About
Howdy! My name is Sophia, but please, call me Birdy!
I am a cartoonist, author, and graphic designer from Nebraska. Currently, my main focus is creating artwork in my own personal style, taking art commissions, and working on my webcomic series, "Chimera Heart." While this is currently only a side hustle at the moment, I really hope to turn this silly little passion into a full-time career someday...
The current state of the Internet is incredibly hostile for artists, from generative AI plaguing image search results to suffocating algorithms reducing our reach. I've been posting my art on the Internet for around a decade now, but there is currently nowhere online for you to view the entirety of my work all in one place. I've hopped from Wattpad and YouTube to Instagram and Twitter to Bluesky, Twitch, and Discord. Being an artist online constantly means having to jump ship and completely rebuild your audience any time a social media goes under or their algorithms change. I aspire for this place to finally be a permanent online home for Birdy's Doodles.
If you're reading this in the website's current state, please understand that this site is VERY much in its infancy. I took one web design class in college and it was at 8:00 AM... I know the basics of design coding, but my skills are definitely rusty. (thank god base codes exist....) Please be patient with me! I am just a little bird who is learning!
For the tech nerds, this website is primarily being coded and designed with a 1920x1080 layout in mind. It is best viewed on a computer in Google Chrome. Most of this website will be coded on a Mac desktop computer, as this is my little project for me to work on while I'm bored at work. However, my personal computers at home run Windows, so some additional tweaks and tests will be performed at home as well.
Q&A
What do you use to make your art?
For digital art, my main drawing program is FireAlpaca. I currently use an XP Pen screen tablet, but I used the Wacom Intuos and Bamboo tablets for over ten years. For text and photo editing, vector-based graphics, and video creation, I use the Adobe Suite, but I wouldn't recommend using them unless you can leech from your workplace or pirate them. For traditional art, I use lots of various art supplies, but I mostly use alcohol markers. I use a mix of brands, but I think my current favorite is Arrtx.
Where do you get your stuff made/printed?Prints and Business Cards: CatPrint. Stickers: Sticker App. Graphic Novels: Comix Well Spring. Pins: Self-Pressed.
How long have you been drawing?I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I started keeping regular sketchbooks when I was 11 or 12. I started posting my art online in 2015, debuted my webcomic in 2019, and then opened my online store and sold at my first con in 2021.
How do you get good at drawing? What's the best advice for an artist just starting out?JUST. KEEP. DRAWING. It's so easy to get caught up in your own head or compare yourself to others. Literally just draw whatever you want. Every single day. It doesn't have to be good or worth posting or anything you just have to keep drawing. It's hard but I know you can do it.
So are YOU also Birdy or is it just the bird?We are both Birdy! "Birdy" is my persona/fursona/mascot/whatever you wanna call her. She is meant to be goofy and silly and all of the parts of me I wanna express to the world! Don't call her Sophia, though. Only the human is "Sophia."
Why is Birdy (the bird) different colors sometimes?Birdy's yellow-and-pink patterns are referred as her "True Colors" form. These colors show up whenever she feels like her "true" self, so when she is experiencing large amounts of happiness, excitement, or love!
Do you actually own a bird as a pet?Nope, and I have no plans to do so. Props to the bird owners out there, but I simply enjoy their aesthetics and personalities from a distance.
