oh.
my.
god.

That is AMAZING.

Super amazing. O.o;

That cover! That SHINY STEELY LOOK!

It's just beautiful.

Thanks so much, Rain! It had been waaaaay too long since I'd done one of my magazine designs. I'd forgotten how much fun I have putting these together.

Meepmeep! :D

That's Joey's OTHER nickname!

I love this.

Thanks!

Yaaaaay, Baltimore!

Hah! Yeah, go Baltimore! They made a big jump last year-- and this year they're better than anyone expected. They're the real surprise of the season so far!

Thanks, Phott-Ott!

It's rather fitting that he's gotten the starting role that he was meant to have, and that all of the old teams he left behind are struggling to keep up with his current team now.

Great layout on the spread, and nice use of Baltimore's team colors throughout. Although... I both like and dislike the convenient omission of the Newark captain's injury the game before which prevented him from playing against the Spirits, making it seem like the Pride winning the game would be a no-brainer. From an uneducated passing reader standpoint, it makes the article definitely more powerful; from an obsessed fan standpoint, it might get letters or emails spamming T. Matt or Furballer magazine. :)

Good job overall, though I really want to get the rest of the article now. :P

You are a most astute FBA fan, sir! You are absolutely correct-- T. Matt fudged the facts a bit to make the opening paragraph more dramatic. And the coyote does that. He may be a basketball nut and the biggest FBA fan in the world, but he's also a smart writer who knows how to sell magazines-- when he's asked to write a story, he always makes sure it's written to sell mags.

Excellent

Thank you, Beat Ninja.

Hehe. Cox.

Get your mind out of the gutter!!

Most of the names I've given my characters are based on some feature of the animal. The genus for a roadrunner is geococcyx, so I came up with a real first and last name combination that sort of sounded like that, "Joey Cox".

So it never had anything to do with what you're thinking of!

That looks fantastic! :D Love what you did with the artwork.

Thank you, M-Pup! And thank you for the wonderful sketch!

If I get enough furries asking for this article to continue, I may have to buy some more sketches from you.

Cool, I'm always up for it! :)

Wow, very good, loved the magazine design, want to read the rest :p

And that's another vote for another page! Heehee! Thanks!

I request the full of this article. :O

This entire thing is epic ^ infinity.

Thanks so much, XL! It was a ton of fun to put together. Honestly, this design stuff is something I really, really love to do.

Well--  mitsu is still doing her 100-sketch challenge, so.... I guess I could ask for another pair of sketches and write two more pages...

Question - what program are you using to layout stuff like this?

This was done entirely in Photoshop. Yes, even the text, which is a PAIN. I had to create separate text boxes for the text next to the big O, the text below it, then the text in the wider section under that. It's ugly, but it works.

I have the Production Premium Suite, which sadly doesn't come with InDesign. I'd LOVE to try building one of these with that program, I'm sure it'd be a ton easier.

Photoshop?

Dang...that's hard to use with for text. =s

I want the rest of the article just so I can READ it!
This is awesome!

Thanks so much, Sly!

Hmmm... I wonder if there's been cases where rookies were kept in such deep reserve that their first-season stats weren't officially recognized because they didn't play in enough games.

I'm not entirely certain what you mean by that, but it looks like JT has been explaining the matter for you...?

Yeah, we've been talking about that and sorting it out. :)

awesomeness overload!!!!!!!

Thanks so much!

Never mind Joey Cox! Why does Charles Yotechuk get traded so much?!

Gee, JC, thanks a lot of making me feel real good about all the work I put into this piece.

Sorry. Once again, my comment was uncalled for.

Ok B-Hop? This magazine spread has trumped every magazine spread you've ever done by 10. Oh my god WOW! It looks simply incredible!

Let me list the things I love about this.

-Incorporation of the Spirits colors and logo parts into the spread (the red arrow).
-The lower-transparency pic of Joey in the background.
-The fact that you made the ball bigger! It looks appropriately sized now. :)
-The fact that somehow, even though it is a sketch and not a fully colored piece, the greyscale looks intentional and it still goes with the color scheme!
-The simulated page split in the center is just brilliant. Looks like you just scanned a magazine! :D
The MAKE-UP blurb in the corner is a nice touch and looks like it belongs there!
-The little box explaining his nickname fits too! I didn't even think of that when you asked me what could go there. It's a very nice use of that space! (btw, I was on Pacific Coast Hwy a few days ago when I went to my show in Huntington Beach!)
-The timeline/map thing looks good too! I like how it sits behind Joey's figure yet still is easy to see! Is that a map of Pacific Coast Hwy?
-Of course I gotta mention the title and all the fonts used. It all looks freakin' pro! Especially the Big O!
-I love how it's framed! Leaving the perfect amount of space for the date, magazine name and page number at the bottom.
-I just love how it simulates a real magazine in every way! It's not just a collage with a story on it, it's got the titles, page numbers, side articles... It's got it all!

Just a fantastic job on this! It is absolutely one of the best magazine spreads I've seen, and yes it could sit right up there with SLAM magazine and ESPN!

Also, of course you know I want you to finish the story (and this spread). ^^

Question for you:

Would it be realistic for a rookie to be

A) actually benched for every game in his rookie season (and maybe even his sophomore)
B) benched for so many games that his stats couldn't be officially recognized, as the games he played fell below the limit?

Or would such horror stories just be urban legends?

A rookie can absolutely be benched for every game. That's purely a coach's decision who to play, and the 12th or 13th man may never be able to crack the rotation, though technically still be filling a roster spot. It happens all the time, and not just to rookies.

And there is no games limit to have your stats recognized... but you need to play in a game to get stats at least. ;)

Hmmm... I'll have to rewrite on Bryn Mastiffson then: he's he has a 1.00 3-pointer percentage: He went 2/2 in his first game, 1/1 in his second, and didn't shoot any in his third (and last) game--a record so unlikely that the FBA does not officially recognize it (as he only played 3 games before he was injured).

How about being benched for the entirety of one's draft contract?

Well as far as records go, it's unlikely anyone will talk about him as having the best 3 point percentage in FBA history. There is a certain amount one has to play to be considered for records like that, though his career 3pt% would still be 100%. It's just no one would be all too impressed by it as a record.

It's possible someone could be benched for their whole contract, though most often that player would be waived if they are really that worthless to the team.

So Bryn's record would be listed, but with a footnote stating he onlyy played 3 games?

And I guess I was just thinking that maybe, somewhere in the past, there was a coach who would bench all rookies for their entire first season to "teach them a lesson".

I think one does have to have taken a certain number of shots to even show up in those records. Otherwise, every player who ever played 15 minutes and hit 2 of 2 free throws in their career would be at the top of the FT% records, muddling it up, so I don't think it works that way.

When a coach benches their rookies, it's usually because they feel the rookies aren't ready to contribute yet. Obviously if he was benching capable rookies just to prove a point, he wouldn't be a very good coach.

Well, that makes sense, and Bryn would be an example of that: he threw 3/3 threepointers in his entire career.

As the story goes, the coach only lasted a couple years.

Wow! Thank you so much, JT! What an awesome comment! I'm so glad you like this piece so much. Yeah, I really wanted to step it up and try out some new things-- I'm glad you think they work well!

And yes, that is a map of PCH in Malibu, CA. It's turned, though (North is facing to the right) so it fits better in the space provided. I lifted it off Google Maps then filtered it a bunch to get it looking the way it does.

I really really like how this came out *smiles* and I was glad that could give Joey Cox a good home in Baltimore.

And Joey is very glad, too! Beep-Beep is going to work very hard for your team!

yup they are glad to get him Baltimore felt he would do good as long as he knew he would have a bit more permenant home.

Wow, the coyote caught the roadrunner (For an interview)!

Very nice article brief to add to the picture!

The ACME jet pack worked!!

That's pretty damn awesome. XD

Thanks so much, Pudge!

Love both the article and the artistic use of monochrome and red. And poor Cox, it's what happens to every rookie on the same team as a superstar, getting overshadowed. It's true in every sport

Thanks, Big Z! Glad you like the color scheme on this. And yeah, Joey had a rough start, but now he's doing really well!

You know, if they actually made a Furballer Magazine, I'd subscribe to it, eagerly.. Great story, loved it! Joey Cox is my fave Avian..