FurStarter
The Week in Naked (NSFW)
The latest adult projects from Offbeatr (okay, and one refugee from Kickstarter…)
Once again, a sultry figure leans against the wall, concealed by dark shadows behind the “Offbeatr” headquarters. He, or she, or possibly they, stretch a leg out, coquettishly showing a paw, and whispers in a husky voice–to clarify, a low gravely voice, though it may actually be a husky’s voice, no judging, “Don’t worry, sailor, I don’t bite. And I just got brushed so I’m not half so much an allergy trigger.”
You check your wallet, check the pledge points, and say, “Why not. They take Paypal now.”
Primal: A Fine Art Photo Series and Book
Kickstarter ending 2/11/14
A few years ago there was a beautiful photo collection called “Beasts,” by David Sprigle. I guess “beautiful” is a matter of taste, it was a collection of 100 artsy, mostly black and white, photos of male models and animal imagery–sometimes pastoral, playful, monstrous, suggestive, fantastical, hot, or occasionally just plain weird. This compilation is of a kind, though it’s a little more colorful, and more “art-nude” and much less gay-porny.
As a collection of human nudes, this obviously is a few steps out of the “furry fandom” world. But one of our staff criteria for fur-friendly projects are those that sit at the intersection of animal imagery and artistic fun–even if they’re not specifically anthropomorphic. This project is pretty firmly at that street corner, a collection of arty, sexy nudes bound together with a loose theme of animalistic props, poses, and plots. A portion of the portfolio is available online, so there’s some excellent sneak preview material there.
Again, not for everyone, particularly if you’re upset by real fur, or just came for the cartoons. But if you have a more totemic idea of anthropomorphism, or just like looking at attractive models playing at being feral beasts, you might like to glance over this one.
Mogi Origins
Offbeatr ending 3/18/14
Maybe Mogi is only tangentally furry, but it falls into the “fandom-friendly” world of Mario references, Neko cat girls, and big-eyed anime characters, and might be worth a look–particularly if your ears perk up at “cute kitty girls.” It’s a platformer following the side-scrolling adventures of Voms, a mechanic at the hentai equivalent of Jurassic Park. Somehow–you’d never believe it, but it’s true–an accident causes a horde of “MoGi” (monster girls) to descend upon the citizens of the island in a somewhat rapey flood.
I’ve been clicking around Offbeatr for a while now, I don’t think I’ve seen the “sex scenes as stretch goal” before. Usually sex scenes are assumed on Offbeatr.
I’ve watched FAR more than my share of SailorMoon in my life, and I know that when the youma attack, you gotta beat some youma. Still, there’s something about playing a bouncy side-scrolling mechanic and kicking pumpkin girls in the head or beating them up with a HUGE monkey wrench that seems…a little off. I don’t know. The viewing and pledging populace seems to have made their mind up, the project’s funded with a month left on the clock. Poke around the project page or the blog–there’s a demo version there somewhere–maybe it’s good for a laugh, maybe it’s just a little sinister. Maybe I’m reading too much into it and should go back to “Primal.”
The King and Guin: Slaves of the Tentacle
Offbeatr ending 3/19/14
Ironically, of the video game about jiggly hentai girls with pumpkins for breasts and a gay porn fanfic about Japanese leopard-warrior Guin and Capcom’s fighting lion Leo, the two barbarian warriors locked in sticky bondage in a cavern of very…thirsty tentacle plants, the barbarians actually have bigger tits.
There. I said it. Now I can get on with this blurb.
FA artist Furious has a strong fan base and four comic titles already out at Furplanet, so you can check them out at the Furplanet table at the next big con. With that kind of support he’s well past is very modest goal of $600, starting to work his way through his stretch goals. I suspect that the comic’s real goal is $5000, when Furious’s muscle-loving fans will get their barbarians in full color.
There’s a bit of tongue-in-cheek here, Furious has a sense of humor and his stupendously huge barbarians are not without their occasional comedy beat. But his shtick is “fierce and muscular,” with proportions that only intersect with the real world on the occasional “One Weird Muscle-Building Trick” pop-up ad, and Guin and Leo have a lot of company in Furious’s portfolio. But if there’s not a joke buried in “a deadly cavern of cum-guzzling tentacle plants” somewhere, I’m going to be sad.
KinkyFUR Collection #1
Offbeater Pre-Voting Period
Okay, showing my ignorance. I’m not sure what a Futa girl is. Google says it’s somehow related to the federal unemployment tax, but that really doesn’t seem relevant.
KinkyFUR is a collection of anthropomorphic girls in bondage–there’s a few guys, at least one Bowser, but emphasis on thhe ladies–with a generous side of video game imagery, keeping it playful, with Mario’s cheerful red venus flytrap filling in for hentai rapetacles,
The project is being developed by two contributors. The first artist, Ligertits, looks like she’s contributed to other Offbeatr-fronted portfolios, hentai being well-represented on the internet’s crowdpornfunding home. Check her art tumblr for some of her projects. Her co-conspirator, Seinobyte, has a small gallery on SoFurry.
I’m curious to see where this goes. It’s got a high goal and is off to a slow start on Kickstarter, and I’m not seeing any real publicity on the interwebs, and neither seems to have a strong fan base on FA. Without some real effort at publicity–crowdfunding rule #1, nothing goes viral unless you MAKE it go viral–it’s going to gather dust. Still, it’s hard to know what’s going to grab Offbeatr’s attention.
Credit where credit’s due: picture “Scaredy-cat” by Oxymoronical on Flickr. Thank you for keeping it “CC”! Other images are the property of crowdfunding artists and are used here to promote their projects.
Pool Sharks and Dirty Rats: Mob Town
A game of jazz-age shenanigans, secret agendas, hostile takeovers, and foxes for 2-4 players…
Mob Town is a family-friendly card game from 5th Street Games, seating from 2-4 players (though it may play better with 3 or 4). Players take the role of an up-and-coming crime syndicate, taking over towns one business at a time. Play’s easy, with elements of “Ticket to Ride” and some of the geometry of a streamlined “Illuminati: New World Order.”
Here’s the furry tie-in: how effective you are at claiming a business depends on the animals in your employ. Sharks are really good at taking over gaming halls, rats really, really love restaurants, foxes love show biz, and so on. 12 of these businesses are put into play, creating a random Anytown. Then the feeding frenzy begins: swap, hire, scheme, buy, and co-opt as fast as you can, because the next card might be the police dog.
A game’s made up of three rounds, each round representing a town the players are fighting over. The lowest-scoring player each round starts the next round, so they get a little bit of an edge to help keep things competitive. Rounds are scored based on how many properties you’ve claimed and what hidden agendas you’ve accomplished, giving you a few different paths to victory. With only a few different card types play’s pretty streamlined; for more advanced play, the “City Limits” expansion adds local landmarks, named personalities, and cities with their own unique rules, and an early Stretch Goal adds a cooperative and solo mode. Another early stretch is the “Daily News” category, which sounds a bit like your typical “events” category.
The game’s rules are simple and easy to pick up, though a little abstract since they tend to rely on card placement and positioning–you may want to check the playthrough video on Bower’s Game Corner to get a clearer idea of game play and see if it’s your thing.
The art of “Mob Town” is strong, cartoony and charismatic. Thumbs up for the fox moll and the weasels, the german shepherd police dog’s a little lackluster, lacking the charming charicature style of the rest of the troop, but nothing’s perfect. Artist Danny Divine has progress art and some of his other work at his personal blog–he’s also got an interview on Hyperbole Games. For not being a card-carrying furry (as far as I know, anyway) the graphics and presentation have some strong fandom appeal.
The Kickstarter itself has a clean layout with big obvious infographics, the kind of clear presentation that makes a tabletop game kickstarter really sing. Not a huge surprise, as 5th Street Games has six successful kickstarters under their belt. And somehow, they’re able to offer free international shipping–and I have NO idea how that works. Star Trek transporters may be involved.
The international appeal continues with a little bit of word-of-mouth energy: the more “shares” the project’s elevator speech vid gets on youtube, the more foreign currencies and police uniforms available in the international releases. Neat–an incentive to repost the video that actually enhances the game!
Those “pros” said, I am a little concerned over the “pledge for six complete packages!” contributor levels, Kickstarter has at times been against the “retail package” style of advanced pledge point, and these could be volatile.
All in all, it looks like a nice game to bring out at furry board game nights, a good edition to the shelf–light strategy, good art, a modest sense of humor, and rules that create a variety of scenarios. With a strong lead (halfway to goal on day two) and a creator with an established history on Kickstarter, there’s not a lot of risk. Definitely worth a look!
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Furfunding Week in Review 1-26-14
Furfunding Week in Review 1-26-14
This week’s illustration is from the kickstarter for Wrong Neko by Frictionist.
Apologies, I’d been in the habit of holding off for a big, fun project that I want to write about to do these “week in review” posts. Whatever that one big project is I haven’t seen it, but there’s been nearly two dozen smaller, more focused, more niche, or just 20 degrees off topic over the last week. I guess the holiday slump is over!
A small callout to a relatively new website, Fursday, who’s taking a tilt at the “furry news and views” windmill with curated content every week–with a monthly crowdfunding featured project :) Good luck!
New Projects
For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out our Project Page and the Patreon Page!
Wrong Neko Stickers: The Reprint (Ends: 1/31/2014)
Cute “designer toy” styled nekos in sticker form, in a variety of styles, by Frictionist.
Squeak’s Audio Dramas (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Audio Dramas by Squeak, revolving (as ponies do) around the adventures of Dr Whooves
Vextrous’s Pony remixes (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Pony and video game music and remixes by Khan. KHAAAAAAN!!!
Patreon seems have a lot of “eh, I’ll just post something, whatevs” going on :(
Beast Knights V1: Darkness Falls (Ends: 2/19/2014)
Four soldiers transformed through sorcery into beast warriors fight…uh…Darkness.
Dear video: Please get to the ^@#$ing point and cut the background dance music…
The Cursed and the Damned (Ends: 2/21/2014)
Werewolves (and other weres) play The Most Dangerous Game in this graphic novel.
Keetah Spacecat (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Art and illustrations and a sci-fi webcomic by Keetah Spacecat
Kitsune (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Ongoing funding for Akita’s “Kitsune” webcomic. Very pretty work!
Crystal Mountain Pony Con Medallions (Ends: 3/8/2014)
A little extra funding for CMPC14 in the form of one-time medallions.
Interesting concept, but seems like it might detract from the CMPC funding concept. Hmm.
Fursona Non Grata: The Fursuits (Ends: 3/18/2014)
Fursona Non Grata, the comedy/drama about a family of furs embracing a non-furry fiancee, crowdfunding for costumes.
This…didn’t do very well at all last time
Krazy Kats Playing Cards (Ends: 2/7/2014)
A full deck of wacky cartoon cats, 54 cards!
Dragon ScaleS: Playing Cards (Ends: 2/16/2014)
A deck of heavily illustrated dragon-themed playing cards
Fantastic Fur Superhero Teddy Bear Playing Cards (Ends: 2/20/2014)
a full deck of bears and their super powers.
These ideas, they must be expressed! :)
Huggable Dragon Plus (Ends: 2/6/2014)
Preliminary launch for huggable dragon plush concept
I’m not sure about this business model. Pay $100 for a $100 coupon? Basically preselling, but something seems out of place here. Still, at half of goal.
Fuku Plush Project (Ends: 2/15/2014)
Plush kittens based on the ubiquitous “lucky cat” character
Zombie Cat & Zombie Dog Plus (Ends: 2/18/2014)
Pretty darn cute raver-green zombie plushes
Okay, once in a while something escapes from the wastebin of the ongoing zombie meme to be worth looking at…
Cosplay Cats (Ends: 3/10/2014)
Chibi kitties dressed up in cosplay favorites, on tiny acrylic charms.
Mogi: Origins (Ends: 3/18/2014)
Strange, NSFW large-breasted girls fighting game. Tangentally furry, in a “cute but weird” sort of way.
King & Guin (Ends: 3/19/2014)
Heavily muscled lions and leopards in this strapping nude barbarian graphic novel by Furious
Zambies! The Card Game (Not yet launched): Cute zombie–excuse me, zambie–duelling game by kittenfrmhell
Furfunding Week in Review 1-13-14
This week’s illustration is from the kickstarter for Nature Hater by Adam Comiskey.
Wow, three weeks between posts? I’d say “mea culpa,” but there just weren’t that many major projects. Let the minor projects wash over you like a mighty flood.
In other news, the busy dogs at Furstarter are trying to solve the problem of “how to display Patreon “sustained crowdfunding” projects in a way that’s interesting and fair?” Draft One’s here…but we’re looking for a better answer.
And a little thank you to Julian Bynoe, who gave me a surprise walk-on part for Christmas :) What a nice little treat!
This week’s reviews: Rick Griffin’s Patreon campaign for Housepets and other projects, and the wolfy walfy underground anthology comic, “Wolfen Jump.”
Reviews
New Projects
For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page!
ArtDrawPonies (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
MLP Fanart by DrawPonies.
Primal: Art Photo Book (Ends: 2/11/2014)
Artistic nudes juxtaposing human forms and animal imagery
Partial not-very-SFW gallery here….
Kola the Kitten (Ends: 1/30/2014)
Disgustingly cute magic kitten gets its own children’s book. Oh, the cute.
Sunnyville Stories V1 (Ends: 2/12/2014)
Re-edition of indie comic “slice of life” stories. Issue 1 is available at the Sunnyville website.
These are…screamingly bad. But kind of charming in a weird way.
Wolfen Jump (Ends: 2/17/2014)
A wolf-saturated underground-style anthology graphic novel, loaded with anthro characters in a variety of styles, but mostly wolves.
Check out their web edition here!
Shivae Studios Graphic Novels (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Support for Shivae Studios, creator of furry webcomic The Cyantian Chronicles
Inhuman Comic (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Sci-fi webcomic–not so much with the furry, but loaded with demi-humans, talking animals, and dragons!
Realistic Animal Costume Ears (Ends: 2/9/2014)
Cute and fuzzy fox ears with realistic fur shading
Canterlot University (Ends: 3/1/2014)
Celebrating the Year of the Horse with a new ponycon in Singapore
Dawgtown Phase 2 (Ends: 2/2/2014)
The Dawgtown animated feature, Watership Down meets Gladiator (but with dogs), seeking funding for staff and production
Zoochosis: A Short Documentary (Ends: 2/7/2014)
A film about the abnormal behavior patterns of animals housed in zoos
KristinMadeStuff Acrylic Charms (Ends: 2/5/2014)
Cute animals in tiny acrylic charms!
So, “Acrylic animal tags” is a genre, but the gray wolf is “stop the bus” cute…
NatureHater (Ends: 2/12/2014)
Side-scrolling shooter. Dean the Platypus has a HUGE chip on his shoulder, and he’s taking it out on the entire damn ecosystem. Nature…nature must die.
Baraking Webcomics Funding (Patreon Ongoing Funding)
Furry yaoi comics by Baraking.
Hmm…young artist and new. It’s nice stuff, but seeking funding without a deep background…
Adventure-Pom Road Trip! (Ends: 2/2/2014): Captain Henry Gingersnaps, clearly a pomeranian of action, goes on a photo-book adventure!
Music for the Island of Dr Moreau (Ends: 2/7/2014): Throwback to our Victorian furbears, funding the soundtrack for a dramatization of Wells’ tale of man’s inhumanity to manbeasts.
Perth Mermaids (Ends: 2/14/2014): Care and maintenance for Australia’s resident mermaids. I didn’t know Australia HAD mermaids.
Mulmino (Ends: 3/12/2014): Graphic novel project. Just bizaare, go read. “Mulmino is a biologically fine engineered creature with single head and many physiques…there would not be anymore biological evolution process in the earth after Mulmino. Mulmino will be the most intelligent and rational being in this planet.” To license Mulmino, please send money. Life is full of mysteries.
Such Big Teeth: Wolfen Jump
Underground anthology comic stuffed with more wolves than the elevator at FC…
There’s indie comics–artsy and thoughtful with quirky characters, playful, dialog-based, gentle little fantasies, serious little slices of life. The Flight anthology series springs to mind, but there’s dozens of titles out there. Heck, one of the granddaddy indies is even furry, kind of–thank you, Maus.
And then there’s the world of underground comix, sleazy, psychedelic–not necessarily “adult” in the NSFW sense of the word, but certainly with a college audience. Robert Crumb‘s their poster child–grungy, trippy, satirical, maybe raunchy.
Take a little of column A, a little of column B, mix them together, and COVER IN FUR, and you’ve got Wolfen Jump, the wolf-themed–I’m sorry, walf-themed indie comic anthology. You can see all of issue one in glorious semicolor on Tumblr, and it’s absolutely worth the read, a long tour of loosely-themed comix, with a big pack of artists and styles.
So, yeah, there’s the entire comic. What’s the Indiegogo campaign for? Short answer: Buy the book. For just $20 you can take your walfs home, a 24-artist anthology. Slightly more involved answer, the deadline for submissions for Volume 2 is August 15, and there’s plans in place for the next print anthology. So this is the support callout–support the walfs, support the book, maybe get the awesome “walf house party” poster. It’s all really good.
I want to say something about the structure of the IGG project page itself, but there’s not a lot to say. Look! Buttons! Books! Rewards! Commissions! Y’all know the drill. Enjoy the walves, friends.
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Griffin, Housepets, and the New Medicis
Puppies and patronage models with Rick Griffin’s “Housepets”…
So…this is about Rick Griffin’s “Housepets” and his new crowdfunding campaign. But, really, it isn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Griffin’s three-per-week comic. What’s not to love? If you like your cats and dogs cute and cuddly, your wolves just this side of beefcake, a little bit of magic, a little bit of drama, a little bit of angst, just a dash of interspecies relationship weirdness…it’s a fun world. There’s even a little bit of challenge to the reader–what does it mean to be a pet in a world where animals can answer the phone and hold down a job? What does it mean to be a human in that world?
I’ve consistently enjoyed Housepets for a few years now, it’s usually funny, occasionally sweet. And there’s even cheap D&D and LARP jokes. If I was going to criticize it, there’s a bit of a shortage of strong female characters, but that seems to be changing as the series matures.
Anyway, I’m really not talking about Housepets, though I’m happy to gush about my favorite webcomic. No, I’m really talking about Griffin’s new campaign on Patreon; ever since my friends at The Furry Agenda mentioned it to me, I’ve been itching for a chance to claw that box open. So, Mr. Griffin, I’m really just using you shamelessly. Thank you.
Kickstarter is about the product launch, above all else. It builds up expectations, assumes a deadline, demands a release date. Indiegogo can be used for annual fundraisers, and Offbeatr can be used for ongoing digital sales, but their culture is pretty firmly in the world of due-dates and delivery timetables.
Artists don’t tend to work like that–and by artists I also mean musicians, writers, journalists, cartoonists, bloggers (go team), youtubers…all us content providers. Patreon is crowdfunding for the long haul, stream-based micropayments for the Internet’s workhorses.
How does it work? In Griffin’s case, he commits to providing entertainment in the form of a month of webcomic silliness. In return, a patron might promise to give him $3 for that month. If both promises are kept, Griffin goes home with a fat $3, and can buy himself a candy bar. Of course it doesn’t stop there, and Mr. Griffin is now going to make a tidy $500+ per strip–it’s not a living wage, yet, but it does pay for the electricity. And Griffin gets an audience for some of his non-”Housepet” projects.
Other furry creators have asked for pledges on a per painting (podcast, webcomic…) basis, weekly basis, per album or portfolio…there’s some variety.
And what else does the patron get? I mean, the stuff’s going to be posted anyway, right? Artists gotta art, and all. Patrons might get access to a monthly webchat, a draw from a goody grab-bag, a print of the month, special callouts, walk-on roles…you name it. The usual array for a crowdfunded “gimmie,” but again, with an eye toward long-term, sustaining, relationship-building.
I spent a few hours dipping into the furry side of Patreon, there’s a few of us there…mostly bronies, with a heavy helping of MLP:FIM commentary video streams (don’t laugh, please don’t laugh, some of them are bringing in nearly $450 an episode!) But as an intrinsically creative community, I expect to see a slow trickle of Patreon patronage as we trip forward.
A few gems from Patreon:
Reviewing is Magic: One of several MLP analysis streams on youtube, but one of the better ones! Witty commentary, fair-to-middling animation, and a charming British accent puts this one ahead of the herd.
Kenno Arkkan’s My Life With Fel: A colorful webcomic with a vast range of visual styles, from realism to abstraction, with touches of Chris Goodwin (particularly in Kenno’s variety). Hard to describe, but worth a tour.
The Unicorn Hunt: A chatty pair goes on tongue-in-cheek unicorn hunts through their local neighborhood, dipping into DIY crafts and baking. Youtube stream and art/crafts tumblr.
Kwik: FA artist Kwik’s artist patronage page, offering insider art opportunities and smut perusal opportunities (“smutportunties” from now on).
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Furfunding Week in Review 12-22-13
This week’s illustration is from the kickstarter for The Bunny Story by Sheharzad Arshad.
Still only a trickle of furry-friendly projects this week–well, these two weeks–but some really strong ones! In particular, Antilia stands out as what’ll probably be the big furry crowdfunding project of the year, a richly-realized anthro fantasy MMORPG.
This week’s reviews: Antilia of course; an assortment of adult projects on Offbeatr; Face recognition and red panda fun with Facerig; and the strange world of Art of an Alien Planet.
Reviews
New Projects
For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page!
ArtThe Schizo Cats of Louis Wain (Ends: 1/10/2014)
A 2014 calendar featuring the 100-year-old psychadelic and surreal art of Louis Wain, cat fancier. Amazing stuff.
Animals of North America: A Whimsical Nature Study (Ends: 1/18/2014)
Charming and ridiculously life-sized static cling decals of bears, lynx, and other wildlife
The Bunny Story (Ends: 1/17/2014)
Charming bunnies in times of war, strife, and violence. Not a children’s book, but in the style of one, touched with horror.
Reminds me a bit of “Maus,” one of the anthro comics that helped kick off the modern Indie comic movement. Conceptually, at least, much cuter than Maus.
Art of an Alien Planet (Ends: 2/19/2014)
Dark and detailed encyclopedia of alien life on a far-away superearth.
More of Rose Morgan‘s art on FurAffinity.
Pandoo Nation (Ends: 1/20/2014)
Game and social networking project with activities for kids, featuring cute little meerkat folk.
Crystal Mountain Pony Con 2014 (Ends: 2/10/2014)
Fundraiser for Salt Lake City’s ponycon
FaceRig (Ends: 2/5/2014)
Webcam-based platform that transforms your face into an articulate, animated avatar. It’s very “Avatar.”
OMG RED PANDA. Smug red panda, flirty red panda…so much panda.
Antilia (Ends: 1/28/2014)
MMORPG featuring anthro animals in a rich, magical world.
At least one of Antilia’s artists, Tettix, is sharing on FurAffinity, more info there!
Horse Hung (Offbeatr Prevoting Period)
Graphic novel project: gym bunnies (and boars), a little coming-out drama, and a lot of full-frontal.
Skink’s snake plushies (Ends: 1/15/2014): Cartoony and cute plush snakes by Paint on FundMe. (Friends don’t let friends use FundMe.)
…CausesStop the Yu-Lin Dog Meat Festival (Ends: 2/9/2014): Campaign to advocate for dogs and animal welfare in China and Taiwan, and end a dogs-as-meat annual festival
…Just For FunJaguardini (Ends: 1/17/2014): 8 bit and 16 bit-infused electronica, animal imagery and a fuzzy cat hat. Fun logo with a CGA jaguar. Is he a furry? I’m not sure…maybe in an alternate life…
Flicks for Fido (Ends: 1/29/2014): Dog’s-eye view movies for Fido, shot with a dog’s frame rate and color palette in mind. Interesting background noise for a meet!
Such people in it: Art of an Alien Planet
Life and technology of a far-away world…
Art of an Alien Planet
Maybe this one’s not “furry.” It is definitely an anthropomorphic project, and it’s good to have the difference underlined occasionally. But I have a soft spot for the “tour of an alien world” sci-fi subgenre, it gives the authors and artists a chance to build a complex environment, logically extrapolate the way its native species have evolved and adapted to its challenges, and then extend the details like a complex crystalline structure. So, in the spirit of Fantastic Planet (but well-researched) and Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials (but readable), Rose “Glitterguts” Morgan gives us Art of an Alien Planet.
AOAP is, in its final grand vision, a three-part project: the literally encyclopedic volume of Art of an Alien Planet, and down the road, a video game and graphic novel. Morgan’s first love and big source of inspiration is the world-building of MMOs and sandbox games, and AOAP may be step one in building that sandbox. And it’s an impressive sandbox.
It’s probably worth pointing out before we go much further that at present the work Morgan’s posted for the book is a bit on the raw side–very nice stuff, particularly her architecturals and landscapes, but not final product. I wouldn’t be surprised if her final project is a mix of these not-so-rough roughs and lush illustrations like “Here to Stay” above, which in its full form is exquisite, edging into Dark Natasha territory (and bear in mind that this is an artist early in her career, not a professional who’s been around since furries escaped their bondage in Egypt). And frankly, what Morgan sees as her raw work is pretty darn good.
AOAP is a lovingly detailed tome about the world of Hyaline, a planet some four times the mass of Earth, populated by multiple sentient species, separated by oceans and vast planetary to such a degree that species could evolve reasonably unmolested, with a range of culture and technologies. We meet two of these races on Morgan’s IGG campaign, and they’re frightening–none of the sympathetically human “aliens” from Avatar, these are generally creatures, more than a little bit disturbing, though not without beauty.
(Glitterguts lives in Australia so she won’t be able to punch me if I said that my working titles for these races are “sabre-tooth devilroo” and “angry angry angelbat.”)
Beyond these sentient creatures, the IGG page and Morgan’s tumblr are full of strange landscapes and critters–though her Tumblr is mostly an exploration of her artistic process. I’m curious to know if there are recognizably “furry” creatures in Hyaline–some of Morgan’s gallery artwork blends her luminescent and befanged aliens with more traditional-looking anthro species. Maybe she’ll develop that over time.
Glancing over Morgan’s gallery, her work tends toward dark and sombre, with touches of the macabre (if not outright horror). So it’s worth noting that this is not a kid’s project. I’m just the tiniest bit reminded of Barlowe’s Inferno, a brooding and well-reasoned write-up of Hell. Morgan’s Hyaline is of course a “real” world, not a baroque and mad exploration of pure evil, the echo is more in methodology than in tone–though there’s just the smallest whiff of brimstone in Morgan’s project.
Looking at the IGG project itself: overall, it seems to be staged funding, the first wave of a small series, to get initial capital for the time and resources to complete the book. The timetable for contributor perks is clearly stated–early premiums (tees, prints and stickers, all that good swag) seem to be set for a March 2014 delivery date, with an August delivery for the book. Morgan suggests six months out, plus printing and delivery. Given the level of detail of her illustration, that seems optimistic, but Glitterguts seems to have a clear plan of her time use.
And HUGE points for being brave, having a plan, and going with all-or-nothing funding. Business plan confidence is a big confidence-builder in crowdfunding, and IGG’s “flexible funding” can be an obvious band-aid over an ill-conceived plan. Excellent choice.
Her video has a bit of the “passionate amateur informing the camera” feel, though she is passionate. But of the projects I’ve reviewed in this blog, Morgan’s project write-up is one of the most professional I’ve seen (particularly for a single person rather than a small company, and double-particularly on Indiegogo). Her terms clearly stated with excellent writing, little or no ambiguity to murk up the waters of communication. From a purely business perspective, it’s a really strong pitch, with both artistic and practical/logistical detail, well worth a look.
All illustrations used in this post have been used with kind permission of the artist to promote her project, and should not be edited or repurposed.
Facerig: Avatar for $15
Real-time face animation for your mobile or PC, for gaming, chats, and film recording…
At some point, every furry has asked themselves this question: Why can’t I be a red panda with goggles? Isn’t modern anthropomorphic science up to the task?
Yes, yes it is.
FaceRig, now on Indiegogo, is a real-time animation software application for your webcam or mobile device, which transforms the user’s facial into the actions of an on-screen character. We deeply respect the FaceRig’s team’s decision to go with a fuzzy red panda as their main example character, and will honor their wishes here. They use the term “Digital Alter-Ego Framework” to describe their project, which is a bit wordy but, useful.
Still shots don’t do FaceRig justice, because the product’s really about motion and voice, so…watch the video. Experience the panda. Because when the actress’s “digital alter-ego” wiggles its little nose, you’ll melt.
What else, what else…FaceRig’s main focus is on chatstuff, Skype and GoogleHangouts, the livestreaming channel TwitchTV, and such. FaceRig’s a general interaction tool, and that covers a lot of ground. It also records to video, and with the ability to add props, voice alteration, music and sound effects, and custom backgrounds (which, happily, affect the ambient and direct lighting on the digital avatar), provides a fair amount of utility for making films. Initially the program plans to launch with 10 characters–we’ve seen the red panda, Anime girl, some sort of devil, and a scary military fellow for narrating real-time shooters. Their ongoing business model assumes occasional new characters as purchasable add-ons at a reasonable price. Users can presumably develop their own, but your mileage may vary.
We are also promised a karaoke mode, which Satan Himself is modeling at left. Merry Christmas!
The big open question for this project is, “What’s next?” Unfortunately, as some of my friends pointed out, the dev team isn’t really working the stretch goals angle–and stretch goals aren’t just a cheesy way to get more money, they build energy and help your fans evangelize….”well, with just $4,000 more we could get PAWS!” sort of thing. The team talks a lot about where they’re heading, but with few seriously concrete details–expand to include input from LEAP Motion, Kinect, Neuroband, and other commercially available sensors, expand the what-all Facerig tracks. Neat stuff, and there’s talk of mapping out proper stretch goals, but at launch, no, not yet.
On the subject of the crowdfunding elements of the project–damn, this should have been launched on Kickstarter, it’s a solid product. It’s been pointed out to me that it’s an international campaign and seems to be launching a beta version instead of a final product, and Kickstarter doesn’t like to pay for salaries/overhead and test batches. And a minor note from a crowdfunding aficionado, nice navigation! I haven’t seen anyone use anchors to guide the reader like this, it’s a good touch.
Holotech Studios, the project’s developers, have some useful partners. They’re working with Visage Technologies, a team that helped create some of the current face and body digitizing standards. Check out their page for interesting wire-frame models and a fun aside about virtual eyewear modeling. They’re halfway to goal as of day 3, and currently the #1 “new project” on IndieGogo, so glad to see IGG’s mythical “GoGo Factor” is working for someone. Good luck!
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Epic Tails: Antilia
Explore a virtual world of magic, strange gods, and clashing cultures in what may turn out to be the definitive furry video game experience…
Antilia
Note: I’m linking the graphics in this article to their originals, so click around. The original illustrations are much stronger than the thumbnails here!
Once in a great while, someone says, “I’d like to do something nice for the furries.”
Treasure those moments. They’re rare things, and Antilia is one of them.
Antilia, a MMORPG launching on Kickstarter, is set in a unique magical world, one where the gods walk and magic is as much a part of life as art and music. Strange stars hang in the sky during the day, and the night is lit by twisting tendrils of magical light.
Unique, yes, but not without its antecedents. Long-time furry gamers might feel the game’s inspiration in World Tree. There are similarities. In both, the gods are active and vital parts of the world, and walk beside their most beloved species, divine and worldy at the same time, and magic is a simple and natural part of life. Also, there are dragons. The world has the quirky charm of a landscape shaped to tell a story of cultures and civilizations. Not an unfavorable comparison (and I’d be more surprised if the authors had read World Tree, small print and quirky as it is). Antilia‘s world is special.
There are, of course, some RPG tropes. Take the race list. In fact, furries should probably jump immediately to the race list, just to make sure they’re properly represented. Pre-stretch goal, options include felo, kisan…ah, to heck with it. Roos, wolves, elk, cats, and foxes, along with their attendant gods (Fox fans will be happy to know that the fox gods live in obscene luxury and vice. Go, foxes.) Together, these are the Taipii, shaped into distinctive strains, but still one adaptable, artistic race. Beneath the ground are…well, not dwarves, but a hard-working race of industrious and occasionally greedy engineers, the Reisuii. Personally, give me a squirrel who’s harnessed the power of STEAM over Torin Oakenshield and his musty beardy cousins any day. The Reisuii and the mystical dragonish Sakii aren’t playable, at least in Antilia‘s initial vision, but they sure are pretty!
The concept art for Antilia is lush, a nicely-realized fantasy world. I’ve downloaded more than a few of them to my “favorites” folder already. As for the game graphics–hard to say at this point, since the game is in alpha test. Apparently, the World of Forra is either a rather dark place, or the gamma on my monitor is wonky. Regardless, I’d rather stare at the swishing tail of the game’s ringtail character than a Dark Elf butt.
The kickstarter itself is compelling, if a little wordy, but it’s got a lot to touch on–a host of game system elements (journals, party trackers and builders, economies and crafting, screen types, weather, in-character tomes, playing with dolls–wait, that should be “character building,” apologies. The list is long. Plenty of concept art and game maps, too, with nice info-graphics. Also very, very clever: clicking around on the website will turn up a press kit to make spreading the word easier (and thank you so much for that!) So some excellent tools for getting the message out. Hours after launch the game’s already at a tenth of goal, a strong start to what will hopefully be a successful launch.
Also. Naming your own virtual island? Priceless.
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
(NSFW) Sticky and Different: The Month in Offbeatr
It’s December, and if that very special and perhaps a little depraved someone in your life needs the gift of a big-breasted transgender lupine Choose Your Own Adventure, amply-endowed unguligrade gym bunnies, frolicking and buxom pony satire, or digimon with riding crops and possibly stiletto heels, Offbeatr has something for you. Also, your SO’s needs are very specific and couples-therapy may be in your future.
Just saying.
Ex Gender: A Wolf in Stilettos
Project ending 12/30/13
Wish fulfillment fic with a bit of Mary Sue is totally okay as long as it’s cute. And Ex Gender, catering as it does primarily to a few specific interests–gender transformation and massive breasts chief among them, may not be everybody’s cup of tit. Tea. 
But the artist DracoJeff goes in for expressive characters, working the american manga style fluently with art that steps outside kink and could easily appeal to anyone with a love for manga style, cute wolf guys, and a little playful dominance/submission.
The project, which is funded to the tune of $8000 now, and trending higher, is an interactive CD graphic novel, with a few plot variations, branching paths, music, and some clicking and scrolling to learn more about the characters (or scroll lovingly over a centerfold). It’s not quite a game, but Drayjay’s definitely letting his love of gaming peek through.
Nope, no biblical allusion here.
The plot–Phyco, young wolf, ready to pounce on the world, falls into–or walks into, or possibly embraces, he’s a changeable character–the strange experiments of Aphramars Industries, and finds himself in a female body not unlike Lady Death wearing a tight fur coat. With a cute little goatee. After that, internal conflict, personal growth, exploration, maybe even understanding, and probably a few steamy sex scenes.
Drayjay’s fan base blew through his high $5000 goal in, oh, about two days, and Drayjay’s plotting out new endings for higher goals. Take a look!
Playpony: Issue #2
Project ending 12/31/2013
The thing I like most about this project–well, besides the overall high production value of the art, the managers of this one are really picking their art for clean and professional–is the theme. Basing their project on another well-known intellectual property, Playpony is a mix of profiles, articles, fiction–but, mostly, pinup ponies.
Maybe not “pinup.” That sounds a little too innocent, and glancing over the preview of Issue #1 we’re several degrees higher on the pornometer than the Bit and Bridle calendar.
Each issue features a stable (heh) of regular artists, with an artist interview to keep it classy. There’s also the mandatory clopfic (it’s a word…) so you can say you were reading the articles, a bit of steamy comic fiction, and pictorial profiles from the “Mane 6″, popular background characters (Vinyl Scratch gets a lot of issue 1 to herself), a centerfold, and a celebrity guest. I know I’ve already said it, but I really like a project that really sticks to its theme, and Playpony picks a well-established theme and gallops with it.
DigiXXX Issue #1
Project ending 1/14/2014
I gotta say, after glancing over this project, which MUST be 100% canon material, I seriously misjudged Digimon, and may have to go back and buy the OAV set. I didn’t know just how many sex toys were involved in that series.
Bright and cheerful and soaked in both a certain charming irony and Veemon spooge, DarthGlacier has lovingly illustrated what happens when all that reconfigurable digimon digital DNA gets just a little bit corrupt. I’m falling in love with how big-eyed and friendly Glacier’s characters are–really capturing the energy of the series!–while simultaneously brandishing a lurid green dildo. That…that’s panache. So far as orientation goes, DigiXXX should appeal to any digimonophile. [ed. note: at some point my spellchecker just gave up on this entry.]
So far as the DigiXXX Offbeatr business plan goes, seems sound. Once the crowdfunding period’s wrapped up, Glacier’s moving over to Rabbit Valley publishing–lower fees and a good furry distribution channel! So a large portion of her crowdfunding proceeds will go toward an initial print run. Since DigiXXX is about to break $1000 with a month to go, seems like an achievable goal.
A quick tour through DarthGlacier’s FA gallery shows a thick layer of Rule 34 sauce spread over several fandoms, particularly (and not surprisingly) Pokemon. Gotta catch them all, before they frighten the kids.
Horse Hung
Offbeatr Voting Pre-Launch Period
Horse Hung is the work-in-progress project of artist Panda Lover, who, you’ll be shocked to learn, really likes drawing buff, hard-working guys. He also promised to draw my scrawny spokesdog Corbeau before the FA Lockout of 12/2013…looking at the stars of Horse Hung, I’m not sure he can, those are some well-chiseled slabs of gym bunny!
From the sketch “storyboard” pages and dialogue–well, and the title–Horse Hung is solidly a work of gay furry porn, a no-nonsense sex comic. Which is not to say it’s plot-free. The main character, Dante, is dealing with getting his life in gear, out of school, and getting a late start on opening up to his changing sexual orientation. His closest friend Jenason, and the only on he trusts, might be able to help, but he’s straight. Add a predatory boar, and sad-puppy drama and steamy locker room sex ensues. At a goal of 100 pages, there’s probably room for plenty of story. Not sure there’s room for Jenason, though. Hello, title character.
I’m interested to see this one play out. PL’s goal is high compared to the other furry projects on Offbeatr, but as a print product, it’s going to take more costs to release, so it’s not an unreasonable goal and compares well to “similar” projects on Kickstarter. Also, it’s the first solidly gay project I’ve seen on Offbeatr in a few months, No Good Deed came close, but still tended toward general audiences. The only other purely gay project to succeed on Offbeatr this year (also furry) was “Hardblush Boystown” Good luck!
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Credit where it’s due: “Scared Cats” image used for main page icon adapted from “Scared Cats” by Paul Vaarkamp. Thank you, Paul!
Furfunding Week In Review 12.8.13
Thank you to Julian Bynoe, who wedged this illustration in between his current portfolio kickstarter and his several web projects. Good luck, Julian! Cropped from original for image ratio.
Furfunding Week in Review 12-8-13A bit of a slow week in furry crowdfunding this time around, with a few gems coming in on Saturday and Sunday–in particular, Rizzo Michelle’s art doll ponies, and Zodion, a sci-fantasy reimagining of the Zodiac.
To fill the aching void left by sudden appearances of wolf-people on Offbeatr, the staff at Furstarter spent some time fleshing out a Resource page, with suggestions for new crowdfunding campaigns and “unbiased” (hah) comparisons of the various crowdfunding platforms. Hope someone finds these useful, and feedback is appreciated!
Reviews
New Projects
For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page!
ArtZodion prints and stickers
Colorful sci-fi/fantasy illustrations inspired by the Zodiac
More illustrations on Meader’s Blog.
Alice in Wonderland Books, Prints
Lavishly illustrated and anthro-intensive Alice books and prints.
Fire and Bone
Tiny, digitally captured, metal animal skulls–sculpture and jewelry.
Ferrin Webcomic/Roleplaying Space
“Ferrin” webcomic with roleplaying community/forums, artwork (and Ferrin) by Demu Ferrin.
“Walk, Talk, Wolf” music video
Music and storyboard for music video loosely based on ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf,’ lots of animal themese throughout.
MLP Customizations and Art Dolls
Pop culture makeovers for vintage MLP dolls.
The Darth Vader is kind of amazing!
The Dancing Emu’s Fantasy Postcard Set (Ends: 12/26/2013): Fantasy watercolor cards by Teal Newcomb.
…Coming Soon?Beast’s Fury Arcade Sticks ((Not yet launched)): For the many furry fans of the Beast’s Fury campaign on Indiegogo, matching joysticks!
…MehFoxy/Quilly (Ends: 1/8/2014): IGG Relaunch of trailer campaign for Foxy & Quilly animated trailers, educational children’s series. Low goal+Flexible Funding and so-so conception, this doesn’t look like it’s going to happen
Myth 2.0: Zodion
A constellation of animal imagery from an alternate future. Not your grandmother’s zodiac.
Zodion
Because I’m about to spend 200-300 words gushing over this project, I’ve got to get this out of my system: “Zodion” is just a bit snickerable, so far as names go. It puts me in mind of a prescription painkiller. There, I’ve said it, I can move on now.
When she’s not creating names for Big Pharmaco, artist Tori Meader illustrates the stars.
Or at least, the zodiac. Possibly zodiacs.
Meader’s project, recently launched as a two-week blitz campaign on Indiegogo, is a richly-colored fantastic/futuristic vision of the zodiac’s sparkling cast of characters. It’s remarkably fur-friendly, or at least animal-lover friendly. In addition to reimagining the twelve starsigns as technobionic mixtures of organic and electronic (and electroluminescent) elements, crafting personalities for them, and illustrating them in amazing and rich color, she’s also taken the liberty of arting away the human elements. Her zodiac vision is fresh and amazing–but I am going to miss the centaur.
Meader’s intent is a complete revision of a stale zodiac filled with critters and symbols from dusty myth, livening up the starsigns with new imagery and freedom for personal interpretation. She’s off to an amazing start, though purists may find it hard to relate to her imagery. I’m reasonably with-it on my mythology, and had to check the filename to figure out what the hyena represented. It’s Sagittarius the Archer, and except for a certain warlike attitude and sense of speed and motion, the original’s been completely subsumed into Meader’s world. I’m okay with that, though, I really like hyenas.
As for the project itself, It seems like a sound one–enough funding to launch and sustain a web-based store for a year or two. Lots of prints and stickers and such for supporters, with tribal reinterpretations of the zodiac glyphs and Meader’s unique cosmos critters as well (all of which you can find on the Zodion gallery). Stretch goals? There aren’t any…yet, and with a slow start and tight deadline this might not be the campaign for them. But after setting her sights to the stars Meader’s thinking of turning to the other zodiacs. I look forward to seeing what her brush will do with the Chinese starsigns.
I’m also willing to model for “dog” if she needs the help. Call me.
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Vinyl Menagerie: MLP Artdolls
Disney’s “Maleficent”
It’s sort of a case of parallel evolution. Once there was a mom who saw some vintage My Little Pony figures, and said, “…I could make art out of that.”
Which, of course, is what the Brony community has been doing with Friendship is Magic for the last few years, though mostly in digital spaces and forums and a big, sloppy fandom.
Inspired by the designer toy movement, and her own love of crafting–Rizzo Michelle, the mom in question, had a small business hopping around street fairs and events to share her crafts already–she took the next step and went into the comic fandom with her art dolls, to much applause. And, someday, BronyCon.
One of the highlights of surfing for tangentially furry crowdfunding projects is seeing the voices outside our community and the roads they took to the same destination. I have this image of the big golden gates of BronyCon opening up and pegasi with trumpets tootling Michelle’s entrance, because that’s got to be some kind of a homecoming when it happens.
Ultimately, that happy homecoming is the point of Michelle’s Indiegogo campaign–fundraising for supplies and vendor fees, and maybe, someday, the resources to launch that toy line. The work she’s got already is pretty fun stuff, vinyl sculpting, fur and fabric and resin to build out vintage ponies into a wide variety of pop culture icons–a stooped and glowering Darth Vader with a glossy cape and cowl; The Dark Night, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn, even a “Ludo” from Labyrinth and vine-and-fur Pan from Pan’s Labyrinth. Great stuff, and totally worth a look!
Pan’s Labyrinth
One flaw in Michelle’s IGG campaign is the reward point pricing. For custom, unique pieces of art, the price points aren’t unreasonable. Who am I to judge the cost of a really convincing “Frank the Bunny from Donny Darko” My Little Pony mod? Are there even price guides for that sort of thing? But there’s a bit of sticker shock when you compare to the prices on her website. If you just want a Maleficent Pony of your own, you may want to bop over to The Pinup Chronicles and nab yours there. Of course, crowdfunding is as much about supporting art and artists as it is shopping for Christmas, but it’s worth pointing out the difference. And this may be the only way to get a custom piece. Deadpool pony, anyone?
Here’s hoping we get to see Michelle’s work at Nightmare Nights next year, I really want to get my paws on that Darth Vader!
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Furfunding Week in Review 12.1.13
Taking it serious with the epic From the Dust: Book of Mormon and grim Cross Hares: Testing Ground.
For reasons that are probably somehow related to sunspots or the position of Canis Major in Ursa Minor, most of this week’s relevant projects were surfacing in Offbeatr. Huh. This Christmas, give your loved ones the gift of…no, better yet, don’t.
Reviews
New Projects
For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page!
ArtPrehistoric Sticker Set
Because dinosaurs are awesome. Dino and sabre-tooth stickers by Skulldog.
From The Dust: The Book of Mormon Comic
Well-drawn Don Bluth-style epic story, lots of sand cats and hyenas, from the Old Testament and Book of Mormon
This one may unfortunately fall in a “that’s not for me” bucket for a lot of people, but the art is quite good!
Cat-Le Drivers #1
This one’s kind of horrid. In a world where giant housecats are raised for food, three catgirls herd their kitties across the plains…except, VAMPIRES.
Mike Bunny
Live action/animated short. After several years, a man reunites with is imaginary friend.
Lots of people seem to have bunnies for their imaginary friends in filmland. Huh.
Cross Hares: Testing Ground
Sort of “Apocalypse Now” meets “Watership Down,” board game bunnies on a long, ever-changing slog through a heartless war.
Ex Gender: A Wolf In Stilettos
Started as pinups, ended up as a full interactive novel game; transgender tribulations and large-breasted wolves
Screen shots and more on DracoJeff’s FA
DigiXXX #1
Adult art portfolio featuring the frolicking monsters of Digimon, any beastie and any orientation.
Furry domination of Offbeatr continues. More at DarthGlacier’s FA gallery.
GripMats (Ends: 1/8/2014): Non-slip mats for tabletop gaming by Rowan Raedwulf & co
…Coming Soon?Panda Lover’s Buff NSFW Comic Project (Submitted to Offbeatr): No title. Sweaty muscular gay critters in gyms being all generous with themselves.
Bunnies of War: Cross Hares
A grim march across a hostile land, but with bunnies.
Cross Hares: Testing Ground
I knew I’d seen Jesse Labbé‘s work before. I was in Half Price Books and found a strange, magical little book–a historical record perhaps, or maybe a tactical guide, or possibly a prequel for a deeply bizarre game of tiny, furry vole-things in their crazy weird-tech fantasy battle. It looked like a promo for a board game that NEEDED to be played. Apparently, lots of fans–and the artist–thought so too.
Cross Hares: Testing Ground is a board game about bunnies in battle. There’s a little magic and a little weird tech thrown in, but at heart, these bunnies are on a grim march through hostile terrain. “Traps, enemies, and the land itself are against you. Lose your way, and all is lost, but what lies at the end of the path is worth the risk.” You may want to have “Apocalypse Now” playing in the background, for that fresh “grueling death march” feel. Or “Watership Down“, which is, also, a bit of a death march.
Game play is what Labbé calls a “trail-based board game.” In particular, he mentions “Fireball Island” as a strong piece of inspiration from his childhood–characters walk a winding trail around a volcano to steal a jewel from temple at the heart of the island, with cards, special spaces, and hazards to keep things interesting (otherwise, it’s Candyland with more fireballs). Personally, I’m reminded of ”Talisman.” Now there’s a game that ends friendships.
Anyway, the structure–a long, winding journey to the final goal. You play one of six characters (at least until the expansion sets hit), each with their own set of special abilities and equipment–the scientist, ranger mercenary, dark sorcerer, grunt soldier, bard, sniper. They are, all, for the record, bunnies. As characters advance around the board, you’ll open up Stronghold Cards (generally beneficial resource cards) Event Cards that change the game for everyone, Testing Ground cards (negative effects for your character), and so on–including Adventure Cards that open up side quests, with their own minigame board and rules.
I am amazed and alarmed by the art for the “Sacrificial Diving” adventure card.
Many of the cards change depending on who you are, where you play the card, who’s near you when you play it, particularly the Adventure Cards–there’s a “never the same game twice” element to keep the game fresh through multiple plays. Even the ending can change–you don’t always grab the magic crown or whatever, the final space may be one of a range of scenarios.
One REALLY nice touch–and I can see why the artist didn’t follow through with it–is that some of the cards that repeat themselves have a few different pieces of art. Since a big part of the charm of the game is its art and its long-suffering bunnies, that’s a real plus. Of course it’s time-consuming and expensive, so not all the repeating cards have a range of artwork, but still that’s a nice gesture to the players.
So far as Kickstarter projects go, after only two days, the game’s about 20% to goal, though the goal seems a little low compared to other projects of this scope…if there are any, this is an expansive project! It seems like it’d be in the publisher’s best interests to keep the stretch goals simple (one or two new characters, a new adventure–the one they’ve mentioned is an “origins” novella. This is game company 1agames‘s second big in-house project, and it looks like one that runs the risk of spiraling out of control and into Unmanageable Complexity Land if they cater too much to Kickstarters MOAR NAO! stretch goal culture. There’s an entire world in that box already!
Anyway, check it out–watch the video, look for the 3D printed bunny minis, and the full game board. Lots of art, lots of options, lots of rabbits!
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Golden Tablets and Lost Hyenas: From the Dust
Stories from the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, played out by the animals that would have been there…
From the Dust
A part of me is nervous covering a project with its feet firmly in the world of religion, because that’s a language that geek culture dismisses, by and large. But it’d be a shame to pass From the Dust over as just one more spiritual kickstarter (and there are so many of them!) This Graphic Novel/ebook project‘s art is rich, ambitious, historically informed, and absolutely worth a close look.
The first volume of From the Dust, already in print as an ebook and currently available as a freebie (and dragon fans, take note), is set some 2500 years ago, during the Babylonian conquest of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish temple and ruling dynasty (or the prequel to that time, I’m unclear here), the stories of these chapters of The Book of Mormon share characters and events from those of the Old Testament–royal intrigue in the court, loss of home and wandering in the desert–and dragons. I think Sunday School would have been a lot more interesting if it had this many dragons.
Stylistically, From the Dust is written as an animated movie, a good mode for the epic storytelling author/illustrator/one-man publishing team Michael Mercer is aiming for (and this sort of “foundations of the religion” storytelling defines epic, except of course that the Greeks defined epic). The art has a strong Bluth/Dreamworks vibe, clean, with a little of that faintly unearthly shading of many modern animation projects. Mercer’s background is in the Animation college at Brigham Young University, so the strong animated vibe is reasonable.
The main characters–Sariah, the prophet Lehi, and their families are the sorts of creatures the Israelites might have encountered–striped hyenas, desert cats, an array of lizards, even a fennec on a royal throne. One of the token Evil Priests, Pashur, seems to be a wolf–but we don’t encounter him as a character in volume one…pity, he looks amusingly pointy.
Beyond the graphic novel portion, which is all kinds of epic historical/fantastical fun, the From the Dust project is heavily educational, studded with maps and historical/religious information–pretty typical stuff in religious education material, really, though it’s fairly well-done, if text-heavy at times)–there’s also a few tablespoons of “the artist’s experience,” sketchbooks and procedurals, encouragement, kind of a “DVD Bonuses” approach.
Even if the religion angle isn’t your cup of tea, Dust has strong artwork, and it does make for an interesting and huge story, with the potential for 20+ issues, and that’s really foundational material. Will he move from the African desert to the lost species of the American plains? Time will tell.
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
Furfunding Week in Review 11.24.13
Charmingly dumb, peaceful and pastoral, violent and far-future: Steam in the Willows, Black Paw: Return of the Dragon, and Lobodestroyo.
For a “complete” list of furry/fur-friendly crowdfunding projects, check out the Project Page!
Art
Paint Splattered Pokemon Prints (Ends: 12/12/2013)
Prints preorder-style project of stylized, paint-splattered poke-posters, featuring the big three starter pokemon (Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle)
Tail Lights (Ends: 1/2/2014)
Light up your mane–I’m sorry, your horse’s mane–with these breezy LED tail lights.
Hmm…Kickstarter goal and price point for the “get the thing!” level are really high. Not sure $160 for a set of strip LEDs is going to fly outside a narrow luxury market.
Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell (Ends: 12/11/2013)
An afterlife stroll through mythicals and monsters in this web-to-print project.
Funded!
Red: A Cyberpunk Fairytale (Ends: 12/18/2013)
In a cyberpunk/anime future, Red teams up with a frighteningly massive robot wolf…
Cats Vs Zombies: 9DKP Anime (Ends: 12/18/2013)
Large-headed magical anthro cats vs. a legion of the undead. There are transformation sequences, I’m sure of it.
Black Tusk (Ends: 1/21/2014)
Creature feature film in the “monsters hunt camping teens” genre, a strange avian/human monster stalks a group of hikers.
Steam in the Willows (Ends: 12/12/2013)
A Wind in the Willows edition for makers and craftsmen. WITW text, but illustrations gently tweaked for a steampunk aesthetic.
I don’t know if the mole with little steampunk goggles is cuter than the badger generally. From the makers of The Steampunk Bible.
Dragon Ball Joint Doll Pets (Ends: 12/12/2013)
Cute dragon-head dolls by Bladespark, her third kickstarter for ball joint dolls projects
Lobodestroyo (Ends: 12/11/2013)
90s collectathon-style VG. Mutt, the runt of the wolf litter, tries to find the parts of his pack’s championship belt and the escaped 10 members of the Liga de Los Villanos.
In the spirit of MegaMan and Metroid: Samus Aran
Get fLoRiDa off the ground! (Ends: 1/10/2014)
Fundraiser for the “fLoRiDa” webcomic
Frustratingly little information on this one. Link to original webpage? It’s hard to google ‘florida’ usefully…
Fursuit Automation Project (Not yet launched): A suite of light sensors, LED automation and fan controls for tech fursuiting.
Ex Gender: A Wolf In Stilettos (Not yet launched): Started as pinups, ended up as a full narrative game, transgender tribulations and large-breasted wolves
Gamer’s WORLD Movie (Ends: 12/19/2013): I don’t normally stop to make fun of fail, but leading with the FurNation logo just invites it. A “gamers are people too” film project, and a complete trainwreck of a Kickstarter page. Read it. Love it. A part of me wants to see it. Don’t forget to read the bio.
Bring a Kaiju to Life (Ends: 12/30/2013): A personal project to bring a kaiju to bioluminescent, lumbering, cosplay life.
The Wild Wood, and beyond! Steam in the Willows
An illustrated version of a children’s classic, dedicated to makers and artisans everywhere.
Steam in the Willows
“The past was like a bad dream; the future was all happy holiday as I moved Southwards week by week…lingering as long as I dared, but always heeding the call!” – Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows
Wind in the Willows, like “Robin Hood,” may be one of those stories that everyone knows, but very few people have read. Sufficed to say that it’s much adapted to film and stage, and might be one of the best-loved anthropomorphic titles around.
How to capture it? WITW is a tale of a mole leaving his burrow and moving into the world, a pastoral journey down the river, rescuing a friend from the madness of fads and crazed consumerism, a fight for house and home, and redemption. It’s sepia-toned with friendship, a gentle reflection of an England, verdant and peaceful (even pagan) fading into memory, behind the wall of the Industrial Revolution. Written in 1908, just a few years before World War I wiped out literary innocence for the next 60 or 70 years, it might have been the last time an author could capture that peaceful, fading vision.
In so many ways, it’s a perfect fit for the modern Steampunk movement, with its loving look into the past, playful individuality, and da-nyet retrotechnophilia. Though it took Krista Brennan, illustrator for The Steampunk Bible, to make the connection (and launch the kickstarter). Steam in the Willows is a low-key sort of Steampunk. The original text of WITW is unchanged–as far as I know, the weasels don’t storm Toad Hall in lightning-throwing zeppelins. Half-blind mole has an elaborate pair of goggles, and there’s a bit of brass on Ratty’s fishing rod, but by and large, he’s still a rat, he’s still a mole. Mole and Badger do dress up a bit. So do the weasels.
Overall the project, the illustrations, and the Kickstarter page are more about the Maker mindset than the Steampunk aesthetic–artisanship, crafting, and skill over mass-produced, wasteful throw-away toys. In Brennan’s world, Mole and Badger in particular capture that Maker mindset–maybe a bit solitary, but they make their own tools and homes. Toad, on the other hand, spends his inheritance on fads and flings. In Brennan’s words,
My illustrations are a love-letter to all of these folk, an homage to the artisans, makers and Steampunks, everyone who crafts or bakes, brews or builds, who pulls apart and reimagines, chooses hand-crafted over mass-produced, who wants long-lasting and beautiful artifacts that can be handed down over generations.
Brennan’s Kickstarter page is a lot of fun. The videos are quirky and retro, modeled after the 1930s newsreel style of journalism, and her awards are more along the lines of “I’ll write a poem about you!” than “and you get 10 copies plus a plush!” The color edition of the book is (perhaps unfortunately) pricey, but it is a limited-edition run. Also, bow-ties. Because it wouldn’t be Steampunk without at least ONE charmingly retro and non-functional accessory.
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.
In the year 8510: Black Paw
When the world seems lost and mankind stands at the eve of destruction, the Gods give them…furries…
The year: unknowable.
The world as we know it has run its course. Humanity’s last gasp is the war–well, the first war, against Tiamat, a godlike force from beyond that brings with it giant city-destroying robots and complete devastation. When weapons fail, humanity turns to the gods, who answer in the form battle machines powered by holy energy: the Divine Golems.
And that is 250,000 years ago. Now, in a world shaped by strange magic, stranger technology, and divine will, animal folk inhabit a green and vibrant world. But that “green and vibrant” part once again attracts the attentions of Tiamat. With the looming threat of a second war, mortal power struggles–assassinations, political rivalries, court dramas–unfold–but will the people of this world get their mutual acts together in time to stave off destruction for another 250,000 years?
This is the scenario that plays out in Black Paw 1: Return of the Dragon, now kickstarting for a paperback release.
The world of Black Paw is a genre-blender mix of high tech and magic. It’s mecha-intensive; one of the principal artists launched the “Mecha Zone” kickstarter in 2011, and the world, with its god-powered golems and technodragon dark lords, is informed by both battle-robot anime and Kaiju. And there’s a fair bit of high fantasy as well–the military wades in with swords and axes, kitsune girls wield spiked fans, characters quest through the Astral Plane and heal through divine blessings. It’s a huge world, a complex world, and an ambitious world.
One thing that’s compelling for me about this project is that it’s total fandom service. You can see a few pages of the comic on the developer GleamingScythe’s FA page, it’s reasonably solid art. The characters are sometimes full-on half-animal anthros with muzzles and tails, sometimes more in the “cat girl” style of a few spare anthro features. One or two even have a strong cartoon vibe, almost superdeformed. The range is striking.
That being said, the Kickstarter itself is confusing, even incomprehensible. The project page comes across as a massive collection of images, not really meaningfully related to each other–motion videos of mecha, character sketches and high-quality pieces from artists that don’t seem to have anything to do with the project, commission opportunities from artists who, again, are from some other project entirely. The project’s description leads with not a write-up of the book, but a narrative of the tabletop role-playing game that led up to it (and it does feel like an RPG setting, kind of like Kickstarter darling Numenera), and about the project’s previous financial history. And it never becomes clearer, though there are a lot of nice pics.
Overall the experience of reading through the project is the informational equivalent of trying to operate one of those new touch-screen soda fountains with your eyes closed. Is this the rules to a tabletop game? Should I pledge here or go to Paypal? Am I supporting a film project or a book? Does the pretty naked person appear in the book, and will she look like that? Are there Kaiju? Can I play the gun-toting dingo in the base game? Am I getting this now, later, or only if I pay $1250? Help!
One place where the project’s Kickstarter page seems to be genuinely misleading, and maybe unintentionally since the page is terribly rambly, is on the issue of art. The general quality of the art (again, you can make up your own mind on Furaffinity) varies between “wow, that’s amazing!” and “eh, good enough for webcomic, I’ll bookmark it,” and it looks like the majority of the final product is the latter. In fairness, fandom-focused comics tend to fall into that category, most of us aren’t professionals, but a LOT of us are still creators, and that’s great! But in the context of a business proposal–and ultimately, that’s what a Kickstarter project is–it’d be good to know what you’re buying.
Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.