Chapter 12 Status Report (4) (Patreon)

Work continues, and I'm making progress on Chapter 12. This past week, I've focused more on the art, preparing tryouts for the search of freelance illustrators, drawing other illustrations myself to send to the colorist, and finalizing the files that were already colored. Right now I have around 40 illustrations and 6 animations fully completed, and around 30 more illustrations are being worked on. I think the final illustration count for this chapter will be close to 100. Also, I've been pushing the animations lately, and most consist of 3 to 5 frames instead of just 2, which makes them look more fluid and cool, but it's also quite time consuming, so I try to be rather selective with them. Hopefully the extra effort is worth it in the final product.

I've been working on the writing too, but the progress has been a bit slow due to the complexity of it. I'm trying to keep it slow and steady, dedicating my mornings to writing and the afternoons to art, while I figure out how to fit all the pieces together, orchestrating the structure and order of all the scenes, delving into character interactions, and integrating interactivity, in addition to considering all the possible permutations and how they intertwine properly so that all the decisions the player has made are adequately represented. 

I'll talk more about the challenges of writing this chapter in my next report, but in the meantime, here's a picture of Emma enjoying the beach. I've tried two different finishes; the difference is subtle but gives the images a different feel. Which finish convinces you more? I think I lean towards the first one, which is more muted and natural, but maybe it looks better and less flat with brighter ambient light... What's your preference?