This is where we'll respond to some of the questions and feedback from our readers, plus a bunch of questions that we made up before you get a chance to ask them yourselves!
Got another question? Write us! Links at the bottom!
Who are you guys?
Who's this "Christy" or "Stormy" person?
What do you each do for the site?
What software and/or other tools do you use?
Can't you guys update the comic more often??
Some of the pages look screwed up on my browser!
How do I do (such and such) on my webpage like you did?
Where can I learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, etc?
How come nobody's responding to me in the chat box? Hello??
Do you guys do commissions?
Can I steal your images?
Was Middlecenter a movie? Can we see?
Can I submit fan art? How?
How long does it take to make each comic page?
Can I borrow your characters/settings/etc for my own projects?
Come on, it's been two (or more) months! Are you going to make any more pages?
How do I insert clickable links into the forums and chat box?
What other HTML tags are allowed in the forums?
What is Middlecenter? How did it come to be?
Who are you guys?
The authors, Ed and Christy (or Stormy), are two college students from Ohio. For more information about us than you could possibly need to know, read our article, About Us.
Who's this "Christy" or "Stormy" person?
Stormy is one of Christy's nicknames and online alias. Stormy and Christy are the same person, and her names can be used interchangeably.
What do you each do for the site?
Ed: I write and maintain the site, both its HTML and PHP code. As one of the two authors, I help write and draw comic pages, as well as some graphics around the site.
Stormy: I help write and draw the comic, and come up with ideas for the site in general. I also draw the majority of the pictures you see around the site.
What software and/or other tools do you use?
Ed: For graphics and comic pages, I do everything digitally. I use Adobe Photoshop 6, and a Wacom drawing tablet as input. Occasionally, I may use 3dsmax for a few simple effects. My HTML and PHP code is written in the almighty Notepad. I once wrote a simple PHP parser, for error checking, in Visual C++ 6, but I don't use it so much anymore.
Stormy: I sketch, draw, and ink the pictures first either on regular printer paper or in my sketch book. Then I scan the pages (with my roommate's scanner), and color and add any effects with Photoshop 6, or, if working at school, 7.
Can't you guys update the comic more often??
Hey, these things take long! I know there's not much dialogue on each page, so it is a quick read, but we hope to set ourselves apart from many other of the webcomics out there by having decent art, as well as, we hope, an entertaining story. You know the old saying, quality, not quantity.
Some of the pages look screwed up on my browser!
First, I'll point out that this site should be viewed in a resolution of at least 1024x768, but that shouldn't cause any problems other than having to scroll around sometimes. Other problems are usually because each browser, unfortunately, interprets CSS (cascading style sheets) differently, whereas it should be as standard as plain HTML. Over time, they should all conform and therefore behave the same way. Which browser are you using? I've experienced some trouble in a few browsers-- well, actually almost all of them except IE, which we use-- but I've cleared up the issues with most of them. The site should be compatible with most mainstream browsers now, but more obscure browsers, like that blasted Konqueror, still cause problems. If you want to help out, email me (Ed) or post in the forums, indicate which browser you're running, and give a detailed description of what looks wrong (or a screenshot if you want!). I'll see if it's something I can correct, or if it's beyond my control.
How do I do (such and such) on my webpage like you did?
I (Ed) would be happy to give some tips if you have a specific question about web design. However, there are certain questions that I can't answer:
- I won't help you design your page layout, Middlecenter is enough work!
- I can't help you write your story. If you need help, pair up with a friend, like Stormy and I did! Teamwork is good motivation to keep working, too!
- I can't give you the code for our site, in part or in whole. I spent a lot of time on it, and I claim it as my own. Besides, we want to keep Middlecenter unique!
I will, however, help out with simple lines of code, offer general tips, or at least point you in the right direction. If you have questions about coding, it's probably a good idea if you have a general understanding of the language, be it HTML/CSS, Javascript, PHP, whatever. Otherwise, you'll reply to my answer asking "What on earth does all this mean?" and it'll be a waste of both our time. All in all, if you've got a question, ask. Just be aware that if it falls in one of those categories I listed above, you may not get a complete answer, but I'll help as best I can.
Where can I learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, etc?
Because the internet is everywhere, so are resources for learning web development. Go to any bookstore, and I guarantee you'll find a large selection of texts on the subject. You don't want to buy a book? Well, that's understandable! Fortunately, there are plenty of free online resources as well. I recommend Webmonkey, they've got tutorials on many different webpage languages. If you don't find what you're looking for there, just ask Google.
How come nobody's responding to me in the chat box? Hello??
Please, don't fill our chat box with lines such as "hello?" "anybody there?" "where is everyone?". First off, the box refreshes every 60 seconds, so it'll be at least that long before you see a response. Secondly, people have to be on that same page to see what you post, and thirdly, even if they see the post, they won't necessarily respond, it's up to them. Leave a message, and either leave your browser on this page, or check back later for new posts. Please don't keep posting nothingness, your posts will get deleted and you may even become banned. For a more detailed explanation of this and other such rules, please see our article, Chat Box Etiquette. In fact, we'd prefer that you do.
Do you guys do commissions?
We are open to commissions, but do understand that we are college students and/or employees, and need to find time for it among our work. Stormy put together a procedure and approximate price guide for her work. And although he hasn't put much thought into the matter, Ed is open for it too. Basically, if you want to commission either of us, email us and tell us what you want!
Can I steal your images?
Hmm, let me think... NO! We hate art theft. Generally speaking, you're welcome to save the images, or heck, even print them, for your own personal use, but please, DO NOT claim them as your own. If you're thinking of using them for anything, you might wanna consider the following:
Was Middlecenter a movie? Can we see?
Yes, Heroes of Middlecenter was originally a movie Stormy and Ed put together for her final project in Video class in Spring 2003. It is the story Chapter 1 of the comic is based upon. Now that the chapter has ended, it's available available for viewing on the Media page!
Can I submit fan art? How?
Of course! We love to see what our fans can do! Simply send your art to both Ed and Stormy. Remember, send it in as high a resolution as possible, in other words, make it nice and big and clear! We can always shrink it down to the right size on this end, but we can never make it bigger than it is originally. So to be safe, send it LARGE!
How long does it take to make each comic page?
Ed: I recently logged the hours I put into a page to get an estimated value. For this sample page (Page 57), all in all, it took about 14 hours over the course of three days. The breakdown was as follows:
Stormy's breakdown and total time may differ from mine. She will have to log her work sometime to give her estimate.
Can I borrow your characters/settings/etc for my own projects?
That really depends on exactly what you intend to do with them. If you want to draw a picture of our characters to post on your site, that's probably fine, we like fan art! If you want to make a spinoff series based on ours, that's probably not fine. If you want one of our characters to make a cameo appearance in your own world, that might be okay, but we'd have to give our approval after hearing your intentions. So the simple answer to this question is ask permission first. Even if you think we'll most definitely allow it, still ask first. We'll get rather miffed if we see our characters somewhere that we didn't approve, so before using anything, ask us!
Come on, it's been two (or more) months! Are you going to make any more pages?
I don't want anyone to think that Stormy and Ed have quit updating the site or the comic. As always, remember that we do work full time, and, in addition, Ed will be going to school during regular semesters. Normally we've been able to keep up with updates fairly regularly despite these interruptions, and typically, we intend to continue doing so. But also, in addition to these things, presently (Summer 2006), we are working also on greater things, so please, hang tight, stay tuned, and all these delays will be well worth the wait!
How do I insert clickable links into the forums and chat box?
As of now, you can link to other pages by using standard HTML syntax. That is:
<a href="web address">Link Text</a>
For example, if you wanted a link like this:
The greatest site evar!
you would enter: <a href="http://www.middlecenter.com">The greatest site evar!</a>
What other HTML tags are allowed in the forums?
You can dress up your posts with a few different HTML tags. The ones we allow are:
links (as described above) (<a></a>),
italics (<i></i>),
bold (<b></b>),
underline (<u></u>),
strikethrough (<s></s>),
line break (<br>, or just start a new line in the text box),
and in the forums only, images (<img src="address">) (Needless to say, keep them appropriate, in both size and content.)
You're welcome to use these ones appropriately, but anything other than these will be deleted!
Middlecenter (MIH-dul-sen-tur) pr.n.
1) The title of this site
2) The abbreviated name of the webcomic featured on the site (from Heroes of Middlecenter)
3) The abbreviated name of the video project on which the webcomic is based (also from Heroes of Middlecenter, see 2)
4) The fantasy world in which the webcomic and video take place
word origin: from Tolkien's LOTR world (Middle Earth) and the real life filming location of the video (City Center)
Who are you guys?
The authors, Ed and Christy (or Stormy), are two college students from Ohio. For more information about us than you could possibly need to know, read our article, About Us.
Who's this "Christy" or "Stormy" person?
Stormy is one of Christy's nicknames and online alias. Stormy and Christy are the same person, and her names can be used interchangeably.
What do you each do for the site?
Ed: I write and maintain the site, both its HTML and PHP code. As one of the two authors, I help write and draw comic pages, as well as some graphics around the site.
Stormy: I help write and draw the comic, and come up with ideas for the site in general. I also draw the majority of the pictures you see around the site.
What software and/or other tools do you use?
Ed: For graphics and comic pages, I do everything digitally. I use Adobe Photoshop 6, and a Wacom drawing tablet as input. Occasionally, I may use 3dsmax for a few simple effects. My HTML and PHP code is written in the almighty Notepad. I once wrote a simple PHP parser, for error checking, in Visual C++ 6, but I don't use it so much anymore.
Stormy: I sketch, draw, and ink the pictures first either on regular printer paper or in my sketch book. Then I scan the pages (with my roommate's scanner), and color and add any effects with Photoshop 6, or, if working at school, 7.
Can't you guys update the comic more often??
Hey, these things take long! I know there's not much dialogue on each page, so it is a quick read, but we hope to set ourselves apart from many other of the webcomics out there by having decent art, as well as, we hope, an entertaining story. You know the old saying, quality, not quantity.
Some of the pages look screwed up on my browser!
First, I'll point out that this site should be viewed in a resolution of at least 1024x768, but that shouldn't cause any problems other than having to scroll around sometimes. Other problems are usually because each browser, unfortunately, interprets CSS (cascading style sheets) differently, whereas it should be as standard as plain HTML. Over time, they should all conform and therefore behave the same way. Which browser are you using? I've experienced some trouble in a few browsers-- well, actually almost all of them except IE, which we use-- but I've cleared up the issues with most of them. The site should be compatible with most mainstream browsers now, but more obscure browsers, like that blasted Konqueror, still cause problems. If you want to help out, email me (Ed) or post in the forums, indicate which browser you're running, and give a detailed description of what looks wrong (or a screenshot if you want!). I'll see if it's something I can correct, or if it's beyond my control.
How do I do (such and such) on my webpage like you did?
I (Ed) would be happy to give some tips if you have a specific question about web design. However, there are certain questions that I can't answer:
- I won't help you design your page layout, Middlecenter is enough work!
- I can't help you write your story. If you need help, pair up with a friend, like Stormy and I did! Teamwork is good motivation to keep working, too!
- I can't give you the code for our site, in part or in whole. I spent a lot of time on it, and I claim it as my own. Besides, we want to keep Middlecenter unique!
I will, however, help out with simple lines of code, offer general tips, or at least point you in the right direction. If you have questions about coding, it's probably a good idea if you have a general understanding of the language, be it HTML/CSS, Javascript, PHP, whatever. Otherwise, you'll reply to my answer asking "What on earth does all this mean?" and it'll be a waste of both our time. All in all, if you've got a question, ask. Just be aware that if it falls in one of those categories I listed above, you may not get a complete answer, but I'll help as best I can.
Where can I learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, etc?
Because the internet is everywhere, so are resources for learning web development. Go to any bookstore, and I guarantee you'll find a large selection of texts on the subject. You don't want to buy a book? Well, that's understandable! Fortunately, there are plenty of free online resources as well. I recommend Webmonkey, they've got tutorials on many different webpage languages. If you don't find what you're looking for there, just ask Google.
How come nobody's responding to me in the chat box? Hello??
Please, don't fill our chat box with lines such as "hello?" "anybody there?" "where is everyone?". First off, the box refreshes every 60 seconds, so it'll be at least that long before you see a response. Secondly, people have to be on that same page to see what you post, and thirdly, even if they see the post, they won't necessarily respond, it's up to them. Leave a message, and either leave your browser on this page, or check back later for new posts. Please don't keep posting nothingness, your posts will get deleted and you may even become banned. For a more detailed explanation of this and other such rules, please see our article, Chat Box Etiquette. In fact, we'd prefer that you do.
Do you guys do commissions?
We are open to commissions, but do understand that we are college students and/or employees, and need to find time for it among our work. Stormy put together a procedure and approximate price guide for her work. And although he hasn't put much thought into the matter, Ed is open for it too. Basically, if you want to commission either of us, email us and tell us what you want!
Can I steal your images?
Hmm, let me think... NO! We hate art theft. Generally speaking, you're welcome to save the images, or heck, even print them, for your own personal use, but please, DO NOT claim them as your own. If you're thinking of using them for anything, you might wanna consider the following:
- If you want to save or print a copy of a picture for your own personal enjoyment or to show to friends, family, etc... That's fine. Go for it.
- You can use them to decorate and prettify your own site, but please leave the name and info on the image and link back to us, and upload them to your own site.
- Do not edit out the copyright or change the images in any way.
- Don't use the images directly from our sites, upload it on your own place.
- Don't enter it in any contest of any sort. Neopets Beauty Contest...
- Don't claim it as your own, or else... Stormy gets very scary when this happens, even when to someone else! Believe me, I've seen it!
- Don't sell it or make money off of it.
- Don't use commissioned images, as I don't own them, and so neither do you.
Was Middlecenter a movie? Can we see?
Yes, Heroes of Middlecenter was originally a movie Stormy and Ed put together for her final project in Video class in Spring 2003. It is the story Chapter 1 of the comic is based upon. Now that the chapter has ended, it's available available for viewing on the Media page!
Can I submit fan art? How?
Of course! We love to see what our fans can do! Simply send your art to both Ed and Stormy. Remember, send it in as high a resolution as possible, in other words, make it nice and big and clear! We can always shrink it down to the right size on this end, but we can never make it bigger than it is originally. So to be safe, send it LARGE!
How long does it take to make each comic page?
Ed: I recently logged the hours I put into a page to get an estimated value. For this sample page (Page 57), all in all, it took about 14 hours over the course of three days. The breakdown was as follows:
| Sketch: | 4 hours |
| Outline: | 2.5 hours |
| Color: | 3 hours |
| Shading: | 2 hours |
| Background: | 1.5 hours |
| Effects: | 1 hour |
Can I borrow your characters/settings/etc for my own projects?
That really depends on exactly what you intend to do with them. If you want to draw a picture of our characters to post on your site, that's probably fine, we like fan art! If you want to make a spinoff series based on ours, that's probably not fine. If you want one of our characters to make a cameo appearance in your own world, that might be okay, but we'd have to give our approval after hearing your intentions. So the simple answer to this question is ask permission first. Even if you think we'll most definitely allow it, still ask first. We'll get rather miffed if we see our characters somewhere that we didn't approve, so before using anything, ask us!
Come on, it's been two (or more) months! Are you going to make any more pages?
I don't want anyone to think that Stormy and Ed have quit updating the site or the comic. As always, remember that we do work full time, and, in addition, Ed will be going to school during regular semesters. Normally we've been able to keep up with updates fairly regularly despite these interruptions, and typically, we intend to continue doing so. But also, in addition to these things, presently (Summer 2006), we are working also on greater things, so please, hang tight, stay tuned, and all these delays will be well worth the wait!
How do I insert clickable links into the forums and chat box?
As of now, you can link to other pages by using standard HTML syntax. That is:
<a href="web address">Link Text</a>
For example, if you wanted a link like this:
The greatest site evar!
you would enter: <a href="http://www.middlecenter.com">The greatest site evar!</a>
What other HTML tags are allowed in the forums?
You can dress up your posts with a few different HTML tags. The ones we allow are:
links (as described above) (<a></a>),
italics (<i></i>),
bold (<b></b>),
underline (<u></u>),
line break (<br>, or just start a new line in the text box),
and in the forums only, images (<img src="address">) (Needless to say, keep them appropriate, in both size and content.)
You're welcome to use these ones appropriately, but anything other than these will be deleted!
Got a question? We've got an answer! And if not, we'll make one up. Feel free to email us!
| ed (-at-) middlecenter (-dot-) com | stormy (-at-) middlecenter (-dot-) com |