updated 6/08/2005
The comic in question is a loose-themed, freeform, erratically-scheduled comic, initially set within VCL, but now encompassing several image galleries with a preponderance of furry art and posted exclusivley (for now) within my gallery on VCL. It treats the archives/galleries as communities inhabited by the characters displayed within them, much the same way that Cartoon Network, in its current set of network promos, treats it's stable of characters as inhabitants of a single ficticious locale. At the core of this comic is my own characters, who were "introduced" to the existence of fandom and the concept of online picture galleries in (what wound up being) a 40-page comic I posted to my personal website prior to my joining VCL as a member artist.
Currently, I mix in a comic strip or two amongst typical standalone artworks whenever the inspiration strikes. I did not create a seperate "comics" directory for them since the comic will often reference standalone pictures displayed in my galleries, treating them as the end result of the characters' primary occupation -- creating images for your perusal (this applies to all other characters displayed there too). So, it made more sense to keep the strips with the pics they may be referring to.
Because this comic treats the various image galleries as if they were a group of virtual communities, almost any artist's character/s appearing within them can guest-star or cameo in it, subject to certain conditions and restrictions outlined below. Since I do not draw anyone else's character/s without the explicit OK of their owners, it's up to individual artists looking in my gallery to contact me if they think their creations could make a useful or workable contribution.
It's completely voluntary on your part and recruitment is completely passive on my part -- I'm not going to pester anyone to participate in this comic. The only hitch for those who decide to give it a try is that the process of getting your character/s in requires you read and understand a few rules outlined below, crafted to avoid misunderstandings and awkward situations from cropping up.
Basically, you, as a member artist at one or more of the usual image galleries, while viewing my VCL gallery and the comic within it, spot an oppurtunity for a character of yours to enter into the goings-on and potentially influence the direction of the story as it progresses (I have no concrete plans for the story's direction). These opportunities will sometimes surface in an obvious (and sometimes subtle) manner from time to time since a significant component of the comic's flow is presenting my characters with situations not entirely under my control--and one of the best ways to accomplish this is by involving other artists in the form of their characters, whose personalities, motivations, etc are not of my design and not under my control.
Note that any obvious invitations, (such as the "Open Comic-Cameos Welcome" sign left on the front lawn in one installment), remain in my comic's "world" until they are explicitly removed or rescinded by the characters. For example, as long as I don't make anybody remove that sign in the comic, it still exists there and you could concievably have a character of yours cameo just to ask them why it's still there six months or more after that particular comic was posted.
(A note on my characters--they are written as being "aware" of their existence as cartoon characters, and are thus aware that they are being exhibited online in the context of "furry". They are not "fursonas" or avatars representing me or anyone else -- they simply "do their thing" within the confines of their respective personalities, which have been developing for up to 20 years. As "residents" of an online image gallery they are capable of "viewing" images posted by other artists and even comment on them (although in practice they'll only comment on general trends rather than individual artists (unless you want them to comment on what your characters are doing). Within this comic, all characters in the relevant image galleries are assumed to be able to view each others' pictures.)
You check your prospective character/s against the rules below and if they pass, email me (the address in my gallery is valid) with your idea (it doesn't have to be epic--it could be as short as a panel or two on a single page), or IM me at AOL IM "RailRide0". If I think it could work, we'll work out the details of how to introduce your character/s, how I draw them, their interaction with mine and how the "visit" winds down.
The preferred plan is that after I set up the introduction, you would write your character's dialogue, and I would craft my character/s' response, until enough dialogue is scripted to complete a page or however long your character is involved. The duration of your character/s involvement varies with the existing situation and your idea/s--it could be as short as part of one page, or extend over several pages/ installments.
Remember where I said "almost" any character can appear? Here's the "almost" part.
You have to be an artist
with artwork of said character on one of the prominent image
galleries:
Introducing characters that only exist on MUCKs or in someone's head,
kind of defeats the purpose, since most viewers won't necessarily recognize
your character.
You need to be able to
draw him /her /it fairly well:
You should be reasonably adept at drawing your character/s. I say this because
ideally, your characters will look like, well your characters. My
rendition of them should look something like the way you draw them or with
strong hints of your drawing style. This means though, if you're a beginner
having a really rough time with anatomy, or keeping your recurring characters
consistent from drawing to drawing, then it may be difficult for viewers
to look at my "best effort" and recognise it as being your character, even
if they are otherwise familiar with it.
On the other hand, if you draw as well as or better than I do, then the option opens to a collaborative effort, where once we agree on the layout in each panel, we split the drawing between ourselves and composite the end results together. In either case, the desired effect is of a variety of drawing styles adjusted to a common level of ability. "Guest artist" efforts (where someone else draws entire installments of the comic) are not on the agenda right now as such efforts would need to be posted in the galleries of the artist/s who drew them, which would affect efforts to follow the strips in order.
Your character/s need
to be able to "act":
Almost as important as appearance is your characters' ability to
"act". You should be able to predict your character/s responses to a variety
of situations not under your control. Remember that ideally, you will be
writing their lines, or at least approving what I write for them. Of some
importance is that your character, as a natural part of his/her personality,
be inclined to socialize. You are, after all, getting that character involved
in a comic with someone else's characters.
Character
types:
Bipedal, toony to semi-realistic anatomy, plantigrade or digitigrade, with
clothing or without. Excluded are quadrupeds, avian, marine, equine or any
exotic species picked mostly because they were difficult to draw. These types
of characters would burn up a lot of development time for me to draw them
well, and still might not look ok by my standards.
Content:
I haven't placed many limits on where the story could turn within the confines
of taking place within a collection of online galleries. It's acknowledged
that other characters can inhabit their own realities seperate from the archive.
Should a visiting artist suggest a foray into his/her own characters' "universe",
I'll at least consider it, but I don't plan to rely on such things for story
ideas since the focus of this particular comic should mostly concern my
creations as they exist here. And while my characters aren't barred from
getting involved in sexual situations, that shouldn't be construed as an
excuse to rush headlong into a pornographic situation unless you've got a
really good context to put such activities in.
Updated 09/03/2005.