nikkinacks

Hello! ❤️ Important update re: Patreon

Hello everyone! I hope you all have been well and enjoying your 2024!

I’ve been struggling a lot for the last few months with trying to find a sweet spot between work, daily tasks, and art. It’s been driving me a little bonkers to say the least!!! I’ve been behind on catching up with things, and it has left me frozen with guilt and shame. You all have my deepest apology for not being responsive here.

After a lot of thought, I’ve concluded that it would be best if I close down my Patreon. It’s a huge bummer, but realistically, I don’t have as much time as I used to when I first started all this.

When I first made a Patreon, I was working part-time so I had a lot of extra time to focus on art, but now I’m working 9-5 from Monday-Friday, and I honestly love my job!! It comes with great benefits so I can’t complain, haha. However, it does keep me very busy during the day, and I don’t think that’s ever going to get better, so in order to give myself more time to do the things I really want to do, I need to cut back on other responsibilities.

So, going forward, here is my plan:

-I will be pausing payments indefinitely and will mail out all monthly stickers and postcards to those who are still owed them within the next two months. Patreon keeps a good backlog on who has paid what in the previous months, so I’ll use that log as reference to mail everything out. Once those things have been mailed, I will then focus my energy on something I really want to do, which is updating my Etsy shop!! I have so many stickers that I need to list on there, and I have so many ideas for new art prints that I want to sit down and create.

I do apologize if this news about my Patreon comes with any disappointment. Writing all this isn’t easy for me, but I want to be honest and admit that I can’t realistically keep up with everything. It’s not good for my little brain.

Thank you all for the support and patience you have given me, I don’t think I would have kept up with all this for as long as I had if it weren’t for the kindness of so many of you. Seriously, you all rock. I will still be active on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and here is my Etsy shop that I will be updating  soon!

Please feel free to reach out to me, I’m happy to answer any questions or concerns.

Also, I will notify everyone when the stickers and postcards are being mailed out.

Thank you again for all the support!! 🙇‍♀️

Love,

Nikki

Happy Halloween! 🎃 Update & Pausing Nov. Payments

Hey all! Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has been doing well.

I've been very busy these past few months and I apologize for being so behind with updating my Patreon and mailing out stickers. 🙇‍♀️ I will be pausing November payments so that I can catch up with everything. I will be mailing stickers for September, as well as stickers and postcards for the month of October towards the end of November, ideally before the holiday.

Also, there were two August sticker enveloped that were returned to me. I'll be reaching out to these two Patrons to confirm the mailing address before resending them.

I really appreciate everyone's patience with me while I catch up! I'll be responding to messages in the next few days.

Update on Life:

There have been some major changes in my office-- We have a whole new financial team that we are working with and a few of my coworkers that I've known since starting have left, so I had extra tasks during the day that I normally didn't handle because we were so short-staffed. We now have new hires being trained so things are going back to normal, but for a while there, I had zero energy to do anything after work because my brain was so drained. 😓

My work will also eventually be using new software, and originally I was supposed to be flown into Seattle for in-office training in October, but that has been pushed back to an unknown date. I was looking forward to the trip since I've been missing my family a lot. I've been homesick!!! 😭

Any who, I'm slowly getting back into the groove of drawing, but struggling to find a balance between hanging out with people and getting work done. Why it is always a challenge to find a good balance in life??? 😩

"nice shoes" - WIP 🎨

just messin' around and having fun!!!!

I've been experimenting with a combo of traditional and digital art lately and really enjoying it.

It's far too late right now and I should be in bed, so good night!!!! (gonna be tired for work tomorrow for sure 🤪)

-nikki

Summer 2023 Postcard - Finished & Available for Purchase! ✨ (Edit: Sold!)

**Edit: This original has been claimed!**

Here's the completed postcard painting for this Summer, yay!!!

It is 4" x 6", made with watercolors, gouache, and ink.

My Patreon fam has first dibs on all my originals, so if you would like to purchase this before I make a public listing on my Etsy shop, please message me! ❤️

I plan to sell this for $75 USD (shipping not included). I'll be making a listing on my Etsy Shop tomorrow, August 30th around 12:00 PM if nobody claims this on Patreon.

I'll be making a bundle of postcard prints tomorrow as well, and those in my $7 Sticker Club will have these and stickers mailed out by Friday!! 😃

-nikki

Summer 2023 Postcard WIP ✨

Here's a rough digital sketch of the ~Summer Postcard~! I'm going to use this for reference as I recreate it traditionally with ink and paints.

The heat in California this year has been brutal, but we did have a tropical storm the other day which gave us some much needed rain! I'm definitely craving cooler weather. This postcard is a "Summer craving Spring" type of vibe, haha.

ALSO!!! Stickers for BOTH July and August have been ordered. I'll be shipping everything out next week. Weeeee!

-nikki

Birthday today! 🥳 Update + Doodles

hello everyone!

I hope Summer has been treating you all well! Today is my 31st birthday, wowza!!! It's been a lovely birthday so far.

Apologies for the silence-- July was a whirlwind of a month and August is also turning out to be a bit crazy. Lots of things were going on with the pets, family and also work and I lost track of time to do art!!! I just want you all know know that I'm still here, and I plan to mail out both stickers for July and August and the Summer postcard later this month! 

I've also attached some recent doodles in my sketchbook-- I've doing a lot more traditional work lately which has been a lot of fun.

Hope you enjoy looking at the doodles! I will be responding to messages and making a more thorough update in the next day or so. You all have been extremely patient with me which I greatly appreciate!! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, you're my ground support. 🙏❤️

Talk to you soon!

-nikki

Sticker Club Preview for July - "Moments before Disaster"

Here's the finished sticker design for the month of July! 💜

I'm doing my best to catch up and stay ahead for my Sticker Club. Going forward I'd like to be able to showcase the new sticker design BEFORE the month arrives, and them produce and mail them earlier than I have been.

Have you had the Grimace Shake yet? I'm not a huge fan. I do like the weird/creepy videos that are going viral around it lately tho, lol. Weird stuff for sure.

-Nikki

Postcards are in! 🌸

SURPRISE!!! I changed up the design for my Sticker Club's Spring postcard.

I wasn't feeling the previous design, and I wanted to do something that highlighted the season more, so I painted this! It's made with watercolors and I also touched it up on my iPad. Hope you like it! 

This postcard will be mailed out to my $7 Sticker Club in the next day or two. The stickers will be mailed out separately later this month, in a secure envelope.

-Nikki

May & June Sticker Club WIPs! 🍓🐟

Here is a WIP of both stickers I'm working on for May and June.

May's vinyl sticker is a fish seller cat, in the style of a maneki-neko. June's vinyl sticker is a cat paired with some strawberries. June is the month when strawberry is in season!

I'm still deciding if I want to finish them both with watercolor paints, or paint them digitally. 🤔

-Nikki

New Postcard Design! ✨

Here's a finished design for Postcards that will be mailed out this month for my Sticker Club! ❤️

I wanted to make something relevant to what's been going on in my life lately-- Which is many nights of watching/playing the new Zelda game. HEH 

-Nikki

Character Commission for Jayde! 🎨

Many thanks to Jayde for the support. ❤

I had a lot of fun drawing their FF14 character, Ysera.

-Nikki

Character Commission - WIP 🎨

Here's a WIP of a commission I'm currently working on for Jayde! It's their FF14 character, Ysera!

I've never played FF14, but I know a handful of people who play/have played it. I think the last MMORPG I played was either Ragnarok Online, or Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst. 😆

-Nikki

May Re-Cap & Sticker Update!! 🙇‍♀️💦

Hey everyone! Hope you had a nice holiday weekend. 👋

May Re-Cap:

Earlier this month, I had to unexpectedly fly back home to Seattle due to my Dad being in the hospital. Thankfully my Dad is okay, but the whole ordeal was draining and a bit scary.

By the time I flew home, I felt completely burnt out, and my motivation to draw was non-existent, so I took a break from being on the computer and spent time with my boyfriend and friends. The new Zelda game came out around this time too, so I spent a lot of my time after work playing that and decompressing my mind. 😅🎮

My apologies for not keeping you all in the loop as to what was going on, I thought I could manage everything while taking a trip back home, but that wasn’t the case. Thank you all for your patience this past month!! 🙇‍♀️

⭐ If you’re in my Sticker Club and you’ve made a pledge for the month of May, I’ll be sending you TWO vinyl stickers and a postcard within the next few weeks. When the stickers and postcard are mailed out, I’ll message you directly to let you know. ⭐

⭐ I'll also be sharing sketches and doodles from old sketchbooks very soon. There's a pile of sketchbooks on my bookshelf that I've been meaning to scan and archive on here! I hope you all like them!! ⭐

📸✨ Here are some photos I took while in Seattle visiting my Dad and family:

Sunset on the beach! The weather was so nice while I was in Seattle. I went on many walks on the beach to unwind. ✨

On one of the days I was in Seattle, I took my niece and Grandma on the ferry to go see my sister who lives across Puget Sound. It was a fun outing!

Caught another gorgeous sunset while on the ferry going back to my Dad's. 🤩

Here's a cute Mooch photo for you all. It was so nice to see Zach and the cats when I finally made it back home. 💕

I'll be catching up on some messages in the next day. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns about anything!! Talk to you all again soon.

-Nikki

Vinyl Sticker for April 2023 - WIP & Final! ✨

Hey all! Apologies for the delay in this month's sticker progress. I traveled for the holiday, and ended up getting horribly sick with the flu, which took me about a week to recover from. I don't recommend getting the flu when you're 30, it sucks!!!

This month's sticker is inspired by my cat, Wee. She passed away a few years ago, but her spirit lives on. I miss her grumpy face and cuddles. ❤️

I'll be mailing out stickers next week. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about this!

I promise next month's sticker will be made in a more timely manner. 🙏 

Thanks again for your patience. I hope you are all staying healthier than I am!!! lolol

-Nikki

a look at my Desk area! 👀

I took some photos of my office a few weeks ago, and thought I'd share with you all what my area looks like! ✨

A - Green Tea! (no it's not pee) I'm a tea drinker nowadays as coffee tends to give me anxious jitters. Green tea is a staple for my morning routine and I love chai lattes when I'm feeling fancy.

B - My work laptop and phone. From Monday through Friday, I schedule patients for a clinic in the Seattle area (and also Alaska!). I'm extremely thankful to still be able to work for my doctor even after moving to California. 

C - If you look closely, you can see the crease of where my butt rests on this chair, LOL!

D - I totally recommend a chair mat for those who need to use an office chair on carpet. It works great and helps me roll from one desk to the other.

My work desk is a Tresanti 47" Adjustable Height Desk! I feel like this is a must if you have a job where you're constantly sitting. It's worth the investment, and your back will thank you later. I found this standing desk online for a discounted price (it needed a new battery which my friend helped me replace). I think you can buy this at Costco but that may have changed by now.

A - My other desk that I got from Ikea. I actually had this same desk when I lived in Seattle but it was black instead of white. When I moved, I gave it away to a friend's sister but I really loved the size of it, so I bought another when I got settled in Burbank.

B - My handy dandy Wacom! I still need to get some sort of arm for the tablet so it's easier to pull around when drawing...

C - Various notes, photos, and fun little things from friends and family that make me very happy!

D - My super loud mechanical keyboard lololol I want to eventually replace my keyboard, mouse and mousepad with white ones to match my desk's ~*~aesthetic~*~

I have a tv on the other side of the room; sometimes I will play switch games while sitting at my desk or put on a movie/show while drawing on my tablet.

A - Behind my desk I have this little drawer in the corner, and a bunch of pens and paintbrushes that I use on top of it, I'm a bit obsessed with mushrooms and snails at the moment!! I find it easier to keep material I frequently use out in the open, rather than stored away.

B - My good ol' whiteboard that I've been using as a weight log for all my kitties, lol. I try to put important reminders on here, too.

C - Plant babies!!! I looove plants. I find that they really brighten a room. My pothos have been going nuts lately, so I've been pinning up the vines and drooping them over things.

D - My calendar that says February on it, but it was in March when I took a photo, and now it's April. AUGH!!!! I prefer keeping track of events and tasks with a physical calendar versus a digilal one.

In the corner drawer, I have mostly art material stored away. The top drawer has various paints, some white out, a stapler, and a cute little cat USB.

On the opposite end of my desk, there's this little wet bar that I've transformed into a paint/plant watering station.

A - My printer/scanner that I've used to print out thank you notes and scan originals with.

B - Tiny little square computer!

C - These drawers are filled with stickers, prints, sleeves, shipping supplies and different kinds of paper.

D - I use this paper file organizing for all my smaller prints. It's super easy to carry around, and all my smaller prints fit perfectly in it.

The top drawer of this cabinet has a lot of my DS games and stationary I like to use. I'm a big fan of Pokémon. 🤓

That's pretty much it! Thanks for touring my desk area! Hope you enjoyed this post.

I'm working on a general update that I'll upload either later tonight, or tomorrow.

-Nikki

Just wanted to say Thank You! 💕

Hello new Patrons!! 👋

I wanted to say a quick hi and also thank everyone who has joined my Sticker Club so far! I've got a nice stack of envelopes that will be mailed out tomorrow.   

If you're a current Patron of mine and you want to join my Sticker Club Tier, please feel free to do so! Anyone who joins in the month of March will get two vinyl stickers from me instead of one. Think of it as a special little thank you.

That's all for now. I've been fighting off a cold since Monday, so I've been feeling a bit sluggish but I'm still chipping away at some art. I'm hoping to take it some-what easy this coming weekend. 😷

Hope you all are staying healthy & happy!

-Nikki

Miku Day Painting 💙 - WIP

Happy Miku Day! ✨ Here's a WIP of a painting I'm making of Hatsune Miku-- She's having a laid back day, enjoying bubble tea and smoking some grass. 

I'm using Posca paint markers and gouache on a wooden board. When this is finished, I'll make a post for anyone interested in possibly buying before I make a public listing. 💙

Btw, I've had this song stuck in my head literally all day. 🤪

Commission with progress photos 🌸 | Update! 💌

Here's a commission made for one of my Canadian buddies, Liz! 

Her sister, Emily commissioned me to draw Liz's original characters! I had a lot of fun with this one. It started off with a rough drawing, then I used my lightbox to pencil it in, and then added flat watercolors. After that, I did my final touches with gouache and ink!

--

💌 Stickers have been mailed out for March! I dropped off everything at the post office earlier today. Just a friendly reminder that there isn't any tracking, but you should be receiving them (hopefully) later this week. I'll try my best to post a preview of next month's vinyl sticker and seasonal postcard by the end of next week. 😊

-Nikki

Pin-Up Drawing ❤️ & Nintendo World tomorrow! 🤩

Here's a demon babe in a pin-up style that I painted earlier today! ✨️ I'm still riding on a wave of gouache paints and totally loving it. 🎨

Zach and I are visiting Universal in Hollywood tomorrow with some of our friends, and we're going to Nintendo World for the first time!! Have any of you been there yet? I'm so excited and can't wait to try some of the food. 💕 I heard the Luigi Pesto Burger from the café is tasty. 🤤 We decided to go for an early birthday celebration for Zach (he is turning the dirty 30 on Saturday! 🥳)

Quick Patreon update:

-For those in my $7 Stricker Club Tier, I will be mailing out two vinyl stickers to your address on Sunday! 

-And for you lovely folks in my $5 Support Tier, I will be sharing my process on a recent painting commission I did for one of my art buddies in Canada, so be on the look out for that. 👀

Hope you're all having a great start to March!

-Nikki

Arcanine - Made with Gouache

I broke out my gouache paints and finished up this drawing of Arcanine. I really love gouache-- It's the perfect mix between watercolor and acrylic. I added some extra love into this one because Arcanine is a personal favorite Pokemon of mine.

This original drawing already has a home to go to. It will be mailed to Christian S. Thank you again Christian for your support!! 🙏

I *might* add a few more things to this, but overall I'm very happy with it and consider it DONE! On to the next drawing.

-Nikki

Patreon Update - Updated Tiers and Sticker Club!

Hey everyone! I hope you all have been well. I wanted to give a much needed update regarding my Patreon.

I now have a "Sticker Club" Tier! Every month I will be making an exclusive waterproof vinyl sticker that will be mailed out to those who pledge $7. Additionally, I will mail out a custom postcard every 3 months, to celebrate the new season. I've always wanted to make a sticker club, so I'm very excited to start this.

Here's a look at my new Tiers; I've updated some of the perks. It's pretty straight-forward, and more much simplified. My previous rewards were not realistic for me to complete on a timely manner. 

Tier 1 - Tip Jar: This is a general support Tier, with access to posts about life and art updated on my Patreon Feed. 

Tier 2 - Supporter: This Tier are for those who want to support and have more exclusive access to my art. You will have voting power on any polls I make, and access to all WIP shots, nsfw/sfw sketchbook drawings, and finished work that I wouldn't typically share on my social media. I always want to offer those in this Tier access to Originals for a chance to buy before a listing is made public.

Tier 3 - Sticker Club - My final Tier is great for those who want the exclusive access on Patreon, as well as a physical rewards. I'll be mailing out a new vinyl sticker design each month as well as a season postcard every 3 months.

New Tiers and Perks will be active ASAP! I'll be mailing out the Stickers for March after the 5th. As a "grand opening" for my Sticker Club, I'll actually be mailing out 2 vinyl stickers, so if you'd like to get in on this please be sure to adjust your pledge accordingly.

I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who have continued to pledge even though I haven't been as active. Going forward, I'll be using Patreon a lot more for my art. I hope you all enjoy these new Tiers and Perks! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions. 

-Nikki

WIP - Drawing of Arcanine

Hey all! Here's a sketch of Arcanine for Christian S. I will be inking and then painting this. Arcanine is one of my favorite Pokemon. I always had to have one on my team it was available in the game.

It's been a while since my last post, OOPS! Apologies for the silence. I'm working on updating my Patreon again. I will make another update soon regarding new Tiers.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well!!

-Nikki 

Commission for John R. +an update!

When did it suddenly become the end of August? WHERE DID THE TIME GO.

Here's a recent completed portrait commission that I did for John! Many thanks to him for the support. 

This month has been extremely busy. First off, after I had my wisdom teeth extracted, I noticed that part of my lip and chin area were still numb to the touch. I waited about a week and then called my surgeon, he confirmed I had some minor bruising around the nerve on the right side of my jaw. He didn't actually see the nerve when the extractions were done so he's confident it wasn't damaged permanently, just bruised in the area because the roots of my teeth were straddling that nerve (my case was a bit complicated). It's been about a month now and I'm starting to feel a bit more sensation in that area, but my surgeon said it could take as long as 7-9 months, oof!!!! 

I'm also gearing up to move to California in less than 3 weeks. Outside of work, I've been spending my free time with friends and family. It'll be very bittersweet when the day comes but I'm also very excited to be closer to some folks down in CA. There will PROBABLY be tears rolling down my face while I drive away in my packed up car, but that's okay. ;_;

Anyway, I will be planning a drawing stream on Twitch later this week-- It'll most likely fall on either Friday night or Saturday due to my work schedule. Hope to see you there!

Have a great week everyone. 

Nikki

Portrait Commission - WIP

Hello and happy August! Here's a WIP screen shot of a portrait commission that I'm currently working on for John R. I'm hoping to have the line art and colors finished in the next day or so. 

The recovery time from my wisdom teeth extractions has taken a bit longer than expected, I'll go into more detail in an upcoming update!

Welcome new Patrons! +doodles

Just want to say a quick hello to all you new folks around here and share some doodles I made after my wisdom teeth removal. 

I had all four of them extracted yesterday morning (I was bleeding a lot after my surgery 😬). They erupted years ago and have been giving me trouble since-- I'm super relieved to finally have them taken out. Recovery is going smoothly and as soon as my mouth feels less numb I'll be hosting a drawing stream on my Twitch! Hoping to do that later this week but if my mouth still needs to heal I'll wait a bit longer.

Have a great day everyone!

WIP Drawing: Working at my Desk

Here's a current WIP of a drawing I'm working on, specifically for my Twitch channel! 

I'm shooting to create two different versions of this: a "day time stream" version which will feature daylight colors and a coffee drink, and then a "night time stream" version which will have the darker colors and perhaps a wine glass in hand... 

hourly comic day doodles 1+

hourly comic day happened again and this year I was a bit unprepared- but I still managed to finish!! I'll compile what I did and post it on here later. 

attached are some (bad) doodles that didn't end up in any comic

Inktober day 11 (rough) 5+

fun fact: originally this was supposed to be in a day time setting, but I changed it to a twilight setting to fit the departing mood

Inktober day 10 (rough) 5+

Inktober day 9 (rough) 5+