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Check out my comic at foreignrelationscomic.npx.pl!

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"Foreign Relations" Strip no.30 Progress

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- sketch progress 100%
- lineart progress 100%
- coloring and shading progress 100%
It's here for you to read.

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The 30th strip is on the way and I believe it should be ready by the end of the weekend.

BUT MEANWHILE...

I've opened a website on a polish free hosting server related to, yes, to "Foreign Relations". I urge you to chek out this little abomination :

http://foreignrelationscomic.npx.pl/news.php

Having a non-existant web-design skills, I took the minimalistic approach and used simple black & white template that was avaliable. I've only made upper banner, organized things a little and added four strips - just for the test.

I have, for now, a news page that will be featuring latest strip and some news(duh), archive section with comic strips subsection that contains, well, strips. I made a simple navigation in HTML above and below each strip - it's pretty functional despite it's simplicity, but I have one problem with it - I don't know how to make the link to open in the same tab instead a new one. I googled around to find solution for it, but I guess that I've asked wrong question, because my search lead my to nowhere. If anyone knows the proper code, please let me know!

What else? Well, I played around with forum option, but I haven't opened any threads besides one for purely testing purposes, that is off-limits to anyone but administrator.
Same goes for registrating - you can try to register, but I'll have to confirm it - which won't happen until I work more things out.

So, share your opinions! I'm looking for any advice and critique I can get because I'm new to this whole website mojo and every suggestion will be valuable for me.
I also thought about trying to host my comic on either DrunkDuck or Smack Jeeves, which are made for the purpose of comic hosting, but only if this thing won't fly.

And that is all for now, I'm going back to finish the upcoming strip and meanwhile, I'm open for your suggestion, opinion and advices.

I thought that, since "Foreign Relations" is updated so irregularly, I'd include an update status note, which will be edited by me from time to time and it'll inform anyone interested about the progress of upcoming strip. So, here it is, in future journals it'll be on top of the entries :

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"Foreign Relations" Strip no.29 Progress

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- FINISHED - here

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"Foreign Relations" Strip no.30 Progress

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- sketch progress 100%
- lineart progress 35%(working on it)
- coloring and shading progress 0%

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*sigh* Sometimes I regret starting this thing in color... it'd be done soo much faster without it... but we all do fancy colored stuff, don't we?

This update status thingie isn't in any way an excuse for me, on the contrary, now, that you can see for yourself how slow I am in drawing my comic, you can express your anger by commenting in this(and upcoming) entries. Yes, you can, because sometimes I feel like I deserve it, as I could really make this strips faster - if I'd cut my sleep rations to 4 hours instead six, dropped my, already piss-poor, excercising routine and cut myself off from social life.

Anyway, that's about it when it comes to that fancy update status thignie o'mine, now, about cameos.
As you can see in the update status, I've started doing lineart which means that I've chosen some characters/fursonas of some people, thus, I can't add no more. Besides, the size of the panels forbids me from putting too many characters and add to that that I had to include some of my own there, so, all in all, I only included four characters from among many that I've recieved. Ok., not that many, but about over ten is still a pretty decent number for an unknown comic, right? And no, I won't tell which ones I've included, you'll see for yourselves... when the comic will be ready. >:D

Still, no worries, I've got your notes, I will use more of them in upcoming strips, especially considering the fact, that the strip that'll be posted after 29 is no. 30, which means that it'll be a full page one. Which equals to more working space. Which also means more drawing for me and more... *shudders* COLORING! I hate coloring! But, hell, must is a must.
Also, you can still send your reccommendations. Like all professional employers that keep every CV they've recieved in their desk, I keep your suggestions on my profile inbox. The only difference is that I don't pay monies. ;)

So then, that's about it, keep em' coming and I'll try to bring the upcoming strip as soon as I'll be able to - ASAIBA, my equivelent to ASAP, only a longer in both acronym and delivery form. :D

Or should I say - do you want for your character/fursona to make a cameo in "Foreign Relations" comic o'mine?

Situation looks like this - the upcoming strip, which is no.29 will show my character, the female skunk protagonist Leila together with her new faculty group. Thus, I have to come up with few characters to fill the empty spaces and while I have 3-4 pre-designed characters and maybe 2-3 that will play bigger role in upcoming strips, and there is still some space to fill.

So, here's my suggestion - if you want, you can reccommend your character to be featured in "Foreign Relations" strips. He or she won't have any impact on the plot, but, occasionally, they'll be there, working as an extra.

Anyway, this is only a suggestion. If I'm not gonna get any reccommendations, I'll come up with some random dudes & dudettes to fill the blanks. If I'm gonna get many reccommendations, too many to fit them all in, I'll have to pick few and, saying bluntly, discard the rest. The only "rules" that I have are these :

- obviously, anthro characters.
- no fantasy(i.e. dragons)/strange hybrid stuff(i.e.mammals with wings, etc.)
- no skunks(setting of the comic implies, that skunks are real rare in country Leila moved to)
- reccommend characters that could pass as a university/college students.
- do these reccommendations via notes.

Any character that will be included in the comic will be credited in the info section below, quite naturally.

So then, that's about it and till' next time.

For starters, this guy :

 lycan90

will be soon so weak from starvation that he won't be able to draw for anyone! So order some sketches from him! NAO!

Ok., that's 'bout that.

What should I talk about... hrm... I don't like to write just to admire my own writing(although I do like talk just to admire my voice, hur, hur), so I guess I have to write about "Foreign Relations" and don't sail on the lands that nobody cares of.

Ok., "Foreign Relations" twenty-seven strips since June 2010. My god, I'm a slowpoke with that one. I should be around fifty at least. I bet ya hate me for that which is GOOD because that means you actually like my comic! Hate me more! ;)
For my defense, I'm just gonna say that I'm a Busy Guy and at times when I'm not Busy Guy I'm usually a Lazy Guy. Busy Guy works, tries to "educate" himself by official means(and fails miserably because he fails to "feel" the point of getting a stupid piece of paper) and tries to keep any social status he has above zero. Lazy Guy on the other hand does whatever that Lazy Guy wants, and by general definition of laziness, he does nothing or wastes time on things like books, music, games and of course the internet. And we all know what internet is for, right?

I like to imagine that I have a great and vast fanbase of my comic, you know, I like to think that these 119 watchers o'mine actually can't wait for upcoming strip, they can't sleep because of it, they want to send me letters with threats and fingers of their girlfriends/boyfriends/their own inside to show me how much they want to read the next fukken strip! Oh, my ego be stroked.

But it helps. I try to comprehend, that maybe there are some folks, who are waiting for my strips just like I'm waiting for some web comics I follow. I wake up before work, open Firefox or Opera and check my webcomic bookmarks to see if there's an update. And when I see an update I guess you can say I'm kind of happy. The thought of the very slim possibility that someone might feel the same way about my stuff invokes that funny, fuzzy feeling inside that makes me want to hug myself - not that I don't do that on regular basis, because I love myself already. :D

This thought motivates me to actually sit down and make another strip. I don't work with any pre-made script, I just have an overall idea for these three-four panels, I draw them and then I try to figure out what story they should have. And I definiately don't think forward, I don't plan what should happen in next five, ten or twenty strips. Thus, I lack motivation for sit down on my arse and draw, because I'm supposed to. I don't feel attached in any way to my comic or the characters in it, I don't think about them every day & night - they're just are. "Foreign Relations" started as a tool for me to improve myself in terms of drawing & storytelling. It was meant for practice and I never intended to make something bigger out of it. It flows forward when I'm in mood for it.

But I really do hope that you feel different than me. I hope you liked the comic and the cast. I hope you told some other folks that there is a comic like that that interested you in some way, besides the silent wish to see the main heroine in saucy situations.

So, without any saucy situations and still without any comic update(hate me), this ends today's journal!

Now, I'm going to hug myself once more and play some Mass Effect 2. Mmm... Tali... hur, hur.

This is not comic-related, but it is related to my second account.

I'm taking commissions - y'know, the picture deals that involve money.

More info here - http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2022700/

It's a tradition to wish Merry Chrismas this time of year, even if one isn't Christian and even for those who aren't Christians. So, without any maple syrup or any kind of unnecessary sweetness poured over it, I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

As a faithless and secular person, however, I can wish you - with all of my conscience - an awesome New Years Eve! Drink, sing, dance & weep as another year of your life goes by! :D

Ok., formalities are done, now it's time for a question!

I asked some of you about the names I should give or choose for characters from "Foreign Relations" comic and now, I have another question :

- as some of you may noticed, if you read the comic, Leila(<i>the female skunk</i>) is going to attend a faculty at a university, which we already briefly visited in strips 13-16. Thing is - I never said what faculty it will be.

The question is - what faculty should I pick for her?

Philology? Journalism? Political science? Economy? Sociology? Pedagogy? Architecture?

Or maybe... foreign relations? :D

Anyway, hit me up with your ideas in the comments section.

I decided to open up a different account for adult-oriented stuff. This one will be mainly for the purposes of posting comic.

So, if you're up to, check it out :

 pangaean-2

Since I don't know how to make a poll on FA or if it's even possible, I have to ask this way.

Should I post porn/adult art here? Would you like to see it? Please anwser by commenting :

a) no, don't post that stuff.

b) sure, post 'em if you have 'em!

c) not on this account! this one should be porn-free and clean! post on the other one!(wich means that I should make it first)

I'm asking, because, seriously, I have some adult sketches that I'd like to finish, but I don't know if it you'd like to see them.
I know I will post some of them, but not on FA and I'm afraid that I won't tell you where I'd post them. I just want to know if there is some kind of demand for them here.

Please reply, comment, etc.

Since the day I've joined FA, that is not so long ago, I saw many profiles with informations about commissions. What suprised me the most were the prices, ranging from 15 to 80 bucks max, and it suprised me because average prices on DA from various artists start at 5$ to 35$ max. And here, 25-35 US green is an average. The strangest thing is that you can have good quality art from an artist on DA for 25$ and you can have not-so-good art piece freom artist on FA for the same price. I don't know why it is that way, maybe because it's a site with artists who can fufill special needs of the customer(more dirty, f.ex.)? I admit, I never ordered a commission from artist from here or from DA, so I don't know how the negotiation process looks. Nevertheless, this was what suprised me after browsing DA since I've joined. Yep, the differences in prices, not the vast ammounts of porn with all the possible fetishes you may find, but the prices.

That said, I don't take commisions. I can take a request but that doesn't mean I'll make it. It is - after all - a request.

The main reason why I don't take commisions is the fact that I'm simply not good enough, or should I say - not ready, to draw for money, at least in my own personal opinion. I just know that I wouldn't feel good about taking cash from someone that could spend it on something much more better.
The second is time. I just don't have enough free time in my hands to make a [i]good artwork. That's why it takes so long for me to release my strip, among other reasons.
Simply put - I like to do my work, any kind of work, fast and without loosing quality. And when it comes to drawing, for now I can't maintain that rule.

But, like I wrote before, I can take requests. You can sent me a p.m. about what would you like to see on paper(the .jpg paper, that is :D) and I might do it. But, since I'd do it for free, I do not feel obliged to actually draw your request or - if I decided to do it - to be quick about it. The other thing is that I reserve some artistic freedom to myself. Which means, I can make changes to your idea and your character. Not big ones, mind you. Some details may come or go during the drawing process, like for example in clothes section. Other than that, I try to stay close to the info and reference pics that requester sent me.
So, you can make a request if you agree to what I've stated above and remember - the more details and references the better - for most of the time I don't have patience nor time to work on a blank sheet. Details, details, details.

As for art trades... I don't really know. I never done them, mostly because I would feel - like in case of commissions - obliged to make a pic of top quality(for my skills) and to make it fast, which, like I said, can be problematic for me.
But I might agree on art trades if you have an interesting offer, that is. It won't hurt to ask.

That is basically all that I wanted to write about for my 1st FA journal entry.

Thanks for your attention.