I’ll tone this one later, but I just wanted to post it now.

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I know I’ve been very busy and not feeling too great lately to either, really, but I haven’t given up on Far Reaches, though it may seem that way. It’s true I’m working on another project, but it’s in the writing stage. I need to write the whole script first and then polish it, something I should have done with TFR. But then TFR has always been about experimentation.  And that’s why I can’t give up on it. To be honest, I’m not set on how I want to render the art for the new project. So TFR is a great place to work on that until I find a look I’m happy with.

What I’m really working on right now is backgrounds. 3d is nice, but not all publishers hold with 3d. Some people feel that it’s not really comics (some of the ones signing paychecks). I thought I would have finished page 234 already, but it’s turned out more challenging in the background department. I tried drawing a cityscape and wasn’t happy with it.

Then I saw a review of a Gnomon training video: Pencilling Comics with Stephen Platt. I’ve had mixed results with Gnomon videos. Some instructors aren’t very good teachers. But Platt’s art is amazingly done and beautifully detailed, and it’s been an awesome insight into his professional working methods. What really was an eye-opener was the way he handled thumbnails. It’s really given me all sorts of ideas and made me want to start over with page 234 to try to make it more dramatic. It’s an important scene and I want to get it right. I’m determined to finish this chapter and make it really good. Besides, as I said, I need to develop a black and white look and working method that I’m happy with. So thank you for bearing with me (or is it baring with me? I always get those mixed up :P  )

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I feel bad about this as we’re right at the big finale of the chapter, but I’m going have to go down to a one day a week schedule for an indefinite time. I will post new comics by Friday evening. I won’t stop or go on hiatus at least until we reach the finish of the chapter, after which time I need to seriously consider my options.

While I feel bad about doing this right now, as I know many are enjoying the story, and so am I, but I have another more important project that needs a lot of work to get it going. And right now I can only focus on one project at a time. I’ve decided to pitch a project to Zuda, DC comic’s online initiative. I realize that it means giving up the rights to one of my story ideas, but it’s a good paying job for just one page a week, and would give me a chance to get my name out there. I’ve had to think long and hard about this, but frankly, TFR in it’s current state is not commercially viable. And right now I need to pursue a project that has the possibility of paying off. It’s that or give up comics completely and go to work full time in web design.

I have ideas for what I’d like to do for Far Reaches to complete it, but they will have to wait until I can develop this comic for Zuda. So in the mean time I’m going to a Friday night scedule for TFR, so that we can finish the chapter. Then we’ll go from there.

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As mentioned before, I’ve really got so much work to do, and writing and planning work on both my new project, and Far Reaches, I just don’t see how I can do three days a week right now. So I’m thinking of going back to the Tuesday Friday evening schedule again, until I can figure out what my schedule will be like. I really need to do this other work, and I don’t want to burn out on Far Reaches. I want to keep the story going. So please bare with me.

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I’ve been trying really hard for the last three weeks to stick to the Mon-Wed-Fri schedule, and just barely was able to do it, but it was a close thing. It’s a lot of work to put out three full color and painted pages a week, especially how I color. Besides this, I have come to realize that I need to be able to put some time to a professional project that will actually pay something and see print. The problem with a webcomic, is that because it’s free online, few want to actually buy the book. My new project that I’ve been planning will not be a webcomic. I need to finish plotting the story and then write the script for issue one. Then I can try to pitch it to various publishers in hopes of getting a deal for a four issue story. A paying project needs to be my priority. So I need to be able to schedule time to do it.

But I love Far Reaches and I’m really wanting to continue the story. But I just can’t do three color pages a week. I’m going to see how long it takes to tone it in monochrome. If I keep it simple I may still be able to do two or three pages a week. I’ll have to see. But a lot of work needs to be done. I seriously need to take a few days and carefully plot out the whole story to the end and script out the next sequence with Brin and her crew. I have it loosely in my head and know where I want it to go, but I need to nail it down. If I’m ever going to get anywhere with Far Reaches, I need to do some careful planning. So in the mean time I’ll only be inking the pages so I’ll have more time. I know so many of you are looking forward to seeing how it ends. So please bare with me as I do all this planning work.

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Well, thanks to an amazingly long wait at the Doctor’s this morning (I love how they just keep you waiting forever burning up your time and see you for like twenty minutes), I finally got to see the first episode of Firefly. I had it on my ipod to see if I’d like it. It was pretty well done, good solid writing and intriguing characters, although it’s a bit too gritty and real for me. Still, I’m downloading the second episode off itunes and will watch it next chance I get.

Doctor Who Season four just came out too, which means the Christmas Special that was (to my understanding) the finale of season two, is now out as well. So I’m looking forward to that. I really love David Tennant as the Doctor. He has this amazing quirkiness about him. There’s another well written show, Doctor Who. I still haven’t seen season three yet so I have a lot to look forward to. I never watch regular telivision, and can’t stand commercials. So I never see this stuff when it first comes out. But I love that I can watch it on my ipod classic. That has to be one of the coolest inventions, being able to have a whole movie and show collection in a little pocket sized thing.

BTW, here’s a couple link images if you want to link to Far Reaches. You can also find them on the downloads page.

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