Firefox themes! Book updates! Other stuff!

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.)

Firefox themes and personas

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.

Browser themes for Google Chrome

Do you use Chrome? Do you wish it had more wonky-eyed children on it? I have good news! Or bad news, depending upon your answers to those questions. There are now six Skary themes for you to install! You have your pick of Ida, Casilda, Emmeline, Shawnee, Elsie, or the Plague Kid to dress up your browser. Just make sure your installation of Chrome is current, and then go here to apply your theme of choice. Don't feel left out, Firefox users. Personas are coming soon.

Skary Google Chrome browser themes

T-Shirts now on sale! Auxiliary Magazine interview! Contest results!

There was so much going on in this post that I actually had to break it up into two as I wouldn't want Death and little Elsie (and Barcas, of course) to be swallowed up by all this other news. So, expect that trio later. Now, onto the news!

Skary tees are now available in the store! Mister Creazil and the Plague Kid are waiting to be worn by you, but they're currently in limited supply. Get yours while you can! All orders will be fulfilled by the good people of PrintMojo.

In more news, do you know about Auxiliary Magazine? Rena Finkel recently interviewed me for Auxiliary, and that issue is now available for free online and in print in just a few days. There's lots of other good stuff in there too. Check it out!

Also, the Show Your Allegiance Contest was a spectacular show of talent! The judges and I loved all twenty-two of your entries, and we were sad that we had to pick just one. And that winner was Katrina Pomerance with her handmade doll! Katrina has won a Mister Creazil tee for her adorable creation. Congratulations, Katrina!

Cynthia Cheng's delightful comic about the process of making her submission was the first runner-up, and we couldn't just let her slip by without notice. She'll be receiving a little something in the mail as well. Yay, Cynthia!

The other entries will be posted to the Skary.net fan art gallery soon. Again, thank you to all of you who entered!

Less Than Three Days Left!

There are fewer than three days left to show your allegiance and win your choice of the new Skary tees. Are you ready? I'll tell you now that you may have to step up your game. The entries we've gotten so far are top-notch. Picking a winner will not be easy! See what you're up against? (And these are only a few of them!)

Candace's Music Video:

And this one from Liz and her sister made me laugh:

There are plenty more where those came from, but yours can only be one of them if you submit it by 11:59 pm Pacific, July 29th! Details here if you need a refresher.

Are you readying your proof?

Only a few days have passed since the Show Your Allegiance contest was announced, and already several are vying for their t-shirt. Here are just a few of the submissions that have come in so far. What have you got up your sleeve?

Rory recites "Agony"

Cynthia gives us a making-of comic for her illustration:

Asa's niece is unequivocally Skary:

Show Your Allegiance Contest

A few weeks ago, I asked you all what kind of contest you'd like to win one of the upcoming Skary tees. Your answer: everything! There were so many wonderful suggestions that I couldn't pick one. So, naturally, I've picked everything. Here's how it's going to go down.

What you're winning:

your choice of one Plague Kid tee OR Mister Creazil tee in your specified size.

What you're going to do:

Show us how much you love Childrin R Skary in whatever way your creative brain can invent. Make a video, write a story, paint a picture, compose a song, organize a parade (that one might be a bit over the top)... anything you want! Just so long as no one gets hurt, it's legal, and you can submit some version of it online. Keep in mind that your submissions may be posted to Skary.net, so don't do anything that's going to haunt you when you become a senator in a few decades.

Who will win?

That's to be decided by a panel of judges who will base their decision on your creativity, uniqueness, effort, and overall Skariness. So, don't worry if you don't have any fancy camera equipment, you're not a master ar-teest, or English isn't your first language. If we can tell you really love Skary and worked hard to show it, that's all that counts. But only one person will win! You can get help from family and friends, but you must be the primary participant, and you alone will receive the prize should you win (but do name your helpers if you have any. They at least deserve credit).

Send your entry by July 29th via the form below!

More Rules (we always gotta have 'em):

  1. Your entry must be submitted online with the form below. Not in person or by snail mail; sorry. You may post it anywhere you want, so long as there is a version that my judges and I can view, and you have sent me the link or file. The exception to this is Facebook. DO NOT SEND LINKS TO FACEBOOK. I always get submissions from people's Facebook pages, and 99% of the time, I don't have access to them. So, let's just throw that one right out. No Facebook.
  2. You may only submit one entry. But if you make a mistake or do a better version, you may resubmit. Only your final effort will be considered, however. This is to make sure you're putting your best effort into it. This is about quality, not quantity. This also means you can't just resubmit fan art or previous contest entries you've sent me before.
  3. All participants are welcome, regardless of country. However, my judges and I primarily speak English. So, if your entry depends upon the spoken or written word, we ask that you provide an English translation to accompany it. You may get help with translations.
  4. While you may get some help if you absolutely have to, the idea and as much of the execution as possible must be yours. You may parody something else for your entry, but you cannot copy or steal. If it's discovered that you've stolen someone else's work, OH MAN, you will be in so much trouble. Like, banned for life from ever entering anything of mine ever again. Probably a pox on your house, too.
  5. Your entries are due no later than 11:59 PM Pacific, July 29th, 2010. No exceptions, even if your entry is really superduperawesome. Winners will be announced August 1st, and shirts go on sale for everyone else August 2nd. That gives you two weeks! Snap to it!

Lastly, please remember that you are wonderful, and so is your entry even if you don't win. There are always a lot of entries, and they can't all win! I sometimes get very sad messages from people who feel like they have failed because they weren't picked. Don't do that. It's just a t-shirt. A really lovely one, if I may say so myself, but not worth sacrificing your well-deserved pride over.

Update 7/30/10: Contest is over! The winner will be announced this Sunday.