Frequently Asked Questions « Thread Started on Jan 9, 2007, 5:07am »
The Readers' FAQ Alrighty, so I've gotten some reponses to my call for feedback, and I wanted to post up answers to the questions I've gotten:
1. Do you plan on redoing the older pages if KM ever goes to print?
There's no plan to do so. At one point I was seriously considering redoing pages and putting the rest of the comic on hold, but then I realized that the planet would explode before I could finish the comic. And, wow, there's a pipe dream. KM will probably never go to print because there just isn't enough interest in it. It costs over a hundred dollars to put something in print, especially something in color. I suspect only a handful of people would buy it (including me).
2. why do you have that cast bar? The royal family has yet to directly involve themselves in the story, and if I'm recalling correctly, Turo only appeared in the first chapter as a vehicle to get things going.
Uh ... good point. The cast bar was a way for me to remind people of the characters who didn't appear in the story often. Er ... to say more would entail spoilers. In any case, I keep trying to find ways to make Turo more involved in the story because he turned out to be such a popular character. Because online comicking is a medium that lends itself well to change, I'm happy to be flexible if it means bringing back a character people love. So essentially, I listen to all the feedback I get and take it seriously. I won't sacrifice the quality or continuity of the story, but I definitely take people's comments to heart (which is why I love feedback so much).
3. And the general "Update more" comment.
As always, I have mixed feelings about this comment. I love the fact that people are enjoying KM so much that they want more updates. At the same time, online comicking involves a lot of sacrifices, as each page takes me upwards of twenty hours (drawing, inking, coloring). Script writing also takes a substantial amount of time. Now, I'm not trying to whine or complain, but I do want people to appreciate that comicking is a synonomous to a part time job. And at the risk of sounding like an ego-starved artist, the more feedback I get, the more enthusiastic I am about updating. What can I say, I admire the artists who can work in a bubble, tirelessly working regardless of their level of audience support. But I can honestly say that without the support of all the people who've ever given me feedback (no matter how big or small), fanart, contest entries or guestbook entries, I would have given up on this comic long ago. I don't work in a bubble and I think art is all about a sense of community. A huge shout out to all the forum posters : Thanks for your constant support. I really love you guys. [That was seriously more rambling than I intended, but I meant every word.]
bluebug's FAQ
Heck, I think I deserve a FAQ too:
1. Is there anybody (besides my forum buds) out there? Well, from the emails I've received so far, people are still reading, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks for the feedback so far.
2. When did people start reading KM? I thought most people would have started reading in 2006, maybe 2005. Imagine my surprise to see that people have been reading for years. You guys are quiet, but awesome.
3. Did I scare people off with the never-ending hiatus? Probably. Heck, if you own a comic or know of a comic that might be interested in link exchanging with me, let me know.
Re: Frequently Asked Questions « Reply #1 on Jan 9, 2007, 12:25pm »
bb's FAQ:
1: Most likely you have comic stalkers that are too shy to say anything. Honestly actually talking to an artist you deem more talented than yourself is intimidating. No matter how much you try to be friendly and accessable, because of your level of arty-awesomeness you would be considered aloof or snobby because many big artists are like that. They don't have "time" to waste on newbies or aspiring artists/competition. For example, I'm a big fan of Kagerou. But the artist is older than I am, very talented (borderline professional), and her community is pretty much full of pretencious arse-holes and jerks. (Mostly because her comic is rated "mature" so you get all the "mature" audiences. XD). I feel if I made fan art for her, it would not be appreciated because compared to her style and some of the other fans' style, it sucks. That's my theory anyway.
2. Started reading back when I was in high school I believe. Read it all through college. Have all the pages up to a certain point saved to my hard-drive. So I know for a fact that PAGE 5 of chapter FIVE is MISSING. (It's the one where Dai and Hyou are about to face off). ^_^ Creepy eh?
3. No because it was my fault for making you do the anthology. XD And the fact you are willing to work on the same story for so effen long is admirable. I am so glad I did not make MSK longer than I did. (It is much better and sexier in writing actually. I make Ceese actually go out with Lucifer. XD He was her math tutor.) Seriously though 25 chapters!? How long is each chapter? What could you combine? (Although granted some comics I read are up to their 30-some chapter). >_> Okay, I think I'm letting my laziness try to influence you. Or my impatience. Or I feel like I'm empty nesting since I've deleted the MSK forum. ;_; But yay, that means more time for you...and school...and other things...I guess. >_< augh.
Surgeon General Warning: Excessive contact with Modesty could cause loss of reason, mind or temper. Bad Spellers of the World UNTIE! I have a degree, therefore I'm a Venus Man-Trap. XD
bluebug Ao Zennousha-sama (The Omnipotent Blue) member is offline
Re: Frequently Asked Questions « Reply #2 on Jan 9, 2007, 7:50pm »
Quote:
bb's FAQ:
1: Most likely you have comic stalkers that are too shy to say anything. Honestly actually talking to an artist you deem more talented than yourself is intimidating. No matter how much you try to be friendly and accessable, because of your level of arty-awesomeness you would be considered aloof or snobby because many big artists are like that. They don't have "time" to waste on newbies or aspiring artists/competition. For example, I'm a big fan of Kagerou. But the artist is older than I am, very talented (borderline professional), and her community is pretty much full of pretencious arse-holes and jerks. (Mostly because her comic is rated "mature" so you get all the "mature" audiences. XD). I feel if I made fan art for her, it would not be appreciated because compared to her style and some of the other fans' style, it sucks. That's my theory anyway.
Good theory. I can understand it because I feel that way myself about other comics. I also feel that way mostly because some other comics have really active fans and so I don't think my little voice would count for much. It probably doesn't help that I haven't been uploading fanart as regularly as I should be. I really need to find a separate art account for fan art and just link to it. It's just time consuming for me to make thumbnails and arrange all of it on a webpage. I'd much prefer to spend my time on the comic rather than fiddling around with stuff like that. I've seen a lot of people with drowtale accounts and stuff.
Also, I wonder if people look at the 100+ forum members and get intimidated. I feel bad about deleting inactive accounts, though. But I probably should. There's lots of people who've probably forgotten about this forum so that there's really only about 20 (if even) active members.
Quote:
2. Started reading back when I was in high school I believe. Read it all through college. Have all the pages up to a certain point saved to my hard-drive. So I know for a fact that PAGE 5 of chapter FIVE is MISSING. (It's the one where Dai and Hyou are about to face off). ^_^ Creepy eh?
OMG. It IS missing. Thanks for letting me know, Mod. I need to put that up. I hope no other pages are missing.
Quote:
3. No because it was my fault for making you do the anthology. XD And the fact you are willing to work on the same story for so effen long is admirable. I am so glad I did not make MSK longer than I did. (It is much better and sexier in writing actually. I make Ceese actually go out with Lucifer. XD He was her math tutor.) Seriously though 25 chapters!? How long is each chapter? What could you combine? (Although granted some comics I read are up to their 30-some chapter). >_> Okay, I think I'm letting my laziness try to influence you. Or my impatience. Or I feel like I'm empty nesting since I've deleted the MSK forum. ;_; But yay, that means more time for you...and school...and other things...I guess. >_< augh.
Some of the hiatus was because of the anthology, but I think I finished that in April, so the rest of it was just me getting stressed about school and life. Oh, and I double checked and the comic will be hopefully max 21 chapters. That includes a joke chapter that I would work on after everything is finished. Plus I felt like throwing in the anthology in there. XD It was late at night and I was apparently trying to confuse myself. Anyway, if all goes according to plan I guess it's more like 18. That's a bit more reasonable. And the last chapter is more like an epilogue and will hopefully be a mini chapter with only a couple of pages.
You deleted the MSK forum? Awww. That's a lot of memories there. It's funny, I'm a pack rat by nature so since this forum and comicgen site is free ... it'll probably all stay up forever. Until someone cracks it and infests it with viruses. Or it just dies a slow, slow death.
Re: Frequently Asked Questions « Reply #3 on Jan 9, 2007, 9:50pm »
-Honestly, it's one of the oddest feelings finishing an online graphic novel. (I hope you have this feeling too someday.) On the one hand, I am so relieved it's done and I feel incredibly acomplished at how far I've come in both my art and story telling. On the other hand, since I've dedicated so much of my time and energy for it I don't know how to channel this extra time. (Thank god for Grad School I guess. I've already got my hands full.)
--Putting up your anthology story!? Wow...you're so nice. I'm too stingy to do that.
--Remember how we were talking about popular web-artists? Check out what the artist from Inverloch said.
Quote:
I'm back! Though I'm afraid all I've got for you is the cover page for Chapter 23.
And now, for the bad news...
For the last year, I've been working a part time job of only two or three days per week. However, I've quit that in favour of a more lucrative position with the systems administrators at the university, and it's five days a week. That doesn't leave me a lot of time for the comic. At the moment I'm not certain what kind of update schedule I'm going to be able to maintain (which is why there is no 'next update' info above), but I will try to keep it regular.
And I have worse news for you all. I'm going to be up front and honest and say that drawing Inverloch no longer holds the joy for me that it used to. Don't worry, I intend to finish it - I'm so close to the end, after all (which I think is probably part of the problem). I just don't want to hear people bugging me about updates and such. It doesn't help the motivation levels. Anyway, I hope that explains the lack of update regularity lately, as well as my absence from the forums and the dozens of unanswered emails. But, it's a new year, I've had more than a months break of not drawing the comic, and with any luck I'll be able to get back into it again with the same enthusiasm I used to have
And her work is flippin' amazing! It's been published by a publisher!
Surgeon General Warning: Excessive contact with Modesty could cause loss of reason, mind or temper. Bad Spellers of the World UNTIE! I have a degree, therefore I'm a Venus Man-Trap. XD
bluebug Ao Zennousha-sama (The Omnipotent Blue) member is offline
Re: Frequently Asked Questions « Reply #4 on Jan 10, 2007, 12:50am »
Quote:
-Honestly, it's one of the oddest feelings finishing an online graphic novel. (I hope you have this feeling too someday.) On the one hand, I am so relieved it's done and I feel incredibly acomplished at how far I've come in both my art and story telling. On the other hand, since I've dedicated so much of my time and energy for it I don't know how to channel this extra time. (Thank god for Grad School I guess. I've already got my hands full.)
Yeah, I'm sure I'll feel the same way when the comic's done. ("When" because I'm definitely going to finish this comic. I've spent 5 years of my life on it already, what's another five ... though hopefully it's more like two.) I do feel like I've come a ways in terms of art and storytelling, but I still have far to go. The challenging thing about the comic is I often don't have time to focus as much on the details because it takes so long to do one page. So I don't think my art is progressing as fast as it could/should. I'm going to try and focus on using more references, because feeding off my own artistic inspiration isn't enough to learn from. Instead I end up drawing the same thing the same way over and over again. I think that's one of the things that leads to artist burnout.
Quote:
Putting up your anthology story!? Wow...you're so nice.
Oh no. I didn't mean it that way. I meant I was counting it as a Chapter in terms of how many chapters I consider are in the story of KM. I'm not posting it up anywhere because that would defeat the purpose of the anthology.
With regards to the news about Inverloch, that's really surprising. She puts so much detail and effort into making her work consistent that I figured she must surely love it to bits. It's strange, and I admit, comforting, to note that all comic artists are in the same boat. I really don't know how people do this for a living. They even have deadlines and much more pressure from their superiors which takes the joy out of art. Again, I think some of the frustration of comicking is that we're drawing the same characters over and over again. For me it gets a bit tedious, especially since I don't have the skill to whip up even a simple sketch in the order of minutes (unless I'm really in the zone), so sketching a page is a long process. For the next chapter I hope to play with more angles and backgrounds and funky layouts to make things more experimental and inventive, which will hopefully equal more fun.
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I'm too stingy to do that. 