A friend of mine, many years ago, showed me a cartoon that was fascinating, funny, and horrifying. In my memory, it was the first anime I'd ever seen. I'd forgotten most of it over the years, and would try to find it once every so often, without knowing ...

Welcome to Throviria, a planet inhabited by the descendants of the late human race. This planet still has wars and there was recently an attack between the Rabalians of Rabalja and a neighboring country, Nordalia.

There are a select few among the Throvirian population called "elspardirs" that have gained special ...

“Save ALL your work. Never throw your old art in the trash!” was a repeated mantra from all my art teachers over the years. The reasoning behind this idea makes sense: Old art is like a time capsule for fresh ideas and it can be a great addition in a ...

image by Walt Simonson

I read a lot of Marvel Comics back in the day. The Hulk, Spider Man, The X-Men…it was actually the ORIGINAL X-Men I really loved (which I read in reprints). Right around the time I was discovering those old Stan Lee/Jack Kirby X-Men stories ...

Tanya is a daydreamer. She loves sitting outdoors and drawing in her sketchbook. Tanya and her best friend Licorice are both technically natives growing up in a space colony even though she thinks of herself as a Spaceling. However, the two have very dissimilar interests. Tanya likes to talk about ...

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Hello, hello, hello! This is the second part of our hugely long expose on the tricky art of WORLD BUILDING! And it really IS extra loooooooooooog… that's because we take so much time crafting the Quackcast world for you. To recap: world-building is a big part of ALL ...

Summer here is hot and dry, but it's so short that sometimes it feels more like a coffee break in an endless winter than a real season. People who live in the prairies know that each summer day has to be savoured - tucked away as a little memory for ...

I'm not sure who the first fictional character was that I became attached to. The Cat in the Hat? Superman? Jason Voorhees, maybe?

In any case, Jughead Jones was somewhere in that early group of beloved characters. I liked Archie, and envied his dating life with Betty and Veronica ...

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We've talked about formulas before, but mostly in the context of escaping formulas and reinventing them.
NOW however we're talking about using existing formulas to create a story, or creating new formulas and sticking to them to come up with your stories.
Formulas can be a good ...

Celest Von Mew is a very bubbly and excitable University student. Typical of college students, she is concerned with her grades in school, making new friends, and her wardrobe reflects a pretty unique sense of style.

One day, a mysterious booth appears distributing FREE “Nommie Candy-Chews” which are creamy milk ...