How they should really be named.

Why the fuck am I up at 5 in the morning?
Is it Friday yet?
HUMP DAY!
Thank Thor it is almost Friday.
It's Friday, bitches!
Zzzz~
Fuck...tomorrow is Monday.

Mostly I just wanted to post a new journal. >.>


But, yes, I shall be heading up to Seattle this weekend. I plan to participate in the MLP CCG Premier and after that in drunken shenanigans.

I'm actually saddened to see that this trend has not died off. While it tends to be a quick and easy way for someone to make money, I honestly feel it is a bit of a scam and people are being taken advantage of. I know that not everyone has an easy time creating their own characters, it is actually why we have always had an issue with people using someone else's design as a base and building from there. It is compounded by the fact not everyone is an artist, so they would have to rely on a commission anyway to get a visual of their character.

This is sort of where adoptables come in, providing a base design someone can build off and make the character their own as well as having art right off the bat to display and help with future commissions. For the most part I don't have a problem with this concept, if the characters being generated were always unique, that is unfortunately not the case. It is not uncommon to see a single designed sold to multiple people with the minor differences, usually nothing more than a pallet swap. This more than anything I have trouble with, for not only being lazy but also basically ripping people off for a quick buck.

I would have a lot less issue with this if artists were offering their services to help design characters and simply charging for the resulting art like any other commission and I know that some basically look at it as paying the artist for the art they did do in creating a character, but it is a bit more complicated than that. The money being exchanged isn't simply paying for a piece of art, it is meant to be an exchange of ownership of the rights to use the character, this is where I take the biggest issue.

Characters do not fall under copyright protection, period. If people have not figured this out already they should really read up on how copyright and Trademark works. A character cannot, in anyway, be copyright protected. The actual piece of work depicting that charter can be, but not the character. Characters can, however, be Trademark protected in which a process similar to getting a patent is involved, but there is a very slim margin of artists here that even bother meaning that most characters you see have no trademark protecting them and cannot be copyright protected.

What does this mean? It means not there are no legal ramifications to using someone else's character designs. If the exchange of money is meant to be an exchange or rights, of intellectual property as it were, and the characters in question being purchased have no legal protection designating an owner, then what exactly is someone paying for?

For those that would cry afoul "character theft" for those that would use someone else's design as a base, grow up. You cannot steal something no one had any legal ownership of. By choosing to not protecting your characters, you leave yourself open for people to do anything they please with them and you unable to do anything, legally, to stop them.

These are the cons I would like to make it to in 2014 and have all intentions to. This is tentative because I don't have my vacation schedule from work yet.

Portland City Comic Con
Portland, Oregon
January 24-26

Emerald City Comic Con
Seattle, Washington
March 28-30

BABScon
Burlingame, California
April 18-20

Furlandia
Portland, Oregon
May 23-25

Everfree Northwest
Seattle, Washington
July 4-6

BronyCAN
Richmond, B.C.
Aug 22-24

Rose City Comic Con
Portland, Oregon
September 20&21

Rainfurrest
Seattle, Washington
September 25-28

Well this is just dandy. I'm having some sort of drive error and can't get my PC to boot up properly. Thankfully I still have my phone and tablet, pretty limited to what I can do. I'm not entirely sure how I am going to fix this situation, or how long it will take, but I will either end up replacing some hardware, or buy a new tower. One way or another, this is going to cost me money.

To my fellow predators, happy turkey day!

To all the prey species out there...

Run.

I love these and I have not gotten any commissions for awhile, especially for my furry characters. Unfortunately, I need to abstain for awhile. My spending needs to be wrangled in for awhile as I pay off some bills and save of for Christmas. I'll probably getting back into the commission game by the time convention season hits for me.

Man, took a bit to clean out that back log of messages and journals. Just nuked, no way I am going to try and go back and look at things up to a year old. I'm going to see about trying to keep up with new stuff as it comes in, but I am not going to overly dedicate my free time to this as there is a lot of art uploaded every day.

What I do need to do is update my page so it is current, as well as see about cleaning up some of my favorites and my watch list. A lot has changed in a year, sure there are those that have moved on, have new accounts and might be those I simply don't want to follow any more.

I'll put a little spare time to this here and there, there isn't any hurry or anything.

I have literally not accessed this account in over a year.

I am getting much of my packing taken care of tonight so I don't have as much to worry about tomorrow. Even then, I have lots of time to just relax tomorrow morning. The Bolt Bus is not set to leave to 12:30 PM, getting me up to Seattle just before 4PM to the hotel closer to 5PM. I'll end up missing opening ceremonies, but that is alright, I ended up getting a pretty decent ticket price by choosing this departure. Thought the bus is not heading out till the afternoon, I still have to get myself downtown to catch the bus in the first place, which will mean leaving before 11AM to catch the Trimet bus, unless I can convince someone to give me a ride, which is always possible.

I am going to get back to packing and will do an update once I hit the road. Wish I was not so terrible at packing, I always want to bring way too much stuff than I actually need, which means hauling around large, cumbersome, luggage. Oh well, I will get it all figured out. If it was just the cloths and stuff I might not have an issue, but I also have to fit in all the Nerf gear I plan to bring, which I seem to have more of every year. Going to rectify that by giving away a couple of my guns during this year's Nerf war, I only really need the one I just bought, the rest can find a nice new home. Think I will leave the swords behind this time, they were only really useful during the Zombie match.

~TTFN

Just got a phone call from one of the people planning to stay with me during the con, do to some circumstances I will not get into they are no longer able to attend the convention. This now puts us at only two people staying in the room, for now, including myself.

If there is anyone out there still looking for a place to stay during Rainfurrest, I have room for two more now. I will be arriving Thursday and leaving Sunday. As it stands we only have a room with a single king bed, but I am working on getting us upgraded to a room with two beds, I will know for sure come check in.

I shall break down the situation as it is, so that anyone interested knows what to expect.

Currently I have a room booked at the main convention hotel, the Hilton. I booked a little late so was only able to secure a single king bed, but am trying to see about getting upgraded to a room with two beds once I check in. Now, I will be checking in Thursday afternoon, but will be checking out Sunday. Just to reiterate that, I am not staying till the Monday after the con, I am leaving Sunday.

At this point in time, including myself, there are three of us set to stay in the room, but if we have room for one more. If we are able to get four people total in the room, I would only be asking for $104 from everyone to cover the three night stay. Now for a few ground rooms.

No Minors
No smoking (Really thought this was a gimme, but someone asked.)
Bring as much booze as you like.
No late night room parties. (I rarely visit the room during the day, but when I come back in the evening it is to sleep.)
If you wish to have some privacy in the room, for whatever reason, give a little forewarning.

That is about it, I expect everyone in the room to be an adult, to be have as such and are responsible for themselves, just be courteous that others are staying in the room with you.

To be honest, I have not fully recovered from EverfreeNW, but I should get off my lazy tail and start getting ready for my convention stop.

Next up on the list is Rainfurrest, taking me back to Seattle. Not that much to do really, but do need to book my bus soon. More importantly I need to get ahold of those I am suppose room with to make sure we are still a go and still need to find another to join us. Rather be going to Canterlot Gardens, but is the same weekend and I planned RF months ago.

Kind of wish I was going to EquestriaLA, but could not justify the cost of travel for only one day. What comes after RF is Midwest Furfeast. Really nothing to do for that, plane is booked and hotel taken care of, just have to show up.

That is it for this year, need to get next year figured out. So far Furry Fiesta is looking to be following MFF.

New icon by  AngelAito

By the way, does anyone know how you make an artist's icon appear without their name by the side? I see people pull it off all over the place, but am clueless how.

I think I have real nice balance as of late. I can fully admit I hit a point where I was an online junky and it did have an ill effect on my life and health. I am sure many can relate to what a pain in the ass the real world can be, dealing with work, school, bills, family, etc. We all need a little escape from it all now and then, a release from mundane and some stress relief, however one can overdue anything.

It has taken some time to ween myself from being glued to some sort of internet device my every waking moment. I think the realization that a lot of my grief and doubts of depression was due to things going on in my online life, the place I looked to for escape so not only did the cycle perpetuate itself, but I only felt worse. Right now, as I am, I can honestly say I am happy. I am not just healthier emotionally, but physically.

I go out more, spend more time outside the home with friends and family and work out on a more regular basis. Granted I seem to have lost 30lbs of fat only to replace it with muscle, so weigh near the same as I stared getting healthier, but I can live with that. All I really care about is that my cloths fit more comfortably.

Regale us with stories most fanciful, on your return.

I have been in the process of creating a series of OC ponies, so far at a total of four. They are roughly based on existing Furry characters of mine, but rather than being simply made into pony form I have decided to make them fully fleshed out characters living in the land of Equestria with their own backgrounds and story.

My current quest is to locate artists doing pony art and is taking commissions. I would like to get several pieces done of each character, ranging from simple sketches to full color and even backgrounds. Not looking for free are, I Will pay full commission prices, though I am not about to say no to gift art.

The listed colors in each bio are not necessarily 100%, they are my best guess to what the colors are close to. As well, the pictures provided are just as close as I could get using Hasbro's pony creator. Artists are free to tweak, or add any personal touches, as they please. I am also still in the process of writing the full character bios, that Will include some of their history and personality.

Name: Clockwork
Kind: Unicorn
Sex: Male
Occupation: Watchmaker, horologist
Eyes: Golden
Mane: White
Coat: Smoky Black
Markings: Circle beard
Magical Aura: Jasmine
Cutie mark: An open gold and silver pocket watch with showing the mechanical gears gears.
Clothing and accessories:

Typically found wearing white dress shirt, long sleeved with a wing collar, with a pair of black arm garters holding the sleeves up. Over the shirt is a black, pinstripe, vest with a pocket watch and chain and black puff tie, with pearl tie tack. Wears black dress shoes with white spats, or sometimes just the spats over his hooves. Also wears a pair of silver framed spectacles that rest on his snout. When on the go is often wearing a charcoal frock coat and black derby/bowler hat. Sometime seen carrying an umbrella or walking stick.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v.....es/Artisan.png


Name: Serene Grace
Kind: Pegasus
Sex: Female
Occupation: Weather Patrol, Singer
Eyes: Sapphire Blue
Mane: Pastel Yellow and Cobalt Blue streak
Coat: Periwinkle
Cutie mark: Pair of mini/chibi white angel wings
Clothing and accessories:

Usually wears a gold heart pendant around her neck with black lace. When preforming often wears a white dress/gown with silver trim, that is slightly sheer.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v.....ereneGrace.png
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8271593/

Name: Allure
Kind: Unicorn
Sex: Female
Occupation: Club owner, singer, model
Eyes: Forest Green
Mane: Fire Brick
Coat: Dim Gray
Eyeshadow: Amethyst
Markings: Beauty mark (mole) under her right eye.
Relatives: Ulani
Magic Aura: Bright Green
Secret Information: Is a changeling, posing as a pony.
Cutie mark: Dark/Black Heart with aura of sire outlining.
Clothing and accessories:

Usually wears a black lace choker with diamond stud and a pair of fashionable glasses. When conducting business often wears a pinstripe suite with skirt, heels and fishnet stockings. When preforming on stage she trades in the business suit for a black cocktail dress and evening gloves, while keeping the heels and stockings.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v.....pes/Allure.png

Name: Ulani
Kind: Earth Pony
Sex: Female
Occupation: Student, gardener, singer
Eyes: Vermilion
Mane: Sea Green
Coat: Tan, for main body, and Rosewood, for patches and freckles.
Relatives: Allure
Cutie mark: Purple Dendrobium Bombay Orchid Blossom
Other information: Is not a full adult, what we might consider and older teenager, so is slightly smaller than the average pony.
Clothing and accessories:

Usually seen with an orchid in her hair and a slim pink neckerchief. When working in her flower garden is often seen wearing what some might call an islander style top and skirt. When preforming often wears bright orange skirt, pale yellow top with bright orange trim, deep red shoes with straps, cream colored socks and exchanges her pink neckerchief with a bright orange one.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v.....es/Ulani-1.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v.....pes/Ulani2.png
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8271661/

To all those going. :3 I shall be staying home.

I had actually forgotten to even see when this con was going to be, thus made no plans. XD I actually could of made it down there with ease. Not made it to that con just of yet, though I have had some plans fall through in the past. Who knows, maybe I will put it on my list for next year as a consideration.

I am attempting to see if I might make it to this event. I was curious to else I might see there I know. The trip to Seattle is easy enough and even if a room to myself, a night or two is fairly affordable. I was be pleased to see many of those I know I will see a month times past at Rainfurrest.

Speaking of Rainfurrest, while I am capable of paying my own way and having a room all to myself is far more of a comfort, I have opened it to others that might need a place to stay and only ask they do help pay, keeping all our costs down. So far I have two others and myself that will be staying in a room, which sadly will only have one king size bed. We welcome one other if there is anyone still needing a place to stay during the convention.

Getting my room booked for Rainfurrest, sending the shout out now for anyone looking to room share.

Some rules to remember. One, this will not be comp. I expect everyone to pay their fair share. Two, I am not letting more than 4 people, total, to stay in the room.

That is all.

And so my path to the dark side begins tonight.

Needing some roomies for the con if I am going to make it there this year. Give a shout out if you are interested, I plan to be staying from Thursday till Monday.

My third day at the con was pretty damn amazing. I do not think I have every been so busy at a con before that did not involve volunteering. There was just one great event after another where I got to see some great people, some I have met before and others that were new. As Saturday came to end so did the climax of the con for me.

Sunday there was not really a whole lot going on. Other than picking up some artwork and attending the closing ceremonies, I did not really do a whole lot other than hang out with those I have been staying with. Speaking of which, everyone decided to bounce early and took off home already so I have the room all to my lonesome.

Checking out in the afternoon then heading off to the train station to make my own way home. I'll make another post once I am back in my own room and able to sleep in my own bed again.

I am not sure if I am tired from the day itself or just everything else that was going on before hand. More or less this was the real first day tot he con for me and was able to participate in a few events, saw and met a lot of people I know and go to meet a few new ones. Did my usual round checking out the artists and got a couple pieces arranged and am looking to get a couple more before I go.

Tomorrow is going to be insanely busy and i am going to have little time in between events to relax, luckily once they are done with I will still lots of time relax and Sunday there they is not anything at all so will have lots of time to rest before heading back home on Monday.