Episode 28, + Weekly FAQ

By MGHC

*****


Fort Paradox Weekly FAQ #7

Q: How come Forkley's appearance is so inconsistent?
A: Um... where to start?  In short, because there are multiple different illustrators trying to draw him in multiple different art styles (as per the rest of the cast), and he's a particularly awkward one to pull off at the best of times.  The character began life as a small Lego model (which I still have - you're never too old for Lego, after all - and which will appear in some upcoming episodes with photographic artwork by SRJ), and that was our primary reference for Forkley's look in Fort Paradox, but he's gradually drifted away from that shape in some of the sketches.  The digital version of him which appears in Episode 25 is an exact reconstruction of the Lego version, but if he starts appearing in many more CGI strips then I might rebuild the virtual model to make it more consistent with the way he looks in Episode 27 and other places.

There's currently no narrative excuse for the phenomenon, but you never know...


- MGHC / The Colclough (on behalf of itself & TMJ & SRJ)

Episode 27

By MGHC

Episode 26, + Weekly FAQ

Script by MGHC & TMJ --- Artwork by TMJ

*****

Fort Paradox Weekly FAQ #6

(from hannahlikessheep*baa*)

Q: Which medium do you each prefer to work with?
A: Well, my favourite medium is felttip/marker pen and paper (episodes 9, 10 and 23 and all of Brothers in Shells were drawn with a Paper Mate Flair, and I've just drawn an episode with a Sharpie). As for SRJ and MGHC: Sarah's is probably photos (coming soonish!); Matthew says he has the most fun doing pencil drawings, but he likes the results better from CGI or four-biro artwork even though they're a pain to do.


*****


And if you haven't checked the Fort Paradox page for a few days, then you'll be pleased to know that posting will return to twice weekly next week. See the last blog for more on the updates, plus a preview of what's coming up!


-TMJ (on behalf of himself & MGHC & SRJ)

The Triumphant Return of Tuesdays!

Hello all
IT'S REJOICING TIME!!! We come bearing glad tidings: Tuesday postings will resume from next week!  (I.e. Episode 27 will be published on the 22nd.)

We're currently in the middle of a massive writing binge - February looks set to become our most productive Fort Paradox-writing month ever - and the buffer is filling up nicely: 20 episodes and counting, with several more expected in the next week or so.  So in keeping with what we said last Friday, to the effect that we might restart Tuesdays once we had 20+ strips in the buffer, we're restarting Tuesdays.

And to tide you over until the next post, we've decided to compile a little sneak preview of what's coming up... the general idea being to whet your appetite with tantalising snippets of artwork while remaining as obscure as possible and keeping the plot firmly under wraps.  The Whovians among you should know what we mean if we say we're Moffating.

Coming in 2011...

Any guesses at what's going on in there?

Even though Weekly FAQs were invented to compensate for the lack of Tuesdays, we're going to carry on with them for at least a couple more weeks, as we've got questions that need answering.

So... see you on Friday!


- MGHC & TMJ

Episode 25, + Weekly FAQ

By MGHC

*****


Yes, this is a few hours early.  I won't be online tomorrow as I'm going to a wedding, so I decided to do today's update now instead.

Also: today's post marks the beginning of a new segment in the Fort Paradox story: Chapter III, The Void Window and the Bridge.


*****


Fort Paradox Weekly FAQ #5

(another made-up-ourselves one... my goodness, you're not a very curious lot, are you?  If you were cats you'd all be well on your way to immortality!)

Q: Is the one-post-per-week thing permenant now?
A: Not for definite.  It all depends how fast we write the strip.  At the time of writing, there are 39 completed episodes (unless Tim's snuck some more in since I last spoke to him), and 25 of those are published, which leaves 14 in the buffer.  We'd like to have a bit more than that in the buffer - I can't vouch for TMJ or SRJ, but personally I'd say over 20 - before we start posting on Tuesdays again.  Basically, you can assume it will stay one-per-week until further notice, but we're hoping to go back to two-per-week sooner or later.  It's just a matter of when.

But here's the exciting bit: you could make it happen faster!  If you volunteer as a guest writer / guest illustrator / both (see last week's FAQ), then in theory the average production rate should increase, and the posting rate would probably follow suit.  How's that?


- MGHC / The Colclough (on behalf of itself & TMJ & SRJ)

Episode 24, + Weekly FAQ

Script by TMJ --- Artwork by MGHC

*****


Fort Paradox Weekly FAQ #4

(Back to the questions we made up ourselves this week... anything else the audience wants to know?)

Q: Can I join in?
A: Depends what you mean by 'join in'.  Let's try rephrasing the question a couple of different ways, and see what happens...

Q: Can I come barging along in a fit of egotism, elbow aside the original creators, seize control of the project and impose my own agenda?
A: No you can't.  Buzz off.

But having said that...

Q: Could I help to write and/or illustrate some episodes?
A: Possibly.  All joining requests will be considered on individual merit - i.e. if you're an illiterate drunk, you can only draw faceless stickmen and your ten favourite jokes all involve farting, then we're probably not interested; but if we like your sense of humour and/or your way with a pencil, then we'd probably be happy to have you on board, so long as you appreciate that it's our game, and you'd need to play by our rules.  Not that our rules are especially strict, mind you - just saying.

...and/or...

Q: My character is feeling a bit lonely.  Could they come to Fort Paradox and join in the fun?
A: Again, we might be able to make room.  The ecosystem inside the Fort is already diverse and confusing (at a quick count, the cast of the published episodes alone already represents some seven different species), so we could probably find a niche for another newcomer.



- MGHC / The Colclough (on behalf of itself & TMJ & SRJ)