Blue Sky Webcomic

Update for 3-15-2010

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:18:11 -0700

Click Here For Comic #553: "Seriously, It's A REALLY Big Dog"

I'm about to begin listing on Listia like crazy.

My original goal was to use the points for some of the new games that keep showing up, like "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" and "Batman: Arkham Asylum". What I've been doing instead is using points to get Amazon gift cards so I can pick up some of the new games coming soon. Still being on a part time job with no sign of a full time one popping up, I'm trying to find creative ways to get some of these games without spending any money. Between Swagbucks and Listia, I thnk I should be able to get enough Amazon cards to pick up at least a couple for free. The question is, which games...

I've also been listing some library owned (but affordable) manga over at my Bonanzle booth, so if you're looking for a deal, stop by. I could use money. ^^; (I will be listing more later)

On the comic front, if you didn't see the LiveJournal post or follow the Twitter feed, I've been working on writing Chapter 14. Lots and lots of Mai / Atsumori developments in that chapter. I don't know how many of you care about that subplot, I fully expect Melissa to squee, at least. Once I finish up with that (I'm hoping tonight!) there will only be five more chapters to write. It's weird to be so close to the end. Of course, for you guys it's years away based on the update schedule, but still... It's a bit bittersweet. It's great to complete such a huge project that has consumed my life for many years, but it's a little sad to see it come to the end after all it's done for me.

I'm still debating on my next project, although I have a good idea which one it will be. Then again, the idea I had six months ago seemed like "the one" too, so I'm definitely prone to changing my mind.

Finally, I've signed up for a Formspring account, so if you have any questions (from the serious to the absurd), ask away and I'll do my best to answer. I don't know if anyone is interested in this kind of thing, but it looked like it could be fun (and informative!), at least.

See ya next week!

Update for 3-08-2010

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:57:09 -0800

Click Here For Comic #552: "RUMBLE!"

Huzzah! I finished a script for a short story I started back in 2008! I can't wait to start drawing that sucker.

It would be the perfect project to break in my new Prismacolor Scholar set, which I had no intention of buying (or the other art supplies I picked up). Curse you, Hobby Lobby, and your 30% off sales!

If you're checking the Twitter, you know comic work is slow but progressing. I try to get at least one page colored every day or two, although the end of the week gets a little tough with my work schedule. Still, I'm making progress! I do hope to get back to three days a week (or more!) again at some point.

Video games: Gave up relatively quickly on "Enchanted Arms," which just seemed terribly in every conceivable way in the little bit I played. It's not fair to judge it on so little play time, but at the same time having a crappy beginning doesn't exactly inspire confidence in me that it will get better. I instead popped in "Infinite Undiscovery," which so far has some shaky voice acting but at least seems promising. The CG is very pretty. I also picked up "Brutal Legend," a game I've been dying to get, at Gamestop because the price dropped to $20. While I was there I picked up the demo disk for "Monster Hunter Tri" for the Wii. It's interesting. Nice visuals, awesome looking monsters, an action / RPG style I'm still getting used it, and horrible loading screens. It's the loading screens that could really make or break this game. It doesn't matter how good a game is, having constant loading screens that take what feels like a full minute to get through will not win fans. Still, I admire Capcom for being really creative in their promotion of the game.

See ya next week!

Update for 3-01-2010

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:33:04 -0800

Click Here For Comic #551: "Digging For Information"

I have begun teaching classes at work. This terrifies me.

It isn't even my job, but I had a lot of time to kill and started creating programs for the library to use, since we had virtually nothing going on for adults. Somehow I ended up actually assigned to teach some of the ones I wrote. Which, again, not my job but if I plan on getting a full time job in the system somewhere it likely WILL become my job, so I should take advantage of the chance to get over my public speaking fear. The first class, which I taught Thursday, went okay. It ended up lasting only twenty minutes (we typically aim for an hour), which I felt bad for it ending so quickly, but the people who came seemed to get something out of it. They said the info was extremely helpful for their situations and three of the four people (we're a small library, so attendance isn't high to these things) even signed up for several more classes we're doing.

Tonight I begin the "Selling Online" course, which will be five parts (every Monday in March). In comparison to the other class, this one will actually be a full house. I'm still incredibly nervous, but this is a subject I have over ten years of experience in, so I'm confident I can answer any unexpected questions.

I also have nearly completed the trophies for the Mario Kart tournament we're planning on doing, and they look really nifty. I need to add a couple of screws to the faceplate and touch up on some spots with paint, but otherwise they're done. This is another thing that doesn't fall under my responsibilities, but I'm excited to help out and make it as successful as possible. Now that I know I can make these without much trouble, I can easily make more for future competitions. Hey, maybe I can even make some to sell on Etsy. I wonder if people would pay money for something like that... ^__^

On the job search, I still haven't heard from the jail but I've been told that isn't unusual. It's been three weeks but that apparently means nothing, so I'm probably still in the running there. I also applied for a library in the neighboring county, but it's a good 45-60 minute drive one way. It will be terrible on gas and not fun during bad weather, but it's also full time and an extra $1,000 a month compared to what I'm making now, part time. Still holding out hope!

On the comic, there are good and bad days when it comes to how much progress I make. Regardless, I'm steadily working on new pages every day, but some days I'm fortunate to get just one page done while others I can get a boatload finished. I'm a little overwhelmed with a bajillion projects at the moment, so I'm trying to finish up a few to clear up more time for comic stuff. I'm eager to get more done on Blue Sky while working more on some side projects.

Oh, and my cousins and I watched Dragonball Evolution. What a terrible, terrible movie. Jobs should have been lost over that one.

See ya next week!

Update for 2-22-2010

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:11:37 -0800

Click Here For Comic #550: "A Distraction"

There really isn't much to talk about this week, although I actually feel like I've been more productive lately.

Now that the drawing and inking are out of the way, I've been coloring pages. It's time consuming, but I'm getting quite a bit done. I've even gone back and colored a few of the redrawn Chapter One pages. I've also been working on bits and pieces of different projects, which isn't getting me too far along but it at least feels nice to make some kind of progress.

Now that I've finished up with No More Heroes 2, I've been looking into my piles of games to decide what to do next. Before NMH2 I had been playing Ghostbusters for the 360, but ever since the corrupted save I haven't been very enthusiastic to start over again. That will have to go back on the pile for a while. I'm almost embarrassed to admit, though, that yesterday I began playing Sneak King. Yes, THAT Sneak King. The Burger King exclusive game from about three years ago that features an even creepier version of their mascot, stalking people and shoving heart failure inducing fast food into their faces. It's a terrible, terrible game but with a couple of surprisingly difficult challenges. Still, I had only two reasons to buy the thing: 1.) It was .99 cents, and 2.) Super easy achievements. There's no way I'm putting enough time in it to get all of the achievements, but I'm going to at least get a couple of more before dumping the game on Listia. Then I'll start a REAL game, probably either Infinite Undiscovery or Enchanted Arms. I haven't played a console JRPG since Eternal Sonada, so I think it's about time.

A job opened up in the neighboring county, but it's about a 45 minute drive (at least). If the snow lightens up, I'm going to do a test drive to see if it will be worth the pay to go that distance. I've been working part time for seven months now and haven't worked full time in that plus a year, so I'm starting to feel a little antsy about it. I would very much like to be self-sufficient again.

See ya next week!

Update for 2-15-2010

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:26:26 -0800

Click Here For Comic #549: "Breakdown"

I actually feel bad that you guys had to wait a week for a one word splash page. I promise, next week will have more substance.

Before I get into anything else, I want to thank Sakinah D.Rasheed of the just completed The Academy DemonSlayers for linking the comic. I have no idea when you did it (I only knew because StatCounter said someone clicked the site's link) so this might be incredibly late, but thanks! It looks like Sakinah has a new webcomic called Pandora Ascension, so please check it out. And if anyone else has linked to the comic, please feel free to let me know! I like bragging about your comics and it's an honor you would include me on your site in some way.

In other news, I've finished No More Heroes 2 and have written a review. Good game.

I've also inked about five pages today, so big progress! If you follow my Twitter account (which you should if you like progress reports on my projects) I also worked on fleshing out some details on a comic I want to do later. It's actually an idea I had around January but I've gone back and tweaked some things, and the premise seems much better now. Not that any of this matters because it's a long ways off, but I just wanted to point out I was working on something rather than slacking. ^^;

In news related specifically to this comic, I received my W.A.G.O.N Delta decks last week! It's nifty to see some of my characters and ideas make it into something like this, and it's also the first real tangible merchandise featuring the comic (although I don't make any money off of it). And I'll be honest, I was happy to see my cards were the first six. I don't know why because it doesn't mean anything, but it's probably for the same reasons people post in threads with "First!". Anyway, I ordered two decks: one for me, and one for... I don't know. I thought of making a giveaway of some sort, maybe signing the six Blue Sky cards, but I'm open to ideas. What do you guys think?

I've also been working on making some nifty Nintendo trophies for the kiddies at work when we do our Wii tournament. There are no pictures yet, but I'll do all of that with the last trophy. I'm making sure I get everything right with the first two before I start documenting the process. The pieces are looking good, though, and I'm excited to get it all together (although it might be a month until they're 100% done, as I have to wait for some parts from China). Y'know, if I do get that job at the jail it's going to be bittersweet. On one hand, I would love the pay, benefits, and security it provides and I've been told I would be really good at it. On the other hand, I really like the flexibility my current job gives me and the ability to be creative like this. The problem is it's part time and it might be a long while before a full time spot opens up. Feh. Such is life.

I leave you with this parting gift: Darth Vader's Facebook page.

See ya next week!

Update for 2-08-2010

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:43:27 -0800

Click Here For Comic #548: "Didn't Take It Well"

I'm beginning to warm up to Twitter. Even, dare I say, like it. I think I just needed a reason for the account to exist, rather than use it to point out stupid mundane things going on in my life (which I totally still do, but at least it isn't the main purpose of it). LiveJournal, on the other hand, will continue to be the dumping ground for the idiotic stuff that runs through my head.

So on the comic front, I didn't get as much stuff done as I wanted but really, still did quite a bit. I drew nine (!) pages this past week, with three more to go to finish up Chapter 11. And now that I have my second monitor up and running again thanks to the new video card and a replacement stick of RAM (thank you, New Egg!), I can focus the next couple of weeks on coloring pages (Summer Song first since it's been sitting here completely done, then the regular comic pages I just drew). I also need to make a trip to the store for some supplies so I can start on a short story comic I've almost finished writing. I wanna get that thing going soon.

So there's progress, which is good, because as soon as it's feasible I'm taking this sucker back to three days a week. The reduced work load is nice, but I don't want to be updating this thing for the next fifteen years (besides, it's harder to follow an ongoing story this way).

And not that anyone cares, but I beat the eighth ranked assassin in No More Heroes 2. I'm about nine hours into the game (doing maybe an hour of non-story stuff) and it doesn't feel like it's ending any time soon. I've hit a roadblock, though, as the seventh ranked assassin has a move when you take his health down half way that is kicking my butt all over the place. I haven't figured out the strategy around it yet, but I'm sure there is one since Suda 51 seems to take particular care in how you approach these fights.

Anyway, hows abouts them Saints? I was certain of only two things in the game: 1.) It would go down to the wire, and 2.) Payton Manning would come back to win it, if it came down to it. Not that I felt the Saints couldn't win; I figured it could go either way. But if I put money down it would have been on the Colts for the simple fact Manning has an amazing ability to come through in a clutch. It sorta came down to the wire because I don't think that lead was too much to overcome, but the Saints pretty much put the game away with that interception / touchdown. That onside kick to start the third quarter completely changed the momentum of the game and was certainly the highlight for me. Talk about a gutsy move that paid off!

See ya next week!

Update for 2-01-2010

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:54:20 -0800

Click Here For Comic #547: "A Wake Up Call"

With my return to updating I'm finding I still need to make a few improvements here and there to make it easier for you guys to keep up with what's going on (should you be so interested). As you can see just to the top right of this writing, I've added a Twitter account.

I actually created it a while back when I was first working on this site design, and had a button planned on the side bar where the LiveJournal one is. Considering how long winded I am when I write, however, I realized fairly quickly the 140 character limitation wouldn't work for me, so I abandoned the account. Now I've found a use for it, though.

I usually post comic news and updates on the LiveJournal, which is something I have no intention of stopping. This is a problem, though, for those of you who don't want to sift through the other pointless junk I post about. I know comic news can get lost in between video game posts and YouTube videos. This Twitter account will now primarily be for updates on my process. Not only will it make it easier for you guys to find such news, but also let you know that I'm not slacking on comic work. And if I haven't 'tweeted' in a while, you can feel completely justified in e-mailing me to get back to work. ^__^

I might post a few other things there as well, but for the most part I'm going to keep things specifically about comic work. If you want more detailed information, I'll be sure to post it at the LiveJournal and drop a note in the Twitter account.

In other news, I want to thank everyone who has checked out the comic this past week. Last Monday and Tuesday I threw up $7.00 worth of ads (all the money I had in my Project Wonderful account) and it brought in a combined 1,700 visitors, with nearly 11,400 page loads. Since then (with a lack of updates and no ads) unique users has obviously dropped off, but page loads have remained within the 700-800 range just about every day. What that means is that at least a portion of those visitors been coming back and reading through the archives. As far as success with ads go, I think that's the most bang for my buck I've seen so far!

So I want to thank you all for clicking on those ads. Whether you stayed for thirty seconds or have decided to add the comic to your reading list, I appreciate you giving it some of your time. And many thanks to the old readers who have returned. I've said it before but can't say it often enough: you're awesome for coming back after a year of inconsistency and another six months of no updates and vague promises of a return. I don't deserve you.

Now I'm off to finish a long overdue birthday drawing for long time reader and friend, Caldichan and get my resume ready for a job I'm applying for that can literally change my life. Wish me luck!

See ya next week!

Update for 1-25-2010

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:40:47 -0800

Click Here For Comic #546: "Everyone Has Guilt"

Hi, and welcome back (if you came back) to the relaunch of the webcomic!

If you�ve stuck with me this long, thank you. I�ve been pretty much silent on the comic for six long months, which isn�t fair to you guys but unfortunately unavoidable. I went through a lot of mixed emotions about the comic during that time as well and wrote a few rants as I tried to work out what I exactly wanted to do from this point forward. After nearly three years of nonstop comic work, sacrificing sleep and other hobbies, the six month hiatus gave me the opportunity to step back. I came to a few realizations.

I�ve said this many times before, but I�ll repeat it again: I started this comic to help me improve. I knew it would have a lot of issues as I grew as an artist and writer, so out of the ideas I had I used the more common and mainstream one I had (so if I royally messed it up, I wouldn�t feel badly about it). And hey, the comic has done exactly what I wanted. If you look at my first page, or better yet the pages I never actually used (which you can see in the �Extra� section) I�ve come a long way in a short amount of time. I still have things to learn but I never expected to be where I�m at right now. The comic has been an overwhelming success as far as my personal goals are concerned.

Here�s the problem I faced after I went on hiatus� I was ready to do something else. I always wanted to finish Blue Sky and never had any intentions to stop; I swore I would never be one of those webcomic guys who left everyone hanging. However, I felt I was ready to do something of better quality. Something that wasn�t loaded to the roof with tropes and standard anime themes. The solution would normally to simply start another comic to fill that need. Unfortunately, with the current mess going on in my life and those who surround me, doing three comics a week was obviously a big problem. Adding another wasn�t going to help. And there�s still the fact I WANT to finish Blue Sky. It may not be perfect or what I want it to be right now, but it�s my first comic and it�s done a lot for me. The proudest I was of it was when I received offers for pay to host it at certain entertainment sits (which unfortunately fell through, but that�s another story entirely). It may have only been a brush with success, but it�s more than a lot of people see and for my first try, it made me feel I was on the right path. The comic means a lot to me, warts and all.

Right now my life is pure chaos. I am still working a part time job and seeking full time work. I�m trying to catch up on debt incurred during my year of unemployment, and I�m living in half the space of a small room while 75% of my belongings sit in a storage locker. There are other issues as well involving close family members that I�m not going to go into, but I�ll just say it�s been a tough year on all of us. It goes without saying this isn�t the greatest environment for me to find some consistency and get back into the webcomic game. This could realistically go on for another year.

But it had been six months, and I couldn�t leave you guys hanging anymore. At least half left, which I can�t blame them for. I�m eternally grateful for those who did stick around or who have come back. I�m not worthy of your patience, and it isn�t fair to ask for more. But here I go. I didn�t want to keep you guys waiting any longer, but in order to continue I have to make changes. So here�s the plan I�ve come up with. It isn�t perfect and it isn�t something I�m totally happy with, but it�s a compromise that will let me keep giving you comics, fill my creative needs, and work with my upside down life right now:

New Site Design: I�ve been kicking this design around for a while, but when I decided to come back I felt it was proper to do so with a fresh look. It symbolizes a rebirth for the comic, as least as far as I�m concerned. It unfortunately won�t look perfect for 800x600 users. I�m sorry about that. I�ve tried to design sites for everyone, including you, in the past but I was beginning to feel limited in what I wanted to do. The site should still work fine, but you will have that annoying horizontal bar on the bottom and there will be some formatting issues. I also haven�t finished the �Story� section of the site. Right now it has the old written descriptions, but I plan on doing something different with it (it�s just taking more time than I anticipated).
Now Updated Only On Mondays: That�s right, the comic will be updated only once per week, on Mondays. I don�t know for how long. All I know is I can�t guarantee having the time to do three comics a week. As soon as I can realistically do so, I�ll go back to three days but for now this is the only option to keep the comic going.
Summer Song Will Return At Some Point: If you read the spin-off Blue Sky: Summer Song comic, you got burned by me twice since that stopped updating, too. It WILL come back. The script is finished and all of the pages have been drawn for a long time. What I need to do is 1.) color the pages, and 2.) come up with a new website to host them on (if you go to the link at the bottom of the page, it won�t work). This is a side project, however, so there is no time table of when I�ll get it back online.
Winter Song Will Happen� Eventually: I still plan on doing Winter Song, but I�m not even finished plotting it yet. It might not be until well further down the road, but I do want to do it. I like writing about Kikyo and I had fun with Summer Song, so I�m definitely into this one. This is, unfortunately, on �back burner� status for the moment, though.
Other Projects: Part of the reason I�m going to one day a week is so I will have the time to scratch that creative itch when it acts up. I have a few short stories I have unfinished scripts for that I would love to do, which involving doing different art styles. There are also some longer series (long like how Blue Sky is long) that would satisfy my need to do something more creative or �important.� These are the kind of things, however, I would post until I had a lot done (or all of it, in the case of short stories) just to avoid the situation we just went through with this comic. This probably won�t happen for quite some time (or if it does, you won�t know about it), but it�s something I feel I need to do so I won�t limit myself. Otherwise I�ll never get some of these ideas done. So to sum it up, I guarantee you guys one Blue Sky comic a week, and will sporadically post other new series as I have time to do them.
Maybe A New �Main� Comic: In relation to what I wrote above, if I do start a long term comic it will likely become my main one. It doesn�t mean I�ll drop this one, but what it does mean is there�s a chance this won�t go back to three days a week. I just don�t know; it�s one of a million possibilities. I just want to warn you now that this could stretch out a lot longer than planned. It is my goal to get far enough ahead on a new comic to start one, though.
Scripts!: Not really a change, but I just wanted to throw out there that I�ve written up to Chapter 13 and have started Chapter 14. When I�ve finished with it, that will leave five more chapters left to write before the series is done.
Wallpaper & Prints: They aren�t up set, but the wallpapers previously available on the Summer Song site will be put up in the Downloads section as soon as I have time. The prints are all available at my DeviantArt account, and I still plan on adding new ones of both (I have a few drawn, but just need to color them).
Sequels?: In the past year I said I had plans for a couple of sequel series, but I just wanted to wrap things up because of that creative itch to do something different. So I nixed the idea. Well, I�m not saying it�s un-nixed, but I�m not saying it isn�t, either. What I am saying is when I officially move on to a new ongoing series, I still plan on doing side projects. Those sequels could always end up being side projects. So we�ll see.

I hope you guys can live with these changes and understand where I�m coming from on the creative end of it. I don�t like doing one update a week because this is a storyline-type of comic, but there�s not much I can do. If I can get a big enough buffer that it looks like missing an update will never be an issue again, I�ll go back to three days.

The important thing is that this comic is alive again, even if it�s at a slower pace now. This deal will allow me to keep the story going while also giving me the flexibility and time to do other projects when life isn�t insane. I�m still trying to keep things active here and in the webcomics community, as well. The W.A.G.O.N. card game cards will be printed soon, and I�m trying to work out a deal to get a special card made for giveaways. So I�m hoping to have things to look forward to besides just the comic.

I know it�s been a long wait, but I hope to make it worth it. The story is definitely heading into conclusion mode and some plots that have been kicking around for a while will get resolved.

Thanks guys, and see ya next week!