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May update and questions/rants  XML
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Should I start another Dragoniade TF contest following the recent events in this post?
Yes, go for it. You deserve it and those who don't agree don't need to participate. 0% [ 0 ]
No. You just want to get free arts, even if you're giving prizes. 0% [ 0 ]
Maybe, but ... (explains) 0% [ 0 ]
Stop asking for something in returns for your work. You're not an artist, so slave away to the community! 0% [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 0
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Dragoniade
Ancient Wyrm
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Joined: 02/09/2008 21:03:21
Messages: 132
Location: Longueuil
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May update is finally online. That one was another big (and sometime boring) job to do.

This update has 264 new clips and 350 thumbnails has been either rendered or re-rendered, as from a few month ago, I've started to recreate the small 100x66 thumbnails to bigger version.

For the new versions of the site, I had those small one stretched to 150x100 and 320x240 to accommodate the new layouts. This is why some thumbs and previews look sharpers than other.
For example, this is a old one: Project Altered Beast and this one is a new one Martin Mystery. Each thumbs are saved in 3 resolutions: Native (the original size of the clip), previews (320x240) and thumbnail (150x100). So, for each clips, 3 images are taken and resized.

But, at least, this update has an higher transformation / show ratio and also include one of my favorite animated series . Guess which one it is.

All Dogs Christmas Carol
All Dogs Go to Heaven
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
Broken Sword 3 - The Sleeping Dragon
Codename Kids Next Door
Codename Kids Next Door Operation ZERO
Enfant Qui Voulait Etre un Ours
Garfield His 9 Lives
Jane and the Dragon
Kid Paddle
Kirikou et la Sorciere
Kong
Krull
Kull the Conqueror
Land Before Time, The Series
Little Mermaid the Series, The
Martin Mystery (one forgotten clips, but the whole thumbnails remake)
Merlin The War of the Dragons
Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The

Yes, Kong was my favorite. The show had a lot of transformation into anthropomorphic characters, from dinosaurs, to tiger, to chimera, you name it. All giant anthro monster. A worth seeing to all anthro fan. Have a look a the griffin. Isn't he cute


I'm also pondering about running a 3rd contest for June. Those updates are really taking time, and for one thing, making the thumbs mentioned about, editing excel spreadsheets in order to publish those updates, sorting through everything aren't really the the most fun things to do. And getting pretty much no feedback, negative or positive, make the ROI rather low on the site. Some support back through another Dragoniade contest would really cheer the work a bit more.

Considering the results from the last one, I'm thinking applying the KISS rule. So a plain Philippe/Dragoniade transformation, maybe with a simple theme (outdoor, surprise!!,etc) with 3 bases prizes and participation prizes. First get 60$, second get 40$, third get 25$ and I would raffle among the non-winner and the sequence winner 5 prizes 20$.

I'll check the feedback to see if I should go ahead with it or not.



On a less positive note, I'm not sure I feel like helping anyone anymore. Or just being generous with online people. I feel like everytime I do, I end up being burned one way or another.

4 examples.

1-
Back in 2004, before heading to Anthrocon, a friend announced his computer was getting deprecated and he really need a new one. His couldn't run Doom 3 at the time and he wanted a PC that could. I had access to OEM materials and the CAN/US dollars ratio was really low (0.70 US for 1 CAN), so I could get him a system for about 15$ cheaper than from a store. He said it was fine, and before heading to the convention, got the parts, assembled it, and hand it to the convention. We agreed that he would paid me after the con, since he was a seller and the previous year, he said he had like 3000$ sold. But at the end of the con, all he could give me was HALF of the amount, about 400$ and that he woulds pay me in the months to follow. I agreed, since we were friends, but I had a bad feeling.

A year after, after having done nothing to pay me more than a 40$ commission, he tells me he had a commission from a great professional artists he was stuck with. Value: 175$ The person he bought it for declined, so he was with a commissions he couldn't pay for and he asked me if I could take it, in order to lower the PC dept. I was reluctant, because all 100$ and more commissions I had in the past were total disappointments. But he told me that person was a real professional and I wouldn't regret it. So I accepted... to learn a few weeks after that I needed to contact that artist and that he was living in California, only taking commission in person at conventions or through telephone. I was rather pissed, considering I live in Canada, am french speaking and trying to contact someone in the US would be a real pain. He agreed to act as an intermediate, calling him and meeting him during conventions with my info, then get the commission and send it to me.

Well, we're now in 2010, 7 years after the initial deal, and I still haven't gotten the commission, not paid back. The commission, 3 sheets of inked paper, was photographed together and mailed to me as a 'proof' it was done, but never shipped. And the remaining 200$, no sign I'll ever see it either. Last time I talked to the guy about his business practice, I got a FUCK YOU for not agreeing with them. So, helping this guy had cost me 375$US to learn NOT to deal with him, or his partners as he can't keep them, in the future.


2-
The second one started in 2004. An artist roommate and manager contacted me looking for cartoon references. His friends was mostly doing furry cartoon (Looney Toon, Tiny Toon, Road Rover, etc) fan arts, so reference would help him. I sent him quite a bunch of files and in return, he had his friends drew a Dragoniade Taur picture. Next year, he asked for more clips, saying he woulds do the same. Since my previous experience with him was positive, I agreed. Some time after, he came to me asking for some money to lend him to and that he would pay me back, either in cash or commission. Since he was one of the few to keep contact with me and actually gave something back, I agree. Time passed and, like all furries, took more than he could chews.

When he said he was opening commission, having shown to me what his friends has been doing in the past years since he promised he woulds pay me back, he asked me if I would add a commission too, in order to boost the original 55$ handed before and the clips. I now know I should have said "NO! pay me", but he had shown me his friend was working and getting better, so I said yes and added 45$ to it. Total, according to him: 45$ + 55$ +20$ worth of clips for a 120$ commission. But he is your typical furry, asking others to do their work and doing nothing back. Up to now, and I've gotten excuse like 'J had an accident and spilled the water for the painting on the commission', 'the supply are getting late and J is trying a new medium', 'J stuff are packed since we moved' and had gotten a lot of 'I lost my job, because I'm the best programmer and all non furries are idiot' (a typical furry excuse for being an ass and getting fired for it). So another 120$ and wasted time lost.


3-
Third one is about 'gift'. One things I've got a few time are booby trapped gift. One was from a 'friend', which I got a birthday gift in 2004, and, for the next 2 years, continuously told me he had a gift for me, on his desk, ready to be mailed... And I never got it. The same guy also, when I got a gift from a friend of both of us, went to tell that person I hated his gift. The gift in question was a furry gift, with content that wasn't safe for work. Not really my kind of stuff, but I thanked him for the gesture. When I told that friend about me not being the best gift, he told that person I hated it. Lets say that this didn't helped our relation between the 3 of us.

3.5-
One more recent was for Christmas. Someone contacted me, asking me what I would want for Christmas. I asked why and he told me he wanted to give a few gift for the holiday. I thanked him, saying that simply an art from him would be the best of gift. In good gesture, I asked him what he would like to get, and had his gift delivered. New year eve, and no word. I asked him if he had gotten my gift and he said he had. He also said he didn't had gift for me. Later, I realize he was simply fishing for gifts. Just like the other person.


4-
The last one for tonight was about a friend that needed some help. He needed some web space, I was able to put him in contact with an host. He needed some poses references (sitting, grabbing for an invisible tail, etc) for his drawing, I provided some. He told me he woulds get me a drawings for all the help I was giving him. Since we are friends, I didn't hesitate to do that. But now, all my commissions we planned in the past are on hold, each time I ask about the drawing, he gets elusive. But he gets plenty of quick commission by others and those get done. I guess doing work for a friend that helped is less important nor profitable than the current streak of commission.


Sorry for the latest rant, but I was holding on those for too long and I had to empty my bag. This time, I'll spare you the Brutal Beast rip off out of the set of other burned situation. But if you wondered why I'm so negative online and about furries, those are 4 situations that left me totally biased about helping a furries online.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 29/05/2010 21:20:21

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morwalugi
Hatchling

Joined: 04/09/2008 13:24:03
Messages: 44
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What should you do?

Hmmm

1) do a little research on the science of lip reading
2) get artists and other to draw "Dragoniades " in various stages of speech( moving lips)
3)determine what cels are required to visually have "Dragoniades " lips form the word
"hello"
4)create a computer program ( a text to lip speech engine)so that when someone types
in the word "Hello" the engine will pull up the required sequence of "Dragoniade" speech
cels and produce a short animation of a animated "Dragoniade" saying the word "hello"
5)build it up from there
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