I am a newbie. I think I have the hang of almost everything now. A few questions.
What are families?
Do people ever gather in roleplay herds?
Anything else you guys can tell me?

Also, I have been running into a lot of small herds, mostly fawns, with a grown deer that seems to lead them. I usually ask to join them, and is accepted. Are these the families I asked about earlier?

So, a few months ago I, along with many others, had the pictos-won't-spread problem. Cue much sadness and frustration trying to connect only to end up with either a sad empty forest or a half-connected, laggy, clone-infested forest.

Anyway: I fixed it. (this might not work for everyone, but for me, it worked 100%. It also worked for Sight when she tried it, so I'm not alone)

Basically, I connected to TEF through a VPN with a proxy server. A VPN is a Virtual Private Network, and is used to, among other things, connect to private networks (for example companies) and go on the internet anonymously.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server

This meant that my IP address changed, and somehow that made it work (magic??). Setting up a VPN might be tricky; I'm lucky and have a super tech-savvy sibling who did it for me.

Here's some nice and easy to read basics and I'm sorry I can't explain this any better:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/223044/vpns_for_beginners_to_experts.html

My very vague theory is that it has to do with your IP address somehow (no idea how that explains that my issues disappeared a few weeks later).

I learned that my deer will be in heat all year. So reproduce all you want!

Um dia muito tedioso para mim, corri pela floresta dando pequenos pulos, sonolenta, até pegar no sono em Abiogenesis. zZzZz...

[center]He smiled. It was akin to a gentle caress on any skin, barely an upturn of his lips. His black eyes were rimmed with wrinkles and dark lashes. His face was beastlike, with enough animal trait to be accepted by those who had the faces of deer. His face was human enough to display familiar expression to those who required it for healthy interaction. He knew how to interact with both. For that he thanked the Gods every day.

The lightly-furred nose that halved his face blew out steam into the cool air. It was pink with cold. The white steam blew away. Careful ears pivoted on the sides of his head, taking in cries and birdsong. The forest was busy. He would move to a quieter part.

White and black, two at a time, hooves trampled snow. The black and white trotted through it, over the flat land and to that small cliff that overlooked the Playground's massive boulders. In summer, they were a wonderous sunning spot. In winter... a cold place. Yet he continued to trot in that direction.

Instead of gently scaling the slippery slopes, the stag leaped over. He slid down, mainly on his white-furred rump. A low, warm laugh escaped into the chilled air. Even the more quiet beasts could enjoy their home. Once at the bottom, the beast stood and shook himself. Once at the lowest point in the wood, the black and white continued on. There was a quiet place for him deeper, where deer rarely tread.

The Birches grew taller, thinner, and grasses struggled up through the snow here. The drifts lay untouched in the Lowland Birch. It was as the stag enjoyed most. The trotting slowed to a walk. Careful now, he picked his way through the snowy trees. A very small few knew of this place, or cared to be here. They were those that the stag would prefer for company today, as likely they were quiet and reserved. He wouldn't shoo anyone away, though. That was the way of Moss. He accepted all provided they accepted his peaceful ways.

So I've started on my first TEF character.... And I've got the sketch complete, the lineart mostly complete, and I have the flat base color... but I have almost no idea what I'm doing when it comes to coloring and shading. I'm sort of just randomly using different things, and in the end I'm sort of sitting here feeling anxious because I'm just that lost.
If anyone knows of any good links to help me... Please share?