The Making of Under Lock & Key, page 13 (Patreon)

So, here it is, the final page for this chapter.

Art wise, nothing new. I used all sorts of sketching methods to put this one out quickly (I was running out of time when I was drawing it).
The bags in the final panel were even copied from an earlier page, as are the brooms in the corner. :-P 

Whatever works, right? ^_^ 

But let's talk what it's like for me to finish it like this.
Frankly, I feel a bit like a cheater, finishing on a cliffhanger, when I know it'll be months before the story will continue. 

If you've been reading this series though, you know by now, I take storytelling seriously. We could never have made the next chapter and this one into one chapter. Even if we had cut the entire Delilah backstory. The chapter would likely have been about 17-25 pages that way, but it would feel less emotionally satisfying, cause readers would know virtually nothing about Delilah. Plus I don't like working on chapters that long.

So, why not, exactly?  Well, let me explain the thought process going on in my brain in ANY drawing.

• I have an idea. But no visual. Just an idea.

• I start sketching. Usually within a few lines, I have a visual. And that visual doesn't change very much as I finish the sketch.

• Done.
.......... Whut?
Yeah, done. In my mind, that's what I need: I have an idea, and it needs a visual. As soon as that visual exists in my mind, I'm done. I'm happy. That, FOR ME, is all I need. And it usually doesn't take me very long.
BUT..... I know it won't satisfy OTHER people seeing it. So..... I move on.

• The drawing gets lined. Meanwhile, my brain is on future matters. Like "Crap, I have other things to do!" or "Damn, this is taking me so long!".
As you can see, not the most positive mindset.
Now, it's not as bad as I make it out to be. But you have to understand, my personal gratification comes from nailing that visual. So from here on in, I have to focus on my SECOND personal gratification, which is: viewer comments and likes. In other words: The appreciation and praise for my work. Yes, it's shallow, I know. But I prefer the conceptualisation over the process of drawing. So in going through the process, I need to look forward to more fun matters.

• While lining, and throughout coloring and finishing the drawing, something else happens: Doubt creeps in.
yes..... This is without a doubt the most annoying thing about drawing. The longer I work on a drawing, the more I'm like "what if people won't like it?.... I'm putting in all this work, and they'll hate it, I'm sure!".
And that's the curse of doing comics. Because, before it gets published, I have to put in SOOOOO MAAAAAANY HOURS of work, without getting to my second personal gratification: comments and likes. And that long time is the perfect time for my mind to convince me that no one is going to like it. 

This is why I work in chapters of 15 pages, give or take. Because I don't have the stamina to do more pages before publishing. I can't do that. I have drawers and folders filled with unfinished (non kinky) comics here. Usually, about 10 pages in, I quit. No one's gonna care about it, why finish it? It's not for my own fun, I had my own fun in sketching it. I don't need more. 

It helps me sooooo much to work with Peculiar Changeling on this. Because for one thing, I know HE thinks it's good. We're in this together, if he thought it was crap, he'd say so.
So that's a little confidence booster. Also, I show him every page. I don't do that for praise, I do it because I want him to agree to the page before putting it out in his name, aside from my own.
But he DOES tell me he likes it, and that too helps keep my spirits up.

I think, doing comics alone is a lonely business, and I don't see how anyone keeps it up.
Unless maybe if you publish pages as soon as they're done, but there are other reasons why I prefer not to do that. Maybe I'll rant on that some other time, I've done enough for now, I think. ;-) 

If I DO make a solo comic in the future though, that's how I'll do it: page for page. Posting as soon as they're done. 

For those reading this carefully, this won't come as a surprise, but I'm basically apologising here for ending this on a cliffhanger and letting you wait for months. My rambling are nothing but excuses for that. They're valid excuses, but excuses nonetheless. I actually hope the fact that this cliffhanger is up in the air will help me get back to work on this quicker. Who knows? We'll see. :-) 

For now, I'm keeping it at this. Look forward to one more Making Off chapter though, where I'll detail an alternate version of what Chapter 6 COULD have been like, as well as why it didn't get to be like that! Stay tuned!