How are you doing, comic-wise?

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

I'm going through one of those times where I've been plotting out all sorts of things I'm really excited about, but they are things that are relatively far into the future, that I probably won't get to work on until the very earliest the end of next summer, knowing my work methods. So my mind is loops and races ahead of where my comic actually is, and I have this unignorable yearning desire to work on things that aren't anywhere near happening yet. I'm trying to tell myself "Get working on the PRESENT comics so you'll get to the future ones sooner," but right now my brain is like a seven year old and you're telling them to eat their vegetables so they can go get ice cream later, and all the kid can think about is the ice cream ice cream ICE CREAM WHY CAN'T WE HAVE IT YET



It doesn't help that this is an unusually long chapter for me. I have upward of 36 pages yet to go. I set out a thing of deadlines so that ideally I will have this thing under the rug by Valentine's Day.

Also I've been checking my stats obsessively and am getting to the point where I'm depressing myself, because my visitors and views have slowed down A LOT (not that I had more than barely double digits daily to begin with). I'm assuming it's schoolwork picking up, but who knows. I know I need to get some nice banners made and start pimping around on Project Wonderful, but I can't afford to just be throwing money into that at this point.

Part of my irritation is that Loud Era has now been running for a month or so over two years, and I guess I expected by now I'd have a little pocket readership of maybe 20 regulars. I know that's all my own problems being over eager and so forth, but sometimes it's a bummer, as I'm sure most of you have felt at one point or another, to put so much work and care into something and have it reaching so few people.





Uhh. But how are you guys?

[Toxic]

Comic? What comic?

[VinnieD]

I am moving toward the final phase of the final Nailbat story, which is running a bit longer than its preceding chapters. When I finish that, I'll be able to get back tot he main AntiBunny story, and launch my third comic planned that spins off of the Nailbat Story.

There is also something on my brain's back burner that involves giant robots, but I need to either finish a comic or find more free time to add any more to the workload. Though AntiBunny will probably take another five years to finish at the present rate, if not more. Given how each chapter tends to be longer, more decompressed, and more detailed than the last, it could expand to more than that. With the way the scale of things is about to expand, that story could potentially go on for a very long time.

[Mastermind]

I missed quite a lot of updates when I was polishing up the page with super-duper disjointed image maps and now I have to make a few pages a week, which conflicts with the winter blues and my desire to draw Space Goofs fanarts...

[RobboAKAscooby]

Well I've fallen behind again, no updates for the last three weeks as I've been busy as hell prepping for Supanova and my boss gave me extra shifts then of course Supanova itself took three days away from me, but I should be back updating this weekend.

For season one of Ride the Wind I've got about 60 pages left (although that's gonna change as I want to rewrite the last episode) and beyond a rough plan for season two I have no idea how long the comic is going to go or how/when it'll finish.
Flying Tigers at least has a specific outline but it'll take years to finish.

Honestly ever since I decided my novels were where I had a better chance of making something I've become a lot happier with my comics, it's easier to just have fun doing them when I'm not putting pressure on myself.

[Dutch!]

My six week buffer has about two weeks left, so it's about time I got back into putting out the final storyline of 2011. I'm sort of torn though, because I have the space in the calendar set to have it run for 10 strips like my regular plot arcs do, but I wouldn't mind extending it. Also... if it stretches to 20, that will finish the year at 1100 strips. A nice finish before Christmas. Mind you... that would also mean I'd have to update five times a week over the last four weeks of planned regular strips. I'll think hard about it over this week, but I have school reports to write for 120 kids at the same time too!

BUT... plotwise, yep. I still have several themes running around through my head that I'm moving towards. These were all sort of born well before I reached 1000 strips, but then I had that current major plot to work through, so everything else was sort of penciled in as 'these will probably happen somewhere between 1050 and 1300... so... I have about 200 strips left to fit them all in...

That, or some of them will possibly not appear until I get to about 1500!


Let's see... the billabong that appeared after the winter rains will stay where it is and feature in a storyline with the younger kids, possibly bringing in a new character, but I know that will take about two or three arcs in itself to eventuate.

Chastity and Wendy, the spirit, are involved currently in their first major storyline together, which is about to develop with this final story of the year... which will then bring in Grace later on in some point, so there's that thread too...

The main boys have a story or two lined up for them whenever it's best to fit it in, so there's another 10 - 20 strips... add in a few storylines to feature the rest of the cast, and I think I've got more than enough to work on, throwing in a few 'random' plots to break up my main set pieces.



I... could be at these themes for the next three years... gawd!

[Bustertheclown]

I haven't really made any comics for awhile, but now that I have access to a scanner and the internet again, I thought maybe I'd get back into doing weekly gag cartoons. I've also got a couple of projects going that are just for fun. They aren't serious at all. I work on those off and on, when I get the time, but I haven't published them.

[McDuffies]

I can't find enough free time to work on comics. Too much real life.

Part of my irritation is that Loud Era has now been running for a month or so over two years, and I guess I expected by now I'd have a little pocket readership of maybe 20 regulars. I know that's all my own problems being over eager and so forth, but sometimes it's a bummer, as I'm sure most of you have felt at one point or another, to put so much work and care into something and have it reaching so few people.

I'd be your regular if I was regular of any comic, but I read stuff mostly on "catch up" basis.

[Laemkral]

This sounds exactly how my work goes, that I'm super busy with current projects and thus can't look at the future and think about what's to come. Except that's my job, to try and look into the future and see what's about to come. So busy always playing catch up I can't actually ever get caught up.

Plus it's wrecking hell on my writing. I've been rewriting the same scene in my head for months and only finally got to put it into words last week because I was dragged out of the office and stuck on a bus for 3 hours to then from an event. Now I'm doing the same on the next scene to follow, but at least it means my rewrites are always happening!

Don't worry about the readership, just focus on having a good product and the readership will take care of itself. Set yourself a budget on advertising and stick to it. There's no reason to constantly put your comic out there, just do a little brief ad campaign and then take a break. Push your storyline along and then send out a new ad campaign. The key is to have something relevant to your ad campaign, something that drives the advertising. You're starting a new story arc, advertise for the early bits, and have the advertisements be about the story arc.

[Cope]

I'm about to blow up the world.

[Phact0rri]

I've mainly been sketching concepts and wrapping my brain around some of the visual stuff for a few random ideas. we'll see which takes form first. Other than that... what comic?

[Terotrous]

I still update! Not super often, but I do.

I was planning to have an update ready for the 15th but I got sick and some other stuff got in the way so it will probably be up Dec 1.

[Natane]

Comic is the least of my concerns at the moment - currently, I'm trying to redesign my entire page, logo, etc. I've been on hiatus for years now, and the only thing standing between me and updates is the eyesore that is my current page. But CSS isn't as hard as I originally thought....so once I get that under construction page up the heavy work begins!

[CMikeNIke]

My comic is actually moving along better now than it has in a while. Writing is coming easier (and I think better, but that's just because I am too close to it most of the time), the art is finally working a bit faster, and it just seems more 'together'. Plus, I've been trying my hand at physical media a bit more, and it's quite nice. The (semi-) permanence of each stroke makes me think about what I'm putting down more, whereas digital I can keep working over the same panel again and again. I haven't tried anything finished in pencil and paper in ages, so it's a nice little change. Still need work on my inking, though, because I've never used a brush before.

[Jops]

Oh, i totally know the feeling. I got some scenes i revise in my mind that i'm looking forward to draw but, at the rate i'm updating, it wn't happen in a couple years.

However, i used to feel like that a lot with my older works. in NGITK, i somehow i feel more concerned about developing my characters properly. I don't wanna rush and i want their personality to be unveieled at the right pace, so the wait for the cool scene doesn't bug me much.
In addition to it, knowing from experience that i can't bear with drawing a scene in the same location for more than ten pages (i grow bored quickly of doing the same backgrounds), i made sure to write the story with continuos changes of setting by alternating the focus between the two main characters. That way i can maintain my interest alive.

As for the audience, it seems it's slowly growing. I estimate an average of 20 regulars now, tho, by checking the statistics, it seems seem to have taken a leap as chapter 2 started (tho it's most likely due to a better advertising on inkoutbreak).

[[geoduck]]

Plugging along like always, one strip a day until I die. Actually drawing the strip is by far my least favorite part. Planning and world-building are far more interesting..

[K-Dawg]

Totally forgot how to draw.

[peterabnny]

I'm currently reworking my website, but trying to keep my cartoon production schedule, too. I just finished making some significant changes last night (or rather, my wife did since she knows the coding to do the actual updates), and I'm hoping to rough out the next cartoon tonight. Gotta write a friend I'm collaborating with about the direction of this current serial I'm working on, since it's now going to have an entire new half and ending I hadn't originally envisioned. Also need to try and get some unrelated doodles out, hopfully this weekend. They're simple enough, just need to get a block of time with which to draw.

Sooo much to do, sooo little time...

[Warren]

I'm in what you would call a dry spell.

[McDuffies]

Ok, but what about comics?