Posting, by hand
Welcome to my journal breakdown how I post finished commissions. If you are interested in how to post by hand without automation tools then this is the little guide for you.
Completed commissions are sent to SelfDugGrave (me) for posting, and delivery. I write all my own templates which do help save on time and stress. I never use bots to do my work for me. See the very end for the tools I do use, and how I adapt overtime.
The Breakdown
- The full-res file is always uploaded first to, ko-fi
- After that, it's uploaded to FA
- FA includes the link to the ko-fi download, always.
- Due to posting by hand, it's impossible to automatically include additional links at the start.
- Next the finished piece is posted on, Bluesky respectively.
- Both Bluesky and mastodon use “Alt-Text“ which is hand-written in real time.
- Tags are not universal between these platforms, and are also entered by hand, in real time. Furbooru's tags are our preferred standard.
- Alt-text is copied to match.
- FA link is provided in both posts, on both platforms in order to loop back.
- Estimated time to post to all 4 platforms: (~10-45m)
- Successful uploads to Bluesky and mastodon, are then copied back into FA, via the description.
- If you are too fast, you will see broken or empty URLS.
- Additionally the Bluesky link is copied into the ko-fi post as a bonus.
- This helps as Bluesky is the preferred platform for our current audience.
- Lastly, the final stop is over in the Telegram Channel.
- The FA link is provided as it houses all the other useful links.
- It is forwarded it to you directly, if you originally messaged us on Telegram Channel.
- If you did not reach out on Telegram Channel, you will be provided the FA link where you originally messaged us.
- ko-fi is an exception, as you would already be notified in your DMs there.
Special Platforms
- Toyhouse is primarily used for adopts.
- Also houses most of our own personal references for our characters.
- Pixelfed is currently under construction.
- we have plans to turn this into our main portfolio.
- SoFurry a backup, when/if FA goes down.
Inactive Platforms
- Weasyl used to be a preferred platform to FA. FA has far more activity. We tried for years to promote Weasyl and bring it back to life, this did not work out as you can imagine.
- SoFurryBeta we used to use also over FA. Once again, a not so lively platform. FA stomps out the competition.
- Pillowfort was promising as a Tumblr knock-off. The communities are very tight and small. No wiggle room. Paid invites really lock it down.
- CoHost appeared to be THE solution to almost everyone's needs. They are no longer running. RIP Eggbug.
- GitGay is where the public queue and FAQ was hosted. Please see the FAQ for more info.
- Trello
long long ago where we had the public queue.| Now I use, Gitlab! Way too bloated for what it is. Too demanding.
Closing
Now you have a better understanding on how I do things behind the scenes. Why this can take a lot of out me when posting multiple times a day, within hours. It can be done. Does not mean it should be done. Most can wait an extra day or so. This is also why I now push my BMC (Buy Me a Coffee) a little more frequently now, as this helps remind me there are those of you out there who do care about me, what I do, and feel that I deserve a little treat. My tiers are locked at $1, but in the bigger stretch if I have about 8 of you minimum, then yes I can head out and grab a coffee for reals, and sip it with the warm reminder that you are all proud of me, and happy with the work that I do. Thank you
Tools I use
I don't gatekeep with the tools I use, and I am very open to share and encourage others who are interested in doing things by hand to try these out.
Paper and pen – yup. I'm serious. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
Obsidian – massive workhorse, with a fantastic “everything everywhere all at once” and the ability to zoom way far out for a maximum overview.
Gitlab (or any flavor of git tbh) – I think it works a lot better than Trello, and is far far more streamlined, and easier for me to use.
There's plenty of other tools out there like Notion who can “do it all” and hey if that's what works for you, go for it. Maybe you don't like Obsidian because it's not FOSS, more power to you. Use ZIMWiki instead, it's pretty much the same thing, and extremely lightweight. Maybe you don't like Git at all and find it too confusing. I would suggest ignoring “fancy developer” talk and treat it like you would a blog, or Tumblr with an admin panel. Have a look at how I set things up, and you'll see it's really not that bad. Hell you can even store all your “journal” entries there if you really wanted (and it comes with RSS) so don't give up on Git too easily!
All that's left is a routine. Figure out what times work best for you, and manage your time carefully. If you have the ability to work with a friend, or partner, or even hire somebody else to help take some of the load off your shoulders, do that.