My Little Copper Road

The prep work is done for the next Copper Road comic, which I'm aiming to get out tomorrow! As you can see by this sketches, we're trick or treating... AS PONIES!

Hey, I can indulge a bit if I want to!



Here, the Great and Powerful Quincy returns. I have to decide when I put him in the strip whether I want the ears in or out of the hat. Trixie is ears-in, but that looks kinda weird here.



Good old Kaitlyn gets to be Applejack. That hat drove me nuts, and it drives me nuts still.



Yvettershy and Derpy Vincent may not make the comic, but I wanted to draw them anyway!

The new site is a go!

Today we are transitioning Precocious over to the new site. While this happens, expect a few errors to pop up here and there, so stay calm. Now, let's cover some of the big changes!

The big change here is in the archive organization. Gone is the number-based system and here is one that is date based. I admit it's not as easy to navigate as the number one, but it's much easier for me to update (and protect my future updates) on the back end, so you'll have to deal with it. I'm not happy that a lot of links to my comics are about to break, but that's a consequence of the transition.

This is still a work in progress. Many internal HTML pages aren't in place yet. Some of the missing ones (like the cast page) are coming back soon. Others, like much of the old extras section, are probably gone for good.

The first 100 comics have lost all their comments. That's my fault, due to me not knowing what I was doing early on. The rest of the comments should be in place.

I am sure there are plenty of little glitches lurking out there. If you find one, don't hesitate to click the feedback link in the top menu and let me know what's wrong. I'll also take suggestions if you have them!

Again, don't panic. Take a look around. Enjoy the new features. Test the story navigation! Use the new share buttons to spread the word! (Please?)

What might have happened

When you write a story - especially a long on like the Birthday Bashing arc - some ideas change dramatically from inception to execution, and a good number of thoughts end up on the cutting room floor.

When writing the water balloon confrontation, I took it through many incarnations before it hit its final form. At one point Suzette was the betrayer. (Or, rather, suddenly a "conscientious objector.") At another, Dionne tried to betray so much she asked for her own balloon to soak Autumn with - which promptly got HER soaked by the males, who weren't buying it. (Autumn was saved!) Finally, I decided to let Autumn have it again - since that seems to be how all gender wars end up.

Because I'm trying to streamline things to finish up the story, I tend to cut a lot of the non-essential connective tissue. The above scene is one of the many possible transition strips between the betrayal and Autumn's soaking. It's not canon, just a possibility, but do note how in the strip before (strip #964) Dionne and Suzette are positioned behind the two males most likely to chicken out. So much could have happened!

The mission remains the commission

Here's a (quickly-drawn) new and improved pose for the Slick Kat commission. The request was crossed arms and I'm going to do my best to comply! I'll need to draw it larger to work out some of the details, but I like this direction. (These were done at the bottom of the page with the other sketches, so I could copy the markings.)

Bonus trivia time: My photo reference for the pose? Homer Simpson.

The mission is commission

Today I bring you two more commission pieces in progress.



The inks for the Quincy piece are done, and now the tough stuff begins. This is easily going to be my most challenging watercolor due to the tree, but I also must figure out how to properly render Quincy as being in the shade. I'm aiming to get to the coloring tomorrow, but don't hold me to it!



And here we have concept sketches for a commission of a reader's character, Slick Kat, done as a Precocious kid. I need to work on the markings a bit more before it's correct, but it's a start. The clothing and pose are not set either, although I do equate vest with "slick". This was just a first try.

I demand a lot from my readers

Look! It's the lost Yvette watercolor! The good lad who received her was kind enough to take the photo I forgot to take and send it to me... and it only cost him the price of a NEW CAMERA! (I appreciate the dedication, but that money could have been spent on ME instead!)

Anyway, if this is a trend, the next person I send a watercolor to has to buy one of those extremely sensitive $2000 large-format scanners to capture the essence of the piece. And then they should send me that scanner, because daddy wants.

Think Summer!

Here are some sketches for my latest commission: A Quincy painting inspired by the summer panel in this strip. I must say I'm surprised that Quincy has popped up again, but I'm happy he's getting attention.

The main tweaks that are going into transitioning that panel to a watercolor composition are changing the tree into a weeping willow so the leaves can reach into the frame and figuring out the position of Quincy's legs. The original pose is in the sketch on the left, with an alternative on the right. I've had fun drawing the spread leg pose recently, and I think it could work here if I figure out what to do with his tail, as it wants to occupy the same space. The final consideration is how close I pull in on Quincy. This will be settled at the ink stage, I guess. I'd love to go to the edge of the paper, but that seriously causes problems for anyone who'd want to frame the art.

I'm glad I got another commission! I was worrying my opportunities had already dried up.

-c

Heeeeeerrrreeee's Quincy!

And the first batch of watercolors is complete. I'm ready for a second batch now!

The reason you only see Quincy and not Yvette is because I totally forgot to take pictures of them before shipping. Yvette was already gone by the time I realized it, but Quincy was still sitting around in an envelope. I ripped it open, snapped a photo and taped it back up again! Hooray for absent-minded artists!

(Oh, and I saw your request, Slick Kat, and gave you a reply. )

Time for more watercolors!

The inks are done for the latest two watercolor projects. These are the last in my queue, so someone please commission a new one and fix that!

On each project, I was given two "I trust you"s when I submitted the sketches... so you guys are now at my mercy! I made some command decisions on my own and now you're stuck with 'em! (I hope you like it.)

The actual watercoloring should happen tonight, meaning all watercolors should ship out tomorrow. Hooray!

Ask the characters!

For the vote incentives for the last week of October, I am going to do an "ask the characters" series of comics - and I'd like your help! Send me your questions for any or all of the characters and I'll do my best to turn them into comics like the one above!