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What's more important--the little voice inside your head, or the ones out on the street?
My father kept a copy of this poem, "It's All In A State Of Mind" tacked to the corkboard in his office, and used to quote the opening lines whenever we needed courage. So that's why I had Kathy's dad lead off with the poem.
My brother moved into my (much larger) room when I spent the summer on an internship in England, and it took me six months to fully evict him and his stuff after I got back.
Family. The ties that bind...and strangle.
My father kept a copy of this poem, "It's All In A State Of Mind" tacked to the corkboard in his office, and used to quote the opening lines whenever we needed courage. So that's why I had Kathy's dad lead off with the poem.
My brother moved into my (much larger) room when I spent the summer on an internship in England, and it took me six months to fully evict him and his stuff after I got back.
Family. The ties that bind...and strangle.
Category Story / Comics
Species Hyena
Size 800 x 978px
File Size 259.9 kB
Kathy is taking inspiration from a poem recited by her family, and being lifted out of her gloom. Then her younger brother spoils the mood by asking if he can have her stuff (after she's dead, presumably) showing that he has no faith in her ability to succeed against Jinjur.
These are representing the voices in her head she's wrestling with.
These are representing the voices in her head she's wrestling with.
I leave that up to the reader to decide. This is a parallel universe, with its own rules of reality. I've tried to create a world from parts of human culture, history, and how real-life hyenas behave.
Hyenas are naturally sand-colored or reddish-brown. Kathy has a blonde mane because she's based on me.
When I first drew Kathy Grsn, I was using a ball-point pen, and putting hatchmarks on her nose to indicate a darker muzzle made it difficult to properly show her expressions. So I did not use hatch marks. When I went to color, it just seemed best to give her a white muzzle, and that carried over to other females in her family, as the darker coloring looks like five o'clock shadow and worked better for the males.
A trick I use on some involves a gradient shift, which makes the best-looking coloration, but is somewhat more difficult to do, and so I only use it on minor characters.
I try to be faithful to the species I'm using.
The fonts are meant to convey the way the characters sound. Songween's wobbly font mimics her creaky voice (based on the female gargoyle from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame.") Kathy's Beetle font was easy to read and has become the default New Yak hyena voice font. The Rackenroon hyenas speak in a more staccato Digital Strip font. Fred has a soft and classy Book Antiqua to indicate an English accent.
Hyenas are naturally sand-colored or reddish-brown. Kathy has a blonde mane because she's based on me.
When I first drew Kathy Grsn, I was using a ball-point pen, and putting hatchmarks on her nose to indicate a darker muzzle made it difficult to properly show her expressions. So I did not use hatch marks. When I went to color, it just seemed best to give her a white muzzle, and that carried over to other females in her family, as the darker coloring looks like five o'clock shadow and worked better for the males.
A trick I use on some involves a gradient shift, which makes the best-looking coloration, but is somewhat more difficult to do, and so I only use it on minor characters.
I try to be faithful to the species I'm using.
The fonts are meant to convey the way the characters sound. Songween's wobbly font mimics her creaky voice (based on the female gargoyle from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame.") Kathy's Beetle font was easy to read and has become the default New Yak hyena voice font. The Rackenroon hyenas speak in a more staccato Digital Strip font. Fred has a soft and classy Book Antiqua to indicate an English accent.
They can't kick your butt if you're staking out theirs.
My oldest brother moved out when I was 14 and I moved into his room. He failed at life a couple of times and tried to move back in, but my Dad told him no. My middle brother and I bought a house when I was 21, leaving two rooms vacant. The next time my oldest brother lost his job, Dad didn't have as firm an excuse to keep him out. He wound up living at my parents' place for more than ten years.
Dad passed away about 15 years ago and my sister moved Mom into an elder condominium ASAP. My older brother objected because he thought he should have the house. When Mom died seven years ago, my brother had a fit because he had read an old copy of a will written up in 1952. In that version he was an only child and inherited everything. Mom & Dad redid their will in 1968 and the property and money went first to the surviving spouse, then was distributed evenly among the surviving children, in normal American fashion. He opposed the will and it's been (mostly) in Probate for 6 years. We only see him now when he needs something.
My oldest brother moved out when I was 14 and I moved into his room. He failed at life a couple of times and tried to move back in, but my Dad told him no. My middle brother and I bought a house when I was 21, leaving two rooms vacant. The next time my oldest brother lost his job, Dad didn't have as firm an excuse to keep him out. He wound up living at my parents' place for more than ten years.
Dad passed away about 15 years ago and my sister moved Mom into an elder condominium ASAP. My older brother objected because he thought he should have the house. When Mom died seven years ago, my brother had a fit because he had read an old copy of a will written up in 1952. In that version he was an only child and inherited everything. Mom & Dad redid their will in 1968 and the property and money went first to the surviving spouse, then was distributed evenly among the surviving children, in normal American fashion. He opposed the will and it's been (mostly) in Probate for 6 years. We only see him now when he needs something.
Can't say that I can relate, but my grandfather has siblings like that. Now that I think about it, stories about them are probably what motivates my mother into… "helping" me as much as she does. Mind you, I'm thirty and bought my house when I was 19 (technically a couple of months before my birthday). I reaaaaaaaly don't need her help, but then I see stories like this and know that I need to apreciate what I have with her. (No matter how crazy she drives me sometimes.)
My own brother and I don't talk at all anymore because… well, he sort of burned those bridges down. After several years of sending texts with no replies from him and being blocked on FB over a disagreement, I gave up trying to keep in contact with him. Thanks to being friends with his husband on FB, I know that he's doing just fine. Plus if he needs me, he can always call me.
It's just sad that is the only time he'll ever consider to call me.
My own brother and I don't talk at all anymore because… well, he sort of burned those bridges down. After several years of sending texts with no replies from him and being blocked on FB over a disagreement, I gave up trying to keep in contact with him. Thanks to being friends with his husband on FB, I know that he's doing just fine. Plus if he needs me, he can always call me.
It's just sad that is the only time he'll ever consider to call me.
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