Submerged Studio

04/30/2026

The website is currently down while it is rebuilt. At the moment no ETA for when it'll be up, please just message if you need anything.

02/05/2025

Due to the instability of the current american goverment, I will not be opening up sales again any time soon for anything that requires shipping.
Things that are digital I will still do. Sorry for the inconvenience.

10/02/2024

Hi, it's me again, talking about ai again. So I know a lot of you have seen this post going around: https://gizmodo.com/famous-ai-artist-says-hes-losing-millions-of-dollars-from-people-stealing-his-work-2000505822?fbclid=IwY2xjawFqeXNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHa2jNM5owN0i0zf85fxwVin9ZWDscrJJ1bM3Pd1LiBq-9hMi0Fy3-5-cBQ_aem_AfrFA2TomQYcpMjH4-TOLQ

It really is what it says.

A lot of people have talked about how ai makes art accessible to the disabled, and that's been the big 'moral' standpoint. But I want you guys to stop and really look at this. This is a person who is using ai, who is not saying "I am disabled and this is my means of creating'. He's saying "I used this tool that is acknowledged to utilize artist's work, and now I am upset because *people are using what is produced by the tool the same way I am using the art that was illegally used to create this tool in the first place.*". And.. "IT IS COSTING ME MONEY".

That last part is the big kicker. It's the big point. He didn't care about copyright or the harm this tool was doing to actual artists, until it hit his bottom line. And then suddenly he understood WHAT copyright was for.

And he wants the protection copyright affords.

The thing is, in order for those protections to work and be valid, *his tool cannot exist*. At least not in its current form.

He is asking for the very thing that he is actively helping to destroy, and wanting it to only apply to him. Not to the artists who's careers and income he is hurting by utilizing this tool.

You can't have it both ways. Either the protection works and is used as intended, to safeguard the arts and the artists who create it so that we can *keep creating*. Or ... it doesn't exist and everyone suffers, including the people like him.

For something to have value, you have to value it. Respect it. I am not asking for people to suddenly dump millions of dollars onto artists. I'm not asking for people not to find a way to make an ai tool that utilizes art through actual real informed consent (though I am asking that htey find a way to do it that doesn't destroy our drinking water, our environment. The planet will be fine if we're all gone, there's no magical being that's going to fix this, there's only us).

I'm asking for people to realize the value of art. Of human input. Even if it's a dude painting with his p***s, it's still the creativity of humanity. Copyright is there to safeguard it, and also to encourage artists to think outside the box and to reach for what hasn't been done before. Not to homogenize all the previous ideas into a generic image. We are to reach for the stars and find out what's beyond them.

When it comes to disability, there are thousands of ways that disabled artists have created art while also working within the scope of their abilities. I am disabled. Some of you know me from my service dog zeus, or my service dog tucker (who took over for zeus when he retired). I had to give up pencil work because my arthritis made it too painful to use a pencil. I had to give up pen and ink because my tremors make it impossible for me to hold a steady line. I worked with the other mediums to find my happy place.

When ai first came out, I went and gave it a poke at midjourney to see exactly what it was. What I found was not a part of the creative process. What I found was part of the process I use when I write books, yes. Also part of the process I use when I google search for information. I did not find a tool to help me with my disability, if anything I found an incredible frustration because of how LITTLE it connected to my voice, and produced what my creativity came up with. It was not what it's being promoted as, no matter how much people claim it is. And as a disabled artist, it did not help me with my artistic expression.

Please. Stop buying into claims that this is to help people like me. It's not. I am not a voice for ai use. Stop and look at things like this guy. It's someone looking for money, realizing that violating copyright protections *hurts the artist*, and is blindly not paying attention to the irony of him demanding protections now (of his work in whole and being used for other works).

Please respect the value of art. Real art. Human creativity. Stop and go to an art museum and really look at the incredible things on the walls. Even if they're not to your taste, really look at them. Think about what the artist is trying to express to you, because I guarantee you they ALL are talking to you. Even if it's in a language you don't understand.

Please.

The guy who used Midjourney to create an award-winning piece of AI art demands copyright protections.

08/24/2024

I am retiring.

The past month we've spent a lot of time just going over everything with my health, and what's causing me issues, stressors, etc. The end result we all agreed on was that it's time for me to step back from working entirely. I'll be closing out my business accounts and wrapping up any outstanding items over the next couple of months, but then I will be done.

This does not mean I am stopping painting, far from it. I will happily keep painting but it will simply be stuff for me. I will no longer be trying to work through social media for making ends meet, funding projects, etc.

This was a surprisingly easy decision to make. It had nothing to do with ai, or lack of interest in my work. It's 100% just me needing to pull back and let my brain be whatever it is going to be. I'm simply not capable any longer of focusing well enough to do the more complicated items of running a business. The simplest things slip out of my mind and I end up making mistakes. The mistakes build up and the stress builds up because at the end of the day I feel terrible when I fumble someone's order and then I struggle with focusing enough to fix what I've messed up. I relied on a lot of help from my family and friends, but there's only so much that others can do to make up for my own shortcomings.

So.. this is the direction we're going. I'll still occasionally pick up the odd job like doing things for zox, and I will finish my outstanding contracts. But yeah. That's it. Jessie is retiring and just chilling out.

I'll be doing a lot of personal art, just stuff for me. I'll still share it because I like you guys, but not with any eye for anything other than 'look what I made'.

I hope you all understand.

If you are concerned about anything please dm me and I will answer any questions.

07/30/2024

Hey again everyone. So sorry for a second post, it got pointed out to me that I didn't update what will be happening with all my projects during this time. Picture of the last thing I sketched for attention.

First off, I will be for the most part completely shut down for about a month, give or take. I want to re-iterate, we have a treatment plan, and we have things under control, I realize my posts sound really awful, it's not as bad as it sounds, just we need me to just shut down for a bit and get help. You might see me post a little haha or reblog something once in a while but otherwise I'll be pretty null. Anyway, projects:

BEASTS OF THE BEYOND: We are pushing back the launch date, but not canceling the book. I do not know *when* we are pushing it back to, Austin and I decided to wait and see how my treatments go.

TOKU DEVELOPMENT: I am doing the third toku based off of the questions already answered. The only interruptions you should see is that this particular toku will not have as many questions to help decide the outcome. The fourth should start and run like usual.

LITTLE COMFORTS: We are tentatively still planning this year's little comforts but not 100% sure yet. Austin is working on the story so there will be one, just not sure when.

The simple facts are that we don't want to launch a major project while I am struggling and have it fail dismally or worse, fund and go absolutely trainwreck mode. So we've decided it's in everyone's best interests if we pause things for now.

07/28/2024

Hey all.

Aside from fulfilling current obligations, I am going to be shutting down all work for the next little while.

This is not permanent, but I'm definitely struggling too hard to even pretend to be doing ok.

I'll reopen the shop once I feel relatively confident in my stability.

07/17/2024

I hit rock bottom this last week. Everything kind of culminated in a total breakdown a few days ago. I haven't been posting because to be honest I am tired of posting 'oh look here is jessica having another dramatic moment'. I'm tired of it. I want to be posting great things, so I refrained from posting at all.

The great thing is that my husband came down and sat with me and said "hey so wha'ts up" and then talked me through it. Slowly through it. But I am comig out the other side feeling a lot stronger and a lot more in control.

So.. here I am saying I am sorry I vanished again. I wish I could say it won't ghappen again but we know it will, but what I will say is that we have things in place to talk me through it and move forward. SO moving forward here are the two chesire cat sketches I was asked to draw. I really like this take on the cat and I think I'm going to doing a big thing with alice again. We'll see.

But the point is, i really relaly like this.

07/10/2024

HI! Bet you guys thought I faded out entirely there. nope I'm back in action and here's the first of the rest of the sketch commissions. This person wanted a .. dragon! like the cats, the constellations, but a dragon! So here you go! (got about 8 more to go, I'll be doing them one a day)

07/09/2024

just FYI: I am down with a minor bug (like the flu but not as horrible). I'll be back up and working asap.

There are 9 sketches left to do from my sketch commissions that I will be hitting as soon as I'm functional again.

06/27/2024

Hey all, they finally released it so I can show this.

Yes the original is available. It is a single painting, so both parts are side by side exactly like this.

this is.. oddly.. nearly exactly how the original art looks too. Usually there's some changes in color, but nope. Pretty spot on this time around.