Yay! I get to rant about something! For those of you who don't like/know programming, feel free to skip this as it will be techy.

Ok, so I'm trying to teach myself how to effectively program in JQuery and Javascript. The exact reasons for this are the subject of another rant.

I understand how JQuery work in regards to the DOM, and I love its simplicity. Yet, the way JQuery handles everything in nested anonymous functions scares me. Everything I know about proper coding technique in object oriented languages is screaming at me that this is a great way to make horribly long spaghetti code. But whenever I try separating out discrete functionality to named functions everything breaks. What the hel am I doing wrong? I really want to use JQuery because it makes manipulating elements and using AJAX so much less painful. If its going to break my ability to make maintainable object oriented code however, I'm not quite sure.

Long story short, is there anyone who knows what I'm talking about and how to fix what I can only assume is a error on my part?

Why is there never enough of it when there's interesting things to do, but way too much every other time?

Wow.

I totally didn't mean to abandon this account for another whole year. Again.

I've got a real talent for that, don't I?

But I'm back!

Just got back from RCFM where many blasts were had and I rediscovered a passion for doing furry art. The flame had kind of died out over the past year or so, there was just so much else going on. But now I'm back, and I'm going to try and find time in my crazy ass schedule to fit in more furry artage. I really really REALLY want to do something with the Scorch Sisters, otherwise they'll just end up driving me bonkers.

As soon as I'm done with a few remaining commissions, I'm going to step out of the adult-rated side of things. It was one of the big reasons my passion initially died and I don't really feel like I'll be losing much by giving it up. Don't worry, I'm not going all puritanical, I'm just trying to turn a new page and focus on art which is more than pretty bodies. I'll also hop onto a soapbox for a moment and say that it's my opinion that if more artists focused on producing non-adult art, the fandom will benefit from it. I'd like to think there's something greater than lewd imaginations bonding us together. Ok, I'll get down now.

Oh! I've also gone all in and created a Twitter account for all my furry stuffs, you can follow me at http://twitter.com/#!/EchelonMoose

So I'm watching the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on Hulu, and I feel so much goddamn second-hand embarrassment for the American School Diet. I mean, goddamn.

Relevant link is relevant: http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/

In the interest of sharing useful resources which I will probably end up using for a reboot of the Scorch Sisters, I give you TVTropes. http://tvtropes.org

I havent had much time to explore it, but from what I can gather, TVTropes is a giant wiki for all things story related when it comes to TV, Movies, Comics and other forms of popular storytelling. In fact, most of it is generic enough it seems capable of being used as a general fiction writing reference. While it doesn't seem to linger on actual techniques, it does seem to do a damn good job analyzing common themes found in pop storytelling, and linking them together as only a wiki can.

I've been getting some feedback lately that I should consider restarting the Scorch Sisters comic I tried to do years back. I've been thinking a lot about it, trying to figure out what went wrong last time and what I could do to improve upon it should I attempt a reboot. Here's what I've come up with so far:

Medium: The original comic was draw, inked, and colored traditionally on watercolor paper, a particularly finicky medium, especially for an artist as messy as I. This slowed me down a lot, just worrying about not ruining the pages. After I was done coloring I would scan it into Photoshop, do cleanup/image sweetening, and add in text. I think I would do it all digitally next time, just to save on some of the headaches and to speed up the process.

Character Design: While the original design for the Sisters is kind of cool, there are certain things about the design which make them ill-suited for a compelling graphic story. For one, their head structure makes dealing with complex facial expressions a nightmare, especially at odd camera angles. The camera should be free to be wherever it serves the action of the story best, not constrained in order to communicate facial expressions. I already have a redesign of the Sisters partly done, and while it does anthropomorphize them more, it definitely helps them become more "readable".

Story: This is the big one. When I started working on the comic last time, I had only a vague notion of where I wanted the story to go. Instead of trying to figure it out beforehand I just tried to wing it as I went along. Big mistake. Next time I need to make sure I know the ins and outs of my story before I try jumping into the telling of it. I feel like I know who the characters are, but I need to figure out where they are going both physically and emotionally.

So the tl;dr of all this is that it may be a bit before you see an actual reboot of the comic itself. I will however endeavor to post my preproduction work so you can follow along as I try to redevelop it.

A lot of artists I know have a particular flavor of music they like listening to when they art, so with that in mind, I thought I would share the Pandora channel I use when I'm painting. http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh199850725382588239

How about you? Got a artist/channel/etc you listen to when you're arting?

(Dramaz Alertz)

It has been WAY too long since I've been here. I would be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't avoiding it, so I'm not going to lie to you. I've been afraid to come back onto this account, because I knew what it meant.

I know I have a LOT of outstanding commissions due to people, and if you are reading this, please please PLEASE contact me. I've felt like such a sleaze-ball for not delivering and at the very least I want to give you a personal apology and give you the chance to get a reimbursement. For those who have the patience of saints and still want me to finish your pieces, I can do that too. I'm just sick of looking at myself in the mirror and knowing that I have been careless with your time and your patience. You deserve better than for some stranger artist dude you met at a convention taking your money and then never delivering. That is beyond wrong, and I'm ashamed its taken me nearly two years to work up the courage to admit it to you.

I could spin you a tale how I was working a full-time job as a artist for a kids company and I didn't feel like I could reconcile my schedule or my work to fit in time to do commissions, but frankly that doesn't even pass my BS test. There are many very responsible artists (both furry and non) who manage a full-time career and still deliver commission art on time.

So the bottom line is, if you feel that I have wronged you, I agree with you, and only ask for the chance to make it better.

Apologies for the dramaz, I'm not dead (at least not yet) and I hope to be posting new work soon!

-Echelon

Ok, lately I've been getting frustrated over the fact I keep coming up with all these random ideas for things and I don't have the time to pursue them to see if they would pan out. So I bit the bullet and created a blog for me to spread them to the rest of the world. The hope is that some of the ideas will be good enough for someone to try out, and maybe a few will actually be successful. Anyway, it clears my conscience so that I don't feel like I'm passing up on something that could have potential. If you're interested, or just want to observe my laughable ideas, head over to http://ideastogo.livejournal.com/

For those of you mourning the loss of the apparently fairly popular political macros I posted here prior to learning of their non-kosherness, I present to you http://community.livejournal.com/political_macro/

 gentle_winter_snow and I created it for the lulz.

 gentle_winter_snow Ari's new portfolio website.

http://www.pencilwitch.net

It's not completely done yet, but hell.

I'd like to extend an apology to the FA staff. I failed to realize macros weren't kosher here. I guess I got caught up in their popularity, and I would like to apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused anyone.

Sorry, I'll actually start posting art again.

*twitch*

http://www.edgeofexistence.org/edgeblog/?p=213

I GOT ME A JOB!

I'm now officially a contracted animator/concept artist for the absolutely awesome people at GoodEgg Studios, who are developing a totally awesome online game environment for kids. I get to do what I love with people who rock, AND I GET PAID. o.o

In addition, the first four pages of the Scorch Sisters are here! check them out and tell your friends! I command it!

Yup, I updated it, again.

I like the new design personally, it feels more creative and professional. I've also added a page for the Scorch Sisters, which is beginning to gain momentum.
I'll post up the flash web banner for it shortly.

Rawk.

I am officially beginning the getting-off-my-ass-and-doing-shit part of my post-graduate life. This includes the Scorch Sisters, of which I have a few of the first panels sketched out now. Expect to see the results here soon.

I'm also officially getting rolling on the Animation DVD project. The goal is to have around 5 quality shorts ready for sale in roughly a year. This is an open call for ideas, if you'd like to toss anything out that you'd like to see. Nothing to racey however.

In my searchings for interesting soundtrack material, I've come across these neat royalty free music sites: http://www.beatsuite.com and http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com
also, there's http://www.jamendo.com for all your Creative Commons music needs.

I actually completed it in 17.5 hours. I was one of only two people to finish and I finished first! MWAHAHA


Ok, enough 2nd grade bragging. I'm still pretty pleased with myself though.

Normally, I try to avoid posting YouTube links, mostly because a majority of the stuff I find intruiging would either bore the living hell out anyone else, or the clips are just too mundane for mention. However, I do make occasional exceptions, like for this video. Its clever, well thought out, and in 8 minutes manages to showcase a range and depth of human interactions that some Hollywood blockbusters don't even achieve. Well worth the watch in my opinion. http://youtube.com/watch?v=oP59tQf_njc

I guess I'd better fill in what I've been up to, and while the overall readership on this journal is somewhere in the single digits, I think it's probably a good idea to get in the habit of posting regularly.

First and foremost, I've graduated, which has been one of the more surreal experiences of my life. I pretty much went straight from high school to college and plowed through a bachelor's degree in three years. Now that I'm graduated, I feel sort of like an abandoned puppy. An abandoned puppy with a BFA. It's odd, when I was finishing up the last quarter, I couldn't wait to get out so that I could focus on all the personal projects I've been toying with over the past few years. Now that I am out, its shocking how fast listlessness can set in. Now, there's a definite possibility that much of this perceived inaction has been due to the fact that within a week of graduating, Carrie and I had packed up all of our stuff from the old townhouse apartment and had relocated it all to a one-bedroom loft just down the street. Granted it wasn't a world shaking change, but it certainly has put a damper on things. Things are looking up, however. We've finally got the new apartment to the point where you can actually sit on the couch in something that is beginning to resemble a living room. I'm looking forward to the ConceptArt Atlanta Ultimate Sketchbook Challenge this Saturday. 100 pages in under 24 hours. Rawk. I've been dedicating a considerable amount of sketchbook time to developing the Scorch Sisters, and I'm hoping to jump back on the horse and finish the Kamikaze animation. It'll look ten shades of badass if I can just see it through. As for the Scorch Sisters, I'm split between making a promotional mini-story to get my feet wet, or to jump right into the storyline.



Carrie and I are also toying with doing a annual DVD animation collection of shorts to sell at cons. They would consist of a variety of animated anthro shorts, from drama and action to comedy. The DVD's would contain making-of material and other goodies. I've bounced the idea off a couple other fellow animators, and most seem like they would be eager to help for a cut in the profits. At the moment we're thinking of having five pieces per release, each with a central genre or theme:

1. Comedy Luls all around
2. Drama A chance to sink our teeth into some hardcore storytelling
3. Action Shinyness pretty much for shinyness's sake
4. Romance cute WTFery
5. Music An animated music video, preferably using fresh and original music

While selling the DVD's will be the primary source of income, we're also considering auctioning off the opportunity to have one's character included in the cast. Overall, this wll be a metric assload of work, that may indeed break my very soul, but on the other hand, the potential experience to be gained seems too tempting to pass up.

My Bar Tab is $730

it would be $230 if it wasn't for this goddamn question:

"If you took this test and were completely honest add -- $500"


Now I'm going to go sulk over how much of a prude I am and finally post some art.