things to write#but also#things to do#I could certainly benefit from a manual...

If you're looking for a manual on these sorts of things; social etiquette, social scripts, how to handle difficult and/or awkward social situations, etc. then I highly recommend picking up any book by Miss Manners. Her books really are the gold standard for learning the types of skills this post is talking about. I should also mention that Miss Manners is witty and hilarious so her books are also fun to read.

The best book by Miss Manners to get started with would be Miss Manner's Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. This one is probably the best starting point because it gives the best overview of all the basics.

If you're the type who likes to listen to podcasts, I recommend checking out "Were You Raised By Wolves?" and/or "Awesome Etiquette". Both are also great tools for learning the type of social skills this post is talking about. I'm personally a fan of "Were You Raised By Wolves?" because not only are they pretty funny and informative, they also bother to try to teach the underlying social intelligence behind various manners and social etiquette so that you can have the skills to solve social dilemmas on your own. However, "Awesome Etiquette" is also pretty fun and informative.

[dailymanners]

#long post#I feel like 'i dont do small talk nobody cares about the weather' had a negative impact on social interaction#I mean yeah sometimes small talk about nothing gets awkward. but often it leads to the most interesting conversations#just asking 'what kind of music do you listen to at the gym' or 'have you read any books lately' could be such a lovely subject#I'm sometimes socially awkward despite being a huge extrovert. that's why etiquette is such a great thing#if you don't know how to act around people just stick to the etiquette rules. if they have a problem with it they're not for me anyways

Sorry @darlingdear but I couldn't let this stay in the tags.

I say this as someone who is neurodivergent had grew up very socially awkward, but recently I find the "screw small talk, I wanna get to know the REAL you" attitude to be pretentious as well as a demonstration of a lack of boundaries.

But also, I think a lot of people who have this attitude don't actually really know what does qualify as small talk. The definition of small talk is any topic that's of no real consequence and includes topics like food, pets, sports, music, whatever show you're currently streaming, whatever book you're currently reading, and yes, the weather. A lot of people who have this "I hate small talk / I don't do small talk" attitude probably think it's only reciting a bunch of secret scripts about the weather, and don't realize how much they engage in small talk whenever they talk about their pets or their favorite foods or the really cool show they're watching right now.

Small talk is just about boundaries and getting to know someone *before* you move into more serious and personal topics. The older I get the more I learn you really can't just trust anyone with more serious and personal subjects. Small talk first is important to gauge if they're someone safe and trustworthy first before moving into more serious and personal subjects. If you really genuinely refuse to get to know someone before immediately discussing serious and personal subjects you may have an issue with boundaries and should consider working on that.

[littlehouseontheaerie]

Oh my god, so much the last point. All of them, but especially the last.

Small talk is a way of sounding out a person’s attitudes. It’s about finding out if they’re a rabid asshole or someone you want to spend more time with.

I had a professor who got angry at a group of (mostly women), from five countries, all of whom met yesterday, for talking about daytime TV. He basically insulted us and called us shallow.

Dude, we were figuring each other out with a safe topic! We were the best of friends three weeks later. We could broach harder topics because we understood each other’s boundaries better. If you immediately demand people bare their souls, you’re not likely to get them to be honest.

[roxanedrawing]

also it's always polite / a good idea to balance the conversation out between yourself and the other person. By which I mean, if they've asked you several questions, turn it around: "and what about you?" / "what has your experience been in [topic]?" I used to be too awkward to do it but noticed conversations would bleed to death. Then I overcompensated and only asked the other person question upon question. This was also Not Ideal because guys would end up thinking I was super interested in them and get confused when I shut off my interest / social battery later on. So, balance: I try to talk about 50% of the time and share something that is either useful or relatable to the other or important to me. And by being interested and asking real questions you can get to know someone better and they will also know you a little, which can be really lovely.

[ghostlyarchaeologist]

"There are a hundred places where I fear to go, so with his memory they brim."

-Edna St. Vincent Millay, Time Does Not Bring Relief (Sonnet II)

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage 5x15- "The Long Goodbye Job"

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Almost Paradise 1x8 - "Lone Wolf"

[only-mortimer]

Eliot Spencer snapped awake in the darkness. He kept his body soft and his breathing even, and reached out with his senses. What had woken him up?

He heard Parker's snuffling breaths from the hammock high in the beams where she sometimes liked to sleep, faraway drunken shouting and laughter from the tourists on Bourbon Street, and...there. A muted footfall. The rustle of clothing. Then another step, and...

"Dammit, Hardison." Eliot rolled over to turn on the lamp, and threw his forearm over his eyes.

"Hardison!" squealed Parker as she launched herself out of the hammock and onto Alec's back. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming!"

"Babe." Alec gently extricated himself from Parker's enthusiastic embrace and bent down to remove his other shoe. "I've been traveling for 42 and a half hours and wasn't sure I'd actually make it here."

Eliot let his forearm slip back onto the sheets and felt a flash of guilt as he looked closely at Alec's face. He could see the strain of travel (and jobs?) in the fine wrinkles in Alec's forehead, the pinched look around his eyes, a few new strands of silver at his temples. Hardison’s work with the NGOs was taking a lot out of him, and Eliot was sure that the lengthy journey back to see him and Parker was potentially a setback for Hardison's long term plans. But. For the three of them? These quick, often unexpected, visits were a balm on his battered soul and brought a moment of peace to Parker's mastermind brain.

Hardison let out a gusty sigh as he flopped into the bed next to Eliot, and then a soft "oof" as Parker wrapped herself around his other side.

"Man," he grumbled to Eliot. "How'd you even know it was me? I was being super sneaky! Jus' like Parker taught me..."

Eliot chuckled softly as he wrapped his arm around Hardison's waist and dropped a kiss onto the top of his shoulder. "It was a very distinctive footstep..."

But Hardison was already asleep, wrapped securely in their embrace. Eliot shifted to turn off the lamp, and twined his fingers with Parker's. Pancakes in the morning, he decided fuzzily as he drifted off. Maybe with chocolate chips. A sweet breakfast to celebrate a sweet return.

This is the first fic I've ever written - big thanks to trekscribbles for beta reading and holding my hand!

[carmelasoprano]

Aleyse Shannon, Christian Kane, and Gina Bellman LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION (2021–) S01E04 · “The Tower Job”

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Almost Paradise 1x8 - "Lone Wolf"

[art-by-trekscribbles]

This week I referred to my coarse kosher salt as my "working salt" during an adult watercolor demonstration and my class lost it.

I was the funniest person in the world for having separate categories of art and cooking salt.

Teaching 50- to 70-year-old ladies is amazing and I hope everybody can experience this joy.

[art-by-trekscribbles]

Inktober, Day 3: Crown

(8 days late)

[ID: An black ink drawing of BBC's Merlin in profile. A line of blue butterflies is flying across his head like a crown, and his eye and background are gold. /End ID]

[art-by-trekscribbles]

Quick bed time sketch of Charles Ingalls('s hair)

[art-by-trekscribbles]

My first attempt at alcohol markers... these particular markers are on the cheaper end and didn't blend very well, but I love the colors! I'm excited to play with them some more!

[ID: A portrait drawing of Connor Green film The Librarians: The Next Chapter done in alcohol markers. He's looking straight ahead in profile, and the coloring has teals and golds blended into the skin tones. /End ID]

[art-by-trekscribbles]

This is one of my first watercolor-over-pen portraits, and I was so afraid I would mess it up. I'm so glad I tried it anyway! This has become one of my favorite techniques.

[ID: Two pictures of the same pen sketch of Merlin from BBC Merlin. The first picture is shaded in black pen only. The second picture shows the same drawing, but with a watercolor wash over the top. The drawing shows Merlin from mid-thigh up, with his jacket and scarf slightly askew as he runs. /End ID]

[art-by-trekscribbles]

One of my first attempts at watercolor over a pen sketch. I was so nervous when I tried it, but I'm so glad I did! It's one of my favorite techniques now.

[ID: Two pictures of the same pen sketch of Merlin from BBC Merlin. The first picture is shaded in black pen only. The second picture shows the same drawing, but with a watercolor wash over the top. The drawing shows Merlin from mid-thigh up, with his jacket and scarf slightly askew as he runs. /End ID]

[ghostlyarchaeologist]

"I'm telling you, you got the wrong guy."

Almost Paradise S02E03 A Fisherfolk Tale.

[art-by-trekscribbles]

I've been thinking about this again, so I decided to draw it.

[ID: A black pen sketch of Eliot and Sophie from Leverage ballroom dancing. /End ID]