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Thank you Guys!
1 min read
Thanks for all the kind words, badges, and birthday wishes! The fact you guys took a few minutes to make me feel special today means so much, as always thanks for being awesome!
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OC Facts Meme: Ronnie
3 min read
Got tagged by RelativeEquinox, who specifically requested a meme about Ronnie.
Let's do this!
RULES
***To those tagged, there is no obligation to participate. Just know I love your work!***
1) Ronnie's full name is Rhonda Leporidae
2) She is currently attending Fur Valley University in Utah. Though focusing on General classes for now, she's using her electives to get the prerequisite courses out of the way for a degree in Physical Education.
3) Ronnie's favorite activity is jogging early in the morning. It was something she and her Dad did together while growing up.
4) Ronnie's Mom died during childbirth. 'Rhonda' had been her Mom's top pick for a girl's name.
5) Due to her Dad's work, Ronnie moved from California to Utah just in time to start high school.
6) She currently lives in an apartment with two roommates - Dawn Doe and Catherine Feline. Ronnie ended up moving in a week later than the two of them due to a mix-up with her paperwork. She's never trusted the management since.
7) Ronnie and her Dad ditched her high school graduation ceremony, instead choosing to take a cross-country trip together before she started college in the fall.
8) Ronnie's current best friend is Vikki. Vikki instantly bonded with her due to them both being from California.
9) Her best friend in high school was Hayden. Then he was her boyfriend. He broke up with Ronnie after graduating with a sudden, blunt 'Dear Jane' letter.
10) Ronnie considers Vikki, Cat and Dawn true friends because she can trust herself to be happy around them.
---
Thanks for the invite to play, RelativeEquinox! Now, here's eight characters I'd love to see ten facts about:
Otto, of Jupiter by DrZime
Kraal, of Aww Feathers by inejwstine
Juni, of Sometimes She's the Light by Naschi
Nina, of Zuzel and the Fox by PeterDonahue
Pippi, of At Tavicat by Tavicat
Michelle, of Nineteen-Ninety-Something by jbwarner86
Mias, of Mias and Elle by StressedJenny
Fawndolyn, of Toyetica by sadwonderland (Unless sharing ten facts would delay the release of the comic. Looking forward to it!)
Let's do this!
RULES
1. Post these rules
2. Post 10 facts about your character.
3. Tag 8 other characters.
4. Post their names along with their creator’s name***To those tagged, there is no obligation to participate. Just know I love your work!***
1) Ronnie's full name is Rhonda Leporidae
2) She is currently attending Fur Valley University in Utah. Though focusing on General classes for now, she's using her electives to get the prerequisite courses out of the way for a degree in Physical Education.
3) Ronnie's favorite activity is jogging early in the morning. It was something she and her Dad did together while growing up.
4) Ronnie's Mom died during childbirth. 'Rhonda' had been her Mom's top pick for a girl's name.
5) Due to her Dad's work, Ronnie moved from California to Utah just in time to start high school.
6) She currently lives in an apartment with two roommates - Dawn Doe and Catherine Feline. Ronnie ended up moving in a week later than the two of them due to a mix-up with her paperwork. She's never trusted the management since.
7) Ronnie and her Dad ditched her high school graduation ceremony, instead choosing to take a cross-country trip together before she started college in the fall.
8) Ronnie's current best friend is Vikki. Vikki instantly bonded with her due to them both being from California.
9) Her best friend in high school was Hayden. Then he was her boyfriend. He broke up with Ronnie after graduating with a sudden, blunt 'Dear Jane' letter.
10) Ronnie considers Vikki, Cat and Dawn true friends because she can trust herself to be happy around them.
---
Thanks for the invite to play, RelativeEquinox! Now, here's eight characters I'd love to see ten facts about:
Otto, of Jupiter by DrZime
Kraal, of Aww Feathers by inejwstine
Juni, of Sometimes She's the Light by Naschi
Nina, of Zuzel and the Fox by PeterDonahue
Pippi, of At Tavicat by Tavicat
Michelle, of Nineteen-Ninety-Something by jbwarner86
Mias, of Mias and Elle by StressedJenny
Fawndolyn, of Toyetica by sadwonderland (Unless sharing ten facts would delay the release of the comic. Looking forward to it!)
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Progress so Far
3 min read
First off, thank you guys so much, you are awesome as always!
I'm still getting supportive, encouraging messages from the last update about life outside of FE. Thanks for sharing your struggle and success stories, how much FE means to you, and your kind words. Been spending the past month seriously looking into what it would take to for art to be a full-time job in my life. Again, I'm hesitant to share about my personal life, (especially finances,) but I'm not the only one who wants to make a living doing what they love - and I hope sharing my experience will help others working towards the same goal.
--
The first thing Husband and I did, as basic as it sounds, is review our monthly budget. Regardless of where the money came from, we needed to know the bare minimum I had to bring in so we could cover our monthly bills. The total came to be three times what my art income currently is.
Next step was to figure out how much time I had to increase the art income to meet our budget. (In this case, determined by how long our savings would last.) The maximum amount of time I had to triple the art income was two months. Even with the tremendous amount of growth FE has had in the past year, that's still a very short amount of time to generate a very large increase.
Because of this, I'm approaching the dream of a full-time art job in a different way: I've started doing temp work for a local call center, and using the art income to make up the difference in pay. My goal is to increase the art income while decreasing the temp income - this way I can work towards being a full time artist on a schedule that won't risk losing our savings.
(By the way, this is why the wrong page got inked last week - Call center was severely understaffed, and temps were asked to work extra hours. I ended up working several 10 hour days in a row, only to be told I didn't have to that. Temp work is strange.)
So, this year I'll be trying out some new things and old favorites while working towards the dream of full-time artist. Keep your eyes open, and if there's a product or activity you'd like to see happen let me know!
As always, thanks for being awesome you guys. Here's to us all having a great 2016!
I'm still getting supportive, encouraging messages from the last update about life outside of FE. Thanks for sharing your struggle and success stories, how much FE means to you, and your kind words. Been spending the past month seriously looking into what it would take to for art to be a full-time job in my life. Again, I'm hesitant to share about my personal life, (especially finances,) but I'm not the only one who wants to make a living doing what they love - and I hope sharing my experience will help others working towards the same goal.
--
The first thing Husband and I did, as basic as it sounds, is review our monthly budget. Regardless of where the money came from, we needed to know the bare minimum I had to bring in so we could cover our monthly bills. The total came to be three times what my art income currently is.
Next step was to figure out how much time I had to increase the art income to meet our budget. (In this case, determined by how long our savings would last.) The maximum amount of time I had to triple the art income was two months. Even with the tremendous amount of growth FE has had in the past year, that's still a very short amount of time to generate a very large increase.
Because of this, I'm approaching the dream of a full-time art job in a different way: I've started doing temp work for a local call center, and using the art income to make up the difference in pay. My goal is to increase the art income while decreasing the temp income - this way I can work towards being a full time artist on a schedule that won't risk losing our savings.
(By the way, this is why the wrong page got inked last week - Call center was severely understaffed, and temps were asked to work extra hours. I ended up working several 10 hour days in a row, only to be told I didn't have to that. Temp work is strange.)
So, this year I'll be trying out some new things and old favorites while working towards the dream of full-time artist. Keep your eyes open, and if there's a product or activity you'd like to see happen let me know!
As always, thanks for being awesome you guys. Here's to us all having a great 2016!
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The Good, The Bad, and the New Year
4 min read
Been about six months since the Fan Comic Event, I should probably update this journal.
It's a long post, but I've had a lot to think about lately. I'll summarize in the comments at the bottom if you'd prefer not to navigate it all.
2015 was amazing. Just briefly looking over some of the highlights, so many things I wanted to do for so long happened within the last twelve months:
None of those things listed would've happened if it wasn't for all your support. (Except seeing my family again. Maybe.) Whether you pledged on Patreon, bought a book, visited me at events, shared comic updates and announcements with your friends, or just kept coming back to the website when it updated -you helped make this an amazing year. Thank you so much! Reflecting on how far FE has come and how awesome you folks are is always an inspiration, especially after rough times like the last week.
I'm always hesitant to share details about my personal life online, especially not-so-great details. Everyone has problems, and I've always worked to make FE accounts a positive place on the internet. But when life events affect FE's updating schedule, like recently, I feel you're owed an explanation. This past week I was let go from my office job.
That may not sound like it's a serious problem. ("Aren't you making money from your art?") And you're right, thanks to all of you the situation's not nearly as bad as it could be. But it was a pretty big emotional blow. I really loved that job, the company itself, and the people I worked with over the years. Being told by people you trust and care about that you don't have a future together is a very specific kind of pain.
With my suddenly more open schedule and everyone talking this month about the new year and new beginnings, I've been taking time to figure out "what next?" Like the hypothetical question in the previous paragraph says, FE is starting to generate a steady source of income. I could try increasing it, becoming a full-time artist. It's the goal I've been working towards. But it's also a big risk, especially now - not just for me, but for my family. Is chasing my dream worth sacrificing their security? I've been applying to office jobs similar to the one I had, but they're all a considerable commute away. Is having even less time for art than I did before worth ensuring our financial future? Is there a middle ground somewhere so I can have it all like every girl was promised growing up in the nineties?
These aren't questions that can be quickly or easily answered. I can't shake the feeling the choices I make in the next few months are going to have a ripple effect over what place art has in the rest of my life. I can at least take comfort knowing no matter what happens, art always will be part of my life. (For my funeral, I'm having a 24 crayon salute. Preferably on the wall.)
And I can take comfort that no matter what happens, I'm going to keep updating FE. I care about its' characters and enjoy all your fine company way too much to stop. Again, 2015 was an amazing year. 2016 is already shaping up to be an interesting one, as well - I hope navigating it will prove to be a good experience.
It's a long post, but I've had a lot to think about lately. I'll summarize in the comments at the bottom if you'd prefer not to navigate it all.
2015 was amazing. Just briefly looking over some of the highlights, so many things I wanted to do for so long happened within the last twelve months:
- Got to see my family again after two years of moving around the country.
- Published a collection of FE Comics
- Published an FE Graphic Novel
- Attended a Furry convention as a Dealer for the first time
- Got FE books to be carried by a few retailers, including Rabbit Valley
- Set up a crowdfunding campaign to fund future FE projects and help manage bills
None of those things listed would've happened if it wasn't for all your support. (Except seeing my family again. Maybe.) Whether you pledged on Patreon, bought a book, visited me at events, shared comic updates and announcements with your friends, or just kept coming back to the website when it updated -you helped make this an amazing year. Thank you so much! Reflecting on how far FE has come and how awesome you folks are is always an inspiration, especially after rough times like the last week.
I'm always hesitant to share details about my personal life online, especially not-so-great details. Everyone has problems, and I've always worked to make FE accounts a positive place on the internet. But when life events affect FE's updating schedule, like recently, I feel you're owed an explanation. This past week I was let go from my office job.
That may not sound like it's a serious problem. ("Aren't you making money from your art?") And you're right, thanks to all of you the situation's not nearly as bad as it could be. But it was a pretty big emotional blow. I really loved that job, the company itself, and the people I worked with over the years. Being told by people you trust and care about that you don't have a future together is a very specific kind of pain.
With my suddenly more open schedule and everyone talking this month about the new year and new beginnings, I've been taking time to figure out "what next?" Like the hypothetical question in the previous paragraph says, FE is starting to generate a steady source of income. I could try increasing it, becoming a full-time artist. It's the goal I've been working towards. But it's also a big risk, especially now - not just for me, but for my family. Is chasing my dream worth sacrificing their security? I've been applying to office jobs similar to the one I had, but they're all a considerable commute away. Is having even less time for art than I did before worth ensuring our financial future? Is there a middle ground somewhere so I can have it all like every girl was promised growing up in the nineties?
These aren't questions that can be quickly or easily answered. I can't shake the feeling the choices I make in the next few months are going to have a ripple effect over what place art has in the rest of my life. I can at least take comfort knowing no matter what happens, art always will be part of my life. (For my funeral, I'm having a 24 crayon salute. Preferably on the wall.)
And I can take comfort that no matter what happens, I'm going to keep updating FE. I care about its' characters and enjoy all your fine company way too much to stop. Again, 2015 was an amazing year. 2016 is already shaping up to be an interesting one, as well - I hope navigating it will prove to be a good experience.
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FE Fan Comic Event - Info and Rules
4 min read
The FE Fan Comic Event is back!
The first couple weeks in September I'll be traveling, so once again I'm asking FE fans to show off their comic-making skills! For those who remember the rules from the previous event, they're mostly the same (with some minor tweaks to the dates), and for new readers who are interested in participating I've copied the details below.
Each comic submitted will be featured as the latest page on the website between August 31st through September 14th for an equal amount of time. How long that time is depends on how many submissions are received. All comics will be removed from the archives when FE updates resume, but will be re-uploaded as a FREE digital collection on the website's Wall of Awesome page.
HOW TO ENTER:
Create a comic featuring any members of the Furry Experience cast. This comic can be funny, sad, thoughtful, non-sequitur, whatever your mind can come up with! (Within the formatting rules below) Any material can be used, including pencils, digital art, markers, puppets, etc!*
Comics must be only 1-2 pages. Entries can be two-page short story, or two single page comics. Pages must be sized at 800 pixels wide, but can vary in length between 800-3000 pixels. All submissions must be in .JPEG or .PNG format. MAKE SURE YOUR COMIC IS ALREADY FORMATTED CORRECTLY WHEN SUBMITTING. I will not be able to make adjustments after you have submitted, and comics which are not formatted correctly will not be posted.
Because these comics will be complied into a free digital collection on the website after the event ends, it is recommended to include a small watermark or mention of copyright somewhere on your page. Your ownership of the comic will also be credited at the end of the collection. If you do not wish your comic to be included in the collection, or have a specific alias/website you wish to be mentioned when credited, you must indicate such in your submission. Otherwise, you will be credited via the name I can find associated with you.
DEADLINE TO ENTER IS MIDNIGHT, AUGUST 23RD (USA Central Time) This comic is on a tight schedule (usually) and that deadline cannot be extended. Plan your time accordingly! Submit all entries to my email at: natalie.ellen87 [at] gmail.com
After submitting your comic, please do not post it elsewhere online until after it has been revealed on the Furry Experience website. (We don't want to spoil the surprise!) After your comic has appeared on the FE website, you may upload it online wherever you like.
RULES! Failure to comply will disqualify your entry.
If you have original characters, they may make an appearance. But you MUST have complete ownership of your original characters. If you have any concerns or questions about your character, send me a note.
You will be given full ownership credit for your characters if it appears in your comic. Be aware that by submitting to this contest, you are giving permission for me to post the comic on the FE website and FE's social media accounts.
All designs MUST keep a Safe For Work, PG rating. In this event 'PG' is defined as something you're comfortable showing your family, boss, and children. If you have an idea but you're not sure it will be appropriate, note me a description. Pornographic material will automatically be disqualified.
If you choose to upload your comic elsewhere after it has appeared on the Furry Experience website, you must give credit for the FE characters and universe to the creator (myself) by linking back or mentioning where they come from.
This event's been a lot of fun in the past years, looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!
*My offer to trade swag for FE puppets still stands.
The first couple weeks in September I'll be traveling, so once again I'm asking FE fans to show off their comic-making skills! For those who remember the rules from the previous event, they're mostly the same (with some minor tweaks to the dates), and for new readers who are interested in participating I've copied the details below.
Each comic submitted will be featured as the latest page on the website between August 31st through September 14th for an equal amount of time. How long that time is depends on how many submissions are received. All comics will be removed from the archives when FE updates resume, but will be re-uploaded as a FREE digital collection on the website's Wall of Awesome page.
HOW TO ENTER:
Create a comic featuring any members of the Furry Experience cast. This comic can be funny, sad, thoughtful, non-sequitur, whatever your mind can come up with! (Within the formatting rules below) Any material can be used, including pencils, digital art, markers, puppets, etc!*
Comics must be only 1-2 pages. Entries can be two-page short story, or two single page comics. Pages must be sized at 800 pixels wide, but can vary in length between 800-3000 pixels. All submissions must be in .JPEG or .PNG format. MAKE SURE YOUR COMIC IS ALREADY FORMATTED CORRECTLY WHEN SUBMITTING. I will not be able to make adjustments after you have submitted, and comics which are not formatted correctly will not be posted.
Because these comics will be complied into a free digital collection on the website after the event ends, it is recommended to include a small watermark or mention of copyright somewhere on your page. Your ownership of the comic will also be credited at the end of the collection. If you do not wish your comic to be included in the collection, or have a specific alias/website you wish to be mentioned when credited, you must indicate such in your submission. Otherwise, you will be credited via the name I can find associated with you.
DEADLINE TO ENTER IS MIDNIGHT, AUGUST 23RD (USA Central Time) This comic is on a tight schedule (usually) and that deadline cannot be extended. Plan your time accordingly! Submit all entries to my email at: natalie.ellen87 [at] gmail.com
After submitting your comic, please do not post it elsewhere online until after it has been revealed on the Furry Experience website. (We don't want to spoil the surprise!) After your comic has appeared on the FE website, you may upload it online wherever you like.
RULES! Failure to comply will disqualify your entry.
If you have original characters, they may make an appearance. But you MUST have complete ownership of your original characters. If you have any concerns or questions about your character, send me a note.
You will be given full ownership credit for your characters if it appears in your comic. Be aware that by submitting to this contest, you are giving permission for me to post the comic on the FE website and FE's social media accounts.
All designs MUST keep a Safe For Work, PG rating. In this event 'PG' is defined as something you're comfortable showing your family, boss, and children. If you have an idea but you're not sure it will be appropriate, note me a description. Pornographic material will automatically be disqualified.
If you choose to upload your comic elsewhere after it has appeared on the Furry Experience website, you must give credit for the FE characters and universe to the creator (myself) by linking back or mentioning where they come from.
This event's been a lot of fun in the past years, looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!
*My offer to trade swag for FE puppets still stands.
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