Blue Sky Webcomic

Update for 9-01-2010

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:01:35 -0700

Click Here For Comic #578: "Not Ready Yet"

[no blog post today]

Update for 8-30-2010

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:57:13 -0700

Click Here For Comic #577: "Hand Puppets Fix Everything"

Yes, that's right:

The comic is now going to update two days a week, every Monday and Wednesday!

I wanted to wait until I was in a far better position before adding anymore days. I wanted a large buffer, which would give me time to work on other projects in addition to this one. But I was looking through my finished pages the other day and saw that, at the current one-day-a-week schedule, I had an four month buffer. Two months is what I used to work with, and there's really no reason not to bring a day back when I have that many pages banked. With the Summer Song work 99.9999% done, I have no big projects in the works at the moment, so there's nothing getting in the way of keeping up with updates.

Besides, there will always be projects. I'll never be exactly where I want to be as long as I'm updating the comic, so why not do it now?

My new role at work begins Wednesday, which means my hours dramatically shift and I have to start getting used to getting up early. This means no more late night sessions on comic work, but with a set and steady schedule, I think it will help me keep a productive routine. This is a good thing.

Still, with all I have to do and the fact I'm going to be working an extra twenty hours per week, I might be a bit quiet on Twitter and LiveJournal. My big focus right now is to get the other two Summer Song books fixed and uploaded so I can get those ready for sale. Speaking of which, they look really, really nice. I loved the color one, but when the hardcover came in... wow. Because of the nature of Lulu's printing process, the hardcover unfortunately will be a bit pricey, but I'm telling you... if you're a hardcore fan of the comic and don't mind the price, it's the one to get. It looks nice, the pages are a bit bigger than the other versions, and I've added in sixteen extra pages of content the other versions don't have. I'm also planning on some other special additions, which are being manufactured right now.

I'm feeling pretty darn good right now, y'know? I finally have a book in the can, the comic is making progress on returning to a three-day-a-week schedule, I'm starting a new full time gig... I feel like this is the beginning to the road of recovery from the last couple of really bad years. I've weathered the storm, and now it's time to get down to business and get everything back on track.

See ya next week!

Update for 8-23-2010

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:15:10 -0700

Click Here For Comic #576: "Shiro"

And so Chapter 11 comes to an end by revealing who our 'third warrior' isafter so long of teasing. Although I think it was pretty obvious who he was the moment he showed up. ^_^; Now I have to go through the daunting task of seeking out any references to the 'mystery character' and update them with his name.

This has been a rather busy yet fruitful week. I received two of the three Blue Sky: Summer Song test books in the mail yesterday. There are some fixes to be made, but they are full of awesomesauce. Especially the color version. I can't wait to see the hardcover book, since it has all of the extra content. If you've been following my Twitter or LiveJournal, then you know about all of this extensively, including hints of extras to come. Hopefully I'll be able to have everything squared away and begin putting packages together within a few weeks so I can make this thing available to those of you wanting a dead tree vesion of the comic (or just wanting to know how the story ends!).

I also have other good news: I got the full time job at my library! The competition was tough, so I'm grateful to have this chance to prove myself (and pay off my small pile of debt). It's been a tough few years, but I worked hard to prove I can do this job and it will help me rebuild my life. I officially start September 1st, although I've already been approached about adding programs to the schedule and told there are some 'special committee'-like things I will probably be taking part in. I don't know if that's the correct way to describe them, actually; one thing I may be helping with is giving input on how to get the entire system (not just our library, but all five in our area) more attention from the community. My boss said I had some good ideas that I had already used for our library, and felt I would be a fit for this kind of thing. So I better start thinkin'! ^^;

Of course, as great as it is to have an awesome full time job again, the question you might want to know is: how does this affect the comic? At one day a week, I can't see it affecting it much at all. About the only thing it could change is my ability to get a big enough buffer built up to go back to three days a week, but I don't even think that's an issue. The fact is, I think I work more efficient when I'm in a time crunch. When I have only a small window to get stuff done, I might actually be more efficient as I try to take advantage of the time I have. In any case, we'll see. I have a long list of projects yet to do, and I have no intention of putting them off. I just have to make them fit into the time I have.

Speaking of other projects, I've been picking at a few here and there. I've added in some additional plot points to Blue Sky: Winter Song, as well as make some character sketches. I'm getting eager to finish plotting that one so I can start work on it, but it might be a ways off. I did some character design (with a slightly different art style) on my next ongoing series, and I've been meaning to start the art on a short story but ran out of time. Maybe this week? In the meantime, I started sketching out Chapter 13 of Blue Sky and inking Chapter 12 so I can color the remaining pages. When I can get back in the rhythm of things and get the buffer high again, I'm going to focus on redrawing Chapter One so I can finally get a book going (now that I've seen Summer Song's book, I really want to see the rest of the series in print!).

So, yeah. Not exactly a short list of things to do, and that's all just webcomic-related. As you can tell, I like to keep busy. :)

Oh, on a personal note: I've lost 28 lbs. in a week shy of two months. I'm about 31 lbs. away from my goal, which is at least 195 (which I weighed four years ago, the least I've ever weighed in my adult life). So yay, me! Yay, starvation!*

*I do not endorse starvation as a way to lose weight. Just sayin'.

See ya next week!

Update for 8-16-2010

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:31:06 -0700

Click Here For Comic #575: "The Last One"

This hasn't been the productive week I hoped for, but I still managed to get some big things out of the way.

First thing's first: The Blue Sky: Summer Song book (all three versions) are done! I'm waiting for my review copies to arrive, but I think they're going to turn out well. I also learned some valuable lessons about Lulu and uploading extremely large files, which should save me a lot of hassle next time around. Anyway, I'll have more information about the books when I feel there are no errors or major fixes needed. I'm thinking in maybe a month I'll have some solid news about the comic's return and it's book. I have no idea if anyone is even interested in a book, but I don't care. I get to see my stuff printed in a real book, that I can put on my shelf and everything! This fact alone is good enough reason to put the work into it.

With Summer Song out of the way, that frees me up to focus on other projects that were pushed aside. There is, of course, my never ending quest to get back to three days a week with Blue Sky. There's the continuing effort to plot my next comic. There's redrawing Blue Sky's early chapters. There's plotting and preliminary work on Blue Sky: Winter Song. And there's a short story that's written and I just need to work on the pages. I'm not sure what to give priority! Myabe that's what I should do. I already got myself Blue Sky'd-out once before, and it resulted in my going on a weekly rant about the flaws of my comic. I'm finally getting myself back to a point that I can appreciate it for what it is and what it has done for me, so I would hate to burn myself out again. Plus there's the desire to branch out and do different things and all. Hrm. Decisions.

On the job front (which seems to be a weekly update anymore), I didn't get the part-time-with-slightly-more-hours job. Which is a shame, but I still have a shot at the even better full time gig at my current job. A decision has been made on who gets it, but I won't know until my boss gets final approval... Wednesday. SUSPENSE! If I don't get this, however, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I need to formulate a new plan, in case it looks like I need to move on to a place that I have a shot at full time work. Unfortunately, options seem to be limited right now. Getting this job will instantly solve A LOT of problems in my life right now.

But in jobs that DON'T pay, I seem to have inadvertently made myself a permanent volunteer of a local non-profit my Mom is part of. While I've always helped out here and there since I was a wee kid, I think I just made it a regular thing by volunteering to redesign their website and update it from now on (yeah, that's my redesign). I still have a ton of stuff to do to it, but I think it's something that people will find easy to navigate and locate the info they need. It also should be pretty easy to keep updated, so I don't think this is going to become something that interferes with my other side projects. And hey, I get to put "webmaster" on my resume! WIN!

Also: Scott Pilgrim. See it. Now. Unless you're older than 30, in which case you might not get the insanely heavy geek humor. But if you do fit that 18-34 demographic and get the video game culture, this movie is definitely made for you. Sadly I knew it would bomb just for being what it is, even though what it is is pure awesome.

See ya next week!

Update for 8-09-2010

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:05:11 -0700

Click Here For Comic #574: "Too Much To Handle"

Hey, sorry for the delay, but job interview and all. Which went well, but it was still hard to read my chances. I'm hoping the interview for this week goes well, seeing as it's for a full time position in my own library. I'm about as prepared as I can be.

I have a lot on my plate right now, so I'm going to rush through this: I haven't done any comic work this week or the week before because I've been putting together the various editions for the Blue Sky: Summer Song book. I just need to finish the special edition's cover and fix errors on about five pages and it's ready to go. I'm in the process of trying to get some extra goodies for the special edition to make it worth ordering (I'm going through Lulu, which means the color editions will likely get a little pricey).

As soon as the book is out of my hair, I'm going to start hitting the comic work hard again. I am also in the process of making a website for a local volunteer group, but that shouldn't take too long. And that's about it!

See ya next week!

Update for 8-02-2010

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:20:38 -0700

Click Here For Comic #573: "This Guy Knows His Stuff"

I haven't been home much for three days, so not a lot to report on comic progress. I did get some stuff done, though.

I've been working on the Blue Sky: Summer Song book. The black-and-white one is put together but I found errors in some of the actual comic pages, so I need to go back, fix those, and re-upload the files. Because I'm going through Lulu, the color version of the book is going to be a tad pricey. To make up for that, it's going to be a "special edition" version, which will have a bunch of content and extras the black-and-white one does not. I'm focused on making those extras right now...
I've only been home a few hours here and there, so I haven't had time to color any pages. My temporary part time job is unsure if they're going to use me this month or spread me out over the year, so at the moment it looks like I'll have a lot of free time coming up. With Summer Song out of the way, I'm going to double my efforts to build the buffer. It's growing, but not where I want it to be in order to bring the comic back to three days a week.
I did some character sketches for Blue Sky: Winter Song and came up with some plot ideas that will change what I originally had, but make it a lot better. I have no time table of when I'll start it, but progress is being made. I think I'll do a different short comic (already written) before I jump into another 80+ page book.
Not that this is relevant to anyone, but just because I feel like bragging: lost me 20 pounds in three weeks! Starvation works! (DISCLAIMER: I am not endorsing starvation to lose weight) I'm just about back to my previous high, so while it's huge progress and I feel a ton better, I have a long road ahead. Still, I'm feeling pretty darn confident that I'll drop it all this time.

I think that's it. My little trip away from home has given me some much needed time to draw a bunch of stuff, but I'll be looking forward to having full access to my computer again so I can get back to my main task: making comics!

See ya next week!

Update for 7-26-2010

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:06:56 -0700

Click Here For Comic #572: "FIGHT!"

Hey, so that job? Didn't get it. It apparently came down to me and a fellow co-worker, but ultimately she fit their future plans better. Her position, however, has opened up so I'll know in a few weeks whether I get that or not. I was very frustrated about still not nabbing a full time job, but I'm going to redirect that energy into putting on the best presentation I can for this new opportunity. Here's hoping!

Comic news: Blue Sky: Summer Song is DONE! All pages are colored and all dialog is added. In fact, I'm almost done putting together the black-and-white version of the book! As soon as I get it and the color one done, I'll make it available and start on a new website so I can eventually get that comic online again. It feels good to get it finished after having it on the backburner for so long.

Time is going to be tight again this week, so we'll see how much I get done on the main comic. Watch the Twitter account for updates!

See ya next week!

Update for 7-19-2010

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:36:15 -0700

Click Here For Comic #571: "Aftermath"

I don't have a lot time since I have to be up in about 5 1/2 hours, so I'll make this quick this week.

If I do another Mario Kart or video game tournament, punch me repeatedly in the face until I change my mind. Oye. It was successful, but next time there will definitely be changes added to avoid some of the problems we encountered.
I did my interview, which went very well. In fact, I would say it's the best interview I've ever had. I brought a porfolio with samples of the stuff I've done where I work now, and it was nice that when they asked me to describe something I could immediately show them a sample. My understanding is they were impressed, so yay me! I don't know if I'll get the job, but I at least feel comfortable in the fact that I'm probably up at the top of the list somewhere and that there's absolutely nothing else I could have done better than what I did.
Summer Song is almost colored! I'm 50% done with the last page. Once I get it done, I'll work on adding dialog to everything, then start on rebuilding the website to bring the series back again, and finally finish up the book. I'm debating whether to start posting the series where it left off or start over. The problem with starting where I left off is that the next page is a huge spoiler and if anyone never read the series or forgot stuff, it kind of ruins the build up. So I dunno... Any opinions? I'm likely going to bring it back at a M-W-F schedule since everything's done and I know I won't miss updates.
Been plotting a lot more of my next series. I'm not sure how my plot points will translate to actual scripted pages, but so far it's feeling freakishly long. To put it in perspective, Blue sky's plotting ended up being thirty-two pages in length (which, when actually scripted out, ended up being 777 pages long). So far I've plotted out 16 pages to the new series and I think I'm only just about a quarter of the way through. I don't want it to be insanely long but I also know everything in it is necessary, so this could be a really long one.
Breaking Bad is a really, really good show. Working on Sons of Anarchy right now...

See ya next week!

Update for 7-12-2010

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:24:24 -0700

Click Here For Comic #570: "Warranty Now Void"

For some reason I really like how this page turned out. Huh.

Hey, so! Job interview this week! I'm getting my stuff together, and hopefully by the time I'm done I'll knock their socks off. I was a little concerned but now I'm feeling pretty darn confident about my chances, especially after going through the work I've contributed. I am hopeful.

I did take time to see "Predators" this weekend. The best I can describe it is this way: it's not as good as the first movie and it had some minor issues, but it was otherwise enjoyable. It's still a worthy successor in the franchise. Of course, the way the iMDB forums are going on about the movie, it's the worst piece of garbage EVAH and has ultimately destroyed the franchise and the fans ability to enjoy anything in life ever again. Then again, looking at their comments half of them think things were happening in the movie that never did, while others clealry were playing with their phones more than paying attention as they missed entire parts that explained what was going on. So... yeah. Fanboys. Should I be shocked?

On the comic side of things, I've had another busy week and didn't get a lot cranked out. I colored a page and I'm almost done with another, plus did some plotting on anothe project. I did, however, get a bunch of stuff up at my long neglected DevianArt page, so check it out! The link is in the left column just above the ShoutBox.

I think that does it for now, so see ya next week!

Update for 7-05-2010

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:03:00 -0700

Click Here For Comic #569: "Magic Mirror"

Hey, hope you had a happy 4th of July!

I've been pretty quiet lately, and a lot of that has to do with work. Working two part time jobs wouldn't seem to be any more tiring than working a full time job, but a lot of my schedule ends up being four hours one day, then sixteen hours the next, then five hours the day after, etc. etc. It makes it really difficult to get a routine down and I find myself mostly crashing by the time I get home.

Don't get me wrong, though; I'm grateful to have both. It's 40 hours a week (which I haven't had in two years) and the unique experience I'm getting from the temporary part time job is invaluable. It very well may help give me an edge with that interview coming up this month (or so I hope!). The extra work has made it difficult getting comic stuff done, but man am I ready to get back to full time hours again.

In other news that no one probably actually cares about, I had to get order another 360. It's clear my disk drive is starting to fail, and with a sale Target was having on the Arcade units, I went ahead and used my Amazon credit that I was saving for a PS3 to get a new 360. I'll just have to wait a bit longer for that system, I guess. :) As for my old one, it still works; it's main problem is sometimes after about an hour of play it gives me a disk read error and I lose my progress. It's more frequent on certain games for some reason and was beginning to get on my nerves, so I accepted facts. I've made an offer to donate the system to a local daycare if they want it (they probably won't play it for an hour anyway), and if they don't I'll probably offer it to the library I work at. I'm pretty sure that will make us the only one in our system with a 360, so good selling point. :) Or maybe I'll wait to see if I get this full time job and offer it to them, since that will be a permanent position. I dunno, we'll see how it all goes.

In comic news, although I have had a hard time getting a lot of work done in the last few weeks, I managed to get four pages (two Blue Sky and two Summer Song) colored this past one. I'm hoping to repeat that this week, as my schedule is more evened out. The good news is I have only seven more pages to color before Summer Song is completed. Once that's done, I'll make a new site, reupload the comic, start posting new pages, and get the book done. It's always bothered me that I left that story hanging, and I'm going to feel relieved to get it out there for you guys.

See ya next week!

Update for 6-20-2010

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:43:24 -0700

Click Here For Comic #568: "Now or Never"

I got nothin' this week. Just been working and watching "The Shield".

See ya next week!

Update for 6-20-2010

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:37:05 -0700

Click Here For Comic #567: "Oh Shi..."

I got an interview for a full time job! I have to wait a month (quite a ways, but it's probably because of when the new fiscal year begins), and from what I've heard my chances are actually improved now (so the lack of specialized college degree and not speaking Spanish aren't 'must have' issues anymore). I really hope I can get this; I know I would be good at it once I get a sense of what's going, and it would be awesome to be able to, y'know, pay my bills. If I can get it, I'll be able to get my debt under control by the end of the year and hopefully have enough saved up to move back out into my own place again.

Comic work has gone extremely slow this past week, what with working at two different libraries. I'm still getting ahead, but not as much as I was. It's worth it, though. The extra cash will help a lot, and the experience at such a unique library (a nature learning center) is invaluable.

Oh hey, E3 was this past week! I have more detailed thoughts in the LiveJournal, but basically Nintendo kicked butt with a ton of great games and the awesome looking 3DS, which is suddenly on my radar now. Microsoft certain catered to the casual crowd a lot during their conference, and Sony's shining moment was having Kevin Butler on stage (the Twisted Metal presentation was cool, too). The 3DS, Donkey Country Returns, and Gears of War 3 are on my 'Must Buy' list, although Kirby Epic Yarn might join it once I see more of the game.

See ya next week!

Update for 6-13-2010

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:41:20 -0700

Click Here For Comic #566: "Yep... This Guy Again"

First week of the new second job went well. A lot of tedious work (their words, not mine), but I completely understand why they need someone to do it. These tasks take a long time to do, and the full timers just don't have time to devote to these things with all they have to do. So basically I'm there to help make sure everything, such as certain supplies, are ready to go when the camp kids show up.

It has unfortunately had the side effect of keeping me from getting a lot done on my To Do list. At least seven things that I considered "must do this week" didn't get touched. A lot of this just because I'm not used to the earlier hours, but I can't imagine this week will be any better; I'm more used to the hours, but now I'll have several days where I work 11-16 hours between the two jobs. So I'm not sure how that's going to affect my progress. On the bright side I colored one Summer Song and two Blue Sky pages, which at least ensures I'm moving forward, not standing still or taking a step back on rebuilding the buffer.

The Mario Kart tournament at work is going well so far, although the first week was a bit of a mess because I had no idea what I was doing. Five more weeks before it's officially over, and we're getting a good response and a lot of people showing up (even with just six playing each week, at least 15+ people are in the room watching). We're already planning our next game tournament (this time for adults since no one wanted to compete against kids in this one) and I'm in the process of building a really unique looking trophy. I'm really happy with how the programs I've created / run have been going, and I think they're helping the library out a lot. With the exception of one or two, they've all gotten some pretty decent response.

Oh hey, E3 is this week! I don't know what they can possibly announce at this point considering everyone seems to have talked about their upcoming games already, but you never know. I look forward to seeing how Nintendo disappoints me this year.

See ya next week!

Update for 6-07-2010

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:13:59 -0700

Click Here For Comic #565: "Shoddy Security"

I gots me a job!

Okay, so it's another part time job, and it lasts only through the summer. But it's at another library (specifically a nature library, which will look better on my resume for future jobs) and between it and my current job, I'll be working forty hours until mid-August. With luck, the full time library job I applied for will call by then so when this one ends, I can transition over and keep working full time.

Even if it isn't permanent, there's a lot of positives to getting it. Besides what I mentioned above, it's going to help me cut my credit card debt in half. As long as I keep on top of it, I can have that sucker paid off by the end of the year. Then I can step up my payments for 2008's taxes plus get my parents paid back on the amount I borrowed from them.

It's a slow process, but I'm finally seeing signs of rebuilding my life after the initial job loss.

I have no idea how this will affect the work I'm doing on the comic. Monday updates will be fine, of course, because I have a huge buffer. But the amount of work I've been doing behind the scenes might slow down since I'm losing twenty hours a week. Fortunately this is coming at a time that I have a lot of stuff at least 50% done on the comic, so it might not slow me down at all. I just have to get even more focused on what I'm doing.

Speaking of comic stuff, if you follow the Twitter feed you know I've been coloring at least two Blue Sky: Summer Song pages per week. Pretty soon they will all be done, and I'll be ready to start posting that comic again. I've also begun the process of putting the print book together because, well, even if no one buys it I want to see my stuff in dead tree format on my shelf. ^^; Anyway, I drew something the other day and thought it might be good as the cover. I was hoping for some opinions. What do you guys think:

CLICK HERE to see a larger version & post comments

If I don't use it for the cover, I'll probably add it to the interior. I've never made a print comic book before, though, so any opinions would be appreciated. If it isn't good enough, I have no problem drawing something else.

I also want to mention something I brought up a while back. As is clear from the left menu on the website and the many mentions, Blue Sky has had the honor of being included in the latest W.A.G.O.N. card game deck. Even better, Mike has let me create a special Blue Sky alternative Ryuichi promo card, which will not be available for sale and only made in quantity total of around eighty cards. The card in question is this one:

You can get one of these cards totally for free by simply getting a hold of me and telling me where to mail you (you can reach me through Twitter, LiveJournal, Shoutbox, or good 'ol fashion e-mail).

I think that covers it. This is definitely going to be an interesting week for me.

Wish me luck! See ya next week!

Update for 5-31-2010

Mon, 31 May 2010 01:13:45 -0700

Click Here For Comic #564: "Bad Dog"

Not much to say this week, other than I've been fairly productive with comic work. I'm hoping this week continues the trend. It's gonna be a busy one at work, with the Mario Kart Tournament starting (and with the number of participants we have, lasting well over a month). Gotta pick up the donated Gamestop gift card later today, too.

Oh, and I'm watching The Shield. Just finished season one, and I can't wait to get season two from the library. Man, I love that show!

Enjoy! See ya next week!