MARCH-APRIL 2020 UPDATE - The Situation! (Patreon)

Hello, everyone! This is a public update regarding the current goings-on! I need everyone who views my art and/or supports my work to know and understand what to expect in the coming weeks!

Let's get right to it: COVID-19. My wife Sara and I are both still quite healthy! Nothing to be concerned about there! However, in the midst of this pandemic, some changes are being made by our respective employers to keep us and those around us healthy. So, starting today, Sara will now be working from home for the newspaper. She just got a remote access system set up on her personal laptop, and will be working on there for the foreseeable future, until things change.

As for me... I work in a retail environment where I meet and interact with multiple people throughout the day. Our store is the only one within an hour or two of most of the larger towns and cities in my area, so we see a lot of traffic from out-of-town. This makes the potential to pick up and spread the virus exponentially higher than working a desk job out of a cubicle like my wife does. So, in a unique turn, my employer has also given each of us an opportunity, and I've opted to take it.

Effective tomorrow, I will be self-isolating for two weeks with pay. Just because I'm healthy now doesn't mean I couldn't pick up the virus and spread it to someone else, or start showing symptoms later down the road myself. I've opted to take this time off knowing the employees who have already volunteered to continue working will be capable of handling the store during limited traffic and shorter operating hours.

But besides that, as some of you may already be aware, before I moved into this apartment, I used to live with my grandparents. They're understandably concerned about getting out of the house right now, due to being elderly and thus among the group most affected by this pandemic. Seeing as I still live relatively nearby, I felt it best to make sure I could be available to assist them with whatever they need, be it simple shopping trips or to take them to a doctor if necessary.

That aside, I fully intend to use this time off in a productive fashion. Naturally, with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons happening tomorrow, I will take some time to play the game and unwind. I've only been looking forward to it since it was confirmed to be in development!! But I also have a comic to finish! And work is continuing at a brisk and healthy pace!

As stated earlier on my Twitter, I intend to do what I can to complete and upload Page Four of Mamabito: Memories of Arcadia tonight! This will be a timed exclusive for patrons only! Then, beginning tomorrow, to coincide with the release of the game, I will be uploading Pages One and Two to Twitter and deviantART for all to see! However!! All Patreon backers will remain two pages ahead, so if you want to see more, please make sure you're pledging to see what happens next before anyone else!!

At present, this comic project is predicted to be at least twelve pages in length. There's still much more to do, but the entirety of the comic is already planned out, and most of the sketches have already been completed! My $5 and up patrons have already seen quite a bit, and have a good idea of what to expect at this point! And there's still plenty of surprises in store!

To my patrons: thank you so very much for your continued support and understanding. This is an ambitious undertaking, I know, and the world around us is unpredictable. Knowing you've chosen to continue to keep me afloat is sincerely appreciated.

To future patrons, I would sincerely appreciate your support and feedback, not only with regards to the current comic project, but also what I have planned for the future! I still intend to do what I can to complete every WIP I've shared here by year's end, so if you want to make sure that can still happen, be sure to get in on it and help me out!

And, to everyone else, thank you for reading! Let's get through this together!!