Bronycon prep work - The Lazy Dragon Book · 12:05am Jul 26th, 2019
FYI the Lazy Dragon will be in an unnamed upcoming compendium from Ponyfeather Publishing, BUT if you want right now, you can get a FREE copy of the spin-off. The Lazy Dragon of Dragonvale - The Draw-Your-Own-Dragon edition (suitable for all ages, from 3 to 300) Assembly instructions below:
You will need:
One or more creative individuals.
A downloaded copy of the PDF at the above link.
A duplex printer that can do 8.5x11 paper (or A4 for you Euros, just make sure to check the box "Shrink to fit" when printing)
One set of colorful pens or pencils. (I suggest a 10-pack of Crayola classic markers for about a dollar at Wal-Mart)
A stapler
Print your copy of the document out landscape with the box checked for "Flip on narrow edge" and use thick bond paper if possible.
Staple along left side before or after applying artwork. (Caution: waiting until after means keeping track of your pages in order)
Enjoy!
(Warning: This product does not contain actual dragons. Typos and box arrangement may vary. Extremely artistic individuals may find it difficult to color inside the box, which is perfectly fine. Keep out of reach of fire. That includes actual dragons. Of which there are none in the package. But it may attract them, so keep an eye out. People who report excessive errors in the document may find themselves drafted to correct the Microsoft Publisher document, in which case head protection and Motrin are advised. In the event your children destroy this book, a replacement may be procured at the printer where you printed the last one, duh.)
FYI: I figure getting this configured out took me about five times longer than it took me to write the story in the first place. I still have no idea *why* Microsoft Publisher lets me use the typeface "Euphemia" in the document, save it, do all kinds of fiddling with it, but if I close the document and come back in, it complains and makes me replace it with... Euphemia. I still have delusions about getting this done up right with a few dozen real drawings, but....
Oh, and let me know how your end result turns out. I have the artistic ability of... somebody who has no artistic ability, or the ability to make good metaphorical comparisons.
Grumble grumble you’re gonna make me find my stapler....
Awesome, while I don't think I'll be printing off a physical copy (54 pages is a whole lot of ink for a home printer) I might consider saving this blog post for later use, and or digital "painting" (the quotes refer to the fact that I am not one of those super talented 3-D virtual artists who use super fancy cutting edge paint programs with every bell and whistle in existence.)
5094220 I've got a twelve-pack of Crayolas myself. They've lasted me about twenty years. And it should be lined up for duplexing so the pages show on the right sides, and completely in black and white, so we don't have to burn color ink.
5094217 It was just a little too thick at 27 pages or so to staple without some careful positioning, so be careful. Might want to crimp those staple ends with a pair of pliars so they don't scratch. (I didn't bleed much)
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cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/576180206071578634/604112388496687105/20190725_2025121.jpg
It’s upside down ‘cause dumb technology, sorry.
I can’t remember which pony’s standing on it. She’s got a sheaf of wheat as a cutie mark.
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even if I did the front/back style we only have a small home office printer and with ink prices being what they are, I don't know if I want to risk it. I would probably end up using my rather large colored pencil collection as opposed to markers or crayons.
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For lots of printing, at least for writing, the way to go is a cheapish b&w laser printer. I’ve got a Brother model that does duplex printing, cost $70, and will do about 3,000 pages per toner cartridge (which costs sixty or seventy dollars). Print quality’s okay, certainly good enough for proof-reading and editing.
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Ours is an HP OfficeJet 4650 it works well, and the inkjets are not tiny by any stretch, but I am certain that they have nothing on the big inkjets you find in library/college size printers.
5094232 5094234 I've got an HP4M+ at home that predates Noah. (unfortunately, he only took one of them into the ark) We fed it a new toner cartridge about four years ago, or maybe five. We can print everything we use at home forever, and I still have one full cartridge in the basement. It may outlive me.
That means put the crayons down, Celestia.
What lazy artist skipped out on this assignment and made the readers do all of the work?
I do applaud this clever idea, and I’m glad you made it available to people! It pains me not to have had the time to do quality illustrations, nor have had the heart to do anything less for this wonderful story.
5094397 Hey, I *offered* it.
You were absolutely right, though. Making a professional illustration or two for every 'scene' would have been an enormous amount of work, and darnit you deserve to get *paid* for that. And the only way for me to produce this commercially in a volume that could pay you what you're worth (and you're worth a lot), would have been to beg Hasbro to allow this to be released as a MLP property, and that's not going to happen (because it's not *that* good) So I was faced with two choices: Spend a large chunk of money to get this done up right and never see a return, or make it a book that *encourages* the reader to draw in it, thus taking fifteen minutes or so of disposable joy and turning it into hours of enjoyment for budding young artists that can be kept on the shelf and showed off to all the happy relatives.
You were absolutely right.
5094269 Hey, she's young at heart. (Her cardiologist will testify to that.)