Blue Canary FAQs

Q:	*Where did the concept for Blue Canary* come from?**
A:	Ever hear of They Might be Giants? Get their album, Flood, and listen to the second track, "Birdhouse in Your Soul." One day when I was listening to it, the idea just grabbed me and wouldn't let go!
Q:	Why do you sign your work "ryn"?
A:	They are the last 3 letters of my name, the part everyone misspells. They will ask for a "K" or a "C" but assume the ending is "erine." I guess it's my rant. That and it looked cool.
Q:	*Is Blue Canary* available anywhere else?**
A:	In print form, no. It did run in the Herald, the campus paper of Arkansas State University, located in Jonesboro, AR, from September, 2000 to December 2001, when I graduated. Recently, the Herald redesigned their website. It looks great, but as of the last time I looked, the past archives were not there. Maybe one day they will be available online, but since the comics that ran in the Herald were the same ones on this website, I wouldn't go looking for them. If you know where the archived copies of the Herald are in the Dean B. Ellis Library on the ASU campus, you should be able to find the comics. Click here for a complete list of dates comics originally ran. Is it elsewhere on the web? Not at the moment, but I plan on getting a mirror site in case the Keen servers go down.
Q:	What programs do you use to make your comic and what type of computer do you use?
A:	I have used both Macintosh and Windows platforms, but mainly use Windows because that is what I have at home. When you couldn't afford a computer in college and your mother buys you one, you don't complain about what platform she gets as long as it does the job! I loved the G4s in the Graphic Design lab on campus, but I did graduate, so that restricts my use of those Macs and I can't afford a G5 as of yet. Anyone out there want to patronize a struggling cartoonist and buy her one? huh? 6^) I scan the comic in, sans dialogue and thought balloons. From there, I use either Adobe Photoshop (5.5), Corel Photopaint (9.0) or Painter (7.0) and do touch ups and add gray-tones/colors with my Wacom Graphire 2 tablet. Then, it's exported into Adobe Illustrator (8.0) for better control of placing the text and balloons. Finally, if it's for print, I export that as a 300 dpi TIFF, like I did for the Herald. For the web, I skip the TIFF and turn it into a 72 dpi GIF or JPEG depending on which is smaller. I'm thinking of making the images all PNG files in the future for faster loading. Downside is, you'll need the newest version of your web browser to view it. I tried it once and well, I messed it up, big time! I'll need someone to show me what I'm supposed to do before I try it again, but I have not given up yet on the PNG.
Q:	What art supplies do you use?
A:	11" x 17" 110 lb. Cardstock (Wausau Exact Index, I believe,) is the paper I use. I am, however, thinking of switching to 14 x 17" Strathmore Bristol Board. I use a small triangle and a metal ruler to help draw the panels. I use Sakura Micron Pigma or Zig Memory System pens. I use the point sizes:08, 05, 03, 01, and 005. My next goal is to learn to ink with a brush. I'm also experimenting with brush pens. Should I feel inclined to color a comic by hand; I would use watercolors in a vaguely drybrush-like technique.
Q:	How do you come up with ideas?
A:	Oh, boy. This is the question is so hard to answer and have it explain the process adequately. Sometimes they hit me at random or songs or pop culture just transforms itself into a joke or a comic idea. Other times, it's like the characters are living in my head and I'm only a camera documenting their bizarre life. Usually, though, I run ideas and page layouts by my boyfriend, Ken, who tells me which ones are good, gives suggestions and helps me tweak any punchlines to their funniest. For some reason, I think up my best stuff when he's around.
Q:	Can I link to your site?
A:	Please do! I have some link buttons and banners here, at varying sizes should you wish to use them. If you don't like the ones here and want to make your own, I ask that you please submit them to me so that someone else can use it, too.
Q:	Can I use some of the images on your site?
A:	That depends on the reasons you want the images. Anyone can use a link button or banner without permission, provided they use them for the purposes of linking to Blue Canary, but I may have issues with a specific comic or picture. E-mail me about questions such as this. If you ask *nicely*, I may grant you permission. Remember, that as the owner of my work I hold the right to deny anyone the use of my art. And pray I don't catch you stealing it and passing it off as your own. I'll give you such an ouchie!
Q:	Odile does magic but isn't a witch. What gives?
A:	That's because her magic isn't her religion, like with Wicca. I don't know too much about Wicca to portray it without resorting to a stereotype, like Wicked Witch of the West. So, rather than adding to the troubles of others, I made Odile and her family mages instead. If you want a good comic about a Wiccan witch, go check out Jamie Robertson's Clan of the Cats. The von Creepenstein's magic is hereditary, after years and years of other mages marrying into the family. They study their magic a lot like a science, to learn to use if wisely and to prevent it's misuse by others. Other mages you may or may not run across in the story, who are not related to Odile and her family, would either have their magic awakened inside of them during one point in their life or inherit their powers like the von Creepensteins. The inspiration for making Odile a mage came from reading rulebooks to RPGs like White Wolf's Mage: The Ascension or the old Ars Magica (am I spelling that right?) However, this does not make any of the mages in my comic like the ones in White Wolf's games. There may be similarities, but there will also be differences. White Wolf's World of Darkness *is not* tied into, in anyway, the little universe in which Blue Canary takes place. For starters, it's way too happy and cute a place for any of the White Wolf stuff. 6^)P I did not design the mages in this comic from the White Wolf system, and nor should anyone be able to play them in a game. Mostly because I doubt the storyteller or whatever you call the Dungeon Master would allow it, but also because I'm asking you not to play any of the mages that appear in my comic in an RPG, tabletop or LARP. If you want to use one of my characters as an inspiration for your own character in an RPG and the Game Master allows it, that's ok. However, they must not have the same name or too similar a name. Have I ever played Mage? No, but like I stated above, I've read the rulebooks. Will I play? Prolly not. I'm way too busy and I like my own mages better.
	Is your question not here? Then ask away! Try the forum or e-mail!