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Heather Franzen

@heatherfranzen.bsky.social
312 followers 174 following 735 posts

Artist drawing/painting critters 🦉 ✻ Acryla Gouache ✻ Oil ✻ Ink See my art only: #art (tap and hold on mobile) I also like books, anime, tea, personal websites, zines Blog+Shop: heatherfranzen.com Funsite: yogomagpie.neocities.org

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Reposted by Heather Franzen
PocketParas 🦕🦴 Twitch Partner VTUBER @pocketparas.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I’m raising money to support the Academy of Natural Sciences. This 200yr old museum deserves protection, or we risk losing the collection for future generations! SAVE THE MUSEUM! 📆Saturday, September 26th ⏰12pm CST www.twitch.tv/pocketparas #vtuber #dinosaur #VtuberEN #dinotuber
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✧ SkyMagpie ✧ (left my ❤︎ in Undermine) @skymagpie.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I was worried if my comic is perhaps too self indulgent, but then I remembered the words of Björk and now I need to make it even more self indulgent 🥰
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Fawnduu🐮🔜 A Big Gay Market OCT 4th @fawnduu.com · 01/09/2026
The USDA is trying to recind the Roadless Rule which currently protects 45 million acres of National Forests from logging and deforestation. We have until September 20th to comment and tell the USDA we don't want this! File your comment w/ link below: action.outdooralliance.org/a/roadless-d...
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Once Upon A Time On The Internet @newgroundsdoc.newgrounds.com · 01/09/2026
23 YEARS AGO TODAY, @mrweebl.bsky.social posted BADGERS to @Newgrounds.com
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mondayzc @mondayzc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
digital painting study from like ~15 seconds of the RHPC movie i did last year RIP Tim Curry what a guy
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Scary Gorgon @scarygorgon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Bye Tim Curry. You made pollution weirdly sexy and confused a lot of millennial kids with that. Sleep well.
Hexxus from ferngully - skeleton modeHexxus from ferngully - skeleton modeHexxus from ferngully - sludgebro mode
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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Honestly now would be an amazing time for all of us to donate what we can to her flagship charity, The Imagination Library. imaginationlibrary.com
imaginationlibrary.com
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.
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Coreyartus @coreyartusimagery.com · 23/08/2026
Cara has gone out of its way to opt out of scraping. Tech bros are just doing it now out of spite. Legal action is required. Artists have to help themselves—no one else cares. www.gofundme.com/f/help-cara-...
gofundme.com
Donate to Help Cara Fight Scrapers with Legal Fund, organized by Jingna Zhang
Cara is an artist and social platform built by a small group of volunteers to gi… Jingna Zhang needs your support for Help Cara Fight Scrapers with Legal Fund
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Today, August 4, 2026, is the actual date of the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Take a read. It’s only 5 pages long and very haunting: www.btboces.org/Downloads/7_...
btboces.org
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I haven’t updated anything in a while because I’m deep into remaking my website. I’ve grown to dislike squarespace’s limited customizability. I’ve learned coding through my neocities site, and not being able to implement the Cool Stuff into my SS site is so frustrating.
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rachel @rachychel.neocities.org · 09/07/2026
@nuclearhydrargyrum.bsky.social on his puter #artfight #artfight2026
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Meesh @cookiedoves.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
✨ #AvianAugust 2026!!!
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𝔾𝕆ℝ𝔸ℕ @gorangligovic.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Thought of another fun exercise everyone can try: turn Bouba and Kiki (of the Bouba/Kiki Effect) into characters that fit your own tastes and interests
Characters Bouba and Kiki posing heroically. Bouba is round and soft and she wields a mace, and Kiki is sharp and angular and wields a sword.
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freaky bird b @pixibutt-art.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
barred owl w moonflowers :) print is in the works #birds #birdart #barredowl #digitalart #procreate
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Haus of Decline @hausofdecline.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Most music of the last 20 years is just trying to chase the high of the Katamari Damacy soundtrack
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Lucy Knisley @lucyknisley.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Free to download, and printable on standard Avery 5164 shipping label stickers. Enjoy!
Hand drawn text reading: Oh no! ANOTHER HIDEOUS GENERATIVE AI FLYER
Looks like they:
-don’t care about the harm to the planet and our drinkable water
-devalue human artists and creativity
-lined a billionaire’s pocket instead of hiring a local artist
-want everyone to become more lazy, stupid and misinformed
HOW EMBARRASSING 
The text image from the other image in this post, printed six times to fit on mailing label stickers when printed
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
My passenger pigeon painting, “Only Forever,” painted for this year’s Midwestern Invitational exhibition at the @rourkearts.bsky.social in Moorhead, MN. #sciart #birdart 🪶 #acrylagouache
Acrylic gouache painting of six passenger pigeons entwined by a vine of morning glories.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Here is an animal reference resource available specifically to artists.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
LRT i get very nervous when i see artists using pretty photos they find on the internet as reference, without confirming if the image is restricted/copyrighted or public domain. My philosophy is sure, sketch/study these incredible photos to learn, but don’t use it in your final work/share publicly.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Please be careful about using Joel’s photographs as reference. It is my understanding that his work is (rightfully) copyrighted and thus not free to use, copy, transform, etc. www.joelsartore.com/terms-and-co...
joelsartore.com
Terms and Conditions - Joel Sartore
Image & Video Use Guidelines The images and videos on this site are the result of thousands of hours of work, and are primarily self-funded. Unfortunately, we can’t make these images & videos availabl...
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Art Fight @artfight.net · 14/06/2026
THE TEAMS HAVE BEEN REVEALED!! Which one is your favourite; what will you choose this year? Something very special for our website's 10th anniversary! ✨❤️ #ThemeReveal2026
A digital drawing featuring the three teams for Art Fight's 2026 event: Comedy, Mystery and Tragedy.

'Comedy' is themed in amber and depicts a jester wearing a mask with a happy expression.

'Mystery' is themed in red and depicts a person wearing a cracked mask with no expression.

'Tragedy' is themed in blue and depicts a person wearing a mask with a sad expression.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
THREE teams⁉️ omg i really cant wait for art fight! #ThemeReveal2026
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I finished Spiritfarer last night. LOVED the first half, felt VERY meh about all of the grinding and crafting in the second half. I lost a lot of interest in characters after a while, but the final 2-3 spirits got me all emotional again. Cried when the credits rolled. The game was a roller coaster.
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Neocities @neocities.org · 05/06/2026
Early this morning, we received an email from @namecheap.com that the domain neocities.org was being suspended because of a court order from New Delhi, India (a jurisdiction we don't operate in), which was for an unrelated court order about a sports streaming site on a different domain.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 04/06/2026
Breaking News: Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-French author whose graphic novel series “Persepolis” illuminated the struggles of Iranians during the Islamic Revolution, died at 56.
nyti.ms
Marjane Satrapi, Author of ‘Persepolis,’ Dies at 56
Her graphic novel series, published in English in 2003, followed an Iranian girl through the Islamic revolution and the Iran-Iraq War. The work helped millions relate to Iranians.
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🪲 jules z / just right !🌀 @juleshroom.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Huge win today - RI state legislation to ban anticoagulant rodenticides passed today in the House! I'm heartened and am so honored to be part of this advocacy effort by illustrating this poster with Congress of the Birds congressofthebirds.org. Thank you everyone who fought hard to pass this bill <3
Illustrated poster depicting how rodenticide poisoning devastatingly travels throughout the food chain. Drawings by me, text by Sheida.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
I have a new blog post about these sketchbooks I designed and made last month! They each feature a lino stamp of an animal that can be found in the Philippines: a purple heron, a visayan leopard cat, and a whale shark. www.heatherfranzen.com/blog/2026/6/... 🪶🐡
heatherfranzen.com
Coptic Stitch Sketchbooks — Heather Franzen
When I was invited to be a vendor at the Asian Night Market in Fargo, North Dakota , I thought I’d tap into what I learned in the Artists Book class I took in college to add sketchbooks to my lineup....
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CassWArt 🌴 @casswart.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Animal Awareness Days for June and 2026! 🏳️‍🌈🦖😎 🌈Happy Pride Month! As always, Mark your calendars! Plan accordingly. 📑Google Sheets Link: tinyurl.com/52svzknm 📅Google Calendar Add on Link: tinyurl.com/bdzhycfn #AnimalCal
Image of Animal Day Awareness Calendar for June 2026, There is a URL link for a web page view for easy text to speech. 

This is an ongoing project of digital sketches featuring a wide variety of animals using the Animal Day Awareness Calendar as a prompt and guide. It's a way for me to take time to explore their anatomy and deepen an understanding of different fauna while also highlighting conservation efforts.

► * days that fall on different days from year to year																									
► Days highlighted in green, yellow, purple are highly recommended to participate
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Jhonen V @jhnenvee.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Making an animated series is arduous work, often times it’s a miserable experience but the one thing that makes it all worth it is knowing I’m making a crew of actual, talented humans suffer and sometimes die by screaming orders at them. Take that away and what’s even the point??
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🜄 greybriar 🜁 @greybriar.art · 19/05/2026
Mourning dove, take me home- #birdart #illustration #dove
A study of a mourning dove on a post wrapped in barbed wire , with a background coloured in dreamy humid greens.  A piece about the song of our childhoods, and a complicated relationship with the concept of home.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
yo holy cow 🦊
Digiscope photo of a herd of white tailed deer attentively staring at something off camera toward the right.The deer are now running away towards the left.A Digiscope photo of a coyote prowling.The coyote leaps. There’s some motion blur as it lunges toward the left.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Re: LRT a few years ago I started doing bodyweight strength training after seeing an artist flex her guns and do a few push ups, and I too don’t get much back/shoulder/wrist pain anymore. You don’t need to buy anything at all to do strength training.
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nic.tattoos @nicterhorst.com · 11/05/2026
Here's some real advice for artists: I haven't had back pain, and had so much less shoulder pain since I started lifting weights. Start small!! As a(n afab) person who is over 35, I have less body pain than I did in my late 20s by a large margin.
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Alaskanay @alaskanay.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The American Kestrel #birdart #animalart #kestrel #originalillustration
Illustration of an American Kestrel resting on a branch - there are two additional kestrel illustrations behind the first, one in flight and one a portrait.
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Kall @highlandkall.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
ok i got a lot of replies to this on tumblr but this is the best one ^^
halfhumanhalfasleep

[a photo of colorful handprints on a cave wall]

#put your hand on the wall

#nobody is going to the handprints going "look at the technical proficiency of this hand stencil technique"

#the awe isnt in some prowess but that it is there. there amongst the others.

#thousands of years and the message is clear: i am here i was here

#you just have to be here

#and maybe people will look and go wow they were there

#and just maybe someone will put their hand on the wall through time and space and know that they are not alone

#you dont have to have the prettiest hands

#or the brightest colors

#you just have to put your hand on the wall

#god im tearing up looking at this actually
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
I just had a big brain moment realizing I could and should use glazing mediums with acryla gouache because, well, it’s acrylic paint
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
I’m thinking about learning 11ty to build my websites 👀 I’m really intrigued by being able to build a blog with it. Kinda feeling meh about how restrictive and boring squarespace is, even after wrestling my own custom css into it.
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RM @dorsalstream.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me. It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."
I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake

By A Horse

Hello. I am a horse. I work very hard at my job of being a horse. When humans say move the heavy thing, I move the heavy thing. When humans sit on top of me and pull on my head, I carry them where they want to go. The main food the humans give me is hay and oats. But I am thinking it would be nice to have a different food.

I am thinking I would like to try cake.

Yes, yes. Cake. I know all about it. When humans eat cake, it is in glad times. It is the food for a celebration, such as when a woman becomes 47. I have seen cake on the Fourth of July. When humans have a cake, they stand around it and clap hands and smile and say happy birthday at each other. Sometimes there are beautiful markings on a cake, such as balloons or a pink shape.

Sometimes the top of a cake is on fire and a boy must blow on the fire with mouth wind. This is the scariest cake. I do not want this kind. But I will eat any other cake. Any cake that is not the fire cake that tries to kill the boy.

Please understand: I do not get money for doing work. I do not get to go inside the house. All I am either doing my horse job or standing in my pen or eating food off the floor. I always do these things. But I have never once gotten cake and I would like it very much.

I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children. I am more helpful to the farm. Children do not move the heavy things like me or let anyone ride on them. And yet they get cake. Maybe the humans will realize this. Maybe they will say, "You  know who deserves cake? That horse. That horse whose back we are always on."

Every day I dream about what it will be like if I get to eat cake. Here is what will happen. First, I will walk to the cake and putt my nose at it like hrrfff to make and stomping my hooves to make sure it is not a snake. Then I will trot in a circle to show that I am a horse and I am large. After that, I will nuzzle the cake to …
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Realized the deadline for an exhibition is in a week. Frantically painting without a plan/sketch and loving how it’s turning out. Why are my favorite paintings made when I’m under pressure 💀
A large panel with blobs or paint splattered on.The same panel but now 6 pigeons and 10 morning glory flowers are starting to appear out of the blobs.
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American Bird Conservancy @abcbirds.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
💃🏽🕺🏽 It’s International Dance Day so let’s keep the Lesser Prairie-Chicken dancing! The House is proposing a Farm Bill with weak provisions and includes harmful pesticide and forestry language. ❌ Tell your members of Congress that we need a stronger version of the Farm Bill: abcbirds.info/4unWBNg
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Lillian Lee @emptybamboogirl.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Day 100/100 : Cardinal Tetra fish … these schooling freshwater fish have a bright red color with a neon blue stripe and are found in South America. woohoo 🎉 100 aquarium creatures captured 🐟 lillianlee.space/2026/01/15/1...
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AJ Jefferies @moonjam.com · 25/04/2026
I made a short film! It’s called ‘DUCKS’ (Music and Sound by the incredible Megalithic Sound, everything else by me) youtu.be/L8vZbIeAdAw?... #animation #ducks #shortfilm #independentfilm #3d #cgi
youtu.be
DUCKS | Award Winning Animated Short Film (2025)
YouTube video by AJ Jefferies
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
art market prep update: I saw someone on ig use peel and stick wallpaper on a wire grid panel to make a solid panel. Gave it a go and I love how it looks! I’m covering enough of them to build a row of faux wood crates to build a vertical display off of
Holding a grid panel covered with peel and stick wallpaper so that it looks like a wood panel.Comparing the front and back of the grid panel. The font is a smooth wood grain appearance and the back shows a cardboard baking and duct tape holding it all together.
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Heather Franzen @heatherfranzen.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
The smallest animal I’ve ever painted! This is a tardigrade, aka water bear. For an upcoming BEARS mini zine. Acrylic gouache. ACEO. #art #sciart
Painting of a microscopic critter grasping onto microscopic detritus with its hind feet. It has eight legs, four of which are visible, that end in long claws. It looks like jelly, and has a cute tiny eye spot.
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Kingfisher & Wombat @tkingfisher.com · 24/04/2026
When I saw this cover, I yelled “HOLY SHIT!” and while I have been sitting on this news because of NDA for a VERY long time, I am very proud to finally make it my lock screen.
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Harkthorn @harkthorn.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
A little Collared dove sketch, in red ballpoint -3394 🎨🐡🪶 #art #birdArt
A red ballpoint pen sketch of a Collared dove, stood facing to the left of the image, viewed mostly side on
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🌈miski🌦️ @miski.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Love 💛🌻
mother 3 art of lucas holding up a heart made of psi for PK love. He's surrounded by ribbons saying "what is your favorite thing?" [it's love] Rope snake is hanging out. #mother3 #mother #gameart
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Wilderness Watch @wildernesswatch.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
A couple of anti-wilderness members of Congress—Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and Representative Troy Downing (R-MT)—have reintroduced their bill to slash protections for more than 156 square miles of some of the wildest federal public lands in Montana. wildernesswatch.salsalabs.org/montanasport...
wildernesswatch.salsalabs.org
Speak up for wildlands that are under attack in Montana
Urge Congress to oppose the Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act.
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anikeru.bsky.social @anikeru.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
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