iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

this little tank continues to evolve. excited for when I can finally get some critters in it, but also content to let the ecosystem do its thing :)

a 5.5 gallon blackwater aquarium. it's been totally renovated since I last posted. two gnarled pieces of mopani wood sit on a bed of brown gravel. java ferns sway in the gentle current. smaller aquatic plants and grasses sprout up in the foreground. the surface is covered with winding pothos vines whose roots trail down into the golden, tannin rich water.

a closeup of the aquarium. this piece of wood creates a tall arch with a shady, secluded hide beneath. cute little plants and grasses frame the entrance.

a closeup of the aquarium. this piece of wood is wide and gnarled, offering spots for java ferns to cling and take root, as well as supporting the pothos vines overhead.

looking at the top of the aquarium with the mesh lid removed. a gentle waterfall trickles from a compact filter. bright green pothos leaves rise out of the tank and reach for the light.

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

here's a little something i'm assembling. my first real serious grownup aquarium. no critters yet, just plants in tannin soup, but it's so peaceful and i already want to stare at it all day

a 5g blackwater aquarium. two gnarled chunks of mopani wood rest on a bed of brown gravel, with dwarf hairgrass in front and a pair of el nino ferns in back. a piece of driftwood floats on the surface across the width of the tank, holding up a number of golden pothos cuttings whose roots trail down into the golden, tannin rich water.

view of the tank from above with the mesh lid removed. the filter and heater are tucked away in the back corner, accessible from above but nicely hidden by wood and plants in the front. the driftwood rests on the surface, supporting multiple pothos vines that provide cover and shade to the water below.

view of the tank as it sits on my bathroom counter. a lamp with a grow bulb attached to a nearby shelf provides the plants with light. a pink princess philodendron sits next to the tank in a little grey pot.

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Still working on art regularly, just not in the way of illustration right now! Currently sewing test tubes to my shoes, as one does

A red knee high suede boot with a black band around the calf, holding six small test tubes

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

not sure what makes a therian mask specifically (is it a certain technique or style?) but I luv 2 make wearables other than fursuit heads, I'd be down to give it a shot

two papier mache mongoose masks made a decade apart

WIP of a white leather mask that resembles a bird skull

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

everything old is new again! using ye olde plastic canvas to pattern and add structure to this mask, it's working better than I expected would I use it for a fursuit? no. would I use it again for other costumes? heck yeah

showing the inside of this WIP mask, formed with layers of plastic mesh originally meant for cross-stitch

WIP of a mask made of white leather, vaguely reminiscent of a bird skull

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

shh.. everyone be quiet... my aglaonema is Making A Leaf. he's been at this for over a week

potted green aglaonema next to other houseplants in a bathroom. it has 14 leaves; a 15th is slowly unfurling from the center

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

would you be down to draw your sona and my sona hanging out lol (getting excited over houseplants or something)

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

finally, as it was always meant to be read (right to left)

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

If you see this, post a unicorn you've painted/drawn 🦄 well here's 1/4 of one at least!

ref sheet for my fursona who is mostly a dog but also a unicorn

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

easy mistake, clearly they meant coyotes have 23 feet

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

finally got the supplies to make a second marker box! not quite as big as the original (right) but built pretty much the same way, with plastic makeup caddies from dollar tree and some chipboard dividers. why buy stuff when you can buy other stuff and then make stuff out of that stuff!!

a few hundred markers arranged by color in a pair of wooden organizer boxes

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

I painted this 20 years ago for school and it hung above the sofa in the teacher's lounge until I graduated. every day all the teachers had to look at my space furries :)

watercolor(?) painting of three anthropomorphic animals in a spaceship

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

As far as current pets- isopods, a mixed colony of hissing and dubia roaches, and one remaining blue death-feigning beetle. They live in the bathroom so they can watch you pee after our ideal date ^_^ I used to have a slug, I miss that guy

Yellow and green cellar slug oozing along a piece of cholla in a terrarium

Yellow and green cellar slug eating corn in a terrarium

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Since I've had an influx of new followers (hello!) and a distraction might be nice today... time to jump on the bandwagon? Reply with a number and I'll skip ahead!

I'm On Bluesky! Get To Know Me Better meme

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

before I made fursuits, I made animal masks with cardboard and papier mache, but fursuit making has definitely changed the way I approach and build these things. still room for improvement, but I would like to get back into these as an alternative to sewing! mongoose masks, 2013 and 2024

two papier mache mongoose masks made over a decade apart. the old one is smaller, flatter, and not as brightly colored.

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

I found out that Michaels sells DIY wooden furries so I made some little guys

Four wooden toy animal people: a rabbit, a mole, a squirrel, and an otter

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

i have made Pumpkin Pies For Bugs. happy thanksgiving!

Cutting board with pumpkin, yellow squash, and a fancy dish with five little "pies" on it

Closeup of pumpkin pies for bugs on the fancy plate (which has a picture of a bug on it)

A tiny pie waits for a little blue beetle to come eat it

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

saw this yarn at the craft store and I really want to make a character based on these colors

skeins of colorful yarn with stripes of red, white, yellow, blue, pink, and aqua

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

remembering the time I made pumpkin pies for bugs... should I make pumpkin pies for bugs this year chat

a slug in a terrarium eating a pumpkin "pie" made out of pumpkin puree in a scooped out slice of yellow squash for the crust

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

luv 2 thrift exactly what I need on the first try :) it's still getting there...! the paint job has been fighting me for a week but we are finally in the endgame

WIP papier mache animal mask, painted golden yellow, next to a thrifted leather purse that is almost the exact same color

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

another headshot for user mxbird on the furry corner forums!

traditionally colored bust of an anthropomorphic pheasant surrounded by hearts and stars

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

it's not that yellow irl 😭 this pic is more accurate!

traditionally colored bust of an anthro pine marten rendered with gold and violet accents

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

headshot for user pawsout on the furry corner forums!

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💛🔪 bel canto's not dead 🔪💛 @mongoosefangs.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

QRP your sketch vs. final work! Rough thumbnails in a notebook, to scanned sketches, to compositing and rendering (with a mouse, as you do)

Various WIP stages of a painting of two anthropomorphic jackal kids. Paper sketches were scanned and the final scene was colored digitally.

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