teagangavet

Hey so, I’m probably older than you think. In high school, I remember my friend bragging to me about an invite code he got for this new website, ‘DeviantArt.’ It was this cool new place users could post their art to, make friends, get inspired, so on. Once upon a time, that was a novelty.

DA has never been my ‘main’ hub online, but it’s always had a special place in my heart. I’ve been active on this account since 2007. It really sucks they leaned so hard into the antithesis of art and the community that it once fostered.

I appreciate all of you who read my comic here. I really, really do— you guys often have some of the best comments and reactions to things. I love it, so thank you.

Bare with me, though, because I think this is important.

AI poisons the digital world just as it takes a massive environmental toll on the real world. This site is a great example.

I used to find neat art with a point of view, with intention. Now, I am only ever shown regurgitated garbage without meaning, dead inside plastic packaging.

The AI degradation of the Internet goes well beyond art, of course. If (like me) you think it’s neat when lost footage is found, that’s all over, since you can’t trust the source anymore. Searching for a simple answer or a how-to guide gives me endless generated slop. Finding new cooking recipes is the same. Even the search engines themselves suck now. You can’t trust gameplay footage from pre-release games, you extra can’t trust prototype demonstrations from crowd-funded projects. Fan-fiction is overrun. Regular publishers are stopping open-submission processes due to the flood of derivative AI-generated crap.

Everything good about being online is poisoned.

The direction AI takes the Internet is toward subscription services. Corporations want you to pay a monthly fee to access sites with reliable information. Imagine have to pay a monthly fee for your Maps app— because you will probably live to see it. That’s the future they strive for— to charge you for what is currently free, too add invisible fees, to pick you apart. For them, it’s great if AI spoils our public spaces with useless garbage, forcing us into moderated paid-for spaces with ‘the real’ information.

‘The rights you lose today are the rights your children never knew they had’ is prescient here as it is in politics.

What can you do? Don’t give them money. Here on DA, don’t pay for Core. (Some very nice anonymous folks gift me with a Core sub every now and then and a small part of me dies every time.) If a show or a YT channel you like starts using AI, let them know that sucks. An author you like is using AI art for covers-- tell them that just makes you assume the text inside is also AI slop. Keep an eye on the legal cases currently in the system and sign petitions, talk to the people in your life about the real implications. Take a moment to understand the environmental toll (here’s an article from Earth.org about it). Support the human artists you love. Push back where you can.

Personally?

I don’t post any art online anymore, aside from my comic. I do that because I want to share stories, and I want them to be accessible for as many people as I can.

But the rest of the art I do? I just do it for myself. I might show friends, or I might not, it’s all fine. Art is a personal experience, each piece a journey with stages and steps and accomplishments. It’s an act, not a prompt, and folks trapped in their eschatological cults won’t get that. You simply can’t experience creating art through empty air and stolen pixels.

There’s a Taoist philosophy I return to often. It’s not the bowl itself that makes it useful, but the empty space that’s meant to be filled. As humans, we’re all born with a hollow place inside us and we spend our lives finding ways to fill it.

It isn’t meant to be easy, but it also isn’t hard. The act of being alive is all about finding what makes you fulfilled. For me, I fill it with art and all the various hobbies I’ve had, and spending time with my partner and my pets.

If you’re a young person who enjoys art, and sharing your art, and you’re discouraged by everything online— it’s okay, that’s normal. It’s doesn’t feel good right now. But every use-case for AI is turning into a fraud case in the courts and I do think that our laws will eventually catch up to our reality.

In the meanwhile, please, keep at it and love the process, even when it’s frustrating, even when you feel like you’re doing it in the dark, all alone. Share your art with your friends on discord or in real life, and don’t worry too much about finding validation from some wider audience online. Your art doesn't need to be monetized to have value. Art is the process. It’s what fills your hollow spaces. You don’t need anyone’s permission or unasked opinion to enjoy yourself. Whatever you make, only you--on that day, in that space, in that emotional moment--could make it. Your effort is a net positive to the universe, even the small things we make only for ourselves or those nearest to us.

For Black Friday/Cyber Monday, FurPlanet is offering 10% off with coupon code “turkey2022”!

Oren's Forge: Predator and Prey is hard cover, 220 pages, and includes the full first volume of Oren’s Forge (which is stand alone so it makes a good gift…!)

It also has 20 pages of concept art and WIPs (neat)!

These copies are what remains from the KickStarter last year and they turned out awesome— here’s a link to some photos!

And, Just a heads up, there is a finite supply of books as I don’t plan on any reprints… so once they’re gone, they’re likely gone for good!

FurPlanet is distributing the bulk of the remaining books, so this is a great time to grab one online, but they’ll also be available from FurPlanet at MidWestFurfest next week and FurtherConfusion in January!

First things first — On the public side, Oren’s Forge (Volume One) will draw to a close in a couple months around New Years and will resume in April/May 2022 or so. I have no intention to hide the main story behind a paywall forever. If you like my comic, I want you to be able to read it.

However, if you’re a Patreon— the entire 199 page story is available RIGHT NOW for only $5, plus bonus content like work-in-progress art and panel breakdowns. It’s a lot of content for not much AND it helps ensure the comic can continue uninterrupted.

The main storyline is set to continue November 15th 2021 on Patreon with weekly updates!

Brand new pages which pick up right where Volume One leaves off!

Patreon is primarily how I’m able to continue working on the comic and providing weekly updates since 2019. I honestly couldn’t do it without the generosity of readers, so a huge thank you to current Patreons, and thank you for considering joining up!

Can’t join but you still want to support Oren’s Forge? Consider telling a friend! I have a Free/Pay-What-You-Want PDF of the first part of Oren’s Forge up on Gumroad. It’s a great way to introduce people to the comic.

Also on Patreon and Gumroad is…

Oren and the One-Eyed Wolf

This is a short (13 page) full color comic set sometime between the end of the first volume of Oren’s Forge and the next! It follows a dual narrative about Oren’s encounter with the One-Eyed Wolf mentioned on page 119 of Oren’s Forge. Learn more about Oren’s motivation that lead him south to the Conclave, as well as the inner-workings of the Grassland wolf pack!

You can read it on Patreon or get a PDF on Gumroad!

Kickstarter/THE BOOKS!

If you were part of the KickStarter, you’ve probably seen The Books! They look great but are stuck in shipping hell at the moment (what isn’t.) Check out this KS update to see ‘em!

I expect they’ll make their way off the cargo ship soon(ish). Once the books make their way out to backers, any extra copies will be available for sale. I’ll have some surplus on hand to sell direct, but FurPlanet is receiving a big chunk of books, too! They’ll be handling distribution through their website and for most major conventions.

The FRENCH EDITION!

I have no news except to say I’m in talks with the French publisher from the first volume! More on that later but just wanted to let folks know things are progressing.

That’s it! Hope you’ve enjoyed Oren’s Forge so far!

Available on Patreon ($5) and as a PDF on Gumroad ($9) is Oren and the One-Eyed Wolf!

It’s a short (13 page) full color comic set sometime between the end of the first volume of Oren’s Forge and the next! It follows a dual narrative about Oren’s encounter with the One-Eyed Wolf mentioned on page 119 of Oren’s Forge.

Learn more about Oren’s motivation that lead him south to the Conclave, as well as the inner-workings of the Grassland wolf pack! See some teaser panels here!

Just to be clear - I have no intention to hide the main story behind a paywall. If you like my comic, I want you to be able to read it. Oren and the One-Eyed Wolf expands upon the characters and the world and gives you a little sneak-peak into some characters coming in the next volume, but skipping it won’t negatively effect your understanding of the main story.

Q: Can I read Oren and the One-Eyed Wolf without reading the last 8 pages of Oren’s Forge, Volume One?

A: Yes, you can! There are no spoilers to the finale of Volume One.

However, Patreons can read Oren and the One-Eyed Wolf, along with the full 199 pages of the first volume, for only $5! Plus, you get access to bonus content like work-in-progress art and panel breakdowns.

Best part of being a Patreon? The main storyline is set to continue on November 15th 2021 with weekly updates of brand new pages! That’s… NEXT WEEK!

We’re in the homestretch of the Oren’s Forge KickStarter!

The KickStarter campaign ends Thursday, May 27th at 3pm MST!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/teagangavet/orens-forge-a-graphic-novel

Since reaching the Stretch Goals, ALL books have been upgraded to hard cover and every book order will receive extra vinyl stickers for free!

If you want a 200+ page hardcover physical copy of Oren’s Forge, this is your chance to guarantee yourself a copy!