The Kickstarter and the Current story!

(Image unrelated to post. I thought I should include a picture, 

and I had an unused panel from the Food Fight story, so...)

My preference is to mix up the types of stories in Precocious for variety, so it's a little odd for four of the last five stories to be school-based. In the case of the current "morale-boosting" tale, it's a quirk of timing on two levels. We're a few weeks away from spring, when things (in theory) warm up enough for more outdoors-based storytelling - as well as marking the return of the kids' standard outfits! In sorting through upcoming stories, I found myself with a two-week opening before the warmer weather tales began, and my weather-independent stories were either too short or too long to fit.

But another bit of timing came into play. A little over six months after a stupid fall managed to mess me up, and trigger a wave of painful complications and bad flare-ups of prior medical issues, I've finally fought my way through to the last bit of the book 3's Kickstarter fulfillment.  After the packages I'm mailing tomorrow arrive, all that's left is one person (who has most of his order, and is waiting on a special reward), and the few who never filled out their backer surveys. (Since you didn't check the Kickstarter emails, maybe you'll see this post?) It's been a very frustrating time for all of us, and I'm so sorry this had to happen. I'd fought so hard to overcome the pain caused by two botched procedures on me to find stability and productivity again, only to be undone because of what I eventually learned was a defective bolt in my desk chair. ("All for the want of a horseshoe nail...")

One of the unlocked Kickstarter rewards was a bonus story for backers, and that one kept getting pushed back with everything else. Maybe there's a silver lining to that dark cloud, because I gained more time to play with the outline - and one day a second story emerged! The original story for Kickstarter backers was told over 14 comics, I had a 14-day gap in my schedule AND a new side-story, and during this 14-day gap was when the last of my overdue Kickstarter rewards would be sent out. SO I HAVE AN IDEA. Now, everyone can enjoy the bit of silliness I had planned for backers, and those who supported the book 3 preorder will be sent a PDF including this story, the bonus side story and some extra commentary upon completion of this story's run here. The side story will answer a question or two, and provide an alternate perspective on the great sixth grader incident.

I can take pride in knowing I didn't (and won't) miss a comic update, no matter how bad things got for me. The goal of a good daily comic is to always be there to make you smile, through happy days, grumpy days and dark moments. Precocious is something that you could take for granted, knowing I will always be there with a new treat for you ever day. (Thought I'd much prefer appreciation as opposed to a sense of entitlement - but such is the double-edge sword of reliability!) It hit me very hard that I couldn't be Captain Reliable for everything, and I had no choice to but to watch my deadlines come and go for non-Precocious work. While I've had a few commissions take too long, though all had legitimate reasons for those delays, this was a new experience for me. And it was awful. ESPECIALLY since I had the Kickstarter reward timing so perfectly planned out! Nothing makes the universe angrier than someone making plans, I guess.

I'm in no way out of the woods yet on any level. My health is still more bad than good, and it'll be interesting to see how that issue plays out with a potentially helpful procedure on the horizon. I also have lots of comic plans that I'm not willing to put on hold. I still plan to debut book four at Anthrocon this year, and the companion book will be produced as well, though for a later release.  One cruel twist on life is that your bill don't stop even when you can't work - in fact, they skyrocket with the addition of so many medical bills! (Don't get sick in America unless you're rich.) I will be looking into various fundraising options to help keep both me and the comic going, and I hope enough people appreciate what I do to give me the chance to keep fighting - but first, before any of that, I have a dwindling pile of outstanding orders to finish. Wish me luck!

Praising the Guest Artists!

I really hope everyone enjoyed diving into the multiverse again. Not only are these fun stories for me to write, but it's an amazing feeling to know some of the best people out there are willing to lend their time to make this concept work. Creating guest content is such a struggle - not just in the effort, but because artists are so nervous about trying to get the look/tone right. Some artists draw different styles of comics. Some draw different styles of characters. Some are just learning the ways of art. It's a huge undertaking, and everyone took an unreasonable challenge and made something spectacular. This is why you need to go tell them how much you appreciate them!  (Read the post below for more of my thoughts on that.)

The rundown:

Tourism Ads/Spaceverse - Erik Amill
-Erik draws the monsterliciously fun comic Biff the Vampire. You can sent him positive vibes over at his Twitter or Tumblr account. If you were at ConnectiCon last year, he was the poor soul I sucked into being my table servant! (Well, one of them. Hi, James!)

Mirror Universe/Evil Max - Rachel Edwards
- Since this project asked for a lot of work, I only went to one of my amazing crop of reader artists. I chose Rachel because I felt bad that her wonderful Halloween contest work didn't earn a prize, and because I've watcher her grow as an artist over the years. That's so special! You can follow her and send some cheer at her DeviantArt page.

Super Weird Crazy/Beyond Belief - Matthew Dawson
- Matthew is one who is well known for saving my bacon over and over. I wouldn't have survived without him. He's one of the most talented artists I know, and mind dreams up exceedingly clever things! Thanks to his excellent work in the first universe jumping story, I was inspired to re-use the artist so I could pull out further and show the hidden quirks. Follow him on Twitter and Tumblr!

The Kindest Tiffany of All/Impolite Conquering - Becca Hillburn
- If you're coming to Furry Weekend Atlanta this weekend, she'll be with me, so thank her in person!  Becca is one of the hardest-working and most benevolent artists out there. Not only is she working on family-friendly watercolor comics  - which is cartooning on HARD MODE - but she runs an art/resource blog with tips and essays for developing artists. She does so many things to make other artists lives easier. She is on Twitter, and her Tumblr is a must follow!

Becca gets a second paragraph, because she turn her guest comics into a learning experience and shared photos of the special process she used! It's really spectacular. See the making of "The Kindest Tiffany of All" and "Impolite Conquering" by clicking those links. Be amazed, and be sure to let her know how impressive she is.

The Weirdest Universe Yet/Attack of the Clones - Carl Sjostrand
- If you've been paying attention, Carl and I have jokingly crossed over with comics before. (You have yet to see what I have planned for all the random Gingerfoxes, by the way.) It's some weird similar-but-not-actually-them thing going on with our character appropriation, and because if that I *had* to make one Precocious universe one that is eerily similar to (but not actually) Carl's comic, Ginger's Bread.  Ginger is recently back from hiatus, so now's a great time to catch up and get on board. If you want to help Carl out, he does have a Patreon campaign going. Also follow him on Twitter and Tumblr.

Have Cola, Will Travel - Veronica Vera
- I know how busy Veronica is with her comic, Bittersweet Candy Bowl, so I tried to give her the simple one-shot transition page. BUT, I was so sick and incoherent when I sent her the script, she went and made something much more elaborate. Sucks to be her, but I WIN! (I mean, WE ALL WIN!) You can find her on Twitter and Tumblr and lots of other places if you click around the links on her site!

Polite Conquering - Mandy Seley
- Her reward for being such a clever and skillful artist is that we keep crashing her comic's website!  Fixes are underway, so go read Curtailed and enjoy every page of it! I am forever appreciative of Mandy for her friendship and her positive influence - I've been changing I draw tails because her art has inspired me! Like everyone else, you definitely should give her a follow and shout out on Twitter and Tumblr.

Cartooning is hard work, and cartooning with someone else's character is a big challenge. Everyone brought their A game and impressed me so much. When I was at my worst, they helped me put out my best! Bless them, every one!

Sending artists positive vibes

I'll put the full thank you post up at the end of this story, but I want to write a bit on why I'm encouraging you to show your thanks by writing to the artists.  Find their art site portfolios! Bookmark their comics! Follow them on social media! It does matter, because, as internet-based artists, a lot of us work in a vacuum. (This means social media is especially vital for reaching people. Give following a try, even if you don't like reading about me playing Animal Crossing.)

When we see words from others, it makes an impact. Art is low-paying and high in work. (It can easily take a decade or more of practice just to bring some simple doodles to your screen.) It's very stressful, and one of the best ways to keep motivation is to feel the positivity coming from readers.  We're all at different stages of development, with different motivations and often one-person operations - so someone going out of their way to send an encouraging note can help keep a veteran going or inspire a novice to keep grinding when times are hard.

Whether it's this crew, or some other artist you admire - Go send them a quick note saying you like them! Sure, it can make everyone nervous (artists rarely know how to handle compliments, even if they need them) but it's so important.  For every kind person who hesitates, someone with less self-awareness doesn't have that issue - and that makes feedback perception somewhat skewed. Balance that out by being respectful! (Also, assume that creative people know what they are doing!. Yes, it's odd that I have to mention that, but I do.)

Financial support - buying book/merch, supporting a Patreon, sending a donation, etc - is, of course, very vital. Comics may be shown to you for free, but if the finances aren't there, those free comics will stop appearing. Financial support also can't always happen, so typing out a few nice sentences can still be helpful.

In my case, kindness is everything. My medical bills total more than my yearly income, and because of my condition I can lose entire weeks of work time. Having these guest artists all go above and beyond is so amazing and inspiring. These people stepped in to support me when I was hurt, and watching readers love what was created makes my fight worthwhile.  Positivity keeps me pushing. Writing to complain I'm not making as many bonus comics as before brings me down fast. (No one's done that. I just made up an example.)

Another interesting note is that, like most forms of entertainment, the top 1% gets 90% of the feedback. (I'm barely a blip on the comics scene, so almost all of my feedback is from the comments.)  If you want to praise a big name, definitely do so - but do understand if it takes a long time for a reply, or if the reply is short. This can also apply to less-known cartoonists, because effort doesn't scale with readership. We're all hardworking, but lesser-known artist might be able to give you longer replies and advice due to low volume of emails to reply to.  Showing kindess isn't bothering an artist. Well, unless you tell the artist they are better than another artist. A lot of cartoonists are friends, so that doesn't make us happy. Stick to only nice things. Long notes are nice. Small notes are nice. Heck, don't underestimate the value of an email that merely says something along the lines of, "There's no need to reply to me. I just wanted to quickly tell you how much I appreciate what you do. Thank you."

Make it a habit to be more vocal in encouraging creators you like - especially lesser known ones who don't always get that attention. It's intimidating sure, but it can do wonders for everyone involved.  Go and share the good vibes - but don't write to me! I'm not fishing for emails (this time), and I'm too sick/busy to give you good replies right now anyway.  (It's not that I don't love those emails, but I want you to go spread happiness to lots of creators!)

Crazy times, but amazing times!

If you've been paying attention, you know things haven't exactly been smooth for me lately. My ever-escalating illness was making it harder and harder to work, and bad medical advice only made things worse. I was flying by the seat of my pants, and it was highly stressful. I was giving more than my body could take, and trying not to let that strain bleed too much into the comics.

It didn't work. People complained and I couldn't do much to fight back. (I don't blame the complainers at all - eveb uf I don't agree with their assessments. I've spoiled you guys for years, so any lapse seems like a betrayal at this point.) After tearful pleas, I finally got my doctor to write me a new prescription for painkillers. Those drugs did more to help me that the months (and thousands of dollars) spent on treatment did.  They weren't a solution by any means, but they bought me 10 days of being able to function at a semi-normal level. I used that time to its full potential, grinding out 16-hour work days so I could get everything perfect. It was not ideal, but I had set up my files to make success possible.

Still, having only this small window during a long illness meant weird timing.  My buffer had run out and I was already through my emergency scripts. I had my work done, and it was ready to get the Kickstarter going. I took the scripts I had and planned out some meta jokes (that, of course, drew even more complaints) that would tie it all together in retrospect. I submitted my campaign, but time had run out. I had to begin the promo week even though the campaign wasn't approved yet.  (And I will NEVER regret the promo week tradition. I am a very small comic, and this is my livelihood! If it's cute and funny and helps, it's the right thing to do.)

It was all in motion. There was no going back.  The plan, before all the sickness improvising, was to lead with the "It's Alive!" comic and do a standard promotion.  Editing turned it into a preview week, and that was cool too. I would simply run the "It's Alive!" comic when the campaign was approved! (Well, I quickly realized that wouldn't work, as the week delay meant I'd be opening up my preorder while I was traveling to a convention and away from my computer. Timing, in accordance with the recent trend, was destroying all my planned cleverness.)  But then I got nervous. Kickstarter only says "a few days" - and so I asked some other friends who did Kickstarters how long it took them.  "It took over a week for me.  I've heard it go up to two weeks before."  WHAT!? That is not a "few" days! What have I done to myself now? The complaints would be deafening, and right when I needed support the most. All the sacrifices I'd made - all the good will I had tried to build up over the years - I was about to throw it away. It's a sad reality.  Make 1500 comics someone enjoys?  That's great. Make one comic they don't, and that's all it takes for them to delete the bookmark. Such is the nature of the beast.

So it was time to improvise again! I drew up this alternate comic, just in case Kickstarter was dragging its heels. The "We now return to your regular programming, already in progress" joke would still have followed, but it would have been more an admission of failure than a clever joke. (More complaints! People love complaining.) Fortunately, Kickstarter was on time and I got my approval Thursday night. I was finally able to set things up and know I was covered.

It wasn't pretty, and it took a lot of grief and pain in the process, but that's how life goes sometimes. Behind the scenes, I put my all into this stuff, and I made sure I had everything PERFECT. I put my priorities in the right places, and it was just bad timing that resulted in poor optics. I had the plans in place, but I was simply so ill I couldn't do anything about those plans. I don't regret the comics I made, just the order they were presented in. I can't regret not keeping people up to date on my suffering, because it wouldn't have changed anything - and I had no idea it would continue getting worse until after it had already happened. The doctors blew the diagnosis, and why wouldn't I have trusted them?

It was tough, but I got through it, and it's all be amazing so far. The Kickstarter is going great - c'mon, folks, let's get those artist collaborations unlocked! - and good will is returning.  It's been a crazy, rough road getting here, but things are looking good again!

I'm in no way recovering yet. The meds are gone, and I'm back to getting the full brunt of pain again. It'll be a while before I can see the best doctors, who will hopefully get me on the path to recover, as they're in demand, but at least I don't have multiple major projects going on as this happens.  I can keep the comic moving with the few good hours I have - maybe even tossing in the occasional Copper Road.  Things are still tenuous, and any setback longer than a week puts me back in scramble mode, but I have hope. I'll beat this, and I'll be able to thrive again.

Big Ol' Health Update

This is my Valentines Day card to all you wonderful readers! And, yeah, that's a good summary of my current health too.

For those who haven't gotten the play-by-play over on my Twitter feed, I'll try to summarize what's been happening to me. Be warned: It makes ZERO sense. I am baffled. The docs are baffled. Everyone's baffled!

The fun of my toothache and extraction is over, and what's taken its place is a strange muscle problem in my face. No one really knew what was happening to me for a while, and even now we aren't sure WHY it's happening. It's obviously tied to the extraction, as I've never had these symptoms before, but that's all we know.

The problem with such a muscle problem is that it's far worse than a sore tooth. It could take months to recover from - and I'm not helping it by trying to fight through it the way I am.  I have an official letter from my doctor, demanding I cease drawing. It's not the main trigger for pain flare-ups, but the most controllable. Eating is the worst for me, as any chewing whatsoever will knock me out. Talking hurts me. SMILING hurts me. I am medically advised against watching comedies on TV, or cheering for my sports teams. (Not that there's much cheering these days for Caps fans.)

What this means is that my pain increases throughout the day as I do such strenuous things as eating, breathing, talking and having emotion. Pain leads to fatigue. Pain and fatigue keep me from drawing. I'm seeing more doctors soon, but for now the general consensus is to rest as much as possible.

I do sometimes have small windows in the morning to work, but it's not enough to keep pace with what I need.  It's easier to do light work than work requiring intense concentration - which is why I mostly post fancy sketches these days. It's the only way I can give anything back at the moment.

So what does it all mean? I'll do what I can, but the chronic pain is going to take its toll. I can't say what will happen yet. My priorities must be focused on the most important deadlines, and I still intend to meet them. The Fall Festival arc will continue uninterrupted until its end, and Precocious will keep updating after that in some form. (I have ideas that are pretty cool, *and* could help my health!) Since no one knows what's up with my stupid face, no one's able to make any predictions about what will happen to me.

What can you do? Be patient, and save up your money! Medical bills combined with a loss of all commission income puts me in a very bad spot, but I'm full of pride and I want to earn my keep!  Wait for the book announcement! Wait for merchandise announcements! The Precocious store will pop up eventually. All the plans are still in place, just delayed. (The donation bar remains on the front page, just in case someone still wants to help now and earn color for the bonus story that, yes, will come as soon as I can draw it.)

I understand everyone's frustration, especially since I've done all I could to spoil you all rotten to this point. Please be patient, and please be kind. The comic is free, remember. The paid stuff has been suspended until I can deliver. (The four with outstanding commissions have been contacted, understand the situation and can write me again if they have more concerns.)

The best thing you can do for me is to come back every day. Be an active reader, whether it's through re-reading the archive, commenting on strips, writing me, asking me questions on tumblr or formspring, going through the sidebar links and following my antics, spreading the word to others, clicking on the page's ads (disable adblock, please) or reading through the links I post, retweet and include on my linking page! It means the world to a creator to *see* people enjoying his work - especially in trying times.

I'll try to keep things entertaining and running smoothly for the casual readers, but I felt you all had a right to know why some things have slipped. As mentioned before, I had a *great* plan! I have several scripts for Precocious and Copper Road and bonus stories! I have sketches for merchandise! I just need to be healthy enough to make those happen! If more rest is needed, more rest will happen. I need to survive the now to thrive in the long term - and that's a delicate balance.

Request week?

(Edit: Just to clarify, I'm looking for ideas for single strips, no whole arcs. Keep your suggestions simple! If you need more than seven words to say it, it's too complex!)

First off, I am still looking for guest strip help. Response has been rather underwhelming and it's clear I will fall far short of my goal with the current deadline. Some great people have contributed and volunteered so far, and I refuse to give up on this because their work should be put on display! I am extending the entry deadline for another week in hopes enough people will be worn down by my pathetic cries to get me the strips I need.

Of course, this now means I need some scripts for next week. The days of me having a buffer and being scripted ahead are gone. The next big arc is still in its infant stages of development, so that can't go yet. It's me playing around week for week, and I haven't been much in the mood for playing. I'm fighting a bad case of burn-out, which is joyfully timed with a large increase in my work load. If I can't get my week off yet, I'm looking for a way to jump start my stalled mind.

So, hey, if I can't get the comics community at large to listen to MY requests, why not turn it around? I will listen to YOUR requests! This could be fun! Since I have no scripts for next week's comics, I'm asking for your assistance. Give me some simple ideas to help get my brain back into creative mode!

What I'm talking about are scenarios, such as, "What if Tiffany finds a crossbow?" or "What happens when Jacob finally snaps?" Ideas that can be summed up in seven words or less. This is a creative challenge for me not, not an excuse for you to make me draw up your fanfics. Keep it simple and don't go beyond a set-up. Leave the context and punchlines for me. If you want more control - MAKE A GUEST COMIC! I really need those things! (If you can't draw, go hire/blackmail an artist! And artist that isn't me, that is.)

Give me as many premises as you'd like! I hope to get a lot so I can pick and choose. Be fun! Be creative! To submit an idea, comment on this post. Heck, I'll take entries wherever they appear, be it email, shoutbox, comic comments or forum thread. I just want to see some participation!

(By the way, if you all let me down I am not above faking it. Those two example ideas I wrote above have already spawned comics in my mind!)

Progress, and the end of acrylics

As I continue my quest to improve, I have to face and defeat my old demons. SCAD intensity plus epic life tragedy meant a scrambled Chrispy who had to let things fall aside while he struggled to keep afloat. Now, with this time of peace, it is time to make amends.

It's been a long climb to get back to my old levels of productivity. For the first time in many months, I have a comic buffer. It's still small, but having it means I don't have to devote every single day to completing comics. I can go at my own pace, do the type of work I want to do, take a mental health day and, most importantly, turn my attentions to part projects that got pushed aside when my life hit the dark ages.

The most important project I dropped was my last commissioned painting. When SCAD became the dominant force in my life, work halted on the piece and it was shelved indefinitely. I kept vowing to set aside time to complete it, but week after week that time was not there. I would drag the painting and painting supplies with me whenever I traveled - just in case I had a free day - but those trips always ended with no progress. Even when my schedule opened up, my increased comic obligation and persistent mental funk meant I rarely had time to breathe, much less pay attention to other things. It's only been on this recent kick, which my productivity increasing, that picking this project back up became feasible. This week, my comic finally reached a place where I had a buffer of a few days. I was finally able to take one day and set it aside for other projects, and this painting was first in line.

It seems weird for such a simple composition to have caused so many problems, but that's how it is. I'm quite excited for it to almost be done. Finishing this piece and shipping it off will serve as the closing of the last, awkward chapter of my life - allowing for a fresh start on things!

I refused to take on any new commissions as long as I had outstanding work to do, but now that I'm almost done I can start looking ahead. I'll tell you one thing: Working with acrylics is OUT for now. Thanks to my painting class last quarter, I don't get as much joy from working with acrylics as I used to. That urge will return one day, but it's on to new media for now! I've started dabbling in watercolors, and I'd like to keep practicing that. I still have my large collection of good old colored pencils - and, if I want to combine it all, a nice group of watercolor pencils too! I want to see what goodness I can do with that stuff when I open up commissions again!

I'm running out of family!

My grandfather passed away last night, and I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write here.

Unlike with the shock of losing my grandmother, this one was a long time in coming. He had been given weeks to live over three years ago, but had defied the odds for so long that I had become convinced he would outlive us all. In truth, he had left us long ago, as advanced Alzheimer's had destroyed his mind. I hope you none of you ever have to go through the pain that is seeing Alzheimer's erase a loved one. It's devastating.

As many of you know, I had spent most of the last few years living with my grandparents and helping care for my grandfather. I only moved on to SCAD when my little brother moved in and the family hired a full-time nurse for him. Being with my grandparents had been my life for so long, it's hard to conceive that chapter of my life is over now that they're gone. Their house had become my home, and without them... I don't know where I belong.

Because I used up all my allowed absences when my grandmother passed, I will be unable to drive up to Virginia and attend the funeral. Because there's such a small break between quarters, I doubt I'll be seeing family then as well. Because of all the make-up work I've accrued, I don't have time to pout and worry anyway. I have to accept it and keep on working.

I hope this is the last depressing post I have to make for a while. I want to get back to sharing progress on the comic and my painting - and I should have some work to show you soon. Just give me a few days to center myself, ok?

Sara J. Paulsen 4/5/25 - 1/7/11

It's been nearly two weeks now and it still doesn't seem real. As many of you know, my grandmother and I had a special bond. For all my life, she was my biggest cheerleader and always there when I needed someone. She meant so much to me, and I'm having a hard time imagining life without her.

When my grandfather came down with Alzheimer's and her health began to decline, I put my own life on hold to move in with them and help out. I spent the next two years cycling back and forth between Winchester and Falls Church and it was never a burden. I enjoyed spending time with grandma and we always had wonderful conversations. Even with a weakening heart, she would do everything to ensure my grandfather got the best care. I was happy to be able to take on some tasks and keep her stress level down.

It was only when my younger brother, Greg, moved in with them, and they got my grandfather a full-time caretaker, did I feel safe in moving on. My grandmother wanted nothing more than for me to finish my education, and she was thrilled when I got into SCAD for graduate school. I would never have made that jump if it wasn't for her encouragement and insistence.

When I got the news that her heart was giving out, I was stunned. Just the day before we had been planning on what to do when she got out of the hospital. I was blessed to be able to have one last conversation with her over the phone before she passed. Even though I was stuck in Georgia, it was my way of being with her. Grandma got to do what so many pray for: She left this earth on her own terms. She knew she didn't want to lose her quality of life and she made to call to have no heroics. She died peacefully, surrounded by family.

Since then, it has been a whirlwind. I had to drop everything and return home to be with my family and help out the best I can. With my aunt sick (and now in the hospital) and my mother running back and forth, juggling estate planning and running a business, I had to step up and help where I could. Time for doing anything else just doesn't exist right now. I apologize to you all for giving you this notification so late. Once I got up to Virginia, time lost all meaning and I let a lot of things slide on my end.

The funeral is this Saturday, and after that I have to somehow gather my belongings, trek back down to Savannah and do my damnedest to get back to work. It's going to be a near-impossible struggle, but I will try. Grandma wanted nothing more than to see me thrive, and I will do my best to honor her wishes.

Packing it in for the move

Let's make it official! No more bloggery until I'm in Savannah. (And maybe not until I've settled in a bit.)

I move Wednesday and I've fallen WAY behind in packing. Time to concede that I won't be getting any art done in the next few days. I have packed nearly all of my art supplies to remove any distraction I may have. It sucks and makes me feel bad, but the attempt at juggling only resulted in me doing a bad job across the board. Let's see if a refocused approach will get these tables cleared and bags packed. Three days left to pack and so much to do. Holy heck. It doesn't help that all I want to do right now is sleeeeeeeeeeep.

This whole moving thing is crazy. We're not even certain HOW my stuff is going to get to Savannah yet. I'm leaving that up to the family. They can figure it out! All I know is I'll pack as much key stuff as possible into my tiny, tiny Corolla. The rest will be transported by my brother, so I have to assume there's a high chance of it being consumed in a fiery wreck. I'm also not sure about what furniture is coming to me. As of now, the futon and bed are going to stay here so worthless bro has furniture and can deadbeat in style. This means new stuff for me! I think they want me to help pick it out, but I really don't care! As long as it's decent, I'm happy. Just show up at my door Thursday or Friday with a bed and futon. I don't want to worry about that right now! It's probably not the wisest approach to go the "surprise me!" method, but that's how I roll. The time for careful planning is over. PANIC PACKING IS IN!

Another sketchbook defeated!

These sketches aren't fancy, but they are significant as they are the final sketches to fit in the latest sketchbook. It's always a good day when I finish one of these buggers!

Usually, I like to go and do a "best of the rest" and share some sketches that didn't make the blog, but there wasn't much for this one. Most of this book was already-seen prep sketches for comics and commissions, with some character grinding mixed in. By "grinding" I mean I pick a character and draw them over and over with increased speed to test my muscle memory. It's good practice, but the results aren't really publishable.

In the end, there were very little "for the heck of it" sketches in this one, which is both good and bad. Good: It means I've been working on the main stuff instead. Bad: Without those sketches, this blog suffers. (I assume I will have more sketch time once this stressful move is done. Plus, the school thing will force me to sketch!)

I do need to get into the habit of sketching again. It's always good to get an hour of drawing in a day, and I used to do that and more! What changed? Well, focus shifted to the BIG STUFF. If I'm comicking every day, I might not be sketching too. A better balance must be achieved.

Now, if I'm sketching, that's almost a bad sign because I'm not being actively productive. Sketching has turned into something I use to burn off nervous energy. If I can't get my brain in order to do something productive, I will pull out the sketchbook and try to whip myself into shape. The crazier I get, the more sketches are made! Thus, me saying that I'm already four pages into the new sketchbook should be taken as a bad sign. I AM SUPPOSED TO BE DOING A BILLION OTHER THINGS RIGHT NOW! I move in less than a week and I'm doing studies on Bud's ears? Priorities, Chrispy!

I made you a sketch

Why, yes, it *is* filler to occupy you while I freak out over all this SCAD stuff. Why do you ask?

I do apologize for dropping away, but this is a big deal for me and I'm currently living in uncertain times. It's going to be a scrambled two weeks here while I get my accounts set up and find a place to live, so I can't promise to be any better until it's all taken care of.

What I'm saying is... I hope you guys really like strip #600, because it's all downhill from there Precocious-wise. I'll probably do another "break week" thing, with a knife-twist of a change to a MWF schedule. It may only be for the two weeks. It may be longer. It all depends on when things get settled and how productive I am during the chaos.

I hope to get time to focus on my painting commission next week. I think I figured out a trick to help me get the perspective working, but I have to get home (I've been in DC, which is always creative death) before I try it. If it goes well, it'll pop up on here!

I hope you guys forgive me for this. It's for a good cause! If you want something more to do, remember there is a fledgling Precocious forum out there, allowing you all to play with each other! Use it! Use it well! CELEBRATE ALL THE GOOD TIMES WE'VE HAD. (Pray for more!)

Time sneaks up on you

Time is a nasty monster. No matter how fast you run, it always pursues! You can't outrun it. You can't out maneuver it. It will get you! The only way to survive is build a lead and keep your pace. For a daily comic, that means HAVING A BUFFER!

I came to DC, a place that's not so conducive to working, with a four-day buffer. That's the biggest buffer I've had in a while... and it's disappearing at the speed of time! I gave myself a few days to settle in, but now it's time to take on the next set of strips - especially since Sunday's strip is MASSIVE and will take as much time to do as this entire week of dailies. (Stupid Sundays.)

Bigger problem than a massive Sunday? No script! Can't start catching up if I don't have scripts from which to make comics.

Good news! I finally got the script done! It only took half a week to formulate! That means no more time for pouty writer's block. Time to get some strips in production! Aww, man, that means I have to work now! I miss you, procrastination!

Time out

As hinted at in the last post, I'm going to spend this week in DC focusing on spending time with my family. Precocious will keep going, but I am going to take a break from blogging and skip this week's Copper Road. The next Copper Road should be up next Monday and I'll start blogging again once I have enough free time to work on something to post!

For those not in the know: My grandmother's heart just gave her a hospital trip. My grandfather has advanced Alzheimer's and requires full care, most of which has been handled by my grandmother. My mother is here to help for a few days. My brother gets back tomorrow. On Thursday, my aunt and her partner are coming to visit. There's going to be no free time! I'll barely be able to keep up with the comic. (Tonight and tomorrow are for working ahead!)

Family always comes first.

Copper Road Rage

It has been a stressful day. Grandma is out of the hospital and back her to mischievous ways, so that's good. Still, all this craziness has not been conducive to making a humor comic strips. I have Precocious strips up to Wednesday, and I should be OK with keeping that up - it's Copper Road that's killing me.

See, when I decided to switch up my storyline and integrate Copper Road into Precocious, I wasn't just sacrificing one strip. I was sacrificing two! I had two Copper Roads scripted and ready to go - and then I wrote myself into a hole! Since I extended the revolution an extra week, the tie-in Copper Road strip now can't appear for another week. Once again, I am left on Sunday night without a vote incentive. I really REALLY hate missing deadlines.

Problem is, I have nothing. I am drained. I have to focus on my family right now, and I can't sit around for scripting and drawing. There is no time for it. I'll try to get something up, but I can't make a guarantee this week will have a Copper Road either. I'm sorry.

Do not want!

It was a good day. It was TERRIBLE night. I debated not blogging at all, but I'll just say things are not fun right now. I hope good news comes tomorrow.

I'm still trying to be productive, though. I need to get myself ahead. Living deadline to deadline is not healthy for me or anyone around me.

On the road again

I'm in DC again, and will be for the next 10 days. That means it's time to set up the new studio and get back to work!

I still have a work overload - not the best time to run a extra-large Sunday - but I'll get it done. The big scary monster in the room right now is scripting. I'm four strips and a Copper Road short of where I'd like to be - and ideas aren't coming freely at the moment. No time to sit around and pout, though. Saturday is going to be very hectic, and that's without the Sunday strip construction factored in. This is the hardest test I've had yet to keep Precocious up to date, but I'm up for the challenge!

Not a people person

I'll try not to get too "emotions and stuff" here, but I have a blog and I have some frustration - IT IS THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS!

Today I posted my 300th strip. That's kinda a big deal, even though it fell in just about the worst place. I'm on the second-to-last page of the current story, meaning any curious new reader is not likely to stick around and give a crap. Readers are profoundly lazy beings, and there's no way to change that. The burden falls to me to MAKE THEM CARE. Today's 300th strip was a wasted opportunity.

I'm absurdly lucky to have the fan base I have now, because I thoroughly suck at cultivating it. Precocious lacks a solid HOOK to get the easy readers. (Unless you count the artwork as furry - and I don't know how effective that would be as I don't cover an furry topics in the strip.) I don't pander to a target group. I don't do T&A or more adult humor. That's an issue, since that stuff is what the internet is all about! We go online to find groups of like-minded people, so we WANT to find comics that fit our interests. The average internet user is more sharp-tongued and edgy with their humor, so comics with that voice naturally attract a large readership. All I have to offer is funny. That's a LOT OF PRESSURE!

It falls to me to make people care enough to stick around - and once they stick around, I have to make them want to help Precocious thrive! That's hard to do with my personality. Unfortunately, I'm far more the artist than the advertiser. Doing the social things, like tweeting around, hanging out on message boards and being proactive in audience interaction are hard for me. All I want to do is work on my comic! I've got all my eggs in the quality basket!

I'm frustrated with myself right now. Precocious may be ahead of the curve in the readership to comic age ratio, but it's not where it COULD be - and that's all on me. Not only have I not actively cultivated a readership, but I've done a lot to distance those who put forth the effort to reach out to me. I do my best, but I'm an awful communicator. (I'm two weeks behind in my email, and feeling reeaaaallly guilty about it.) Of course, I knew this going in. That's why I went daily. That's why I do all my extras. I need quality to make up for my poor social skills. But quality will only take me so far.

I'm sorta lacking direction here, so I apologize. I'm having a hard time communicating about having a hard time communicating!

See, the problem is my ego is at work here. I have a WONDERFUL group of dedicated readers, and I want MORE. This post is not a knock on them, as I mentioned they stuck around despite me doing NOTHING to win them over. They are amazing, and reading their feedback is what keeps me putting in the massive amount of hours that are needed to produce a daily. And do I tell them how awesome they are? No, I whine about how I'm not satisfied.

I look at the numbers by Precocious for ranking sites and I cringe. I produce a new comic every week as a vote incentive, yet a really small fraction of my readers bother to vote. IT'S A NEW COMIC! I can't do any more to get them to care! Problem is, they don't even care enough to READ MY NEWS POSTS about it, so they don't know! I'll keep trying to get their attention, but you can understand how that frustrates me. I put a lot of work into Copper Road, dammit! On the ad side, my revenue has been dropping recently. I am making no profit at all, which bugs me to no end. The numbers say highly visible ads on a site with as much traffic as mine should be making far more than they do. I look at sites with half the readers and they're making twice as much per day, if not more. My ego is not pleased to see stuff like that! I'm worthy of more people caring, dammit!

Anyway, forgive this little outburst. A lot of crazy when in to messing up my day, and I'm taking it out on the few people who do read this blog. I'll try to bring the awesome back tomorrow. Actually, scratch that. Tomorrow I'll be in full panic mode to get Sunday's comic done. I'll just have to be awesome in the strip, and hope that balance out my utter lack of entertainment over here!

Life on the edge

It's seems all I can draw today are the outsiders of the comic. On the plus side, they're nice sketches. On the minus side, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE!

Today has been miserable. I woke up in pain, which is likely the result of stress finally taking its toll on my jaw. If that's it, then maybe some relaxation will make it go away. If it's something more dentally malicious, I'm in real trouble. I'm sorta on the Winchester dental blacklist right now. Right now I'm living off an advil/excedrin combo, and that's only enough to keep me from screaming. Guess that's a plus. I *really* hope this goes away tomorrow.

This is not a good time for a breakdown. Tonight the last of the bake sale story runs, and tomorrow gag-a-day May kicks off. I'll be dancing on the edge this month, and that makes me very uncomfortable. I'm used to having a few weeks of strips in my buffer, and I'm starting to burn off the last of what I have. Here's to hoping life improves in the next few weeks, because I'm creating strips at a far slower pace than a daily strip requires.

There's love in her heart (Tennis-wise, that is)

It's been hard to get the wheels turning again with Precocious. They say you have to write what you know, but right now all I know is cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, cancer, cancer and death. This does not a humor strip make.

The only fallback I have right now is sports. I've been watching a lot of sports. I can find humor in that! That's not too depressing! Sports can help! What's that? Every team I support is currently suffering a SOUL-CRUSHING LOSING STREAK? Fuck me. Eh, that is still the least-depressing aspect of my life. Let's roll!

Here's to the quest for momentum. I'm slugging away at the new strips and maybe they'll carry me to a funnier place. They've already forced me to make some decent sketches, as I have to figure out how to draw Suzette in action. If you could see the recent pages in my sketchbook, this is a massive improvement. C'mon, productivity, don't let me down!