Hey folks! This week's strip may get moved to next week. I had an ER visit yesterday with some followup care that's thrown my schedule off.. nothing bad, I'm just needing some different pain relief options and my chemo dosage is getting stepped up again. I know that sounds bad but this is for lupus symptoms maintenance so don't worry, I don't have anything dire going on.

I do however have quarantine coming up in two weeks! Meri and the girls are all getting their MMR shots (live virus) and so I'll be only able to have minimal contact with them for a few weeks as a precaution. This option is going to be a lot quicker and easier than going off the medication and then having to restart & wait another couple months to increase the dosage and have it kick in again. So I'm going to keep occupied by doing a LOT of art catchup! I have two outstanding commissions to finish, this prologue/ashcan arc to complete, some work to do with  driprat on a Jack related project, and a bunch of freebie zelf paintings I've been doing for practice and exposure. I'm planning on doing a LOT of streaming during this time so I really hope to socialize with you guys more as well! I'm wanting to distract myself from not being able to cuddle much with my munchkins. <:) So, hopefully this not only means more comics and the start of the V&A sequel proper, but I may be able to open commissions again after this month-long artapalooza!

This week, Arty and I are going to be playing catchup with our mailing, so if you've purchased a commission from me and are still waiting on the original artwork and you haven't already filled out the mail form, please do so here: http://goo.gl/forms/4JPslO4v54 !

Also, this is just a preliminary looksee thing, but can anyone recommend either a good program for creating 16-bit cartoons or an artist who does them? Also looking for a chiptune composer! One of the upcoming comic vignettes will feature two characters who meet on a MMORPG, and I was wanting to have the scenes where they are chatting on the game actually resemble some simple oldschool SNES style cutscenes. :) Thanks in advance!

Ok, with arc 0 about halfway complete, it's time to open up the first casting call for Arc 1 & Vignette 1! Further casting calls will be announced first via Patreon with patrons taking priority, but these casting calls will be open to FA viewers as well ( I want to stress that the comic's Patreon will not be to restrict access to content, but to provide bonus rewards based on sponsorship that can be enjoyed by everyone. :) )

So with that said, here's what I'm looking for! Comment to enter!

Arc 1: "The Wold and the Beautiful"

small speaking roles:
VISUAL: A waiter in a trendy hollywood restaurant
VISUAL: A pushy kiosk salesperson (note: this character makes a mean comment towards one of the main characters, please be ok with being an antagonist if you're wanting this role)

if you are not chosen for either of these roles, please indicate if you're ok with a background cameo (non-speaking role) and I may sneak you in! Also let me know if you prefer Hollywood, CA or Ballpointe, PA as your haunting grounds. :)

Vignette 1: "Wind Shear"

VOICE, FEMALE - main character, Seis, a young griffin athlete. Sample soundclip required, and this role would require early access to the vignette's script!
VOICE, MALE OR FEMALE - producer, prompting Seis during an interview. Sample soundclip required, and this role would require early access to the vignette's script!

VISUAL - an announcer during a race
VISUAL - a security guard at the race
VISUAL - teenaged friends of Seis (winged characters, 2 needed)

background cameos - various winged characters in a race, or non-winged/winged in the stands, watching a race.

Note: If you are chosen for a background role, you will not be notified prior, but you will be credited when the comic airs! If you're chosen for a spoken role, I WILL notify you by note. :)


I also am looking for voices for supporting cast members! This would be tied into the Patreon perks, so you may be assigned a role but not necessarily called upon to do an audio sketch. Think of it as standby until further notice. :) If you're interested, please comment or note me with a link to a voice sample. :)

Some of the featured characters still needing voices are:

Graham: male voice, thick texan accent preferred.
Arkie: goofy male voice.. I kinda picture him sounding like Yoshi from the old Super Mario World cartoon in the 80s!
Slaw: the lyrebird. Male voice. Ability to mimic sounds a la Michael Winslow is a plus. :)
Spük : female voice
Cody: male voice.. although oh god I don't even know how he could work. He speaks in rot-13.


And quite a few others who I don't wanna spoil yet! So even if you don't see someone you think is a good fit listed here, please send me a sample anyhow and I may be able to match you to a character!

Note that not everyone will be chosen this round, and some characters may not be a good fit for the universe (I'll let you know if this is the case, so you can submit a different character) but there will be a lot more opportunities in the future!

OK. PARTY FAVOR IS MY SECOND FAVORITE PONY EVER NOW. THAT IS ALL.

BEHOLD! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6627002/

The Day of the Doctor reenactment reward from Gen's stream last year is finally finished!

https://youtu.be/qRTY8971Qrw

Man, Meri wasn't even able to sit up yet when we shot that, and now I'm watching him toddle around the den!

Next up is the V&A Borderlands skit!

Also wanted to remind you of the special Zelf arts & crafts social stream I'm holding tomorrow, starting at 1PM PST. I'll be raffling off zelf prizes so if you want a chance to win an adorable doll, drop on by!

Ok, some stuff coming up!

First things first! On March 22, starting at 1PM PST, I will be hosting a Zelf art social stream! The event is primarily for fans of the Zelfs on Facebook, but you guys are more than welcome to drop by and chat! I will be taking free requests, but only for the canon zelf characters (so no personal characters this time, sorry!) But a lot of the Zelf characters are anthropomorphic animals and fantasy beasts! A few of my personal favorites are Noodles the chinese dragon girl, Kitsu the coy kitsune girl, and Talon the peppy griffin guy. :)

Second off, I've been doing a lot of chatting with my doctors and the kids' pediatrician, and I've got another option that would allow me to stay on the chemo meds while the kids get their MMRs. This is good because it means I don't have to stop the meds for two months and then wait what could be an additional three months before they kick back in again. It's bad though because, well, it requires me quarantining myself up away from the kids for a month with very minimal contact. :P So while it'll probably be the easiest and quickest option for everyone involved, ughhhh, it's making me wanna cry. I hate being away from the kiddos! Thankfully Arty's mom is flying in to help during this time so they'll be in good hands, but like I said, blegh.

So my plans are to make the best of it, and use this free month to put in full 8 hour workdays artwise. I'll be working to get ahead on the comic stuff and finish off my remaining commissions, and then hopefully have time to start opening up for new ones again. Ideally I would also like to do frequent streaming. Really hoping this will allow me to get enough ahead on the V&A sequel that I can get the Patreon started and introduce some of the cool interactive stuff we've got planned, such as open casting calls for character roles, audio recordings, world building, etc.

 SirFox will also probably be streaming more frequently in the weeks to come, and he's got some originals up for auction right now so please keep an eye out for them if you're into not-so-G-rated stuff. :)

First off, I'm so so happy folks are interested in the new comic and are checking out the first page! Thank you SO much! Been really chomping at the bit to get back to Vinci & Arty (even though technically this isn't really V&A anymore). I'm really rusty since it's been quite a long time but it feels great to be comicking again!

One of the main stories is dedicated to Vinci & Arty (the other is about Castor & Pollux), but the plan is also to do short stories of a lot of the side characters that either showed up in the original comic or are in my gallery. My question is if there are any animal folks in particular that you'd like to see? There's some stuff in the works, but sometimes breakout characters are the ones that you never expect the audience to be curious about, so I like to put feelers out. :) I remember being surprised while V&A was running that Pie had garnered the interest he did.

Lemme know if there is someone you're hoping to see!

Hi folks! Trying to catch up on getting commissions mailed out! If you commissioned me during the last open queue period, please fill out the form at http://goo.gl/forms/4JPslO4v54 so we can get the original out to you! Thanks so much <:)

Starting to feel a little better! I was one of the lucky immunocompromised folks who got flu complications, so I got thrown on the heavy duty medications and that's why I've been taking awhile to get back on track. It came right on top of a cold too! Shit sucks, yo. Thankfully my rheumatologist okayed me having the flu shot next year. Hope it's an effective one coz' MAN. I haven't had the flu in years and I usually always get my shot.

Had a checkup with my doctor and it's very clear that the medication I'm currently on is working GREAT. While I'm on the low-dose chemo my joint pain is practically nil, which is amazing!! My only problems right now are that I'm still having nausea, fogginess and fatigue for the two days after my dose, which pretty much destroys my weekend. So, we're sticking with the medication but trying to fiddle with some supplemental stuff to see if that helps more with the side effects. Another option is to switch to the injectible version of the chemo, which may have milder side effects, so I'll be doing that in a couple months if the new supplement doesn't work. I need to be off the meds starting next month, through until May because Meriweather is getting his MMR once he turns a year old in April, and since it's a live vaccine they recommended I'm off the chemo for a month before and a month after. I won't lie, I'm going to treat myself to a few cocktails during that time. YAYB00Z!

Valentine turned five right after FC, and she remains this insane social butterfly. She has been inspired by watching some kid-friendly youtube channels to start her own youtube show, which she calls "Come Play With Me". Mostly it's just toy reviews, but she will insist on recording other stuff too. I got her some summer tops since she's growing like a weed and she wanted to have a fashion show with them. She's quite the little extrovert and I always love hearing what she has to say. Except right now she's going through the phase where everything is a poop joke. "Knock knock!" "Who's there?" "POOP FOG!" Well... on the bright side all I have to say is the word "underwear" and she laughs hysterically like I'm George Carlin.

Spirited little firepixie Moxie is 2 and a half now, and talking up a storm!! Her vocabulary exploded within the past couple months, and she's a pro at letters, numbers, and slapping her brother in the face. Her favorite shows ever right now are Steven Universe, Monty Python, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Alton Brown's Good Eats #okwithallofthese. Right now I'm a little wigged out because she needs surgery sometime in the next few months. Nothing major, but still, I'm all freaked coz' they're gonna have to put her under and I just remember when she was born and hooked up to all that shit in the NICU and auuuugh..! I still see her little chest tube scar and get teary-eyed over how close we came to losing her. I know she'll be ok though, her name's not Moxie Ace for nothing. :)

Meriweather, the chillest bonbon of the bunch. Barely anything phases this guy. He's so stoic, like his Dad! And at 10 months, he's almost the size of Moxie already! Mox is a teeny thing though, and Meri's still not as massive as Val was at his age. He's standing on his own now and just able to take a few steps before falling down. Right now his favorite mode of transportation is cruising, using the couch as support while he crabwalks around it. Being a ten month old I can't really tell much about his personality yet, aside from chill and serious. Although for some reason he really likes it when I pretend to sneeze in his face.

Arty's doing awesome stuff as usual. He's got some really cool side projects going on and is doing a lot of great website commissions for people. He's working on catching up on the stuff we owe folks from Gen's charity stream last year, which includes a couple Val videos and a special V&A audio skit, as well as some stuff I've requested so I can get caught up on mailing out commissions.

SirFox is still awesome as always! So are the cats.. In fact we're fostering a new kitty right now...  tkdye 's infamous great-grandma kitty, Draupadi! She's 21 years old! It is quite sobering having a cat cuddled up to you who is old enough to drink and gamble.


So that's what's all new with us! I figure it's been awhile since I've done a family update. :)

This flu just won't let up! Symptoms are getting bad again so I'm going to go back in and get checked out. Sorry to keep delaying like this x.x

Sorry guys, commission and comic stuff is going to be delayed. I've got the flu pretty bad, which is super scary while on chemotherapy so I'm nervous as heck about it. I will let you guys know when I feel better and can play catchup with scanning and uploading and stuff. :) Sorry again!

YOU HAD ONE JOB, IMMUNE SYSTEM.

Ok! So I was hoping to reopen commissions in January, but I have some stuff to catch up on so they are going to remain closed for the time being. I have two pieces from last year that I need to finish up, and I also need to catch up on scanning and mailing out last year's commissions.

Once that's done, I am going to adjust my streaming schedule to be two days working on S.F.C (the Vinci & Arty sequel), one day commissions. Once I have the first arc of S.F.C. and the promo video complete, I will upload it to FA as a preview and launch the Patreon page.

Thanks so much for your patience, guys! Time to get back to work. :)

Thanks to everyone who played with Valentine (aka the Mudkip, Renamon and Kyubimon), Moxie (Guilmon and the baby dolphin) and Meriweather (Terriermon)! They had an absolute blast! I'm pretty sure Val's going to be telling her friends at preschool all about how she got to pet unicorns, hug bats and dragons, and played ball with giant foxes! Special shoutouts to Gatomon, (who Valentine wanted to take home with us, and even "digivolved" to Kyubimon so she could find her and "battle") and Callie the corgi and her owner, who were very kind each time Val ran over to chat.

Moxie had a ton of fun just rolling one of the giant beach balls back and forth. Arty and I called it Katamari Da-moxie. Meriweather was pretty unphased by most everything, but there was a tiger suiter he fell in love with. He started cooing to her and reaching out for hugs. He's a lot more reserved and cautious than the girls so it was awesome to see!

Unfortunately the effects from my Saturday dose of chemo made it hard to enjoy the con on Sunday so we cut it short and bailed. I'm sorry if I came off spacey or distracted! I was either keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they weren't disruptive or I was drugged. :P

FC is amazing so far! I just wanted to give a shoutout to the realistic red panda suiter who Val went diving to hug, and yelling "Mr. Coco! It's Mr. Coco!"

You have made my daughter's day in more ways than I can describe. "Mr. Coco" is her stuffed red panda that she sleeps with every night. It's been comforting her through a pretty turbulent and scary past year, in which she lost her great-grandpa and her mother has been in the hospital multiple times. She's super attached to him and carries him around pretty much everywhere.. he's pretty much the Velveteen Rabbit of red pandas at this point. So, when she saw you, she instantly thought her favorite stuffed animal had come to life. I know you were pretty bewildered when a little kid in a mudkip costume came running up and calling you Mr. Coco, but that hug you gave her, to her, was her stuffed animal being able to hug her back for one magical night.

Thank you SO much.

( I didn't get a chance to catch his name, and I don't think my roommate or I got a chance to get a picture, but he was with a few very colorful red pandas at the time. )

Yup, we're going. :) Look for the three peeps chasing after three perky kids in digimon kigus. :)

First off, happy holidays! The entire archive of Vinci & Arty has been restored at vincifruit.com. I apologize that we weren't able to keep up with the rerun idea! As you know, it's been a really bad year for me healthwise.

That said, I have been doing a lot of thinking, and talking it over with friends, and I've made the decision to retire the comic officially as it is, incomplete. There's a few reasons for this. One, Vinci & Arty was my first foray into webcomics, and to be quite honest, it's a hot mess. The art jumps back and forth in places (at one point I had an enormous buffer, so when I started going in to add new content, the characters were visually different), a lot of the formats are a mishmash, and I feel like jumping back into it now will just add to how disorganized it is. I feel like I've refined a lot of stuff since then and could do a better job with something from scratch. But! I know folks have been asking for the comic to come back and want to know what the fate of the characters are. So, here's what I'm thinking..

I've intended for V&A to have a sequel, and was planning it out as I was writing the last couple chapters of V&A. You folks might remember seeing some of the concept art in my FA gallery some years back. What I would ideally like to do is to dive right into the sequel, which picks up five years afterwards, and tie up the loose ends in V&A through flashback stories in the new comic. That way there's a fresh start, and if new readers are interested in the old stories, they can check out the old stuff on the archive. The new comic is written to be less of a daily gag strip and more dependent on an arc format, and I'd like to tell stories about other characters in Ballpointe, PA as well, like Bright Eyes, Key Lime Pie, Graham, and the rest.

My hesitation right now is, of course, time. Three kids and health problems have really limited the time I have to work on art, and right now I've been devoting that time to doing commissions to bring in some needed extra income. I'd love to work on nothing but comics right now but I gotta be honest, the income is super helpful. Some friends have suggested Patreon as a compromise, and I'm looking into it. This would mean limited my commissions in 2015 and focusing on the comics and patron rewards. I really do enjoy doing commissions so I am hesitant, but I feel like I've been trying to get back into V&A for years now and it just never ends up happening.

Some of the Patreon rewards I'm toying with would range anywhere from background character appearances to full-on supporting cast roles. The new comic has two main ongoing interconnected stories and then shorter vignettes about side characters, so there are lots of chances for other folks to be able to come in and expand the town of Ballpointe. Other ideas were to have arcs in color at certain tiers, people getting to choose minor plot points or character appearances, sketches, etc. I'm having a hard time pricing stuff out because I am not very familiar with Patreon, so if anyone has any suggestions, please, I'd love to hear them!

I'd also like to hear what you guys would like me to do with regards to commissions, because if I do end up going this route it will limit my time to work on them. I've got a pretty good turnaround right now, but it would definitely slow down and I don't like to leave people hanging, so I may end up restricting commissions to smaller pieces, at least until I can get a gauge on how much my schedule is affected.

So, gosh, yeah, that's it I guess. <:) Any Patreon and commission advice from artists and commissioners is super appreciated!

And on a final note, since I'm not continuing V&A, I can give out some minor spoilers! Some stuff I am saving for the sequel, but if you're curious about something, ask and I may be able to answer. :) First one's free: Vinci actually CAN cook! But as the last few strips were leading into, he is only able to do it if the recipes are in Greek! So, Mama Matisse would gift him her prized cookbook before she and Icky left for home, which makes Arty sob in relief and hug her. The very last strip of Chapter 3 would reveal that Vinci had felt bad and had insisted his mom keep the book, which led to Arty falling to his knees in the airport and screaming to the heavens, "NOOOOOOOO!" and the chapter would have ended right there. :)

Arty's working late tonight and  SirFox is on vacation, so I'm going to need to take a pass on streaming tonight. See you guys tomorrow and Friday nights! Both times will likely be later than my normal streaming hours with Gen and Fox, just due to sprog-wrangling. :)

Hey guys! Heads up that at 5PM PST, I will be solo-streaming and taking commissions for jumps and badges tonight at http://www.saucepls.info/stream :)  sirfox will be there to provide banter as always! Hope to see you there!

Long story short: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6306780/

This is Ectomom, which is the only car that fits all our carseats (and thus the kids) in. Right now it's unsafe to ride the kids in and unusable until we can get the windows fixed. Perfectly timed since Meri's got an appointment on Monday that can't be rescheduled. x.x Whee! I have no clue if they wanted the carseats or just to be dicks or what, but ugh, totally -not- what we needed right now.

I'm just wondering, for those of you who use Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, etc for selling and presenting your artwork, what are the pros and cons? How do you go about it, and which sites do you prefer? I'd love to start broadening my horizons a bit, but I'm completely boggled by Tumblr and can't figure out how to use it. Facebook seems like a viable option, but I also have a private, non-fandom account on there and want to keep that as separate from my art business as possible because I'm concerned about my kids' privacy.

I dunno. I'm really looking to up my business in the coming year because our rent's going up and I'm still not at the point health-wise or kid-wise where I can go back to work outside the home yet.

I have a few commissioney-gimmick based ideas in the works, but I want to do some prototypes before I offer anything for sale. Commissioners! What sort of things would you guys be interested in seeing/purchasing? What do you generally purchase from artists in general?

Thanks much guys!

Hi guys! Now until Further Confusion 2015 (Jan 15-19), I will be offering special superhero con badges along with my jump commissions on wednesday and friday livestreams! These cutesy badges will feature your character serving up superhero glam with classic comic elements on a variety of special accented papers! There are three different tiers available:

1. Simple ink chic, starting at $15 (limited) - Your character drawn in b&w ink comic style on special scrapbook panels with word balloons. Pick from one panel, two or more! Buy a few with some friends and become a walking comic strip! There are also mini color splash panels available starting at $25. These badges are 2D only with no layered elements.

2. Layered pop badges, starting at $35 - Add some pizzazz to your conbadge! Have your character featured as a flashy superhero or villain popping off of special background paper (plain and foil available). Your characters name will be added on a special comic cutout of your choice. Additional eye-catching accents such as glittery masks, velvety capes, flocking, swarovski elements, or hologram paper available for added fees.

3. Cliffhanger!! (2 available), starting at $40 - 3-D pop badge features a full-body version of your character dangling precariously from the panel! Will he/she/they meet a disastrous fate? 2 custom word balloon pins included. Customizable accents available for additional fees.


HOW TO ORDER:

1. Be present at one of my jump commission livestreams from now until mid Jan. (takes place every Wednesday and every other Friday with  genesisw at 5PM PST/8PM EST)

2. Request to place a commission on stream or to be placed on my waitlist. No payment is required until I am ready to start your piece, so going on my waitlist does not require a downpayment UNLESS you would like priority for the next stream (these slots are subject to schedule/availability, so please do not send payment unless I confirm)

3. Schedule a date (ooh la la!) that's convenient for you to log in and watch your badge being made! Since these are jump commissions that are worked on during streams between my regular queue, I unfortunately cannot take off-stream orders for these at this time. Depending on demand, I may open up for these as off-stream orders once my regular queue reopens in 2015.

4. Badges can be picked up in person at FC 2015 or shipped for an additional $5 fee (US price only, but will ship internationally, prices will vary)

5. Waitlist requests for these badges will be taken on-stream until Jan 15.

Thanks so much and see you next Wednesday. :)

A certain DEAD MEAT ROOMMATE decided to show this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zd0gISBg9E to me as soon as the side effects from today's chemo started to hit.

 sirfox troll level : God Mode

Check out his journal here, he's selling some of his awesome programming skills: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6237362/

Starting at 5PM PST/8 PM EST, I will be streaming at http://www.saucepls.info/stream solo while  genesisw and  foxenawolf take a break to prepare for the charity stream this weekend! Drop on by for jump commissions, including my new little nautilots (1 half chibi, 1 half nautilus, all super cute!) Jumps are PWYW with min $25 requested, nautilots are $20 each. If there is enough interest I may even move the nautilots to 3D (sculpey).

On Thursday I will be streaming solo, but working on my regular commission queue. I will still be taking orders for jumps though, and if there are enough orders I will do another jump commission stream on Friday as well. And then after that Gen's charity stream begins! SirFox has said he may also dual stream with me on Friday as well.

I hope you guys will drop by!

First off, I'd like to apologize for being unable to stream most of this past week. I have been feeling pretty horrid so I needed to take time off so that I didn't mess up any of the jump commissions while on camera. If you had already pre-paid for yesterday's slot, you're on my priority list for next Wednesday. If you're on the waiting list but haven't paid yet, please drop by my Wednesday stream and we can reschedule!

Next week I will be streaming solo on Wednesday for sure, Thursday possibly, and if there is demand for it, Friday, while Gen, Fox and Merri take a break to prepare for next weekend's charity stream. :)

Today will be my third round of chemo. Long story short, it sucks. I've been trying not to kvetch much though because I've got it pretty good with the low-dosage compared to folks who are taking the higher doses for cancer treatment, and I'm counting my blessings. But, it's definitely potent stuff. Mondays (day 2 after) are the worst so far, then the rest of the week isn't as bad. After this round I get my dose upped a bit for three weeks, then upped again three weeks later. My doctor said I should start feeling a difference in 3-6 months, so right now it's just a matter of hanging on until then. The scariest part is that I can't get a flu shot on this stuff.

Oh, and Meriweather decided to outdo his sisters and break BOTH of their crawling records, so now we've got three of 'em mobile at once. Probably a good thing that a 4th kid is unlikely for us, because it'd probably tap dance out of the womb singing "Hello My Baby". THESE BABBIES, THEY DON'T EVER STAY PUT.