1349 The Fuck!?

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So I’m at the store with the kid yesterday, we’re buying her art supplies for a scholarship thing she wants to win, and I stop to check out the games. She’s like “you should buy me Minecraft”. So I’m like “You acted like you hated it the other night.” So she says “I was distracted, and didn’t understand what to do, but I liked it.” So I bought it for her. I don’t fucking know about that kid anymore, but whatever. Maybe we can build a castle or something.

I decided to go ahead and just buy Manga Studio 5 EX. You can get it for about half off on Amazon and rather than drag my feet I decided to just use some of that Patreon money to try and bring you guys some better quality work. I’ve been using 4 in preparation for a shift to the new software. Since Windows and Photoshop CS1, are having more and more trouble getting along I thought I better have a backup plan for when I can’t use PS anymore. Photoshop is becoming less and less friendly to the small time creator, so hopefully Manga Studio will keep things a little more affordable for the foreseeable future.

At the end of the day nothing is ever secure. I’m just taking a guess and doing what I hope will work. Unfortunately all my old files will eventually be unable to be opened in any program, so I’m going to need to do something about archiving them in a format that can at least be read in other programs. I’ve tried to move one from PS to Manga S, but it doesn’t work right. It might be that my stuff is too old, or maybe it just doesn’t work right ever, regardless it doesn’t work. Someday I’d like to offer the archive up as physical books, but that’s going to take a lot of work. At some point I’m going to have to hire someone to sort it out because I’ll never have time to do it on my own.

I absolutely need to buy a new external hard drive. The ones I have have passed the standard failure time period for their brands, so any day could be their last, or they could survive another 100 years. I find it’s best to place data on as many things as you can afford. The archive is too big for discs. It has been for well over 4 years. Long lasting hard drives is the best option.

The pages on the website are not print quality. They are optimized for the web. Meaning that they don’t print very well. You can, and at smaller sizes they would look fine, but I’m not sure what sizes those would be. I basically have 3 archives: base files, print “ready”, and web. The latter two can fit on a decent sized thumb drive. The base files is 147 GB. Which doesn’t seem as big as it did before memory space started getting so cheap. The web files are about 129 MB, but they start around page 280. The print archive is 400 or so MB, and contains all the pages so far. They are the size I arbitrarily decided was big enough the day I started.

Anyway, I’m going to try and keep using the old art stuff until I start a new arc, so that it doesn’t change styles mid story. And it’s still going to be me so the style can only change as much as my ability allows within the confines of the tools I have. I mean that picture of Jo in the panda outfit is Manga Studio, so it’s not like I’ll suddenly get better at art. XD

Also, just so people can stop asking, or those of you who read the blog can answer if it comes up, the circles under Victoria’s eyes a natural feature. I drew them black because I assumed people could make that leap without having to render them in a realistic color. Clearly that is not the case, so I made them purple today (and from now on), which is what mine look like when I’m sleep deprived. Some people have them even if they get enough sleep and Victoria has that going on. I used to know the word for it but I don’t anymore.

49 Comments

D’awwwwwww. Ya know. I kind of like Reggie. And I can’t wait to see what his sister’s like. I think, perhaps, she hasn’t spent as much time around Reggie lately to have seen his more recent growth.

On a side note: I discovered this webcomic Sunday night via TVTropes….. I went to work very tired and monday, and was very glad to have today off. Because I kind of sort of went on a massive archive binge.

This comic is fantastic, it really is. And I like how the characters all have very distinct personalities AND appearances. So far, my favourite characters are Nina… and oddly Reggie.

Reggie has become my favorite as well. But then Gollum is my favorite character from Lord of the Rings which I am told is.. unconventional. Anyways I think, this Victoria can be forgiven for not seeing Reggies recent developments in personality. I mean how much time has actually passed in the comics time line 4, 5 days? (Maybe author or someone else can fill me in on that cause I honestly don’t know). But by any standard Reggie is evolving pretty dang fast.

went to work very tired ON monday*

And, yah. It’s definitely a prime example of “webcomic time”. But I think it’s implied there are short timeskipped here and there, because characters occasionally refer to elapsed time that we haven’t seen. Namely on how long Carol and Thomas have been dating: “That long?”

As an aside, to demonstrate how much I like this webcomic, I hearby unblock the ads via noscript! Well, most of em. *nods grimly*

NOW…. COMMENCE THE VICTORIA/JOHN SHIPPING.

I wish I had seen this comment sooner. I really wonder what entry brought you here. XD anyway I’m glad to know you enjoyed my work. Hopefully you’ll feel like stopping in to the comments from time to time.

If you’re looking for long term storage, definitely spring for a solid state drive. The prices have dropped drastically in the past few years.

…can I hug Victoria?
She looks like she needs a hug…

She needs to lay off the coffee, hit the shower, and come back to us for a hug, when she doesn’t appear to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Hell, I’m surprised that she didn’t lose it entirely when half of the Furry Conference decided to hit on Reggie in front of her!

I’d suggest downloading a copy of the GIMP just to be able to get at your old Photoshop files when/if the need arises. Don’t try doing the comic in it, though–that way lies madness.

I can’t say anything about the way you work software-wise, but as far as backup & long term storage goes, I’ve been having the same problem for ages (working in IT&C support).

Best way to get reliability for your money is to build your own external drives, since most prebuilt versions use pretty cheap versions of your normal, everyday internal hard drives.

I use the Purple series from Western Digital, 2 TB version. This drive is built to take 24/7 use, it has a good mean time between failures and decent cost. DO NOT buy 2.5 inch drives, even if the enclosures are cheaper for them, since their higher data density per square inch means less reliability as well.

And no Samsung / Seagate (the versions that are basically rebranded Samsungs/ Toshiba / Hitachi either. The number of failures I’ve had in 2014 were a sad thing to see.

What’s the issue with seagate/samsung? Many high end use it as far as i know and apple store is filled with lacie brand wich use seagate, i personally have been using them for many many years and i still haven’t had them fail on me while i have been using them and i recommend them usually to most people, you sure you haven’t just been unlucky in the ones you got?

We use seagate barracuda by the ton in various arrays for storage servers. They’ve been as reliable as anything else. Obviously they don’t match up to the SAS drives, but they’re literally a tenth of the cost, so that’s fair.

However much you pay it might die anyway, so whatever you buy you need to buy two of. In my experience getting lots of cheap disks is both cheaper and more reliable.

…

Okay there is no way the librarian didn’t know they were siblings. If they’re on a first name basis then she should know their last names are the same.

There are furries I’ve known for years that I still only know by their fursona. Not everyone blurts out their particulars the second they shake hands. Fuck, there are just regular people I’ve known for decades who I’ve only ever known by their first name. That said, Victoria isn’t a super common name. Alex might suspect they are related and simply has sense enough not to out her to her brother.

Well, between the uncommon name, slim figure, and tweaked-out speedwalk, you’d figure that Reggie would feel a vibe if not her aura. However, he’s a pretty numb guy, so perhaps this slips past the radar point blank.

I like the 3-2-1 rule as a good starting point for safe backups.

3 copies
2 different media (HDD & BluRay disc, for example)
1 copy located off site (at a friends house, or a bank vault if you’re so inclined)

Since your files are a bit large to put on anything but multi GB drives, maybe split them among several flash drives or SD cards, then store them as your second media?

Definitely send a copy, no matter what media it’s on, away from home. Should you have a disaster at home, if all your backups are there, you lose everything!

Pointing out the longevity of computers kinda ruins the realism of a lot of missions in video games. You would never be able to find ancient information on ancient computers b/c it would probably be corrupted. If my Mischief Makers game can’t last a couple decades how could any digital information last hundreds of years.

So I kind of fell into teaching high school for se back assward reasons.

Teenagers do NOT make sense. Right now I have one that has “bonded to me” despite have a) signed multiple “refusal to work” forms because he called me “annoying as shit” b) told me “f you” and c) stated several times I had a “fake ass class”. Now he won’t leave me alone. Weirdos :)

Okay, now we have a glimpse into Victoria’s home life. And probably the reason for her retreat into her Cute Suit.

I’ve had pretty good luck with Toshiba external drives. I have two older (as in, 5 years) 500GB portable Canvios; one is my at-work desk-drawer weekly backup drive. The other is the backup for a netbook I don’t use much since I got the tablets, except to drive my scanner. I keep a 1TB the company bought for testing in my backpack; it keeps a second, take-home backup of my work desktop and laptop. It’s about 2-1/2 years old and keeps ticking along. I just bought a 2TB 2-1/2″ for backing up just photos. I have a 3TB (3-1/2″) hooked up to my main computer at home; it’s about 2 years old. I’ve recently purchased a 5TB because the 3TB is getting full of backed-up photographs.

So, why do I have so many external drives? Three failed Western Digital MyBook externals: 500GB, 1TB and 3TB, and a second 500GB that’s limping along until I copy everything off it to the Toshibas. Two failed primary drives: one 500GB and one 1TB. Both were Seagates. Three of my company-owned backups failed over the past five years: a Seagate, a Fantom and another Seagate. A third Seagate started throwing errors last Friday. It’s only a year old.

The Toshibas have worked for me. They don’t quit. YMMV and I make no guarantees, but if you want to keep your data safe, back up to two different drives.

I’ll second the recommendation of GIMP for file format compatibility. Free, and roughly as powerful as Photoshop, though it can be a bear to use sometimes. Among its superpowers is an incredible range of format compatabilities.

Also, to counter a previous recommendation, DO NOT store data on Flash drives in a safety deposit box if you want to keep it. Flash drives store data as charges on millions of tiny capacitors – leave them unpowered long enough and the charge fades away, taking your data with it. Also don’t use CD/DVD-Rs for long-term archiving, the organic die breaks down over time. Rewritable discs are okay though, they store the data in a stable phase changing crystal and the data should remain secure as long as the layers don’t begin to physically delaminate.

What he’s saying is, effectively, “Keep it cool.” If the disks get too warm, the substrate (the acrylic medium of the disk itself) may warp, and the ‘foil’ layer that actually holds your data will start to break down. This is why CDs or DVDs kept in un-air-conditioned attics (or near radiators) are volatile. To much hot, too short good.

Today’s comic reminds me of the TV cartoon, named “Bug’s Bonnets”.
In BB, Bugs Bunny + Elmer Fudd get new personalities, every time someone drops a new hat on their head(s).

Maybe furry ears + furry fursuits can make people feel like a whole new person, just like “the magic” with Bugs + the hats.
Yeah, isn’t you day brighter, now that I’ve told you about a vintage Bugs Bunny cartoon?
:D

I LOVE how, in the last panel, that Victoria’s mask, + her face, have totally different expressions!

I think the mime, Mr. Marcel Marceau, had a skit like that. [ Him? Please look him up. It’s educational and stuff.] : )

I’m not entirely sure why she went with something quite that happy – it’s rare that fursuits look angry or upset, yes, but the open mouth and bright eyes make hers somewhat extra-happy.
She’s also gone with a clothed look, but that’s probably just because she went for a ‘slim’ form rather than the simpler-to-make ‘square’ form – still, it doesn’t hurt the cute look.

If she’s as gloomy as she seems, I’d have expected her to want to avoid anyone thinking she’s going to be up for playing around – some of the more ‘famously happy’ fursuits (specifically the suit, because the fursuit usually has a ‘persona’ attached, and in some rare cases has even changed owners without the public being told) get pulled into impromptu performances several times each way between their hotel room and the performance-room-things.
The less happy fursuits tend to be able to walk around without much trouble, other than maybe the occasional request for a photo or whatever.

That’s good advice.
A very happy-looking, come-play-with-me-looking fursuit probably isn’t what everyone wants to have.

I wanted to say something comforting to you crave, but I’m such an airhead, hard drive failure never occurred to me, now I am seriously frantic over here trying to remember just how old my hard drives are and if I need to back them up again…its far too much stuff to just lose >__<

apparently these comments don’t like parenthesis, so the rest of my comment got cut off. anyway I wish you luck, hope the new program works out! I need to go shopping for new hard drives just in case….

Actually, your use of the Greater Than / Less Than characters torpedoed your comment. The comment editor thought they were Hyper-Text Markup Language and butchered your text.

If you have to have a non-mainstream potentially embarrassing/mortifying hobby definitely choose one that involves wearing a full face mask.

Good call Victoria! XD

Just a thought Crave, but does the teen read your comic/comments on it?
I can imagine having a rather candid insight into somones inner thoughts on you would cuase strange behaviour like that.

Also, still loving the comic! Keep up the good work. ^^

She doesn’t read the comic unless she is posting something herself. I actually think she decided to like MINECRAFT because a boy she likes does.

I think you’ll like manga studio 5, it’s what I use for reignsreverie.com and I couldn’t be happier with it. Just my personal opinion though, don’t update it from the site. They fuck up they ui so it becomes total crap without adding anything of merit. Just stick with the basic software unless there’s some specific thing you need.

Congrats on moving to Manga Studio 5, it is the best current software I have found for doing webcomics. I hope you are able to get comfortable with it. I don’t know if it is out yet, but I know that they are doing a new dummies guide for 5. I have the one for 4, it was a great help in figuring out program, when the Japenglish in the manual wasn’t helpful.

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