I've accepted a bunch of volatikai, but I feel like I haven't gotten too many coming back to me for adding links to my page.

Any first picture you post of your volatikai please link to me!

Look here to see if your volatikai has been added: http://volatikai.weebly.com/fan-mad.....volatikai.html

ALSO any future pieces if you'd like this group to fave them just post a link wherever on this group! So can be as a shout, note, in a journal or elsewhere, just not on my main account!
Then when I fave your piece I'll delete the comment/note/shout.
I guess I'd just say don't post it to submission comments. But even then I'll do what I do with the rest.
And please make sure it's a finished piece. I want to avoid faving a bunch of wip pictures. I'll let you know if I don't fave it because of this.

Thanks!

Originally I was going to have it so only volatikai that live by each other can have mixture offspring... but that would be too frustrating for me when it comes to other people. So only for my canon world is that true.

That means you're allowed to have 2 sub species mix together. Any of them. I will limit it to just 2, however, because I don't want people making a 7-volatikai mix or something. xD That's a little TOO much.

SO IF YOU'RE CONFUSED, River, my character, is a mixture of mountain and northern volatikai.
If you do this you have to make it VERY clear they are a mixture.

Right now I'm not concerned about dominant and recessive traits. I MIGHT write about it at some point, but that's something I don't really care about when coming to designing a mixed volatikai. I just like picking things I like from one and others from the other, so you guys can do the same thing.

Please avoid making a volatikai/human mix, though! At some point I'll start allowing it but I wanna put more thought into it first.

...is volatikai.

Some people have put an s at the end of their name for plural, and it just doesn't work. It sounds bad to me, so volatikai is both singular and plural.

Also, I'll say to not call them as "bat demons". Humans in their world may call them that, but if you call them that you may confuse others into thinking they are related to either of those things. Or I may feel that you think they are related to those things. So please avoid calling them bat demons!

Before I had it where their colors just get a little lighter in the winter, but DarkAdobe (dA) accidentally didn't follow that info about them (possibly didn't see) and had most of the colors on their arctic white. It honestly makes more sense to me, though I'm going to have it so all the fur colors turn white. Even the hair. I think for patterns, they'll just be a slight grey. In time I'll show an example with Bayrd, my arctic volatikai. The black parts of the membranes will still be black, however.

So, this just goes to show you that some mistakes could actually be a good thing. xD

I'll update my site with this info as well, but it can be hard and frustrating for me if you delete previously said things in notes... because I most likely will forget what was said previously. Several people have done this and it already confused me, so I have to make this clear. xD;;

If I see you doing it I'll just remind you to not do it, as I know this could be a habit thing. I just need to try to make things easier on myself. :c'

...about their personality/likes/dislikes or story.

I'm starting to see this problem, and it's my fault for not having the info for each specific sub species yet.

There's certain things very specific for each species, and they are minor things, but still important.

I haven't written it out yet, but several types of volatikai can not taste sweet things, like a cat. They are the ones who only eat meat, like Pierce. Others can taste them all, like humans. Those include Arctics, Tropicals and Easterns. All the rest are meat eaters.

So as I update each type with specific info, I'll make it clear in a journal, and just know you may have to change something about your character.

There's lots of other small things I'm not thinking of right now, but as I update those pages it will be made clear.

I'm sorry about this. ;-; I don't fault any of you if you happen to make a mistake like that, since it's not clear anywhere.

I feel like if I waited until all info about my species was done before people could make their own it would be another few years, or super rushed. xD;;

School work is making it really hard to work on stuff currently on my list, and I don't wanna start taking customs until it's clear... and I dunno how long that will take. ;-; It may be even hard for me to get quick chibis out to make some extra cash. Same with personal art. These teachers are being nuts with giving lots of work. GAH.

I hope some of them at least start holding back on how much homework they give. Especially on art. Giving so much work means the art won't be as good. ;-; All rushed and stuff. SILLY TEACHERS. AHHH

When I do start taking some customs, it will be through journals only.

That day is finally here!
I have some rules on how this will work, so please follow them.
First, make sure you know the rules, here: http://volatikai.weebly.com/rules.html
As well as the FAQ: http://volatikai.weebly.com/faq.html
Next, make sure you have a number. The main page has a link to where you get a number.

(I also have these steps on my volatikai website)

Now, if you’ve done all that, you’ll need to send me a note showing me the volatikai (or few) that you want to own/submit. It NEEDS to be in a note (and to the volatikai group! Not my main account!). Please do not comment anywhere else about it!
How you can show me can either be with dA’s stash, drop box, or another form of being able to show. Do not submit them until they are okay’d! (OH AND MAKE SURE TO LET ME KNOW WHAT TYPE THEY ARE! Just in case. xD;; )

For FA: if your notes are disabled, you’ll have to re-enable them in order to get the okay. Then you can disable notes again. Same goes for any questions, as I don’t want shouts with questions.

Because of most likely a bunch of people will be showing me theirs at once, I’ll either simply give you “They work” or something similar, or I’ll make a list of things that must change.

Once I give you the okay, you may then submit. Remember that the first picture you submit MUST be told they are my species (and please say it’s from shorty-antics-27, not the group. You can add the group only if you want to). Any future ones are optional, unless asked. (I would prefer if you did mention it with each upload, however). Note me when you submit!
I will then add them to your number, like I have done with the ones I sold, here: http://volatikai.weebly.com/fan-mad.....volatikai.html
Note that once you have a ref for them, I’d like to put that as the link. But a single picture of them is fine as well.

One final note: I may be slow with adding you to the list, but I’ll try as quickly as I can so you can submit. I’m sorry in advance. :c’’


Also, you don’t HAVE to show me today. Any time is fine. Today is just the opening day. xD

Ahhh, I'm really hoping I won't be super stressed out tomorrow. xD

I plan to post the opening journal in the morning... but I have a 5 hour class as well, so there will be a large chunk of time where I can't look over the pictures.

Oh, and please try to have a full body picture! Doesn't have to show the back, though.

And so you know ahead of time, please show it to me either through dropbox, dA stash or some other file sharing thing. I won't be using email for this, only my notes.

Today I'm going to update the site with important info. The front page will have a guide on what to do to own a volatikai, so hopefully that will help people out a lot easier. I'll also post the wing connection thing.


Let me know at any time if anything is confusing!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t7j0nbrsz.....ction.png?dl=0

Weebly isn't letting me edit right now, but I have this done! Once weebly lets me edit I'll put this sketch on the site under build a volatikai.

No use in using it anymore if I don't get updates. Now if you want to ask me a question just send me a note. Someone asked me a question through my email, and I feel bad that I had a thing on my site saying to email me for questions. Email isn't very good. xD; So I took that off as well.

All questions can go here, the dA group, or the weasyl group. Through notes. I like to keep questions at the places that deal with the thing in question, so that's why the ask website won't work for me.

Then with any new question I get, I'll answer the person and put it as part of the FAQ. I'll have to break up the FAQ some more into sections so it's easier to read. ahhh.
Also if anyone asks a question that's answered in the FAQ, I'll just link to the FAQ... or the rules.

A further reminder that I won't critique anything until they are open!

Yesterday I got an email that someone asked a new question on the forums. When I got there, there were 2 other people who had asked questions as well... almost 10 days ago. I never got an email about that.

Then today I decided I'd go check the forums again, and it happened again. Another person asked a question and I didn't get an email. Something is wrong with the forums.

I'll have to find something else to do... or else people just ask those questions in notes to me, and then I'll put those answers in my FAQ.

I'm really sad that forums is acting like this. :c I'll forget about it easily if I don't get emails about it. Unless it's just my email that's being picky on what gets through... v-v sigh.

If you have any ideas on a better way to get questions and whatnot, let me know!

...when you post, it MUST have the watermark on it. I wanna make sure this is set in place before they open. I most likely will have the watermark just with the username of here, or my actual username instead of my bat-watermark. Every post I do here will have a watermark as well. I want to make it harder for thieves to get them.

With ones you make, it's up to you if you want them watermark-less or not. It would be with your own as well. I'd suggest doing what you can to make sure people don't steal your character/pictures.

I wanted to make an unlimited amount, actually, but then that could crowd the fanmade page. xD;
I thought about it a lot, and I want people to be able to make more than just 3 volatikai if they want. If I can figure out a better way to link to each one on the fanmade page, I'll up the number. Right now that's the only reason it has a limit. I still will keep the limit for adoptables from me as 2, however, since I don't want people hoarding the ones I make. That doesn't include customs.

I also will add the rule that you can NOT commission other artists to DESIGN a volatikai for you. You CAN commission other artists to draw one already made, however. But since they are my species, it would be bad to go to someone else to design them. I'm trying to think of all the odd things people may ask so I can have them answered. Bwah.

REMEMBER, NO POSTING RIGHT NOW!

5 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THEY OPEN!

Names will not be said, but someone has designed a "volatikai" and posted it to their page (on dA). I only knew it was a volatikai because they said so, and at least they credited me.
However, there are many things wrong with this.

First problem is they posted it before they are open. I am trying to make that clear everywhere that they aren't open right now. Just a few more days to wait, guys! 6 days! AHHH!

Second is they didn't come to me to get an okay. The character in question doesn't look like my species. Because of this, I told them they can simply change the species name and can keep the picture up. Otherwise it would need to come down and the character HEAVILY altered.
I really, really don't want people to alter things about my species and then call it a volatikai. PLEASE, if you like certain things but not others, make your own species! Don't call it a volatikai. xc

The ONLY alteration I'll be okay with is if you don't want to draw the nipples or sheath. Those areas can just be flat, then. I understand how some people can be uncomfortable with drawing those things.

Otherwise, other things are a MUST.

They MUST have 2 pairs of pecs, black tear drops, wings attached correctly (they must not attach at the shoulders!), correct ears (not pointy like an elf! Hunter only has that because the human and volatikai ears got mixed together into an odd shape. Normal volatikai can't get that!) slit pupils and correct colors/patterns. There's other small things, but these are my main concerns. Several of these things were missing/not right on this character in question. I understand people have their own styles, but these things are easy to spot to where I know you're not paying attention.

This is all why they need to be checked over by me before they can be posted.




This brings me to something else, now.

If you happen to spot someone doing something wrong with their volatikai, you may politely correct them and show them where on my site it makes it clear. DO NOT BE RUDE TO THEM! That includes calling them names or trying to make them feel bad. Just say something like "just so you know, -certain part- isn't correct, but here you can see how it goes correctly -link-" or something like that. Otherwise, if I catch you being rude/mean to the person, you will be marked as red on the number list. If you're not on the number list, I will mark you down to not be able to get anything from me, which includes free art. If you apologize to the person, however, and show me, I'll take you out of the red.

You then can also note me informing me what's going on.

If someone is clearly stealing and claiming it as their own, inform me and I'll report them. Being mean/rude to someone like this won't help. If I see any of you giving threats, you're onto the red list. If you want to say something to these people, just be informative, not rude.

There will also at times be trolls who will do this on purpose, trying to piss people off. I have seen it happen to other species a bunch. Just inform me and I'll quietly report, as engaging with people like this is what they want.

I think on my site I'll have a page just about this kind of stuff so people know. I'll start working on that now.

I had only thought about it a little before, but I then looked up what animals have periods and which don't. Those that go in heat/have only certain times of the year to mate don't have periods at all. Instead the egg is reabsorbed into the body (I wish that happened to us. >8C ).

SO that means most of the female volatikai don't have periods. Arctic females do, however, since they don't have a mating season. I'll add this info at some point. xD I have it down in my notes right now.

For when I start attaching links/pictures to the numbers you guys have (when you show me and I approve), it will JUST be pictures.

Since I won't be reading any stories, just descriptions of your characters won't really work, either. I'm sorry. You'll still have a number, but there will be no link to your character unless they have a visual image.

I dunno how many writers I have here, but I just wanted to make that clear.

8 days left!

...make sure you wait for my journal to be posted. I'll have important info in it that I want people to follow. I'm working on it right now, so I wanted to make sure you guys know.

I made a journal on dA advertising the group again, and a bunch more people got a number. It's at 104 right now, which is awesome!

I think I'll make a full character sheet for a volatikai to sell because of it. I can't really do anything for free right now, so I'll go this route with a nice, simple ref sheet. I dunno when I'll get to it, however. I have to work on school work and commissions first. Maybe I'll slowly work on it as days go by.

BUT, what type would you most like to see for this ref sheet to sell?

Hehe yesss. They'll open up on a Tuesday, since that's when my birthday is. It makes me excited to see others excited for them to open as well. It feels nice to be more excited than stressed, too. xD I'm sure I'll have my stressed moments, though.

One thing I wanna make clear is I may be slow with adding your new character(s) to your number on the list, I wait for the days I feel motivated and get it all done at once. I dunno if I'll start putting characters to the numbers ON my birthday, Depends on what I am doing that day.

ALSO I WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THAT you'll have to show me your drawn volatikai before you can post. BUT AGAIN NOT UNTIL THEY OPEN.

I'll be typing out the journal for that day today to get it ready, and so I can make changes to it if needed.

This was the last thing I wanted to make sure was finished before I opened up volatikai. All there is left to do is wait for February 3rd.

http://volatikai.weebly.com/buildin.....volatikai.html

At some point I'll update the fur one to make it more clean and neat, but for now it's good enough with showing the fur.

I still have a lot more I can do for the site, but the main things are done.

Arctic's look really funny being all green like that. aha.

I was asked yesterday if they could be shown as digigrade instead of plantigrade, so I feel it's something good to make clear. They are plantigrade and must stay as such. Changing them like that is changing their structure too much.

Plantigrade: how our legs/feet are shaped
Digigrade: How dogs and cats' legs are shaped

Same with making sure you add their second pair of pecs/breasts. They have 2, so please don't draw them with only one pair.

Things you CAN do is give them scars or missing teeth or tears in their wings or even missing wings/parts of the wings (and make it clear they were torn off or something).

AAAAND don't put dew claws on males without a were form or females, period. Dew claws are the fifth toe, NOT the heel spike. All but arctics have heel spikes.

Thank you.

Not every single large city is added, but I'll update it when I figure that more out., Right now it's important just to be able to show both for you guys.

I still have to add some written info, though, but here's the visuals: http://volatikai.weebly.com/the-world.html

I'm starting to think about price, so I'm curious on who would want a custom from me.

I'd offer either chibis or normal size. Which is more interesting for you?

(also custom would be considered something you designed, so it doesn't count against buying one from me.)

Are you guys fine with auctions? Or would you rather have flat prices? I can't decide.