[Blog] Recent Thoughts & Moving Forward (Patreon)

I've been trying to rest after finishing the latest comic, and I appreciate your patience. It's been a quieter month than usual as a result... I still feel exhausted.

I still have a lot of stuff I need to deal with soon, like finding a new place to live, staying warm without heating, and a bunch of other logistical stuff. But I do need to start working again. So, here's a post about a handful of concepts. I'm sure I could say more, but let's keep it simple.

OVERVIEW:

• Health Concerns: Stress & Panic Attacks
• Reflection on Comics
• Future Direction:
      - Creating more meaningful content.
      - Drawing popular characters for mass appeal.
      - Upcoming Comic Work

Health Concerns: Stress & Panic Attacks

I’ve been feeling emotionally overwhelmed lately, accompanied with difficulty in breathing. I even got sick once, having to puke as a result. I suppose it's not surprising, with everything that's happened lately. While I’ve dealt with stress & anxiety for years, this could be the start of a decline in my health – as it’s beginning to physically affect me.

This has happened more as of late, so perhaps I need to be more mindful. I may need to completely change HOW I approach my work. Managing it will be difficult, however… Financial pressures are only increasing, demanding more of my energy and health than ever before. So, I’m not sure what will happen…

Reflection on Comics

I produced 2 comics this year: the Beaumont Short and Dragon Breast Prototype. These projects aren’t making a whole lot of money, but I appreciate having made them anyway. It’s nice to have created two visually distinct comics with unique styles that I can continue to play with as we move forward. 

My biggest problem was how unforgiving the deadlines were, which compromised their quality and led to more work-related stress. I hope my next project has a more generous deadline…

Future Direction:

Creating Meaningful Content

I don’t think I’m having fun anymore, and I don’t feel like anyone else is either. I’ve struggled to articulate my thoughts on this subject and failed to successfully communicate them. I’ve rewritten this several times, and it’s never quite good enough.

My work lacks meaning; there is no purpose or profound value in anything that I do. My work – and my life – is utterly disappointing and I’m tired of it. Everything feels like a waste of time, and I don’t know how much longer I can create like that… I must create better art… It needs to feel fun and creative, otherwise I no longer see the point.

Popular Characters & Mass Appeal

I don’t draw very much fan art, limiting my growth as an artist. While we’ve recently dabbled with popular characters via the voting polls, I feel it isn’t enough.

So, I’ve created a list of characters, franchises, and concepts that I can periodically visit. All of which can help breathe some new life into my work while also broadening my appeal. I should really be dedicating a good portion of my time to creating fan art. 

After all, your favourite artists are probably drawing your favourite fictional waifus, right?

Upcoming Comic Work

So, I’ve been spending a lot of time working on the next Beaumont comic project. Although I’ve outlined the general structure of the story, I still need to find the emotional heart and fill out some of its plot. 

This will be the first proper Beaumont story, so it needs to be a good introduction in a way my previous stories weren’t. It’s impossible to know just how long the comic will be, but I assuming at least 100 pages. So, that should give you a better idea of the project’s scope and why I’m concerned with getting it to feel right. As a result, I think my distribution method will be different from my previous projects.

I think I will post finished pages on Twitter (with patrons getting early access). So, this comic will probably feel more like an online webcomic that updates over time. I wonder if that might also serve as an advertisement for my Patreon too. Perhaps once the comic is done, I can think about additional monetization strategies…  But of course, I am still debating this plan. I'm not sure when I will begin, so I've got time to decide.

The project will take how ever long it needs, but assuming I adhere to a production schedule of 1 page a week, it could take up to 2 years to finish. That’s a long time… 

I expect we’ll see a newfound resurgence in concept art posts to accompany this content.

Anyway, that's it for now. Don’t forget to eat & sleep.