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above & beyond

above & beyond published on 2 Comments on above & beyond

Whoops, looks like I accidentally posted this week’s page a day early. That’s what I get for not double-checking the post date with my calendar like I normally do. :X You lucked out this week, comic readers!

So who exactly is stalking Eldora, anyway? You’ll have to wait till next week to find out, tee hee. (Or sign up for the forums! I usually post panels from upcoming pages in a secret members-only forum!)

Just a couple of news bits this week:

The first (and most awesome) is that the February page drive is a success so far! $54 was reached in the first week, and the first bonus page went up on Friday. The count currently stands at $74.50 – just about halfway to a second bonus page! You guys rock.

I’m not sure what the heck is going on, but I’ve getting HUGE numbers of new readers over the past few days. So, um, hi, and welcome if you’re new! Please drop in on the forums (which are eerily quiet) and make yourselves known! I haven’t even done anything special in the way of advertising lately. This is kind of cool!

The second new-ish thing is an article – About the Chios. I keep a planning notebook (basically a small-scale universe bible) full of ideas and details about the world of the comic that helps me keep the story on track. Sometimes my brain is full of swiss cheese, and I’m always afraid of leaving out a key point or not closing up a loop when I get to it, and this helps out massively. One of the most major parts of the notebook is the story of the Chios, so I thought it would be interesting to do a little writeup about Chio physiology and where they came from. It’s fairly non-spoilery as long as you’ve read through Chapter Two. I made a couple of little illustrations to go with it, and I have a few more on deck to add later. (Which are also sketchblog fodder…)

Votes have also been up for the past week! Messenger is at just about the highest it’s ever been on TWC, breaking into the low 300’s! Thank you all for your votes and your support, I really appreciate it! (Now if you could just do it again and keep voting, I’d be ecstatic!) There’s a new incentive image this week as well, featuring outtakes from the set of Messenger!

That’s all for this week… Remember the February page drive is going on all month! We’re still early in the month, so there’s plenty of time to get in on the action and tons of opportunity for extra pages!

Weekly Update – 11/09

Weekly Update – 11/09 published on No Comments on Weekly Update – 11/09

Not a lot going on on this page, but no worries: there’s another update coming tomorrow!

In news this week, I’m trying to promote the forums at the request of several fans. As I mentioned in my previous post, the forums have never quite built back up to what they used to be before the comic site was hacked a few years ago, so I’m working on that. I’ve added a new section that’s only available to registered members where I plan on adding sketches, page previews, and other “behind the scenes” extras. As we speak, I’m preparing sketches for chapter seven to upload this week, as well as one-panel-previews for upcoming pages. Come join in! 🙂

There’s a new vote incentive up this week, the second in a series of new coloring styles I’ve been trying out for work on Chapter Seven. I’m also willing to take ideas or requests for future vote incentive drawings, so if you have any characters or ideas in mind, leave a comment or post on the forum!

After looking through the script I’ve got going, and some of the pages I’ve got together, it looks like I’m running short on materials for working on Chapter Seven – specifically, Chio-colored markers. I’ve been using the same set of markers for the past six years, and they’re finally burning out on me. I work as a freelance designer, and business has been slow this past month, plus I’m getting ready to move to a new house which has an assortment of related costs. To try and alleviate the cost of picking up the new colors I need, I’ve added a special donation wallpaper to the sidebar. If you donate any amount, you can download a copy in your choice of two large sizes. Picking up a copy of the book would also help out (there’s a coupon code once again this month, use GREATBOOK when checking out from lulu.com to get 10% off your order. I also have an extra copy on hand that I’m willing to let go for $12 + shipping which I’ll sign and draw in just for you!) and I’m also planning on putting some of my original drawings up for sale, since all they do is sit around and take up space in my drawer, anyway.

I’ve been thinking about doing a little side story thing in addition to the regular comic, just for fun. I’ve drawn so far ahead that I literally feel like I have nothing to do other than a little write up for the new pages as they go up. Being prepared is almost boring!

That’s all for now!

Vote if you get a chance!

As Requested

As Requested published on 1 Comment on As Requested

Certain readers (*coughcoughTypohackcough*) have asked that I try to publicize the forums more and get more discussion going, so here I am, pointing out the fact that the forums are up and running and you should come join them, etc. 😀 I’ve taken down the chatbox, because while it was fun, I decided that it bogs down the site too much when it reloads every time you flip a page, and I kind of like having the story discussion attached to the pages themselves in the comments.

There used to be a small, but regular forum group a couple of years ago, but the problem was that my entire site got hacked and basically the entire thing was really broken for a really long time. There were some things I didn’t have backups for, which taught me my lesson about that. It took a long time to get everything put together the way it should be, and I’m still working on it in some places. The forum was one of the things that got eaten, and I was hesitant to put it back up after losing so much stuff. (I’m fairly certain the whole incident came from a security flaw in the forum software I was using at the time – I’ve since changed that and I’m extremely careful about the new one.) The whole thing made me learn my lesson about keeping better backups, and making sure anything I install on the site is secure and up to date. Unfortunately, the hard way.

The new forums are shiny and clean, and I’ve put a lot of effort into measures to keep the spambots out. (Another problem that plagued the old ones.) So I’d like to point out the fact that they’re there and usable, and encourage you to check them out if you’re a regular on the site!

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