Attempts to update: Mon,Fri for RE, Sat for NG+, timezone GMT+10
Saturday January 28
Bam. Random Encounter update. Took a while, but this page was fun to draw for all the squirmy Taide. Obviously, drawing fun poses > drawing ordinary poses. And facial expressions, of course. I'm off to Sydney today, I may be some time :V
But seriously though the current plan is just to be gone Saturday, which may give me time Sunday to get a comic drawn, but it may not or alternately I may be stuck in Sydney for several days. I'm going to try to get three pages of Random Encounter done to totally finish off this bloody volume before February though! SOMEHOW! ARGH!
So... I'll try to post Monday, but if I don't, well you'll know where I am :V
Friday January 27
Gaaah. Nope, still behind getting comics done. Fair enough though, while Thursday was a public holiday, I spent the day visiting my grandmother in hospital... I'll try to get it done for Saturday, but my cousin's baby is due this weekend soooo I'll see what I'm doing this weekend :V
Frigggg. Looks like I'll most likely miss another New Game+ update this weekend, sorry... but gah! I am going to do my level best to somehow finish this freakin Random Encounter volume by the end of January! GO TEAM MERLIN
Monday January 23
Ooof, sorry for leaving you hanging all weekend, here's today's Random Encounter update! I'll try to keep up with updates this week, but actually... well, it's just been rough lately. I'm learning a new programming language at work, and it's not going as well as I'd like. Usually I draw comics to keep my stress down, but it's been such a pain lately so I've been sewing instead. Hopefully things will go more smoothly this week. Anyway, I've almost run out of things to sew! Things that did not help me updating: Dreamhost having major issues this weekend. Boy howdy lemme tell you how fun THAT was. Major issues being the hacking of the FTP password database because apparently my hosting company is genius enough to store passwords with synchronous hashes. Urrrgghhh.
Hmm, I think a major part of my lack of comic-drawing moxie is how long it takes to draw my own comics. I don't usually mind, but sometimes it just drags on and I can't bring myself to keep at it. And this particular volume's just been going on and on! Puts me off a bit, curse my short attention span. But that's all entirely my fault, haha. It seems this one won't be much longer though, and I've got the next few fairly well planned-out, mostly they are very short. Actually, I also really want to soon tackle the Saturn volume that I put up a poll for when I was taking votes on which volume would be #12, but that one's going to be long like this one (possibly not so long though :V aaaaa), so I need a break before that with some light volumes ya know.
Well, I've almost got all the Random Encounter volumes I want this year decided. I just need to find the time to sort out the ideas for various holiday volumes, mohoho! Of course April's coming up eventually, the artist I commissioned for last year's Halloween volume who flaked out promised a replacement by way of doing the art for that, but with how things went last time I'm not exactly holding out hope so I'll have to prepare some backup for that just in case. Then for this year's Halloween volume, for once I don't actually have any pre-prepared stories ready to go. Shauni's totally inspired me to do something about zombies, but apart from that and a few costume sketches I'm pretty much dry. I really need to find the time to think through that stuff. It would certainly help current comics too... working on future volumes is like "#1 way of motivating Merlin to get off her butt and draw current volumes"
Anyway... if I want to try to do any better programming this week, I guess I'd better get some sleep, so, see you Friday as I hopefully fail less at updating everything!
Friday January 20
OK so it's juuuust 8pm the night before update and I'm just now starting to sketch the comic. So um. It is forseeable that I will be late.
So to tide you over, I come bearing two gifts!
Here's definitely what would have happened at the end of the original New Game.
And here's a bunch of Random Encounter dolls that was certainly not influenced by anything in the chat box. Obviously Claw on the left needs some work. Shauni is heavily armed for some reason. Snatch's mane may not quite work in that medium. The bottom three are actually older ones from some years back, but I gave Taide a new outfit and I clearly need to sew Jinx's collar on properly. And good thing Loki's hat covers her eyes because one of them fell off like five years ago and replacement = effort. AND THERE YOU GO I'll get back to sketching and upload it when I'm done OKK
Monday January 16
You know how long it should take to get a new computer running? Less than 6 freakin' days, I tell you that. That's just ridonkulous. I'd go so far as to say it's bizonkers. Anyway! Things might be OK now, so since I missed last week's NG+ update, I'm doing one today. Here's today's New Game+ comic, and I'll hopefully get back on-track with a Random Encounter update come Friday.
What happened? Boy howdy let me tell you. My last laptop was getting very old and unreliable, so I figured I'd pick up a new one on the cheap since they're all pretty much on sale right now. EASY PEASY. Except I have a particular penchant for tiny laptops, and they all come with Windows 7 nowadays which most of them are not great at running, so you know, anything I buy (BECAUSE I'M CHEAP HEYOOO) I already have to waste time getting set up for Windows XP. Which isn't a problem on it's own. What is a problem is when the new laptop I buy has a hardware failure riiiight after I get everything set up. And then I restore it to Windows 7 to see if it's a driver issue and nuppppp gotta take it back to the store and exchange it and start all over again.
All without a car, since I don't own one right now and the store's only three bus trips from here soooo more like organising to mooch lifts from people. All in all, an exciting week. Too exciting, really. I rather hope the next many weeks are far less exciting, that would be acceptable.
Also ASUS are geniouses and have startlingly few XP drivers on their download page, mysteriously most of the 7 drivers they have are actually packaged with XP drivers that are not listed under the XP page so good work guys that was a pretty crafty trick!!1
OH RIGHT one last very important thing! Puyon is back working on her webcomic Price of Manipulation, a Disgaea fancomic that I'm hosting so y'all should feel free to check that out! It'll be updating every Friday.
Monday January 9
Ah! Another ever-so-slightly late update (only by an hour!), here's today's Random Encounter update! Just a few of those cells absorbed a heckuva lotta time, haha... A few things also lost some impact when I shrunk it down to posting size, but ummm I still like how the poses in the first panel came out, so that's OK. AND I'M SURE HE'LL BE FINE JUST FINE
Haha, I keep leaving this to the last minute and somehow being surprised when I'm stuck sitting up real late frantically getting things finished. I should probably do something about that! Well... maybe. Anyway! Other things I should do probably also involve getting into gear and finally writing out the layouts for the last few pages of this volume. I hope it's the last few pages of this volume... Blech! Much earlier I was complaining about my hate for drawing gaol cells, but freakin' crowds, man... Ah, what am I saying. I don't hate drawing crowds, actually they are quite fun! Just takes ages.
Now what else did I have to get done? Ah that's right. It's well past 1am by now, I need to get me some sleep! See you Friday!
Saturday January 7
Well now! Here's today's New Game+ update, even if it is just a title page! Umm.... I sat down to ink and colour it and realised that I'd lost the sketch. Could've sworn I'd scanned it, but it was nowhere to be found. Oh well. I spent the afternoon drinking and watching Harry Potter with my dad (A Good Afternoon), and I couldn't be bothered to re-scan the sketch so I drew it again from scratch. Actually, worked out better this way because I recall the original sketch having supremely poor anatomy. From what I remember, anyway. Oh well! New characters yaaaay. For anybody at all who didn't read the old canon yaaaay.
Oh yeah also the texture I used for the background is a stock paper texture that is available here, I made it myself because paper textures are always fantastic
Still covering stuff that was barely covered in the old New Game though so that's OK. Soon it's going to split entirely from what happened in that and that is also OK. Hmm... depends on whether or not I remember to include Ceraph Pinion at the end of this volume or not, hope I don't forget but ehhh maybe I will. It'd only be a nod to 'THIS IS WHAT I PREVIOUSLY DREW' but still, pretty OK I guess. Anyway, I've had a good idea of the events of this one in mind for a while, sans some things that happened in the original New Game so we'll see how I go! I've got myself a pretty decent synopsis written down though so that should help. Aaand... gotta speed through this volume because really I just want to draw Zack again, Zack all the time, I'M SORRY DARKFEATHERS but I don't think it's any secret that tricksters pretty much dominate the 'Merlin's favourite characters' list.
So, I'd better get on to some minor site-housekeeping, and then get to work on Monday's Random Encounter update. Kbyeeee
Friday January 6
Hooo boy! I'm actually on-time, almost! ok I'm late by 14 minutes But here's today's Random Encounter comic! The first comic of the new year too, so happy new year, huzzah! I was thinking of dialing it in with half an update or slightly lesser detail but nooooo that is no way to start the new year, dangit! But then doing that of course took longer than expected, so I'm kind of pushing the deadline and I'm sure that had nothing to do with me repeatedlyy putting this off. Anyway!
Friggin hell Taide why do you have red wings why did I style you after a crimson rosella that makes things like the last panel kind of hard OKK? Blerch. Also bahhhh this is the 37th page that is way too long a volume for me why won't this comic end?
So then, my new year's resolutions this year are as always to improve my art and keep doing these comics! I kind of want to keep riding the crazy update wave that has been the past two years (4 volumes 2010, 5 1/2 volumes 2011), but I don't think I can keep drawing more volumes than the previous year forever, that seems like the sort of thing that will run into physical limitations. Then again, it's worth a try! It might involve updating more often though, and I'm not sure I'm OK with that right now. Then again, I did move overseas the past two years. Then again again, I haven't decided yet whether I plan to move overseas again this year or not. Definitely doing another move, but how far, hmmm...
That's me starting the update year with a good ramble! But it is crazy late and I need me some sleep, so blarghjj. I'll be back tomorrow with a title page for the next volume of New Game+! Oooh, another new year's resolution: get Zack in New Game+ C'MOONNNNN
Tuesday December 27
Right, everybody! Here's that New Game+ update I said I'd have done this year! And with that, the end of the first volume! I'll need to do a bunch of rush-scripting, and start on the next volume soon then.
Hope everybody had a fabulous weekend, mine was great, lots of food, gifts galore, and the requisite family drama. Everything you could hope for really.
So then! I'll tell you my plan for the next set of updates, OKK? I am quite tired this year, probably all comicked out (this can sometimes happen). So I'll be taking a short break! I'll return with updates in January, which is drawing ever-closer, but since Monday is waaaay too close to New Year's and I will probably not be organised enough to get stuff done by then, I'll resume regular updates on Friday the 6th!
Have a great new year, and see you all in 2012!
Friday December 23
Wow I'm on-time! Here's today's Random Encounter comic! Sorry to say, but that's your lot for the year. I'll at some point try to get a page of New Game+ done, but apart from that I'm going to chillax and it is going to be awesome. So awesome, like you can't belieeeeve.
Oh yeah! Two more things!
The last page of my Realm of Monsters holiday guest arc will be going up here sometime today in whatever timezone
And I've done another holiday arc, this time for Project Future that will be going up here sometime today also in whatever other timezone!
So, if I don't see you all beforehand, Merry Christmas, or if you don't celebrate it then have a great weekend! Actually you know what, scratch that, everybody have a glorious weekend doing whatever the hell!
Monday December 19
Whoops! I'm a little late because maybe I forgot to upload this last night, but here's today's Random Encounter update! Orianna is a total champ. I'll do my best to get another page done by Friday, so byeeee