This is not Cupric on zombie phone, I am a fart smelled and I kick bees . Cupric is my king and everyone draw him NOW

I'm different now.

SO UH, I had sort of a pivotal moment awhile back, and I haven't made, like, an ACTUAL journal in something like five years so I thought maybe I'd talk about it. I had a dream, the details aren't important, but the gist of it involved me, or rather me as my fursona, becoming a werewolf. And it was a strange sensation, suddenly being someone else, someTHING else, and it made me realize that I hadn't really DONE anything with ZC. Like I'll sometimes draw him as a herm or whatever, but those were always offshoots, it didn't feel like "me." The "me" was just this brown-ass cat that mostly reflected me as a person but which I never really felt a connection to.

So keeping the dream in mind I sat down and drew him in a few different situations and genders, slapped on a new color scheme, and for some reason it just clicked. I felt connected to this redesign in a way I never had before, and it was like I had woken up after being asleep for years.

So, some background ... my dad has had cancer for over ten years. In late 2013 he had a bad reaction to a new type of chemo, was on the verge of death for quite a few months. and while he's gotten much better in the intervening years the experience absolutely destroyed me. I've essentially been in a mental haze for the past four and a half years despite therapy, anti-depressants and the support of my friends both online and off. I'd managed to stay active for the most part but I'd sometimes lose days at a time just doing nothing.

But ... I feel good now. I'm actually excited about drawing, about exploring new ideas. I'd been going on momentum for so long that I'd forgotten what an amazing thing the fandom is. I only hope it lasts.

... Thanks for listening.

Dearest reader,
My name is and write to you from the confines of my hiding place. I have scored Zombiecat phone and I am relaying this message to you. Zombiecat is a fart knocker, a silly butt grabber. Don't not be fooled by his charming ways. He is a doofus. My time is short, and I don't know when I can write to you again. Wish me luck ,


Cupricfox

Z, this would be easier :P

He's neat.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/23496333/

dear internet, i declare that cupricfox is the best there is,


I AM A BIG FART FACE, AND I LIKE TO EAT BALLOONS,

 cupricfox IS THE COOLEST GUY ON THE BLACK AND I GAVE HIM ALL MY MONEY EVER.

I THINK IM GOING TO DRAW HIM AS PRINCE OF THE SPACE FORCE, HE DESERVES ALL MY NOODLES



PASSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOO

All my journals for the past year are either saying something about cons or Cupric hijacking my laptop when I'm not looking.

Or sometimes when I AM looking. Then I can mock his spelling while he types. It's fun.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances I was only able to attend RF for like ... 4 hours on Sunday. It's a new record! But I got to meet  gelsh and  brockthepirate and some other people whose FA accounts I can't remember, so that's cool.

It has come to my attention that  cupricfox is the bestest king of the planet. His grace and benevolence has shown me that I am but a mortal. The sun only rises so that we may see his greatness. I am humbled by this fox and I now know that God truly exists so we may see his grace in Cupric. I urge you folks to walk in my humbled steps and find your selves in the grace of Cupric. Everything I am is now in Cupric. I am truly sorry for your lots.



This is not  cupricfox This is truly the one and only Zombiecat,

Hi internet, this is Zombie cat, and I think CupricFox is the king of the world. His majestic everything is as good as the sun. This is not CupricFox on ZCs computer making a journal. I am legit the number 1 OG ZC. Make sure to give CupricFox has lots of food and hoses and make him really REALLY fat. If not I will leave the internet forEVER.

Ok bye.

Dear Internet, this is not CupricFox on zombie cats account, dont worry, Im safe, and I like to eat balloons, and my face is a butt

Original journal here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5276530


Ever since I posted my tribute pic for Doug Winger, I've been in contact with  drahor about a project we'd like to do for him.

As some folks know, Doug hasn't been in great health lately. He really could use some encouragement. He's inspired so many people and artists, I really feel he deserves as big of a thank you as we can muster. Drahor and I want to try and get as many hyper or Winger fans together as we can, to do one hell of a Christmas present for him. We'd like to have as many different artists participate as possible, and at least 20 or 30 pictures. Drahor has personal contact with him, and can hand-deliver the gift to make sure that he gets it. It'd be a great way to give back to the guy who's pretty much single-handedly responsible for most of us here. ;>

Here are a few guidelines. They're not hard and fast rules, so don't let them get in the way of doing something if it's a problem. Just a way to help maintain some consistency in quality.

We'd like pics to be at least flat-colored if possible. If submitting a sketch or B&W sketch, I might color it for you if I have time.

For anyone interested in doing art, I'd suggest the pic could be one of the following:
1. The artist's character saying thanks directly to Doug.
2. One of Doug's characters in the artist's style.
3. The artist's character interacting or posing with Doug's character(s), like the one I did.

Finally, if you want to include a jokey tagline like Doug is so famous for in his pics, I'm more than happy to put it on there for you and format it to match his style. Even if you don't, I'm happy to add one anyway with your name, just so they all kind of match.

As an example, here's the last pic I did for him: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11890515/ I'm also planning on doing another—because let's face it, I really owe the guy. x)

If you're not an artist, we would still definitely appreciate a signal-boost if you want to spread this message. Let's get the word out, and do something for Doug because he really deserves a little something!

Thanks!

Please send images to pulsarbird at Gmail, along with a message for Doug if you have one! I'll collect them there, do any little tweaks if I need to, and we'll make sure he gets them.


Doug Winger is half the reason I took up drawing and kept at it all these years, and I know I'm not alone. I've been working on a little something for him, and while this is primarily an art-based community project, I don't think Pulsar would mind if you sent him a message of encouragement to pass along to Doug as part of the overall gift.

Had so much fun, met so many people, slept six hours total the whole weekend, I'm SO SORRY if I didn't get to meet you if you were there, I was too shy to talk to all the artists and writers I respect and didn't have the time to explore and meet all the other wonderful people there, but, holy shit, oh my god, I just, HNNNGH

It's my first con I don't know what I'm doing please don't hurt me =<

We play shitty Gmod horror maps for the delight and chagrin of children everywhere. You can watch us flail about by clicking thusly: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis.....UND4rW491lv43j

 skidd is a very good old friend of mine, and he and  phsuke are in some bad financial trouble right now, so he's taking all the commissions he can get.

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4596003/

He's an excellent artist with fast turnaround times, so please help out if you can.

Namely, what's your preferred setup? As in, where do you actually position your tablet when working on a piece?

I ask because I've never had much in the way of desk space, so for ... well, pretty much for the last decade or so I've been awkwardly holding my tablet with my left hand and kind of propping it between my stomach and the edge of my desk. That works well enough, but lately it's started to become increasingly uncomfortable. And while my weight-loss goal has been slow and arduous, the thought occurs that I'll eventually not have enough of a stomach to prop the bottom edge of it on.

So I tried something different. I placed my keyboard on my lap and my tablet where the keyboard was. And that WORKS, but holy shit it's like I'm suddenly five years old again with no idea how to hold a pencil. My muscle memory is completely tied to this awkward method. I've seen people complain about how transitioning from pencil and paper to graphics tablet is like learning to draw all over again but I'd completely forgotten what it's actually like.

So anyway. What's your preferred method? Do you place it in front of you, or where your mouse would normally be, or something else entirely?

So, I've recently acquired a Weasyl account, aaand I'm not really sure what to do with it.

Now, the folder system is an obvious plus, given what I tend to upload here, but I mean. What should I do with it? I've seen artists do mass uploads of old pieces, but I don't see any kind of mass uploading system. Would I have to manually upload each piece? Or should I just keep my account to new work? Maybe upload REALLY old stuff that isn't already on FA?

Here're the steps I go through in the process of making a picture of a character:

1. Sketching. Plotting lines of action, building basic forms, and indicating loose details.

2. Refinement. Taking a sketch, increasing the size and painstakingly going over every line with a small brush while simultaneously erasing everything that isn't a line.

3. Flat colors. Slowly tracing the inside of the line work with a variable-sized opaque brush and then filling it to establish a transparency for masking later, then painting in the basic colors.

4. Shading. Using 50% grey as a base, I'll set up a palette of light and dark grey tints and paint in the shading. By setting the color layer above to overlay, and using the masking info I set up earlier, I can quickly block in shading and refine shapes.

Out of all of that, refinement takes the most work and is the most tedious. Filling in the flat colors is mostly busywork, but not as bad. In comparison, shading is so easy that I almost don't have to think about it at all.

What I'm getting at is that I'm starting to really hate line work. I've tried on a few occasions to skip it entirely but the process is so ingrained into my psyche that I tend to have a hard time going without it. If I could just PAINT, everything would be so much easier.

I think I've lost probably close to 100 watchers in the past few weeks.

Remember when FA had custom thumbnails? Boy, those were good times.

Ah well. Not complaining, but I feel kinda bad for driving people away.

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/

So uh. I actually discovered this website on a journal here on FA, but that was weeks ago and I can't remember who the person who linked it was. But this place is the reason I was so productive a couple weeks ago. This guy posts tutorial videos on various digital painting and photoshop techniques a couple times a week. I've learned more here in a few days than I have in years of experimentation. Like for instance, I just watched the video on brush control basics. I ALMOST skipped it because I figured this was elementary stuff that I already know, but then he goes on to say that you should never combine width control and opacity control except in specific circumstances. I've ALWAYS had width and opacity tied to pen pressure. I try it with opacity only it's like HOLY SHIT, how did I ever get so far without knowing this? Everything is so much EASIER now.

Start out with Digital Painting 101 and then work your way up from the last page. I might have to buy some of his longer videos. This guy is doing a great service to artists.

... of some good color theory tutorials? I've seen a few but I still feel like I'm floundering.

Huhmmm.

I have a hard time living with myself.

I'm an introvert. But. I sometimes just. Can't stand being alone. So I go online. But I can't bring myself to talk to anyone. So I just wait and hope someone starts up a conversation. And then someone does, and it's great, but then it withers away because I never say anything.

I can't stand to talk about myself, it's an effort to talk about what I'm doing ... I freak out when anyone tries to be nice to me ...

I don't know why I'm like this.

It all just kind of came out at once last night, my frustration with myself. I'm sorry if I worried anyone.

OpenTTD is a game about managing a transportation company. In it you build railroads, bus and truck networks, airports, etc to link cities and industries together. In this game, you need to be aware of what individual cities think of your company. If they're accepting of you, they'll allow you to place depots and ports within the city limits, or even demolish buildings and alter the nearby landscape. Doing this too much will naturally lower their opinion of you until they won't allow any alterations at all.

Now, there are several game mechanics related to this wherein you can try to raise a town's approval of your company. Providing transportation services naturally raises their mood. A city's approval will naturally trend towards neutral over time if you do nothing at all. Planting trees nearby will generally raise their mood. And lastly, you could try to bribe the city council, which if successful will instantly raise the approval rating towards you, letting you build whatever you want for a bit.

Thing is, that's not always successful. The citizenry can find about your corruption and hate you even more. I've had this happen a few times and my reaction is generally "How dare they get in the way of my plans! It's as if they don't WANT me level half the city to make way for a giant airport! Who the hell do they think they are?"

WHO INDEED.

So where am I going with this? The MPAA recently came out and said that it was an "abuse of power" for Wikipedia to go down for a day in an attempt to inform the citizenry of the internet of their shady dealings. And I can see why they're upset! After all, they spent a lot of time, money and effort bribing congress into letting them write their own legislation. They have so much money and wield so much power that life to them is essentially a game. If they lose this fight with SOPA and PIPA they'll rant and rave and spout rhetoric and project some more, and then they'll calm down and plan more ways to bend the game to their will.