http://www.weasyl.com/~augustforth

I didn't think it was worth pointing out, but there seems to be a critical mass headed that direction, and frankly it's where I've been uploading things just because it's less of a pain. So that's where I am now.

I'm going to throw this question out to the general audience here of people who watch me and anyone else who happens across my page here. What is it, exactly, that makes characters appealing?

I'm not talking about just the "ooh, I like that" sort of appeal. I mean the inspiring kind of appeal that drives people to fantasize and make fan-works of their own. I want my own characters to connect with people the same way, but I don't feel like I'm quite there yet as a character designer.

I have a lot of sexless characters, as you've probably noticed, and I've come up with a set of pronouns I like for them (although I'm not quite consistent about using them yet). There were two goals I had in mind.

One was to make them resemble the word "it", which is already a third-person singular pronoun - yes, I know about singular "they", but it doesn't really sound right to use for a character whose gender is known, just known to be null. The other was to avoid homophones of existing words, which is why "shi" and "hir" and so on were out. The result is the set ie, ir, and irs, pronounced like she/her/hers but with the initial consonant dropped (or, if you like, replaced with a glottal stop if it follows a vowel, though that's not an official rule so much as something I end up doing when I say them out loud).

I'm not averse to people drawing my characters. In fact, I'd love it if more people did. So if you've been worrying I'll get on your case for daring to draw my creations, don't. Just as long as you credit me, draw whoever of mine you like.

Apparently even Donald Duck gets in on it once in a while.

...Yes, I know about that Darkwing Duck episode and that long-neglected page on Fchan - any suggestions from you all on where to find actual multi-limbed animated characters?

I'm moving over to a Tumblr blog for all work related to the game; concept art and stuff will still be posted here, but screenshots and sprites will be over there.

http://tesseramundi.tumblr.com/

The thing about 'taurs (and, really, anything similarly multi-legged with an upright torso) is that it's not like you're riding around letting some other creature do the work. It's more like you're carrying someone around who also happens to be you.

I came here, to FA, because I knew I had unusual tastes. What I didn't expect is that I'd be weird even by this place's standards. I just want to get some things off my chest - I'm not judging anyone, or saying I'm fed up with this place or anything like that - it's just that I have some things I want to say. Some observations about myself after almost three years on the site.

1. I'm not interested in bare breasts. Even the "artistic nude" sort. I have no idea where this came from, but that's true of pretty much everything on this list. It's not as strong a revulsion as I have to some other things I'll get to, but there's something - especially about nipples - that makes me go "yuck", regardless of species.

1a. I have no trouble with bare chests, male, female, or otherwise, as long as there are no nipples and the breasts (where applicable) aren't too big. Preferably they're just smooth - not too muscular, not too flabby, not too skinny.

2. I'm also not interested in sex organs of either the male or female variety. Well, more than just "not interested" - it's the easiest way to send me into instant-close-the-window mode. I'm as mystified by this as by #1, but it's definitely a reaction I have. Species doesn't matter, either. It's sad, too, because a lot of the things I'd otherwise really enjoy are marred by this one detail.

3. Less prurient and more just sort of odd, I don't really like paws or claws. It's not as major a thing, but just more of a distaste. I'll draw characters with them, but never as a focus, and I always prefer to give them proper humanoid hands and feet. I honestly have a lot of trouble imagining how claws would be practical - how do you keep from scratching everything up? Wouldn't you just tear through your bedsheets? And so on. The thing is, I'm not that fond of fingernails either, so the answer for now is to keep drawing the sort of featureless blocky fingers I tend to. I imagine this will change over time.

3a. The paw thing is probably more of an overactive need to empathize with characters - to be able to imagine myself in their body and how it would feel - and paws just ruin that. I can't imagine them feeling any way but restrictive and clumsy.

4. The multiple limbs thing ties in a bit with #3a, and with a larger feeling I get here, sort of a combination of frustration and self-loathing that we can't actually be our characters in real life. That's how it is for me, anyway. I have a long-standing difficulty with keeping a "personal" character longer than a few years without it feeling awkward (a topic for another journal entry), but even so, I like to imagine how it would actually feel to be the things I draw. My overactive world-building urges generally turn this into "what would the world need to be like for this to happen", and I also can't help but try to make my characters seem like real people for the same reason.
Daphne, for instance - I know I sort of let her story lapse, but one of the most important things about her personality is that she's determined not to be defined by having two heads. She's not a one-joke flat character who only exists to have a specific body shape. I wanted her story to go this direction - the other kids at Ecliptic would tease her, in the way that kids do, and she'd go through a period of being depressed about how nobody will ever see her as anything but a freak before she finds a mentor (Rryl, from that "Tripping Over Yourself" thing I wrote a while ago).

5. I need to learn a better way to color stuff. My usual methods aren't really cutting it any more for what I want to see. So expect more of that to crop up - experiments with techniques, that kind of thing.

That's all, I think. I ought to use this thing more - it's a good way to get stuff I want to say out there to the right audience.

Just putting this question out there, since it's been on my mind - what can I do to draw more attention to myself here?

http://frankensteinbeck.blogspot.com/

Plugging a writer friend's site here - if you're into stories that are strange, occasionally dark, wildly imaginative, and impossible to classify, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

I thought that this would be the way back home
I thought that I could prove that I could make it on my own
But the farther that I go
The less I'm sure I know
The less I'm sure I'm anywhere - the less I'm sure I've grown

I've seen you face the world and not back down
I've watched you pick yourself back up from flat upon the ground
Though I'll never know just how
It's a short bit further now
Till you find yourself surrounded by the new world that you've found

I don't know where I'm going, so I'll just enjoy the ride

I don't know where you're going, but I'll stay there at your side

I don't know where I'm/you're going, but I'm/you're on the way...

I haven't forgotten! Things have just been various degrees of weird with me lately, so I haven't had the time or energy - but rest assured, those of you who're still waiting on your sides of trades, they're still on the way.

I'm open to art trades, if anyone'd like to get those set up. I don't have anything too elaborate in mind - even simple pencil sketches would be fun. I just want to get some practice drawing other people's characters, and I'd like to see their interpretations of my own. Drop me a note if you've got someone you'd like me to draw.

Just for those of you who're curious about her, Vesta's been set up with a Formspring account so she can answer any questions you might have for her.

http://www.formspring.me/vestaashland

If you haven't been reading Bitkin Tales, that's where most of my creative output has been going. Episode 7 is now up in its entirety, so the story (which will be 13 episodes in length, like a TV season) is now officially more than half over. If you haven't read it, now's a good point to catch up; the actual plot has finally been laid bare.

http://bitkin.net/

http://bitkin.net/

The story has started; only half of the first episode is up so far, but the rest will be up over the course of this coming week.

I've been thinking some more lately about my art, and I've decided I want to improve it. Take it to the next level, sort of thing. So I thought I'd turn to all of you watching me for suggestions. What needs improving in my art, and how should I go about improving it? Obviously, whatever else, I'll need to practice more (no matter how good an artist you are, practice will always help), but I'd like your opinions on what I should be practicing.

I'm about to enter a period where I'll have the free time to do commissions as well as a need for some extra cash (it's not just the holidays; mid-December to mid-January is a period I don't actually get paid for at my day job), so I'd like to open myself up to taking commissions again. I think there's sufficient stuff in my gallery to give a good idea of the sorts of things I draw, so if you'd like to help me out, I'm willing to draw whatever or whoever you'd like me to. With some exceptions, of course; I still won't draw anything too gory or racy, as usual, but I have no problem with strange anatomy types - in fact, the odder the better. I like to think that I can make nearly anything look natural. So, as a price guide:


B&W sketch - $5
Inked and digitally colored drawing - $15

The above are meant for digital work, but I'll do commissions on physical media and mail them anywhere you like for an extra $5. In the colored-drawing case, that means real ink and colored pencil.

Con badge - $15 (comes with plastic holder and clip)
Pixel art - $10 (up to 64x64 in size)

To request one of these, please send me a message using FA's own messaging system here and I'll get back to you with my contact information so we can work out payment and delivery; I take PayPal, but physical checks are fine too.

Thank you!

The official "Commision Info" page seems to be down, so I thought I'd post here about my updated prices and selection.

Pencil sketch - $5
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2079244
One character, grayscale, just like this. Digital delivery. Add $2 for each character beyond the first (I don't shy away from multiple-character pictures, but they do take a bit more effort).

Inked and digitally colored - $20
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2033637/
One character, inked and digitally colored, delivered digitally. Add $7 for each character beyond the first (for the same reason as above).

Con Badge (inked+colored) - $15
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1923702/
One character, inked and colored in colored pencil on Bristol, 3 by 4 inches. Suitable for slipping into one of those plastic badge holders. Since this is a physical object, I'll need an address to send it to when it's all finished.

Pixel Art - $15
Example: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2085707
Digitize yourself! The price includes five frames of animation - one basic standing pose and a 4-frame walk (or run, or however you get around).

I have a PayPal account, so I'll accept payments that way; if you're uncomfortable using that, physical checks are all right too. Please contact me over the private-messaging system here to commission me. Thanks!

Just thought I'd let people know that I'm open to taking commissions; all the info is there under the Commissions tab on my user page.

So, now that I've gotten a few things up here - enough to establish a style, anyway - I've got a question. What's the proper etiquette for when someone puts you on watch, or favorites something you've done? I've just been discarding those messages, but I don't want to give the impression I don't care - it really does make me smile when someone likes something I've done enough to add it to their list, and even more so when someone adds me to their watch list.

Thanks to everyone who's put me on watch and such; I'll be putting more things up here later on tonight.

Hello to everyone who's found their way here - I've decided to use this space as a kind of companion to my (slightly) more public sketchbook LJ at http://augustforth.livejournal.com/ - this account will be where I put the things that don't fit there.