Below are the 8 most recent journal entries recorded in P-Kay's LiveJournal:

Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
9:00 pm	DigitalHaven is back! Yep, DigitalHaven.org is back up, now as the main page of the FCR project. I didn't design it.. I didn't code it.. I didn't do many things.. but hey its better than nothing! I recommend you to bookmark it as it will contain the lastest updates and more things than this, the Blogger or the Xanga. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 29th, 2006
10:19 pm	Furnet.org First off I want to start with a quick problem-fix about my previous review, the first page you'll see when entering anthrochat.net, is in fact a small welcome text giving you the basics of what is it and how does it work. This page is then reachable again through the link on the banner. Furnet.org Today we'll also be reviewing Furnet.org as the previous review (Anthrochat.net) was rather small and this is one of the other main IRC networks for the furry community. The Furnet homepage is also the News one, which I suppose features any important news involving the site/IRC network, however the lastest update found here is from October 2004... You'll also notice the nice banner and a nav bar.. (Yes, the entire site looks much like Anthrochat.net (which I believe was made after Furnet so yeah..) ) The first section of the site is the News section, or the homepage. The second section is the Servers one, in which you can find the list of the different IRC Servers, and all the information you may need to manually conect to them. The third section, Documentation, gives you a much more useful ammount of information, ranging from the Furnet code of conducts and rules to that of nick/channel registration. The fourth section, Software, is also a very useful page with a large list of different IRC clients available for the different Operating System platforms, from Windows to Amiga. The fifth section, History, contains what used to be the statistics of the website, also the fast explanation that two of this servers used to be part of the YiffNet IRC network (now extinct), also you'll find a statistics link down at the bottom.. which I believe takes you to a random statistics page of one of the three servers available. The sixth section, mailform ("hidden" as you have to click on the contact link at documentation), is an easy to use form to contact the administrators of the site/IRC network. Conclussion Furnet.org as the Anthrochat.net page, is a slightly informational website with the main purpose to guide anthro/furries to their IRC network, which is alive; however the site is seriously out-of-date. However this site is also useful as it actually has some useful extra information, which would be the software list for the different IRC clients. Either way, this site is as the previous one, only recommendable if you're interested in joining the furry IRC Network. (Comment on this)
9:57 pm	Anthrochat.net First I want to start saying that I know I promised a review about the EuroFurence website, which I was going to write today, but I remembered that it was being held sometime in August; once I checked this was confirmed, the EuroFurence was held from the 23rd august to the 27th of the same month. Due to this the website is actually of a minor importance as it only features "useless" information (as you can't really go anymore), and doesn't have con updates either (as in, xx thing happened and so on); however as soon as EF13 is out, we'll review the site. (Notice that while FurtherConfusion goes with years, i.e. FC2007; EuroFurence goes with chapters, i.e. EF12) Anthrochat.net Today we'll be reviewing Anthrochat IRC; or Anthrochat, one of the largest IRC networks for the furry/anthro community. Please notice that as I'm aware of the normal inner-conflicts within many different IRC networks and groups alike, my reviews for this kind of sites are neutral, I'm not enforcing the use or the misuse of such IRC channels, leaving this decision to the reader. The Homepage of the Anthrochat website is the news section, in which you'll notice any -important- new within the whole site/IRC network, also you'll notice the nice banner and a small nav bar. The first section of the nav bar (News), takes you to the homepage, or the news page. The second section (Servers) is offline at the momment of the review so I wouldn't know what is going to be there (possibly the servers + their status). The third section (Admins) gives you the "name" of all the administrators that help mantain the Anthrochat IRC network, also there's a submenu with which you can easily have access to some information about most of such administrators; such information is: Nick, Server, Location, Website, E-Mail, Bio. Very useful in case you want to know who's the chairman of your favorite server. The fourth section (Bash) is also offline at the momment, I suppose the content will be the typical IRC bash comments.. you know, those wrong/bad/funny/stupid comments (something that I personally dislike as it exposes a simple mistake and leaves you as a complete idiot for the rest of the people). The fifth section named "forums" is in fact an external link to the Anthrochat LiveJournal community.. which won't be reviewed here due to obvious reasons. The sixth section (Status), features a graphic showing the average activity of the different servers on different hours.. rather useful if you want to know which one to join depending on the time you are usually online, or whether you want a very populated server or not. The seventh section, contact, is only available through the random "Contact Us" links found through the rest of the sections, once you find it, you'll be taken to an easy to fill form with the obvious reasons to contact some of the administrators or the main manager of the website. The eighth section, "Chat Now!", is actually the main part of the entire site, and also the one with the most useful info, however it is rather "hidden" (in fact it's in the same nav bar just to the right of the site and with a barely noticeable orange color; I didn't find it until i was about to close the site). It starts off with a fast explanation of what is IRC and the way it works, also gives you a small number of useful IRC commands, how to use them and what for. And at last it gives you a small three-section form to pick your nick, server and channel in order to start chatting in a web-based IRC program (or you can of course do this with your personal IRC program in a manual form). You'll also find a small list of the channels found within Anthrochat Network and what's special about it. Conclussion www.anthrochat.org is a slighly informational website with an obvious objective, leading anthro/furries to their IRC network; giving you all the information you may need to join it whether you're new to this or not. Appart from that, the site doesn't contain any other really interesting information to this date, and is only recommended in case you want to become part of the IRC furry network. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 28th, 2006
11:38 pm	FurtherConfusion.com First, let me explain that I haven't dropped the review of TimDawson.com; it's just that as my mental blackout hasn't passed, i still find it hard to review totally-art-based websites, and as I want to give TD.com the review it deserves, while i find the way to do so i'll use the time to review other "easier" websites (aka, it's not as complicated as describing art). FurtherConfusion.com I suppose that being a furry, you've heard the term "Furcon", "Anthrocon" or anything alike. Yes it is indeed the term used for a convention, more specifically a furry convention in this case. In case you don't really know what is it, or you have not ever heard about it before, I'll try to explain it in the simplest way possible. A Furcon is a special event held by furries for furries; in this event people from all around the world gather to meet other furries which may have the same likings, forge new friendships, attend to special shows, and browse through some artist works. You will find from the normal convention-like places, like the meeting room and etc, to special ones, like the "Fursuit room", where furries attend with their respective fursuits. Also one of the main parts of every Furcon, is the large ammount of artists that tend to attend, for both showing their work and selling it. This is seriously a very important part of the convention as it is said that thanks to artists the furry community grew larger and stronger (and I totally agree with this idea). That being said, today we will be reviewing the site of the main Furcon held on the American continent; Further Confusion. Please notice that we will also be reviewing EuroFurence, as it is the second largest Furcon held on the world, just in another continent. Review Well, the first thing you'll notice is that you'll be redirected to http://www.furtherconfusion.com/fc2007/; here a little tip, if you change the url from 2007 to any year from 2003 to 2006, you'll be able to see the original page of such furcons, why would you want to do this? Well to further notice how the theme changes every year, i.e. this year it is based upon a james bond-like theme, last year it was a medieval one, etc. Anyways, once on the main page, you'll notice the (very nice) banner, the navegation at the left and the News area as the content. This is very understandable as the site is intended to be a guide of why-to and how-to attend/help the furcon, so news is a vital part of the site to keep people updated of whether there are still rooms, the new guest artists, etc. Continueing with this, you'll find the "About Us" page, in which you'll get to read a quick brief of what is Further Confusion, and a small explanation of the term "Furry".. why do they have this instead of the story of Further Confusion itself? Not sure, I suppose the reason is so if you find the site by mistake and you are not a furry, you'll get to know what is it, and who knows you may even be one... but well.. whatever Also you'll find a Contact link (vital), and a "Information on past Further Confusions" link, which will take you to a simple chart with the name/year and artists.. Anyways, the next stop is the Guests area, no this doesn't mean that you have to log-in to see something new.. this section of the website will give you the list of the.. "Honor Guests" to call them somehow, and a small biography of such. This year's special guest is Baron Engel which is a.. um lets call it.. influential person within the comics community, and also one of those "independent" (own company) great artists(backbreaker.com). Next we have the Charities section.. Yes this section indeed talks about some Charities, which I suppose are attending to Further Confusion (else I'd have no idea of why is this here..) Anyways, this year you can find the GSCGA or Golden State California Greyhound Adoption (http://www.goldengreyhounds.com) and SWCC or Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center, which is a more all-animal oriented organization found in California (http://www.stanislauswildlife.org). After this, we will start talking about the much more con-oriented part of the website. First we find the Registration area, where you can register either online or download the mail-in registration form. Here you can find the price for being registered on the furcon: * Convention - $40 * Sponsor Membership - $100 * Patron Membership - $200 So you can't really say it's something expensive. (Rather cheapish in my opinion) Also you'll find a "Registration FAQ" here with the answers to a number of questions, some of which are very useful, and some others which are very good to know things. With this I mean that you can notice how personalized the whole thing is, and how they directly attend your problems and stuff like that. Appart from that, at the bottom of the page you'll find the goodies that you'll get depending on whether you're a member, sponsor or patron: * Member - Admittance to all functions, bag with souvenir con book, information, etc * Sponsor - Member goodies + Further Confusion T-Shirt, name listed in the programme book, otherstuffwhichisntavailableyet * Patron - Sponsor goodies + copy of Further Confusion Highlight DVD, Admittance to "Catered Patron" lunch with the Guests, permanent listing on the AAE, Inc. website, yetmorestufftobedetermined * If you're either a Sponsor/Patron you also get the nice warm fuzzy feeling that you're helping with the most important Furcon in the world Continueing with this, we have other vital part of the website, the Hotel section, where you find the hotel room rates (Special Further Confusion prices of course) which go something like this: * Deluxe Room for 4 People (18th-21st only) - $89 per night * Deluxe Room for 4 People (Executive Level) - $109 per night * Parlor Suites (Sold Out :/) - $200 * Also don't forget that there's a Fursuit Floor and a Party Floor Once again, I believe it's really economic (I mean, it's a four stars hotel I believe, that's really good price rate for such). After the price table you find the "how to make a reservation" information, the hotel address and other stuff such as a Hotel FAQ, which is once again very useful i.e. it's a hotel that accepts pets at a $100 rate. Once you're finished with that part, you'll probably continue to the Dealers section. This is one of the vital parts of the convention itself, being the place where all kind of artists, writers and others place their work for sale. This is the section you should be interested in if you're looking forward to having your own table to show and sell your stuff. Unluckily the 2006 FC spots are full already, but you can still apply and see if you're lucky enough to get a table. You'll also find the Dealer's Room Sign-Up for Further Confusion 2008 (And you should really sign up already because they tend to fill up fast). And last but not least you'll find information about the "Furry Market Place", which is a special selling-spot that works just like that, a Market Place, where you place your material for sale every day and remove it as well. Now after you're set getting your table for the 2008.. it's the Art Show section! In this you'll find the information you need to get your panels for displaying your art and the cost of it.. also you'll find the "Artist Agreement" aka a contract you need to sign. Here's a quick review of this contract (Please if you're going to consider getting some panels, you NEED to read the contract yourself): Two Rooms, General Audiences and Adults Only. Art panels are 4'x4', $10 each. 4'x2', $5 each. 3D artwork table space 3'x2', $10 each; payable by check or money order. Four panels and two 3D table spaces may be reserved in the General Audiences room, while only two panels and one 3D table may be reserved in the Adults Only room. (Contact the staff for extra space) First-come-first-served basis. Each artist will be sent an informational packet with copies of a control sheet, bid sheet, and other materials, which should be filled out before hanging the artwork at the con. No refunds will be given after 1 January 2007 (Suppose it'll be 2008 for the next Further Convention). Art show reservations made by mail must be received before 6 Jan 2007 (Once again, I suppose it'll be 6 Jan 2008 for the next one). Artists that don't show up to claim their spaces may forfeit those spaces, which will not be refunded. All artists must sign the Art Show Agreement (the one being described). Artists may share their panel, any payment to the artists sharing such will be made to the artist itself. Further Confusion is not responsible for any problem concerning this. Pieces may be or not for sale, based upon the artist. Guest of Honor get free space (...duh?) They reserve the priviledge to pick who may or not display their work. - Content - Most of the art displayed must feature prominently an "anthropomorphic", "theriomorphic", wildlife, or science fiction/fantasy creature theme (NOT general-purpose science fiction art show). Art in General Audiences must be suitable for all ages. Frontal nudity (aka breasts/genitalia), obvious sexual contact, extreme violence, depictions of illegal drug use; must be displayed at the Adults Only room. Trademarket, copyrighted or well-known property characters which aren't owned by the artist may not be displayed unless they have the permission of the owner of the trademark/copyright of the character, written proof of this is needed. Artwork defaming the above-described characters may not be displayed, however Parody may be allowed depending on the Art Show staff decision. The following subject matter may not be displayed: Depiction of sexual contact between a human and a non-anthropomorphic animal (aka zoophilia?), depiction of extreme violence against a minor, depiction of a minor in any sexual situation (no cubs i guess?), artwork that may be considered legally actionable. Art which isn't the original work (prints), California law requires: If it's from an unlimited run, it must be labeled as a print; if it's from a limited run, it must be numbered along with the size of the print run i.e. 5 of 20; method of printing must be given; if the print was made from a plate, which has been destroyed, the date of such plate destruction must be given. No more than one print of each piece may be displayed. Art Show Staff decisions regarding the content, theme etc are final. - Other stuff - You may sell artwork as a "Buy Now" piece, in which case you wont need to go through the bidding/auction process. Further Confusion collects 10% comission on all art sold. Once a piece has been entered in the show, it may not be removed until after the show has closed. (in other words, once you enter it on a bid sheet OR not for sale sheet, it can't change; neither the terms of sale aka price) - Of course there are more points but this are the vital ones.. and of course some others which I skipped.. Hey im not going to do your job! Now that we're over with that.. we go on with the furtherconfusion.com review.. Next on the lane we have the Events section, where you find a small listing of the activities held on FC2006 and a brief information about the Further Confusion Television. Then we have the Policies section where you find all of the legal information you may need and stuff alike. No im not going to review them for you, shoo. Then the Forums section, with a link to their forums (not reviewed here); and also a link to their LiveJournal.. which I suppose is very useful or useless depending on the way you look at it. It has random updates/suggestions/news from whoever (literally, anyone).. so some may be not reliable sources, others may be reliable.. etc.. And at last, before finishing the review, we find the Con Store which is a.. store. Anyways, this store is not what you'd call a shoppers paradise as it features very little items; then again it doesn't mean they're bad items.. i.e. the FC2005 DVD may prove itself funny, while It'd be also interesting to own a FC2006 program book just for the will of it. (You can also find stuff from previous Further Confusion events) Conclussion FurtherConfusion.com is a very nice looking site which definitely works for the reason it's been made. It contains all the information you may or not need about the FC event, and also provides you with a very extensive FAQ which will probably solve the 99% of your doubts. It also provides quick, short and easy-reading information about the different things that you will find on the convention itself. And last but not least, it allows you to check out how things were in the past and how did they end up (as described before, by changing the URL a bit). FurtherConfusion.com; the best site if you're interested in assisting to the largest and most important Furry Convention in the American Continent (and possibly in the world). (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 27th, 2006
10:06 pm	The future of FCR Sorry, not a review (still working on TimDawson.com); I know i've taken quite a while to write this review, but I'm currently taking a PSEM course and it's taking most of my time (will be finished before 1st september so expect updates on that date). Anyways, the point of this post is to inform you that FCR will be moving on to digitalhaven.org, which will be the temporal home for the FCR project, in which it will evolve and grow (hopefully) into a multi-purpose furry-oriented website. Also I must tell you that this is not going to be immediate (you won't really find much there yet), however i'd recommend you to keep it bookmarked and check for updates every two or three days. Yes I know, "but hey.. no one is even visiting your blog/LJ/xanga, why do you bother".. well because if I don't, then no one will.. anyways i'm planning to apply my few web-design skills and my PSEM knowledge to increase visits on there.. -_-'' Also on a side note, I'm probably going to become a frequent editor of wikifur, based of course on my reviews at FCR; obviously I will have to increase the ammount of information of the review so it can be useful at wikifur, thus I will also be updating FCR with the newest and largest review. The reason to inform you about this, is to let you know that any feedback about any of the reviews and suggestions to make it more valuable for the average reader will be greatly appreciated. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 24th, 2006
10:14 pm	Next, TimDawson.com For all of you that read this looking for new updated reviews, I'll let you know that even if it looks like I do nothing, I'm in fact working daily to give you a high-quality review of a different amount of sites, however the time invested in this long and semi-detailed/detailed reviews is much more than you'd probably expect.. Due to this reason, I'm deciding whether to post the overview of the to-be-reviewed site and the actual percentage of the review done by the time it's posted; or just plain publishing as much as I have of the review, and later on publish the entire review with some minor/major changes.. (Any feedback about this would be greatly appreciated) So, as of now, I will use the first option (overview only) so you can know what comes up next and whether it interests you or not. TimDawson.com Today we will be reviewing the personal site of the great australian artist Tim Dawson; also creator of DragonTails (our previous review). Overview As this site is a personal gallery, it will obviously be based upon art display, so if you're looking for something appart art, look somewhere else (by now that is). Now art-wise, Tim Dawson gallery features a multi-themed gallery, based upon his main stories/concepts such as DragonTails, Cosmos and Cycle. His style is rather special, really inclined to that of japanese animation (anime) in some parts of the body and some of his characters... such as the bright-colored hair of many characters; however he still keeps a very characteristic style, I must enphasize this as many anime-inclined artists tend to have a rather dull way of working thus making most of their characters look the same. Also we must not forget that there's obviously a furry concept in quite a good percentage of his artwork, thus being a revieweable site for us. - Actual percentage: 30%-40%, Time invested so long: 1:40 hours (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 20th, 2006
10:40 pm	Dragon Tails Dragon Tails Today I'll be reviewing dragon-tails.com or Dragon Tails ; My absolute favorite webcomic, which quality is and has always been amazing, as well as the humorous part, which is just good enough to make any of my bad days become a good one within a few minutes. Overview Dragon Tails features the humorous adventures, or not-adventures of eight baby dragons; which i'd describe as follows (in order of my likings ^^): Lemuel, the absolutely lovely pacifist dragon, with robot-controlling skills.. you'll know what I mean (one of my favorite comic parts as well); the epitome of cuteness, my absolute favorite.. without a real reason I suppose. Bluey, the smart-dragon (..we could say that); which has the "touch of midas".. well kind of, just that everything he touches explodes instead.. Oh and I must not forget to mention he's a hardcore gamer and internet freak ^^ Enigma, THE dragon, the poor only one which believes in being what a dragon is supposed to be.. of course it's rather impossible considering the family he has, but at least he cares about them.. most of the time Corlis, Lemuel's twin, obviously with a very opposite attitude, features a weekly comic function... rather unsuccesful but it gives him his mighty comical-power which can defeat even the strongest enemies. Powerfully armed with the sarcasm that every webcomic needs, he tends to make some rather funny comments every once in a while. Also owns a little kitty named moppy, the almighty genious able to solve the hardest problems.. plus he's cute. Brainy, The Chef.. for a while of course, also Bluey's best friend with whom he tested several rockets which were supposed to arrive to the moon.. even tho he dissappeared for a while, but nothing bad happened ^^ Goldy, The Artistic dragon, bluey's twin whom is always trying to have a competition against him, also its one of the few dragons that displays momentary attacks of logic and non-suicidal thoughts (with this I don't mean they're "oh world i hate you i want to die" kind of suicidal.. just that their ideas are not the best ones). Cornelius & Abijar, the way I describe them is.. the filler twins.. they are twins, and they are filler.. I still haven't read a stripe where they are the main dragons, and if I have then it wasn't good enough to remember it, it doesn't mean that they are bad characters however, it's just that they're not special enough for me. Colin, the robot made by Bluey at some point, which gained self-conciousness and absolute independence, is a vital member of the crew, and has special SUPER ATOMIC ROCKET PUNCH OF JUSTICE attack... or something alike.. always selling his superior intellect to the best seller.. (..if you can call that to earning some nuts..) Norman, the maniac power-hungry squirrel that came out of the nowhere, whose only "friend" would be Lemuel, while Enigma is his deadly enemy.. always experimenting with different plans of world domination and the likes.. enjoys wasting money.. lots.. lots of money Normeena, the mistakenly femenine clone of Norman, who was purchased at the economic price of all of the little dragons savings.. unlike Norman, she is a bit smarter and is a good friend of Enigma, of course being norman's clone (or daughter), she's most of the time part of Norman plots. That's not really an overview but a fast description of the characters instead, but hey it should be enough to catch your interest (or not). Review Well as I already said, DragonTails is my absolute favorite webcomic, the king of kings the OMGTHISABSOLUTELYOWNS webcomic. The comedy within it is outstanding, it's uberly good and has the absolute power to make me forget about my worse problems and make a good day out of worse one. Why you ask? We'll leave that for the conclussion Home Page Well here of course you'll find at the very top of the page the current strip, and a link to the archives, which we will be reviewing later. Now, the main navigation is located at the left of the center table, the top option (a drop down menu), lets you pick your favorite layout (or background mostly), however the last time I checked it didn't work yet, you can however still change this in a link on the same nav bar named "Theme Selector", once you click there you're set, because the instructions are simple. You wan't to know my fav? Well I'm on Enigma-mode ^^. Anyways, going back to the navigation, right after the drop down menu, you'll find two VERY important options: comic archives and story guide. Comic Archives - This option has been improved, and now you can pick any year/month/day since the very first DT comic to the latest, honestly, it's very good to keep track of what you've read or not; but not very informational... Story Guide - But hey, if you're looking for information, then that's what a Story Guide is for! Here you'll find the date and link to a specific comic, which is the beginning of a story/mini-story, very very good and nice option. Note: The Kaar'latch 16/06/2002 is my current favorite storyline (begins at Enigma's identity crisis). Now, going on with our nav bar checkout.. we have two other options, read and sign guestbook; well you know how it works so no further explaining, but I encourage you to drop a line or two. After this you find a mini-menu which leads you to DT message boards, divided in four sections: General forum, RolePlaying forum, Art forum and Literary forum; as this review is about the site, the forums will not be reviewed, but I'll briefly inform you that the activity on this exists, even tho it may be sometimes sporadic, however it has some activities like the weekly (or monthly) caption activity. Continuing the community section of the navigation, you find the IRC channel link, to chat with whoever you find; i've not been there yet even once, due to my natural shyness. Then you find a down-link "group projects", no idea of what is it. Followed by a reader fanart link, for obvious fan arts, and a costum party link, which is also pretty much fan art but of the little dragons disguised as other stuff.. part of the forum activities in case you were wondering. Then we have another section of the menu, which is about the characters. First we have the characters profiles, only Bluey, Abijar, Corlis, Lemuel, Goldy and Colin are available to the date of this review, but they're very informational about the characters, and with this I mean that it's written from the point of view of their creator. Plus it features some neat picture of them. Second we have Bluey's special section (bluey's inventions), filled with information about everything he has made up to date (well, will have it.. hopefully..), right now only the rocket section is available; but it's a very comical part of the site and it features neat art. Also, the information is written by Bluey.. (you know what I mean..); which means added comedy and cuteness. After this we have Enigma's FAQ.. a down-link which will (maybe) contain the answers to any dragon-life concerning question. And last but not least we have "Goldy in PA2-land" which features Goldy getting lost in some strange realm featuring some characters which i have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of who they are.. and also features a very bad comedy.. fine.. it is "last and least".. I personally don't like it and don't even think it deserves a main link but well.. I guess i'm not old enough (DT age wise) to understand it ^^' Third mini menu features website-things+multimedia: Online Store.. An online store! Unluckily, unlike OzFoxes store, this has a short ammount of items.. and they are not what i'd call interesting.. Of course its a good way to make donations as the donation option has been removed from the site.. Maybe i'll get a simple t-shirt with all the little dragons.. Eh wait.. surprise! new things... I just noticed the Mousepads and they're NICE.. oh look new mugs too.. and they have some of the comic strips.. interesting! yet expensive in my opinion.. And.. some bags which aren't new.. nor nice either.. So overall.. Mousepads are a must if you use them.. or maybe even if you don't but you like DT as much as I do.. the rest are so-so items. After this we have the downloads section.. but it doesn't have many interesting things.. they're mostly for windows 95/98/ME editions so yeah.. but well, the backgrounds are nice (wallpapers).. I used the Lemuel one for a while.. (the new one, Bluey from the RPG is amazing tho..). Then we have the Wallpaper section.. with .. wallpapers zomgosh? nothing special, they are neat of course. As already said ^^. Then the archived rants.. in which our good Tim Dawson wrote some rants (a couple of YEARS ago), which let us have a wider vision about his thoughts/life/actions... interesting and informational. Now the Theme Selection mentioned at the beginning of the review.. pretty neat feature. And last but seriously-not-least Sketch of the Day, this section has many sketches about many random things. Unluckily as most of the other sections of the site, has not been updated for YEARS as well.. pretty sad.. but well, it is also one of this sections which make me insist.. "he's such an amazing artist.." Then the last section of the menu, we have the links: Links/reader links, with link/reader links duh.. features some more webcomics Here i may eventually review Slightly Damned webcomic.. even tho it has a very noticeable part that discourages me to review them.. a donation part where it asks for 50$... (hey seriously, web hosting for something like that costs as much as 4$ a month.. the hell do you want so much money from something you "like" doing, if you want donations then just ask for them, but don't bring me a $x/$50 message, and way less with a message saying "Whenever 50$ is reached in donations, a new Slightly Damned page will be uploaded!; Anyone who donates will receive this free wallpaper as a gift".... Hello? wtf does that mean.. oh please give me money so I update and also so you get some crappy wallpaper? Puhleeze..) If they're lucky enough, I'll enjoy their comedy enough to review them.. if they're not then they're at the bottom of my review list. On the same link page, we have the Web Directories, where we find once again the very reliable Belfry: Furry Comics.. pretty neat directory. Then the Reader Links (Common link-exchange stuff); Here we will probably be reviewing Starkindler Studios, ZooCity, FurStreet (maybe more criticized than reviewed :P, (free space for furry friends! only may require your real name + copy of passport/drivers liscence, oh we trust in furs.. uhu)) Now back to Dragon Tails.. Continuing with the links menu, we find the always needed "About me", here you'll find information about Tim Dawson (..no really?); honestly, it's really nice for knowing more about him, it's not the tipical description, but a funny one.. just keeps showing how nice it'd be to meet him, also provides a link to his DeviantArt account. And last but not least, a link to Tim Dawson's website, featuring his most recent art (alright, every time he updates (one year he hasn't)).. well actually its rather strange.. there seem to not be any art update.. but I do see other kind of updates.. like the menu for the Art sections.. So I wouldn't know.. And so.. our review is over already.. It feels short for me.. of course it probably isn't.. So I'm just going to finish.. Conclussion dragon-tails.com, Dragon Tails is an amazing website with an utterly superior webcomic; It seriously is the best thing I've ever read on my entire life (comedy based at least); and it has the feeling of an artist that cares about its work, it has many added bonusses to the comic such as the neat wallpapers and external links, also a very nice community on their message boards and many things more. The webcomic power relies not only on the quality of the art and comedy, but also on the feelings that their characters give.. Honestly, some other comics may make you laugh and enjoy them (such as sprite comics like Neko's house), but only a few are able to have "feeling".. I'm going to explain this with a comparison: Penny Arcade, one of the "best webcomics" or rated as such by many people, is indeed funny.. the characters are.. funny.. but not special.. I can see them and read their comments and thats it.. no further thing comes out of that.. no further feeling.. no further opinion.. on the other hand Dragon Tails, the best webcomic or rated as such by me, is funny, the characters are funny, and also special. Whenever the little characters have a line, you can actually give it the required tone to maximize the comedy; you can actually think about it and get the peaceful/naive tone of Lemuel, that sarcastic and black tone to Corlis, feel the honor and leadership of Enigma, and Bluey is one of the tops within that, you can just feel it.. That's the difference, that's the why its so superior.. it's "souless" good comedy against a comedy full of life. With this I'm not saying Penny Arcade is bad (in case any of you readers are fan of it), it's just not the same in my opinion. Ahem.. after I made you cry with my deep words :P, there's my why DT is superior. The updates are random, and on random places, don't expect a "new" about it, it's more likely that you'll just eventually notice it instead. Now.. the website is cool.. but unluckily the creator of this artistic masterpiece Tim Dawson, seems to be very busy with his daily life, we can't blame him for that, nor demand him updates; as this is his hobby, instead I'm thankful that he could keep it going for so many years (four by now), and improve his quality in every aspect to the point of having independence in his life (as in, getting a job related to what he actually enjoys). However he also seems to have several emotional problems every so often.. but well, it's normal on any person which is struggling with the daily stress of independence and work, also he shows us how he does the art for himself and his people, in the good way. I'd be deeply honored to be ever able to talk to him in person.. of course I doubt i'll be able to fly to Australia anytime soon unless I win the lottery ^^'', so I guess at least I'd have to feel happy enough with a random e-mail or chat session with him (which i have not been able to have either due to my shyness.. I hate it so much.. I need the average furry careless attittude when it comes to meeting people). But well theres a *hint hint* in case you want to do me a favor and like Dragon Tails at least half as much as I do. (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 6th, 2006
12:21 pm	Introduction to FCR & OzFoxes review The Beginning of FCR & OzFoxes Review First off, I'd like to start giving a quick introduction to what FCR is and will be. I've recently been introduced into this "furry" community.. and seem to enjoy it.. however finding the right pages to browse through tends to be a bit hard.. so I thought.. "Well why not make a website-reviews journal/blog about this kind of sites!" and so I am. Also I need to warn you, yes I tend to write a lot, and thus my entries tend to take quite some time for me to finish. So the updates may not be daily, but every time I can. Maybe more of a weekly update? I don't know. Appart from that. Yes I am aware that the journal probably doesn't look really neat nor organized just yet.. but that's because I'm barely starting. Please if you're patient I can assure you it will improve on both material and looks. But meanwhile, any and every criticism is highly appreciated. Now.. I wanted to start with a website that would call the attention of many people, but hey it's my place after all! So instead I'm going to start with one of the reviews that I have about one of my favorite places.. ozfoxes.com The OzFoxes FoxWeb - Fox & Wildlife Art, Fox Facts and Lore! Today we will be reviewing the website of an amazing duo, R&M, or Robert & Margaret. -- Overview -- The OzFoxes FoxWeb is home to some amazing art by hands of Margaret (I believe so at least), featuring from realistic and anatomically correct animals (specially foxes), to a great antropomorphic style. Also featuring in most of their art a touch of realist painting and coloring. Also, you will find the second best (or very best, considering whether you consider "Dragon Tails" furry or not) "furry" webcomic that is still being regularly updated in my opinion: Faux Pas. A great comic based on the life of an urban-raised fox and it's mate, a wild-raised vixen. Featuring high quality cartoonish strips, that remind you of everyday's newspaper comic strips; except much better drawn, and a much nicer comedy. And that isn't all! In case you want to know a bit more about this creatures, the foxes, you can browse through their knowledge section. And last but not least, there's a very nice e-store, where you can buy from random art by them, to christmas greeting cards! -- Review -- - Main Page - First we start off on the Homepage. Here we can appreciate the banner, which gives us a quick view to their art style, with a rather simple but yet useful navigation bar where you can appreciate the main pages: Foxes!, Cat-alog, Comics, OzFoxes, Fox-Lynx, E-Mail; while you browse through those pages, a second bar with more links will appear. Anyways, the first thing we will appreciate once we enter this page is a small welcome and a quoute, then some small thought updated every so often. After this we find a variation of the main navigation, where there is a slight explanation of what will you find on the different links. (Rather useful if its your first time in there, even if it's a bit obvious on most of the parts). Immediately after this small navigational map, you'll find some contact info.. whether you are the typical fan or the kind that believes a personal letter is more fitting. Then we find yet another updated-every-so-often updates section.. with some small information on random stuff.. (Today being Aug 04 '06) I can find the normal Faux Pas update, a reminder of their online shop and a link to their site map.. along with a reminder of how great their webhost is (pfft, they don't even mention them on their main page and OzFoxes IS their very best hosted site :/ ) And to finish, the obligational footer with copyright stuff and other random buttons. Now.. remember I told you about the small second-level bar that would appear while browsing? Well, the main page has two sub-sections, Site Map and "What's New".. so on to the first one.. - Site Map This is a small table containing every single link in the entire navigation bar (on both, main sections and sub-sections); colored depending on the main navigational bar (You'll understand once you see it yourself, if you do). Anyways.. this is a very useful page if you want a quick look to all the page, or want to find something specific.. also it helps you realize the way they update their page.. or the way they dont.. For example.. you can see the updates of the main page.. or how some sections are rather dead.. such as the art tips; sad of course because it would've been nicer to have more of their knowledge for us to read. - What's New This part is a sub-section of the main page... in other words, its on the very same place.. just scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll find it :/ - Foxes! - Two sections, the main one (when you enter) and the Foxy FAQs. Section 1 So well.. first you will find the general information about foxes.. from the way they look to the way they live, both in urban and wild places.. then.. you will keep reading about this.. for a small while.. then .. the section is over. - Foxy FAQs The second part of the Foxes! section is within the main page of this.. just further down (yes again..); anyways, this FAQ lists a wide variety of matters.. from the "how do i make them go away" to the strange questions.. like "What is a fox's tail called".. a good reading if you seek for more knowledge about foxes, or if you just enjoy learning more about all animals. - Cat-alog - Yes, haha good joke... fine, it's bad, but the items they sell are not! Anyways, here you can find a sub-menu appart.. with all of the things they sell. Also on the main page, you can get a glance to their Fantasy Art (bad idea if you ask me, considering how big this page can seem just because of that). Also far down after the gallery, you can see the How To Order instructions, which can be found on the rest of the shopping pages.. and also some other information.. and at the very bottom you will find the shopping menu again. Now I will describe the different things they have for sale.. in order of their menu: - Fantasy Art So well, first we start with a page full of random artwork! From their Faux Pas stars to a unicorn and the loch ness monster.. also some Robin Hood (yep, the Disney movie) art.. and other random anthro foxies. What can I say.. the style is really neat, and the ideas are rather funny; as they are simple prints at a reasonably low price (10$), I'd have no problem buying some of them.. just for the will of supporting them. - Faux Pas Art Then we have the shop section where you can find the prints of their comic, Faux Pas. All of them are also small prints with a reasonably low price (10$); obviously featuring the different characters of such comic. This ones I would of course buy them, not only for supporting them, but also because I personally LOVE those characters.. and a print or two could come in handy just to have something nice in your books or something. - T-Shirts Rather nice... rather old.. rather not updated.. rather few.. I can't lie to you.. the art that this T-Shirts display are rather nice.. one is cute and one is cool.. i wouldn't mind having one of each (decent price, 20$); but i doubt i'd be using them often.. If i was a girl probably I would but yeah.. I'm not, and I don't like black either :/ Also.. it's rather sad how they only tried with two different styles.. they could've done much better.. but oh well. - Wildlife Art Again we find the normal prints, at a reasonable price (10$). All of them featuring realism, and two different animals; foxes and horses. Nice if you want to support them, or if you're into realist art of this animals, as they are rather good pictures with nice backgrounds. - Publications Here you will find two options, Faux Pas or Sweet Treats; However to save you some time, it talks about the different books they had, one being a small collection of Faux Pas comic and other being a kitchen book with anthro-foxes images; neither of them is still being printed nor on stock.. so if you want to find out more about them read here, and if you find one of such books; BUY THEM! They're collectibles! And send the Faux Pas one to me ^^'' - Calendars Well, it's always useful to have a calendar, right? Well how about a calendar with your favorite characters! Here you can purchase two different kind of calendars (yes, they're still being yearly updated thankfully). One with your Faux Pas favorite characters and some of their comic strips as background, and other with OzFoxes secondary franchise, Marsha "Treats" (same one as the kitchen book). At only 12$ each! (Hey, one dollar per month? heck i'd pay even three times as much!). And not only that, but they're also hand-signed! .. Yes i want one.. meh I'm so getting one along with my christmas cards this year.. - Greeting cards A rather special yet nice shopping option for anyone, here you can find a nice ammount of greeting cards (mostly christmas) for your friends! Featuring: Faux Pas characters, Marsha from "Treats", and random foxes from the wildlife area! Cost: 1-9 cards: 1.50$ each 10-24 cards: 1.35$ each 25-89 cards: 1.15$ each 90+ cards: 1 dollar each Now.. what i think about them? Sweet Treats = Nice Wildlife = Nicer Faux Pas = Have I mentioned i LOVE this guys? Now seriously.. some of the Faux Pas cards may not be suitable for any random friend.. and such may not be worth buying individually.. but others are just perfect for any friend of yours, whether furry or not! And I don't mean this because im trying to sell you something.. I say this because I mean it. I myself am saving some money to buy some couple hundreds of this for the upcoming christmas; and you know? They're much nicer and much cheaper than those crappy cards you can find on any random shop.. Yes I forgot to mention, you can buy them in any ammounts you want.. 1 of each.. 1 of the first one and 3000 of the fourth one.. etc. Well and that's all about the shop area. Yes I know it sounds like if I was trying to sell you something, and the fact is that I am, but not because anyone asked me to, but because I think they deserve some recognition, and the only way we can do so (some of us that is) is a nice e-mail and buying some of their stuff. - Comics - Various sections: Archive Daily, Archive Weekly, Current, Overview, Links, Art Tips - Archive Daily, Archive Weekly, Current. Obviously they're all about Faux Pas and their different stages.. an "easy to browse" option.. but well that's not what we care about right now is it? At the bottom of the page you will find a list of several Top-Lists about webcomics.. feel free to vote for Faux Pas if you want.. (I did and found sadly that it's not within the top of many of the lists.. so yeah i don't trust this kind of lists anyways.. no Dragon-Tails either, I mean come on!). Also a massive ammount of google ads.. they arent annoying as this isnt an important part of the page but still.. click on them every so often to help them a bit ^^ Anyways! The important part now, Faux Pas itself! Faux Pas, my second favorite webcomic, featuring the urban-raised fox and silly Randy; the wild-raised vixen and clever Cindy, the annoying yet always useful Myrtle DeHen (yes, a hen), the smart horse Arthur, the abusive feline Kira, the magic bunny Stue and it's feminist mate Edie. Along with other random characters of course. Now, this webcomic, as most of the webcomics, has a rather random storyline.. whatever can happen every week; but at the same time it has a permanent romantic focus on the relation between Cindy and Randy.. which gives it a unique touch. The humour, able to be understood by either kids or grown ups, can be of any kind.. black and acid.. actual.. totally random.. and many other ways! Yes I know.. I probably suck at describing the comic well enough to make you want to read it.. but well that's just because I can't really describe things that I really like. Eitherway.. I seriously encourage you to give it a shot.. try reading some of the first weeks, it won't take much time, and you'll eventually enjoy it (or so I hope). - Overview It gives you a quick overview of the current storyline, as well as the background of Faux Pas, and how it wasn't originally a webcomic. Rather interesting reading. - Links This is contained within the Main page of the comics section.. it scrolls you down to the Top Lists area. - Art Tips The already mentioned not-updated area.. it gives you a quick introduction of how they work and then a couple of short articles about the way they think and work. Personal recommendation: A Quick Bibliography, Anyone Can Draw! Yes I know it says "more to come, come back often!".. well there have been no updates for five years now.. so yeah :/ - OzFoxes - Well this is the area that could be generally called "About Me/Us" or "Info", here you can find some information about the owners and creators of the page and art, and the reason they created such. As always, I encourage you to read this, as it is always good to know more about the people whose art you enjoy. - Ramblings This section was supposed to be like a kind of journal that they would update every so often.. the problem is that they update it every so.. well.. they never update it. - Fox Lynx - The obligational Link area of any website.. here you can obviously find different links to other sites that they either like or are linked to.. As always I won't review this area as the content can be liked or not depending on different people (and I haven't had the time to check all of the sites yet). - E-Mails - The Contact information page, here you will also find a quick look to some of the FAQ from the Foxes section; some information about their catalog, and at last their contact information. Of course if you enjoyed the site, I further encourage you to send them an e-mail, believe it or not, this kind of artists are the ones that appreciate your thoughts the most. (Also if you do, try including me in there! I like having some recognition too :P) -- Last Thoughts -- OzFoxes, the FoxWeb, is a great site for fox-lovers, a good site for any fur and a decent site for any random person. Their art is great, and their comic is awesome. Absolutely worth browsing site and of course one of my top bookmarks. On the other side.. they probably don't have much time to mantain their website, so I invite any good web designer reading this to use some of its spare time to give them a website worth their content (look-wise). I would do it myself, but I'm just learning, and the point is to make it better not worse :P. Yes I know, maybe they actually like that look.. but I seriously believe they deserve something much nicer.. always worth a try; especially if you have some ideas for designs but nowhere to use them, don't you agree? On the same topic.. I notice how they often praise Purrsia (their webhost), while they don't even link to their top page.. kinda sad.. Probably they have their page hosted for free.. but I think they could find a better one.. And if they are actually paying.. well That's just wrong! I'd totally be willing to give them all my web space for free :/ Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)