Hooray! My first three Firefox Personas have been approved, and you can install your choice of Ida, Elsie or Shawnee themes here. There will be more in the next few days. (Their approval process takes a while.)
And an update on Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow - I've finished the text! Now I'm getting serious about the illustrations, so you may have to wait a little longer for other projects of mine. Not to worry, however. The annual 31 Days of Halloween project will still begin on the 1st. You didn't really think I'd forget Halloween, did you (see last year's)? Blasphemy! I'll find time to update the fan art gallery in there somewhere too. I have some really great ones I can't wait to post.
Now to answer some questions I've gotten recently - haven't done that in a while, have I?
How old are you? - Anonymous
Old enough to rent a car. Not old enough to get a senior discount.
Did you go to a school to learn how to do the movies, or did you use an online tutorial? -B
Neither. Learning how to do these was a process of trial-and-error. That's often the best way to learn.
how old is ida, genevieve, and all those other Skary Childrin. they look like nine or ten, mabe eleven. -N
They're all under 5 except for Shawnee Jenkins, who's 8. I'm a little concerned about the eleven-year-olds where you're from. ;-)
Have any furries ever suggested ideas to you? well, one who have furres whom are goths (such as myself, though I am no goth.) and finally I noticed you said you worked with preschool children, did any of them belong on the ASD (Autistic Spectrum)? -M
I'm not sure if furries ever have suggested ideas to me or not. Or goth furries. I'm not sure. I don't accept suggestions for story ideas generally, so it's possible that I've forgotten! I don't know if any of the children I worked with were autistic. Some very well may have been, but it wasn't something the parents discussed with me. Autism didn't have quite the same focus then (this was the late 90s) as it does now, so there was a lot of misinformation about it, too.
How do you handle criticism? I worry about it so much I'm afraid to show people my work. -B
To quote my college graphic design instructor, "Don't fall in love with your work." It isn't perfect. It never will be. Nor will anyone else's. Once you accept this, it's much easier to see honest criticism as a tool rather than a personal attack. Of course, there are those who will make personal attacks, but those people aren't your audience anyway. Ignore the immature jerks and take time to consider the real feedback. It's surprisingly calming to say to yourself, "Yeah. They're right. I should've done this instead of that. I'll remember that next time!" Sometimes you won't agree with the criticisms, but you may be able to see where they're coming from. Whatever you do, don't lash out. I've even lost respect for some of my own heroes who've done that. Keep your temper in check. Go scream into a pillow if you must. Then remember all of the above.