September news update (Patreon)

Hello!

I haven't done any updates for a few months to let you know what I've been working on. Mostly because progress has been slow.  But slow doesn't mean none at all.

First and foremost; Empyreans. 

Before the update, they were pretty mishmashed as a group. A lot of them didn't look like they were even the same species. And using real big cats as inspiration for their designs created lore problems. Like, why would these creatures have the exact same fur patterns as several species of big cats on Earth? In a semi-hard science setting, that kind of stuff just doesn't make sense. 

Their body design was also weak. Again there was too much cat, too little alien-mystical-creature. So, I decided to draw a bit closer to classical eastern dragons. Because not only do I personally like those a lot, it makes more sense. Because in mythology, eastern dragons are frequently known as shapeshifters. And shapeshifting is kind of the Empyrean's whole shtick, you know.

Speaking of powers, the wings are gone! This was a really really tough one. Because those wings bring spectacle to many scenes I had already drawn out, including in future pages and they affected the worldbuilding in many significant ways. To remove them would mean I'd have to basically redo almost all of episode 1 part 1. But I asked myself; Why do they have these wings in the first place? Does it really make sense? Does it fit the setting? Won't being able to fully fly make things too easy? Does it actually fit with their design? 

And the answer to all of that is a resounding "the wings got to go."

If Sunmakers was a shorter comic, I would have let them stay. But since I'm planning to work on this project for years, I decided it's better to bite the bullet, redraw where necessary, and get rid of the wings. Besides, Empyreans already have one special power that no other creature has, being able to shapeshift, so them having a second special power is just too much.

finally, the color of the empyreans. I'm gonna stick closer to yellow-reddish colors to accentuate their connection to sunlight. It makes sense for them to all have a sunny color pattern. I hope that, with this change, they will be more harmonious as a species. Cet is a bit of an exception with his black coat. But melanism is a thing, even on an alien planet like Azure. 

Am I confident about all these changes? 

No. 

But I will never be confident when it comes to Sunmakers. However, this time I'm taking it slow to give every idea space to settle in and get some proper deliberation. Because I don't want to have to redo everything a bloody third time.

In the preview images, I included a sneak peek of all the non-human characters of episode one. Feast your eyes on the very first public appearance of Hishka and Sil! there is also a preview of what the printed pages of Sunmakers will look like. However, those will only be for the people who actually buy the printed edition. Online you'll only ever get the scroll pages. 

Sunmakers is still far away from coming back. And I'm not bringing it back until all of episode 1 is fully finished. This will be a while, not only cause these pages are difficult to make but also because I have 2 other projects demanding my attention first. I have a deadline for Grisly Tales now. There is also something else...

Anyway, I apologize for the continued drought in content. But this drought WILL eventually end one day. Patience as always.

Thank all of you for sticking by me! I appreciate it a lot!

Until the next news update!