I hesitantly joined the site, and started posting my artwork.
It was definitely scary for me to share my work, as I didn’t have a whole lot of confidence in it. My early work was mostly done with colored pencils, and I didn’t even dare attempt digital art.
My comic, featuring my main character Neffertity was one of the things that helped me to grow my following on deviantart, and it really shows the progression of my art over the years.
(If you’d like to read the comic yourself, check out the link to it right here)
As I kept drawing and learning, I started to venture into new types of art. From sculptures, to markers, heck I even tried beading for a while. And around 2010 I tried digital art.
I kept practicing over and over again, learning a little bit more each time. As I improved, I kept pushing my art to the next level. Always asking myself;
“What else can I do?”
As an artist, it’s always important to push your skills to the next level. Challenge yourself. If something starts to get easy, that’s when it’s time to try something harder, or new. I definitely felt this as I pushed my skills with my sculptures. My first ones were not the best… I used to sculpt the legs and wings separately, and then attach them with hot glue afterwards. YIKES! They always fell apart and looked like angry snakes attached to a long noodle.
But when I learned how to make a wire armature first, my sculptures drastically improved! Just look at Amaya (right) here, compared to my most recent sculpture of Paminto (below)!
My digital paintings in 2013 were better, but still not quite at the level I wanted them to be. My anatomy wasn’t great, shading was really strange, and I hadn’t quite learned how backgrounds quite worked.
Through studying tutorials on deviantart and youtube, I was able to learn new painting techniques and apply them to my work. Little by little through personal work and commissions, I started to learn how lighting worked.
Improving my anatomy is something I’m still working on to this day, but I definitely feel I’ve improved quite a lot since I started.
This was my very first fursuit head.
People who see it are often amazed that it was my first. The shapes are fairly clean, it clearly looks like a dragon, and it’s recognizable as my moniker Neffertity. I did extensive research on fursuit making techniques, and watched literally hundreds of hours of fursuit tutorials and looking at videos and pictures of furries.
This really helped me understand what the shapes I wanted were. And I definitely encourage others to do the same. Making this head was the start of my passion for making suits. I love how much variety I can get out of my work, and I love seeing others smile when they see my work.
Making this head also taught me a lot about what does, and does not work for fursuits. And after making only one more head, I created my third head, and my fursona, Winza the Dutch Angel Dragon.
Since creating Winza, I have actively been working to involve myself within the heart of the furry community. Attending cons, events, meetups, as well as attending local events. I have even become a bit of an icon in my local community.
I am so incredibly thankful for all the amazing friends I’ve made since becoming a part of this wonderful community. Making others smile, and being able to offer support and encouragement is one of my favorite things to do. As someone who grew up knowing what it’s like to be an outcast, to be labeled as different or weird, I know how many of you out there feel. I will always strive with all my heart to make everyone feel welcomed and loved here.
“In a world full of copies and replicas, strive to be unique and weird.”
Each and every person out there has the potential to do great things. You just need to try, and give it your all. Never stop believing, never stop trying…
Meet the Artist
Hello, I am Brittani Stumne though most of you likely know me by my alias, Neffertity.
I am a self-taught artist, and I’ve been drawing and creating all sorts of art since I was about 3 years old.
I’ve always been a different kind of person. While other girls wanted dolls and dresses, I wanted dinosaurs and hiking boots. To say I was a tomboy growing up would be an understatement.
As I grew, I drew. Little doodles here and there, mostly consisting of dragons since I became absolutely obsessed with them at a young age. Something about their might and magic always fascinated me, and I loved all the stories and different ways they were depicted all over the world. To me, dragons were like a representation of life. Even though they were all different, they were still the same creature. Just like people.
In early 2005 I stumbled across a website known as “deviantart”. The name sort of confused me, but it was filled to the brim will all sorts of art!
This was my first ever drawing on a tablet. And it’s quite obvious that I had much to learn. Getting the hang of drawing without looking at my hands was probably the most difficult part, second only to learning muscle control for straight lines.
I still struggle to keep my lines totally straight due to shaky hands…
As I learned and practiced more, I started to sell comissions in early 2011. I was very new to the commission scene, so I made many mistakes early on. But thankfully I learned from them all, and they have helped me grow to where I am today!
It’s always important to learn from your mistakes and take constructive criticism.
Amaya was made in 2012, whereas Paminto was made in 2019. The improvement in just 7 years is incredible, and it really goes to show what hard work and practice can do for you!
Never give up, and never stop trying.
To quote Walt Disney;
“Keep moving forward.”
I find these words very inspiring, and they have always driven my to keep learning new techniques. The same level of practice applied to my artwork.
Painting small details has quickly become one of my favorite things to do. I find it amazing how small things like variations in the ground and colors of shadows can make a painting really feel alive.
A good artist never stops improving. They are never truly a master of anything, because there’s always something new to learn, or a new technique to be tried.
Two years ago I chose to undertake one of the biggest challenges my art has ever faced.
Fursuits.
I had never before had a fursona, because I felt like it had to be the perfect representation of myself. Everything that I am. Neffertity is a character to me, and I love her. But she has never been my sona.
Choosing a species for my fursona was definitely the hardest part for me. I love dragons, so I figured it had to be a dragon. But I also love cats, so for a while I thought my fursona would be best suited as a lion. I never felt that special connection to the lioness character I made. I looked at Sergals, Protogens, Wickerbeasts, and so much more.
I was hesitant about dutch angel dragons, as there was a lot of criticism around them. They were labeled as the “overused species”, and that only kids had them because they were all obsessed with Telephone. I was afraid of becoming a part of the community they held, out of fear of being labeled by others.
But the more I thought about dutchies and everything they stand for, the more I felt that spark. And with me being Asexual, I liked the fact that dutchies were strictly SFW (safe for work).
I started designing my dutchie years ago as a potential character, but when I made my decision to have it as my fursona I invested time into fleshing out the design fully, and thus Winza came to be. I fell in love with her, and how different she was compared to all other angel dragons. People often remark how unique Winza is, and that always makes me so happy. I’ve never been one to fit into a crowd, so it only makes sense that my fursona stands out as well.
