The Massive Furcadia Update and You

Hello friends, clients and watchers, I'm here with another helpful/boring update!

So, for starters, you may have noticed I've been a lot more busy recently. I've started doing two adoptables and two ych's every month, and I intend to KEEP doing so! So, if you like adopts or if you like the chance at getting art cheaper than I otherwise offer, STAY TUNED. Click your watches. Read my journals. Check daily- or at least weekly! As usual Commissions are always first come first serve, and Sales will not be announced before they start!

And, for anyone who doesn't yet know, I have some exciting news! I've recently been approved to become one of the Pixel Beekins on furc, and am looking forward to and am excited about that immensely! Hopefully you guys will be getting to see my handiwork around the game a bit more- I hope so! YEY.

Now for the meat of this journal.

As a forewarning, this information can/will be changed as more information about the update comes out. As of right now, this is what I know and am aware of. It *may* be wrong and might be changed later.

As most of my clients and friends and clients are Furcadia players, I decided to dedicate this journal to answer a few questions that have been being tossed my way, and I'm going to hopefully lay them all out here.

The Questions:

• Will I be able to use the avatar you did for me in the update?
  
• Will you update my avatar that you did for me to 32 bit?
  
• Will you update my avatar that someone else did for me to 32 bit?
  
• What will you charge for the updates to avatars?
  
• Full size? Full screen? What's that?
  
• How will the Update affect my current patches (that I may or may not have done for you)?
  
• Can I update my Avatar/Patches myself that you did for me?
  
• How will this update affect new avatars and updates? Will they need to be upgraded too?
  
• Will you update my avatar/patches before the 32 bit Patch update comes out?
  

Okay. That's a lot of questions with a lot of complicated answers. Ill try to be as thorough as possible.

Will I be able to use the avatar you did for me in the update?

Technically, yes. But realistically? No. Your avatar will no longer remap properly if you try to use it once the update is released, which means you will have to get it updated if you don't want to appear orange, green, pink and grey. These colors were the original color codes used to make your avatar remap, and have been basically completely done away with, so avatars no longer require them. I'll spare you the how and the whys unless people really want to know. Just know that, yes, if you want to use your avatar correctly after the update, you WILL have to get it updated by an artist.

Will you update my avatar that you did for me to 32 bit?

Absolutely! I am more than willing to upgrade avatars that I did for you, you need only send me a note, email, or other form of contact for this. Please bare in mind that this service is not free. I know it sucks, because everyone will have to do it, but I also cannot do 100's hours of work for free for everyone I've ever done an avatar for. If I had any choice in the matter, I wouldn't have to charge you guys and there would be just a simple converter to do it, but as such, there isn't. Upgrading still takes a fair amount of work, and artists like myself still need to eat.

Will you update my avatar that someone else did for me to 32 bit?

In most cases, No! Because I feel like coming to me to have something updated that someone else worked on is wrong, however, if you have specified, written permission from the artist (A whisper, an email, something that I can see), I will do it for you if for some reason they wont. Or, if you for some reason cannot find the original artist, either they quit furc, stopped doing pixel art or aren't answering your emails after a serious length of time (more than three months), then I will be willing to do the bare minimum to make the avatar functional for you, but I refuse to make any other changes to the avatar beyond that. This too is not free, and will be negotiated based on my current prices.

What will you charge for the updates to avatars?

Ah, the real question on everyone's lips.

Well, after completing updating my own avatar in order to get some practice in and to sort of learn the process, I have decided to charge 40% of the price of the Avatar as the price would stand currently at the time you ask for the update.

Well, what the hell does that mean? And what does that cover, exactly?

Basically, over time, I and other artists progress, naturally. If you look at the work I did when I was first starting out on avatars and compare it to what I am doing now, there is a drastic improvement, and when there is improvement, the price goes up.

When you order the update, you will be getting a more skilled artist than at the time you purchased said art, and thus, more quality, which means, if you payed (for example) $60 for your avatar, but nowadays I charge $80 for the exact same thing (additional animations, specified poses, included) that you purchased, you will pay me 40% of the $80, which is $32. This is also because over the years my prices have altered and changed and been tweaked to fit the value of what I felt they were worth, and I cannot possibly remember exactly what everyone paid, and I don't have any interest in digging up individual forms, quotes, and invoices from god knows how long ago, so having it at 40% of the current price is the easiest, lest confusing concept to follow.

As for what this covers- this 40% is just to make the avatar functional. It does not include avatar updates like changes in attire, shape, poses, smoothing, or anything of the sort. This fee is purely so that you can continue to use your avatar as you have been for however long you've owned it. I know that sounds really easy, but believe me, there is a good amount of work that goes into every frame just to make it do that.

Now, if you would like for me to add new smoothing to the shading and/or new highlights, to remove the natural pixellation of legacy colors, I can do those for an additional 15% (for a total of 55% current price).

If you want the avatar to be edited in any way, as with a change of outfit, addition of limbs or jewelry, etc, those will be negotiated on a case by case basis and the scale of what you're wanting to have done. The bigger the change, the bigger the fee.

My website will be updated with all of these fees at the time of the drop (so as not to confuse current customers and prices), though I am keeping this as a reminder.

Full size? Full screen? What's that?

Another new aspect of furcadia is that you will now be able to play it in full screen, and instead of everything looking really pixellated, your avatars now will have a second sprite for every frame that is TWICE as big. What does this mean? Double the details. Now, for some people, full size wont matter, because you may not want to play in full screen mode (I probably wont... I kinda like the furc screen not taking up my whole monitor). But then you wonder, what happens to the normal sized avatars if they dont have a full size sprite (As none of the avatars do now). Well, don't worry. Furc is programmed to, if you change to full screen, double size your normal sized sprite automatically... The down side is it just wont look as good as it would if you had an actual full size art in the file. So, for people to play in normal size only, full screen may not be worthwhile.

HOWEVER, I will say this. Full screen is a massive upgrade to the entire furcadia interface as a whole. Not only will avatars look better, but so will everything else. Dreams. Patches. Walls and floors. Literally everything will have twice the detail that its EVER had in furcadia. This might make you want to play in full screen after all. For those who would like to, I am indeed offering to do full size sprites for pre-existing avatars that I've done for you (Or under the same pretenses as stated above, if I did not do it for you).

What will this cost?

I am going to be asking for 75% of the current price for your avatar. Why? Because I basically have to completely redraw/smooth/detail and/or reshade every frame in the file. Its almost a brand new avatar, with the exception that I'm just using the avatar you already have as a base. Otherwise, these avatars will basically be completely brand new and will have double the detail they had before.

How will the Update affect my current patches (that I may or may not have done for you)?

Don't worry! Your patches are fine, and will still look as they always did.

That said, they will look as they always did. They will not use any of the new colors available to furcadia users and patches in general, and though you can use them with no consequence, you may want to snaz them up with new colors and updated features, such as adding a full screen sprite to the items as well. I will charge to do this for you, but please remember that it is entirely optional and you do not require it in any way to keep using your patches. This price will be negotiated on a case by case basis and what you're wanting to update on the patches.

Can I update my Avatar/Patches myself that you did for me?

In tiny amounts, yes.

In massive overhauls? No. This is for a couple reasons: Firstly, I have all of the original files, and usually have full size versions of the art I used to make your avatar/patches in the first place, making it much easier for me to update them for you. Secondly, I have a very unique style, and if you modify the work yourself, my signature style may be lost, and the art you edit will no longer match the rest of the work I have done for you. Thirdly, as many of you know, I pour hours of work and effort (and pride!) into each and every piece of work I put out. If you go through and edit it beyond recognition, A) The art I did for you no longer looks like I did it, and I don't want my name attached to it, B) You're basically accepting that it's okay for you to go in and alter something that I did for you, without respecting the work I did for you in the first place, and make it into something you feel is better and then representing that as my work. Frankly, I do not want my name misrepresented.

It's also against my TOS to largely edit any artwork I have done for you in any format, be it digital art, patches, avatar, etc.

You wouldn't go to a gallery, buy a nice, really expensive piece of art, and then paint onto it yourself, would you?

Yes, you do own the work once I sell it to you, but please respect it for what it is. I will be more than willing to make any edits for you, large or small, for an appropriate, usually nominal fee.

How will this update affect new avatars and updates? Will they need to be upgraded too?

All new avatars and patches done after the official launch of the 32 bit update will be done in the new format with the new fox editor, and will not require any updates after they've been purchased. Instead of paying any additional % fees, you'll just be paying the one cost, as always, for your avatars and patches. That means, if you don't have an avatar yet and you want one, you might want to wait until 32 bit comes out. Or, you might not. I have no idea when the update is suppose to drop, so you could be waiting weeks, or months. Conversely, if you buy an avatar say, tomorrow, and it was finished, and then three weeks from now 32 bit came out, you'd have to pay upgrade fees, so its really upto you which you feel is more worthwhile- saving your money and chilling with a digo on for an unnamed amount of time, or, buying an avatar and possibly having to spend more money later! Some people would much rather have their avatars and be able to play right away, and I sure don't want to be accused of ripping anyone off!

Just to reiterate, I do think it really sucks that people have to update and that the only way for them to keep using my art is to pay for it. I wish I didn't have to charge at all, honestly, but as such, that just isn't feasible. My hands are tied in this. But, there are sacrifices that have to be made with advances, and from what I have seen of the new furc, its going to be amazing. WELL WORTH the extra costs, in my opinion.

Will you update my avatar/patches before the 32 bit Patch update comes out?

No. Because I imagine that it'll probably be a mad dash for everyone trying to get their avatars redone all at once, and I am not giving -anyone- preferential treatment. No reservations, no wait-lists. Everything will be first come first serve. Whoever's email forms get to me first are the ones I'm doing first. Anything you order now, pixel wise, will be done in the current format until the day that 32 bit drops. In the event I am working on a patch/avatar when that happens, I will discuss an appropriate solution with those clients if that happens. Hopefully it doesn't.

Okay, I think that about concludes everything I had to say! If you guys have other questions please reply them below and I will try to be as helpful as I can! Please try to only ask me questions that you think I legitimately might know the answer to!