How do you pronounce Namir Deiter? Here's the way my husband pronounced it; it sounded much better than the way I was saying it: Namir- NAH-MEER, of course, I still prefer NAH-MER, which is how I was saying it beforehand, because it reminds me of my preferred nick-name for bananas (nanners). But the first one sounds more right. Deiter- DIE-TER, I will also accept DEE-IT-ER, because that was the way I myself pronounced things up till I found the proper pronunciation. Why are the characters animals?
Is this a "furry" comic?
Personally I find the term to be an unfitting as a label all together. A comic such as 21st Century Fox and Namir Deiter would both be lumped into the term "furry". However if one was to actually READ 21st Century Fox you'll find it be more of a Sci-Fi/Drama comic while ND is more on the Real Life/ Drama side. And yet if you asked a random person about the two, they'd more than likely say they were both "furry". Please don't label the comic as such, especially without reading it first. So in short- No. After six years of doing this comic I am really, really, really sick of this question. Namir Deiter, however, is an anthropomorphic comic (considering that the comic gives non humans human like characteristics). Can you give me advice on _____? These days I'm very busy and don't really have time to give every person who asks me for advice a proper e-mail... so, you CAN ask me questions, but there is a good (really good) chance I won't be able to answer it, sorry people. These days I'm lucky enough to get a chance to answer e-mails that don't ask questions... yes, I know it sucks, I know I get annoyed when I don't get a reply from someone I e-mailed, so please be forewarned. Does your husband, Terrence Marks, help write Namir Deiter? No. While Terrence sometimes helps me fine tune my own ideas and is the person I bounce my ideas off of, I do all the writing, unless otherwise noted. Terrence is a very accomplished writer himself, you can see an example of his own work over at Unlike Minerva or Spare Parts. Terrence and myself co-write You Say it First. Namir Deiter was going on for a year and a half before we met and a good three years before we were married. If he did write for the comic, I would have added his name to the header of each comic a long time ago. For some reason some people instantly assume that he writes the comic now- because people think I can't write decent stories or can't learn how to. I've been writing this comic for over six years now and it's insulting to me that people still think that. What does the name 'Namir Deiter' mean? 'Namir' is a Persian while' Deiter' derives from Germany. If you happen to know both those languages it would read out as the term "cat people" (the exact phrasing was 'Swift cat army of the people'), but was a bit obscure and wasn't really meant to be gotten, Terrence Marks was the only person to even half get it before asking- and his door prize was me. Two of the families in the story have the last names 'Namir' (Tipper and Snickers; both sisters) and 'Deiter' (Blue). So, take it at that and nothing else. If you have allot of time on your hands and want the full story behind ND- well, just keep reading. oH gAWD, iLIKE why IZ dA comIC sO Badd aT tHE Beginning?!?! (I do get e-mailed questions like this; and thought to share some of this bliss with you all- and if anything to let you share my pain) We all have to start from somewhere. I was 18 when I started the comic, I was in AP art but didn't feel I belonged there, I had really lost my confidence after that class. ND was something I did for fun and fun only. It wasn't until about a year and a half ago that it became anything more; the quality didn't really matter to me until then. I found ND amusing and, considering I was the comic's only reader, that's all that mattered. I wasn't the best artist or writer when I started, but I'm working on it- which is all you can really ask of a person. Personally its hard for me to look back at my own archives sometimes- I can tell what weeks I really wanted to do versus the ones I didn't. A common tale among the unprofessional web comic artists. How do you color the comics? That's a very intricate question, one that gets asked almost as much as 'the meaning of ND' question gets. I'll try to explain it in a way so you all can avoid some of the mistakes I made in the first year (yay.): First, I draw the comic in pencil and then ink it
with my trusty Prisma Color Micron pens (of different sizes) and erase
the pencil; nothing too intricate. From there they are scanned in as line
art at 300 DPI. Once they are in Photoshop, I add panels to the comics
and convert it to RGB mode. From there I add in the base color to the characters
(on a multiply layer). If the back ground was drawn my hand, I add another
multiply layer and color it. If its a digital back ground, I copy and paste
it in. Digital back grounds are all drawn and colored with my tablet. Once
all the colors are in, I shade and highlight the comic with the dodge and
burn tools. Then I add in the lettering. Once lettering is done, I add
one normal layer and add in circles with the circle select tool. Once that
is done I use the pencil tool to add in the direction lines. After those
are in I select the bubbles and stroke them, then I change to opacity of
the bubble layer to about 60- 70%, and then flatten the image. From there
I re-size it.
Do you have any guide lines for fan comics and or guest art? Yes- keep it PG. ND isn't a perfect all ages site, but there are pre-teen visitors here, and I don't feel like corrupting them. No foul language- no drugs, very little drinking (those are debatable; if you e-mail me and tell me your plans for the comic in advance, I'll let you know if it pushes any envelopes),but under no circumstances are sex or nudity allowed. The comic will just go in the trash- and I wouldn't want you to waste your time- so just don't. How many ND comics did you draw/write before
you posted the comic on-line? [Updated]
(I should note that the pervious answer to this
question was about four years old... oops)
Why is the forum closed? [Updated] A mixture of personal and medical reasons. I'm not really a "sit around and wait to hear what people are going to say about what I did that day in the comic" sort of person and it got to the point where it made a health issue of mine worse. If a forum will ever be opened again, it would only be on namirdeiter.net. Namirdeiter.net does have a tag board, which is more or less a mini-forum. Can I be in the comic? I only inserted fan characters or other people's characters during random events- such as contests. I won't be doing any more of those contests in the future though, so no. I have a story idea, can I send it to you to use in the comic? I greatly discourage people sending me their ideas; I do not read any e-mails containing comic ideas, it could cause legal troubles or hurt peoples' feelings if they feel I used "their" idea and didn't give them credit. I however, do greatly encourage that if you have an idea you like to use it to make your own story featuring your own characters. It's far more rewarding to make something all your own! I have a fan character I want in the comic, can you put it in? Once again, no. If I was to use your characters
it would cause copyright issues down the line that I just don't wish to
deal with. I would greatly encourage you not to send fan characters
in. I won't even read them because once again I'm afraid of hurting
feelings due to people feeling I used their idea without giving them credit.
But if you create a character you like, please be sure to use it for a
comic of your own featuring your own characters.
Who publishes your books?
So... Devlin... was he or wasn't he based on someone? Yes and no - his name was taken from someone I knew in High School, but looks and personality-wise, they didn't act very much like each other. Are the Fur Will Fly comics featuring Joy, BoB and Blue considered canon in the ND universe? Short answer, no. Long answer, Brian Daniel, the author of Fur Will Fly asked to borrow a few of my characters for a story line, I agreed. It was a one-sided cross over and I do not consider the events that happened in the Fur Will Fly comics to have occurred in the Namir Deiter story line anywhere, e.g. Brad and Blue never dated or met. Events that happen outside of Namir Deiter comics are not considered a part of the ND story line (e.g.- cross-overs, guest strips, fan fiction, fan art... I'm sure there's more and if I come up with them I'll add them here). So what are the characters majors at the college? [Updated] Blue does not have one, Joy is going into teaching, Snickers is no longer attending college. Falco is majoring in marketing, Cedric is majouring in graphic design and Tipper and Gabby are still undecided. What's "shibboleth"? Shibboleth was a video game in Halloween cross-over a million years ago Terrence was a part of. It seems the web page that held the cross-over is long gone. Just what is BoB? BoB is a slug, even though he looks sort of like a frog or an alien. Why is BoB's name spelled the way it is? I just felt it was the right thing to do at the time. Do I regret it? Not really. How are BoB and Twix related? Cousins. The theory is that Twix was switched at birth- although we may never know... How are Mallory and Ducky related? They are actually the same person; Mallory is the "reformed" antisocial version of Ducky. I know... keep up with me now... How are Snickers and Tipper related? They are sisters, of course. How are Gabby and Charles related? [New]
Why do computers blow up when BoB touches them? Because he's just *that* dumb. Do not estimate his
stupidity.
Why does Joy change colors? It's as simple as rabbits shedding their dark summer coat for a white winter coat (like real-world rabbits do, to hide in snow). It's not all confusing here. Currently, Joy's fur color is bleached white, which is why she's still is white outside of winter. Do women in the of ND have babies like humans or animals? Humans. Gestation and development for ND babies is the same as humans. Pregnancy is about nine months. Mothers carry one baby at a time (unless they have twins or more). How is Blue paying for college? She has one of those "trying to make women more
empowered" scholarships. For everything else, she gets school loans.
Are any of the characters and/or situations in the comic based on real life? The comic used to be, but quite frankly I haven't been on a High School campus for over four years. I used to think the characters were based on real life people I knew- for the most part family members- but when I moved away from all of them, I found that the characters were all here in my head, and nothing like those people I thought them I based them on- when I actually sat back and thought about it. This includes the Dorpes. Except for Twix- who is very loosely based
on Terrence, nope.
Something is spelled wrong/ there is a grammatical error in the comic - you're a horrible person, fix it! I am one person. I have two other people who read the comic before and after they air- sometimes we catch things, sometimes we don't. My goal for the web comics is to make sure that they are readable- if the mistake hampers one's understanding of the comic, please point it out to me politely via e-mail - do not bitch and moan to me about the general use of bad spelling and grammar in society - I neither care nor want to hear it. You won't hear a response from me and your e-mail address gets a one way ticket to my ban folder if you're a jerk about it. I don't understand what's going on- take time out of your schedule and explain it to me! See the bottom of the comic on the main page? Good. See that button marked 'previous'? Good, now click on it and read the comic it shows. Keep clicking on it and reading comics till you're not confused anymore. You don't have to pay to see comics of old, please take advantage of that. Still confused? Read the About ND section, or just wait. With longer story arcs, I usually don't explain things right out. If I did then you have one less reason to check on the comic every day. Do not ask me to take time of out of my schedule
to explain something to you.
Do you like being called by nicknames (such as 'Izzy' or 'Marks')? No... I really don't. At all. Just Isabel will be more than enough. Having nicknames only confuses people on-line, since not everyone knows all the other names people have. Who are you? I am Isabel Marks, a 20-something married female. I like most cartoons, The Golden Girls, The Nanny, Harry Potter, Neopets and my husband. I don't like vegetables, stressful situations and about a million other things. I'm rather stressed out most of the time and when I'm not I'm usually doing nothing of note. I'm also no longer a big fan of the internet, but due to the comics I am stuck with it. People who call my style "Japanimation" or "Anime" seriously piss me off. Are you a "furry", are you some kind of pervert
or something?
On that note, I'm not saying I feel it's entirely wrong to be attracted to an anthropomorphic character, they are animals with human-like characteristics. Most animals would be attracted to something if it shares a similar quality to something it likes (take for example the tests done on baby chimps in the early 50's or so, if they strapped some terrycloth to an ironing board, the baby chimp would cuddle it like it was it's mother. Not saying my example is exactly relevant, but it's the best I can come up with on hand). Of course a human might be attracted to a human-like creature that shares a quality they like in a normal human. The same as a person being attracted to any drawing- it's fake either way. But, well, sometimes people can go a bit too far in their fanaticism, which, while a shame for the rest of us, leaves those of us who do this professionally in a strange position. If you disagree, that's your right to. I just try not to pass judgment on someone just because they think a animal character is cute. If that makes me weird to you, well, it won't be the first time. If you are not a "furry", then why do you draw animal people? One of the reasons I drew anthropomorphic animals
instead of people is because I am Mexican by descent- when I was a kid,
in most cartoons, the Mexican were never the star of the series. If there
was a Mexican, he would be a one-shot character who talked like Speedy
Gonzales. At the ripe age of 8, I decided to avoid the situation entirely
and not make others feel as left out as I did when I watched cartoons starring
nothing but fair-haired, milky-faced characters. I made them non-racial
animals. That way little brown, dark-haired children like myself-or children
of any color- wouldn't feel as disconnected with the characters as I did.
Why on earth do you keep doing your comic for free? Because there is no easy way to make the comic a pay site. Why an on-line comic strip? I'm not too sure actually; its just the kind of thing impetuous people do. I've always drawn comics since I was a little kid, so basically I decided to publish one on the web so you all can enjoy them as well. Would you suggest to others to start up their own web comic? Only if you have a lot of time, a lot of ideas,
some talent, and a lot of selflessness. The days of making a profit off
of web strips are nearly over; and its getting harder to find good ones
these days that actually stick around. Dedication isn't what it used to
be in this town...
Do you trade links? Sometimes... I try to only link comics I read. Can I link to you? Do you have banners? You are more than welcomed to! You can find linking buttons here. Can you draw something for me? If you want a commission done (I.E. You give me money- the real type. Offering me video game money in return for art is an insult) I do those every now and then through Furbid and will advertise them on the site, so keep an eye out for it. How many comics do you draw? In a good week- about eighteen. The names of the comics that I draw that are currently in production are: Namir Deiter, Spare Parts, You Say it First and Dealing with it... please check out the full listing at ND Unlimited. Do you consider your style 'Anime'? Well, considering that anime means animation, no. My style is loosely based on the manga style- but not enough for me to think it that way. There are far too many other influences in my style to point the finger at only one. When I was younger I greatly studied (i.e. drew) the Disney Princess series (especially Beauty and the Beast), Tiny Toons and just about every cartoon on TV during the 80's. Will you draw me a guest strip for my web comic? Due to my current schedule and the way I have been treated in the past who have asked- no. Can I chat with you on [insert chatting program here]? I no longer have even an AIM account and since that was the only chat client I have used in four years, the answer is still no. Why is it so hard to e-mail you? Because I got jaded by all the spam and crap I was getting- this is much easier... I don't get as many e-mails, but that's a bonus since I'm so bad at getting back to people. Why is e-mail from Namirdeiter.com considered spam?
Did I not answer your question? E-mail me isabel @ namirdeiter dot com with your question and I might add it to this page! |
