SKETCH WEEK

4/16/04

  What a month!  Things have been crazy but they're finally starting to come together.  There's way too much to tell you in one update, and a good portion of it relates to life in Dave's world.  Things like exploding boilers and mutant flues (which I'm sure sounds quite riveting) really don't have much more to do with the comic other than making it really, really late.  I will fill you in on a few things that do pertain to the comic. 

  First off:  I left my full time job.  Why?  because as much as you might not believe this after the recent lapse in comics, I do in fact plan on making manga my full time job.  I'm now working a couple days a week at a part time job that allows me to work on manga in the downtime.  This is a really big deal to me, it's one step closer to full time Paradox Lost.  Because of this, I was able to be somewhat productive during my MIA period.  I have written literally chapters of Paradox Lost storyline, and managed to really refine the story I have so far.  You're going to get a much better quality plot.  The entire storyline has a far better structure now than the random ideas I had in my head before. 

  I've also been drawing a lot more.  I took some time to really study the characters and I can actually say I feel my art has improved.  (That's a big thing for any web comic artist to say! ^^)  This week I'll be putting up some sketches, mostly studies from Paradox Lost, and a couple others from other projects I've been working on.  After that, we'll have comic.

  I still have a lot to work on in addition to the comic.  The forums have been down thanks to some very skilled blunders with the folks who handle my billing.  Of course, no one at my hosting provider will take any responsibility for it, so I'm going to have to run some rings to get this resolved.  Once that's complete, I plan on moving hosting to the extremely capable TwystNeko, so the page and forums should run more smoothly.  I'll also be pulling these sketches along with most of the other art days out of the comic archives and moving them to the gallery.  Of course, that will be up and running as well.  Finally, the store will be online soon, so have a peek in there.  I'll be making up some more new designs for swag.  Right now I have no donation button, or any kind of donation system.  If you've ever been interested in supporting PL, the online store goes a really long way to feeding my starving rear and keeping the comics coming full time! (Especially since I just left my job! ^^;;;) 

  Next: I now have an art studio, separate from my home.  We're still working on the renovations, but now I'll be able to sort of set myself a "work" schedule and spend my time working on the comic without distraction.  This is also a really big deal, and I need to thank Julie, who runs Weekend Anime and Portcon, for making this possible.  We're sharing the building that Weekend Anime runs out of.  For those not local, Weekend Anime is the popular anime and manga shop Julie owns.  Julie, who is responsible for the "pillow people" guest comics, is also handling the orders and shipping of all the PL swag we'll soon be offering in the online store.  Again, thanks are due as this frees up a whole lot of time for me to spend on comic-ing.  It's a long process, but it's not just a one man show anymore.  Thanks to a ton of help from good friends who are volunteering as real staff, we're getting closer and closer to hitting the goal of making this site a regularly updated, full time web comic.  Who knows, maybe we'll even be popular.  Hawk says I draw pretty pictures...

  Now I'll leave you with today's sketch:  Agent Jekka.  I really didn't clean this one up at all, and you'll be seeing a future version of it, probably colored.  I thought you might like to see what a raw sketch looks like. /;i;l'k sd 01254575454

  And now I'd like to thank Julie's cat Ra for those insightful words.  I had no idea he could even type.  *tosses cat from keyboard*.  Well, I have an early morning tomorrow, and with everything else, I still have a lot of convention planning to do.  Keep an eye out this week, I'll be adding a lot more sketches.  Thanks for putting up with the art days again, and for staying so patient with me!
 

I'm WAY behind on e-mail too, working on it...