The Streamlined Readme File

RailRide, a.k.a. Patrick C.Jones

tweaked some more: 9/03/2005

Current availability for trades is:

Art trades:

Yes, I do accept them. I have not done many, mostly because I've been reluctant to just out and out ask anyone directly for one. If I've contacted you out of the blue to offer a comment or compliment on your art, chances are very good that I would accept a trade offer from you (even if I don't mention it in my message to you), since one of the prerequisites for me emailing another artist is that I admire their work enough that I would trade with them. I keep all my old email, and I can look up any previous conversations to refresh my memory if I don't immediatley remember you.

The signal picture above indicates my willingness to engage in trades, and I'll change it as my ability to accept trades changes. It also appears as my avatar in the VCL forum:

Green
means that at the very moment you are reading this, I'm open and willing to enter into a trade
Yellow means I'm kind of busy, but if you've got a really interesting offer, I can make time for it
Red means I can't engage in any at the moment, but keep checking back, as I will alter the icon as soon as I can accept

As an extra-incentive for you to finish your half, I should point out that the character of mine you choose to draw ( I try to leave the choice up to you) will inspire a reaction in the same character as he/she appears in my comic (see below). Because they are written as if they are self aware, "know" that their "occupation" is making pictures in an online gallery for your perusal, and have the ability to "view" the postings of other artists, the chosen character will be "made aware" of your pic within the comic  and be appropriately affected by the "attention" they've recieved. Who knows, you might even get a shot at getting your character in my comic (see below).

I should further point out that my weak points are currently sea creatures, insects, equines, bovines, avians and large reptiles (smaller ones are a "maybe"). If you insist on my drawing a character in one of the above species types, um...it's gonna take awhile to learn how to draw 'em.

Requests:

I really can't do requests that consist only of a description of your character, be they short or long-winded enough to rival the Scroll of Truth. Matter of fact, I can't (actually I don't want to) work from just a description at all at this point in time. If you  have images of your character online, your chances get better--reinterpreting an existing drawing is something I'm halfway decent at. Because I don't draw other people's characters without the consent of their owner/s, this is your best bet if you want to see how I would draw your character/s. If I've done a trade with or previous request for you, so much the better.

Comissions:

Some time ago I changed this document to indicate that I could take comissions. Several months later with no replies I deleted the reference. Now what do I think? Outside of simple sketchbook comissions done in person at a con (C-ACE or Anthrocon), I'm pretty indifferent to them in general. If you absolutely must have a comissioned piece of something from me, I'll figure something out.

"Gift" artwork:

I'd like to be in a position to do this, but I think it's only proper to do this for artists I've had some correspondence with, say an email conversation, AIM conversation or an art trade. If you're doing a trade with me, and would like to open the possibility of future gift or fan-art, let me know while the trade is in progress that it's okay by you if I do future unsolicited pics of your characters. Otherwise I'll assume permission only extends to the the immediate trade.

Comic:

I'm slowly turning out a webcomic, initially set within the VCL, but now encompassing most online galleries with a preponderance of furry art, treating them all as a virtual community comprised of the characters displayed within them. As such, there's always room for the characters of other artists to make cameo appearances if they can contribute something to whatever is going on at the moment. My characters are long-term ones (some of them are almost 20 years old) with more or less fully-developed personalities, and I'd like to see how I would 'act' them in a situation with an unknown factor, interacting with a character whose personality and actions are controlled by someone else.

How it works is this: You, as an artist here (or other artist communities I participate in), spot a development or developing situation in my comic that  potentially allows a character of yours to enter the story and contribute to or influence it in a useful manner. Contact me (the email in my gallery is valid) and we'll work out via email or IM, how the appearance could be integrated into the story (it is unstructured, so it could go anywhere) and the action/dialogue that takes place if we agree that the character/s are going to work out in the given situation. Note that it helps if your character can "act", meaning you have a good handle on how your character/s would respond to situations not entirely under your control or not tailored to the way your character/s think. Detailed info here .

Content (adult):

I've come to the conclusion that there is nothing stopping me from drawing X-rated material. So when is the porn? With regard to my own characters, something has to happen before I let them go there. When I first hooked up with VCL, I drew up a whole 40-page comic introducing them to the fandom (since I had never done anything with them acknowledging the presence of it). I also introduced a new character (Neichelle, the skunk) to show them the concept of an occupation comprised of doing pictures for your enjoyment. Her appearance served three functions: One, to introduce the characters to life online. Two, to cause conflict over her insistence at remaining in a state of undress, and Three, to get the characters used to the concept they could do explicit material by doing it herself without consequence.

That last part hit a snag storywise when one character stiffened her opposition of any adult work being added to their portfolio. However, her logic is faulty, and I need someone to get her to back down by exposing those faults. Creating another porn-ophile character won't work because I need one who has previously appeared in (well-drawn) adult work in order for her statements to have any real validity. Said character would team up with Neichelle and double-team the lone holdout within the confines of my comic, and convince her to drop her objections to adult work.

Contacting me:

Easy. The e-mail address in my gallery is valid. I check my mail almost every day, and if you have a comment or `question, drop me a line. One more thing: Make sure your subject line begins with the name of the artist community you're coming from (example "[VCL]", "[FA]", "[SA]","[DA]", or the initials of the convention you met me at "[C-ACE], [AC], etc) so I know it's coming from someone viewing my material and not some random spambot that managed to jumble together the right sequence of words in the subject line. You can also IM me over AOL IM at RailRide0. I've been leaving it on recently, and I do accept incoming messages.

09/03/05