summer_jackel

I keep watching this. It's so cute, and the art is beautiful!

So I had a great time at FC! Sharing a dealer's table with Kyn was really fun, it's always great to see everyone who I generally only see at these things, I drew lots and lots, and I came back very inspired to do more art. I am resolved to create more of it generally this year, and come to next year's FC far more well prepared. We shall see how that goes.

Unfortunately, I seem to have caught the king of the con crud; I feel better now, but am STILL sniffling. Wretched. I can trace it to the first day in the dealer's room when the AC broke, and the place was horrible for most of the afternoon. Other than that, though, fun con.

http://www.animecrazy.net/leafie-a-hen-into-the-wild-watch/272660

It's a Korean animated film about an escaped egg farm hen and her interactions with wild ducks. It's dark, far more graphic than a Western film aimed at a younger audience would be, and quite beautiful. Also, its romantic, handsome, athletic heroes are...mallards. I am vastly entertained at the character designs for square-jawed, chiseled...mallards.

Worth watching, especially for those who identify strongly with mustelids, chickens or ducks.

While I begin work on Book 2 of Bone Shard (there are 5 new pages! But you probably won't see them for a few weeks), have two new comics.

This first was a way to vent steam at those irritating people who come to your door sometimes, peddling their religion like it was cheaply made cosmetics. It was inspired in part by someone who left me a bad(ly drawn, written, reasoned...) religious comic, and you all have my permission to print this out and exchange it for any material such persons may attempt to share with you. You'll find that one here.

This next one is about my dog, who I am going to feed now, because I like his bones to be girded in flesh. Get with the program, Noble Collie Bliss.

My mood is: entertained by the universe, irritated with the dog!

I am just back from Furcon and had a great time...I'm still completely con-crashed, of course, especially since I stopped for my weekly dance lessons on the way home from the con, just to make sure that I was absolutely exhausted, not just a little exhausted.

It was a really fantastic convention, though. Speaking of dancing:



corpsefairy and I had a lot of fun foxtrotting in the fursuit dance competition, although we'd have been better if we had more opportunity to practice our routine. (I'm the lead in the gold leopard mask; she's the follow in the silver leopard. The heads will be better next year, too; I ran out of time and had to rush them). I giggle at the commentary to the video that claims we were "choreographed perfectly," though of course I'm happy that we were appreciated. What I led on stage was only roughly approximate to the routine we'd planned, partly because we had more stage than we were expecting and partly due to leader error. I was literally weak-kneed with stage fright, but I'm pleased to see on the vid that I don't look nearly as bad as I was afraid I looked. I'm fully aware of every glaring flaw in my performance there of course, but hey, it's a recognizable foxtrot.

I just began silver level lessons (omg omg how did that happen??), so next year's performance may be a silver foxtrot. If it isn't a Quickstep.

I have to say that it was extremely amusing to be the only slow ballroom dance in a show full of techno acts---some of which were jaw-droppingly amazing and all of which were quite good, but variety is nice. I'm making it a bit of a personal goal to encourage more partner dancing in the fandom, and to that end corpsefairy and I taught a waltz lesson on Saturday. I have never taught dance before, so let's just say that I now have a greater appreciation for my own teachers. Still, the class was really fun, we had good attendance and people were totally waltzing at the end! We will be doing all of this again next year, only hopefully with more preparation, more space and a better floor.

I did quite well in the art show and adequately at the dealer table, especially given that I had no real table decoration, prints to sell etc. and have not been a terribly active artist, other than my comic, for a couple of years. It has been a very hard couple of years, but I am pleased to say, quietly, that I am doing better now and really want to make a point of creating more art in 2011.

It was great seeing everyone I saw; it is a wonderful pleasure to spend time with all of you furry folks. FC is definitely a highlight of my year.

I also want to specially thank everyone who came to me offering support regarding eclipsegryph's cockatiel situation. It was gratifying and touching to have so many people care about this. If you don't already know, we won the case and all three birds are now safely home. I haven't written about this since I took the case; as a lawyer, I owe a duty of confidentiality that does not permit discussing such matters in public fora. However, my client and kynekh_amagire have made the story public here and in their journals, which I find personally gratifying since this is a case deserving of public interest and concern. So here's my own closure to the matter (including no confidential information and nothing that isn't discussed in much greater detail elsewhere), as a pet owner who once supported Mickaboo and never will again.

This situation should be of great concern to anyone with an interest in pets and pet rescue. Mickaboo's behavior was deplorable and appalling throughout the whole ordeal, and though justice did in fact prevail in the end, a pet owner shouldn't have to fight a corrupt rescue in order to reclaim animals fraudulently surrendered to it by an angry spouse. Some of Mickaboo's volunteers are trying to do good things, but its administration is corrupt and the organization deserves no tolerance or support. Behavior like this harms the birds in Mickaboo's care and the credibility and value of private animal rescue in general.

I have decided to adopt another green cheeked conure some time this spring (more detail about that later) and, wherever I end up getting him, I absolutely will not be adopting from Mickaboo. I urge everyone to continue to boycott the organization and its supporters---but be happy; we won. It's a brand new year, and hopefully this one will be even better than the last.

This is adorable. Via Kyn. Somewhere in France, an undoubtedly underappreciated animator kicks ass. And all the cute puma cubs drink Orangina.

We can has female version next? With lionesses, maybe.

So this weekend I danced at a rave-ish thing while clad in a Victorian ballgown. Many fursuits were present.

I love Further Confusion.

Now Tiger is yowling angrily at the rain, Jez is asleep in a cat bed, and I need some serious sleep.

Got this from kulan

( on to the murrrrrrrrr )

Oh, dear gods. I haven't actually laughed until I cried for some time. Via joreth:



You know, they probably weren't even thinking about furry fandom when they made this thing. Appropriate, though; as my fowl prove (Felix is probably going for a hen as I type), ducks are just perverse.

In this general vein, happy Pride weekend! I am staying home, bonding with the new puppy, in favor of going to the city for the parade, though I do want to go to Up Your Alley and the Folsom St. Fair this year---yay, leather! And while we're on the subject of pride, marriage equality and furrydom, go look at this really beautiful image by ShinigamiGirl on FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2446512, which actually tightened my throat a little when I first saw it.

Well, I have been annoyingly art blocked recently, due to spring fever and spending so much time outside, as well as some pretty trying times in my emotional life. But, have a page 16 and a page 17. I realize that I did a really crappy job of cleaning up my borders on 17 and will need to redo the whole thing when I'm not tired and in pain. Stupid cramps.

But yeah. Hazyl and Travis. Old...friends?

Oh yes, and you know you like Opabinia. They were so cute.

( Bonus swing dancing and topless bunny 'neath the cut )

Work on the comic proceeds apace.

Here, have a page 14 and a page 15.

I feel a little compelled to apologize about how slow the pacing on this is; I don't feel that it works as well as a serial as it will as a complete story, which is how ultimately I intend it to be read. I still really appreciate everyone who is reading it as I go along, anyway, and am having fun taking my time developing the thing. Now that a lot of the preliminary introductory first-bit-of-story is winding up, things are about to heat up a bit, and that's enjoyable to work on.

For those who are lately arrived, 'The Bone Shard' is a graphic novel that I'm working on. Furry, Victorian-AU, lesbian romance ghost story. Link to the beginning is on all the pages, it will eventually be rated NC-17 though we haven't gotten there yet (see above about slow pacing) and y'all are welcome to read or ignore it at your leisure.