Carja

Sixtus

 Pelaria  No Responses »
Dec 142011
 

From the journal of Ardebast Raconteur:

Sixtus is the capital city of Pelaria. Its name is of course a nod to the Six, to whom we owe everything as furs. It is founded on the site where the Six first rallied their animal brothers and sisters against the threat of man.

The Palace of the King was built in the northern quadrant. The king still lives there, but when King Pepetus decreed that Pelaria should move towards a council government, the Palace was opened up to the general population as a kind of cultural museum. Only the upper levels, where the king actually lives are closed off.

In addition to being the seat of government, Sixtus is also the cultural capital of Pelaria. Museums, libraries, art galleries, you name it, Sixtus has it. The Academy, the school of higher learning, is also based in Sixtus, although there are smaller branches spread across theland.

As one would expect from the largest city in the land, you can find anything and everything in Pelaria. Although the Coven makes its official home in Northend, they conduct extensive business in Sixtus as well.

With so much going on in Sixtus, it only makes sense that it is the place I call home. I will periodically return to Sixtus for long stretches between travels to make use of its libraries to research my stories.

Carja’s Notes:

Sixtus was originally going to be called Unity. It’s a name I was going to use in another project of mine. It made more sense though that the furs in Pelaria would name their capital city after the Six Heroes that started the Awakening.

Funnies? But They’re Not Funny?

 Carja's Corner  No Responses »
Dec 122011
 

What makes something funny? I wish I knew, because then I could make sure that every strip I draw is HI-larious. As it is, I’m aiming for mostly amusing…for youngsters. If anybody over the age of 12 finds my strips consistently funny, that’s just gravy. But what’s funny for one person might be incredibly lame for somebody else.

Punchline or delivery? Is what the comedian saying really that funny or is it in the presentation? Jerry Seinfeld’s whole schtick is that he takes everyday observations and tells them in a funny way.

I heard or read something the other day. I seem to recall it was Fab who said it to me, but I’m not sure. Jim Henson played a big role in our formative years, isn’t it just normal then, that we find the Muppets funny? In other words, are we predisposed to finding certain things funny or do we learn what we think is funny? I think it’s a combination of the two because if for example. we all grew up watching Sesame Street, why wouldn’t you find Cookie Monster as funny as I do?

I think it’s also safe to say that your state of mind has an effect on what you find funny. How many times have you found something funnier when you were tired? Things you normally find funny aren’t always as funny when you’re angry, are they?

I like puns and wordplay, the lamer the better. I don’t necessarily find them laugh out loud funny, but they amuse me. For YEARS whenever anybody would say to me, “I’m hungry” or “I’m tired,” I would respond with, “Hi, I’m James, pleased to meet you.” I’ve laid off actually SAYING it in recent years, but it’s still the first thing I think of when I hear somebody say it.

I also love a good non sequitur or goofy tall tales (not tall tales about Goofy). Anybody can spout out gibberish, but to compose a narrative out of your gibberish is an art!

On the other hand, I’m not a big fan of bodily function humour. I can’t say that I NEVER laugh at them, but I find it very lazy humour. I hope to never resort to using a fart joke in Animus Funnies (unless of course, the setup is just to HI-larious to pass up).

I don’t find shows like 30 Rock or The Office all that funny. I also hate Borat and I dislike also just about anything that Will Ferrell cranks out (The Other Guys was alright). Yet I’m told these are the height of comedy (at least right now). I found the Gamer Gurls parody of Katy Perry’s California Gurls condescending and mocking because it portrayed nerds and geeks in a bad light (while trying to make the girls look awesome for liking the exact same things) and yet I really like The Big Bang Theory, which features some unflattering nerd stereotypes.

So what’s funny to you?

Crossover Picture Pieces

 Artwork  No Responses »
Dec 102011
 

One of the advantages to doing digital artwork is that when I draw big set pieces like the Fun ‘n’ Fantasy / Age of Animus crossover promo piece, I can “cheat” by breaking things down into smaller segments that I then cut and paste together. This makes everything much more manageable. Here then are the individual drawings that made up the whole:

Fab and Red Rich (I ended up going with Blue Rich over Red Rich because the black parts of Red Rich’s costume blended in with Fab’s hair)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank and Barnaby:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James, Nektara and Cyran:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim and Big Oonch:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joss and Sass:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin and Todrick:

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