LOVEFEAST News.

Comic Creators Alliance Returns

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:51:06 -0800

Happy New Year! The Comic Creators Alliance is back again this year with the same goals as before -- to aid in ceasing human trafficking for good! Last year I contributed Hibiku to the large collection of characters, but this year I've entered Mune from my other comic. The fight continues!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead

Monday, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To participate, we formed the Comic Creator's Alliance--a group of over eighty comic book creators (both web and print) who volunteered our artistic talents to raise money and awareness for this cause. You may not know it, but there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. Unlike slavery in the 19th century, what is happening today is happening in secret. So it won't end until awareness is raised, and people like you and me take a stand.

So here's what we did: each creator contributed a Brady Bunch-style bust of one of our own female characters and combined them into a single wallpaper image. The wallpaper features characters from lots and lots of online comics of many sorts! Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper! This year you can even buy a print! The Donations Drive will last for two weeks, from January 11th - 24th. All proceeds will be split evenly between Love146 and Gracehaven House - two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this crime.

To learn more about the Comic Creator's Alliance visit comicalliance.weebly.com. To learn more about the problem, visit love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)

Happy Holidays - And More Stuff

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 20:07:12 -0800

First things first! The above image, which I posted several days ago, was drawn for me in the Webcomic Secret Santa exchange by Rob Lopez, who makes Forsaken Stars. I love it! Thanks, Rob!

It's Eustace as Ebeneezer Scrooge and Chains as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. But by the looks of things, he’ll be coming soon... Right? Am I Right?? ...I’m horrible.

Chains and Ronou (from my other comic) wish you a very happy holiday!

What? The holidays are pretty much over? Pssh, that won't stop me from posting this message! I hope you felt great this month!

I was waylaid by a great many things in December, and it almost feels as if the better part of this year didn't even happen now. Some of it was bad (I can rarely say that about my life, and hesitate to even now), and I didn't even get to work on any new comic pages this month (except slightly). The new year approaches, however -- and I want to start it off on a good foot. Wish me luck! I'm keeping to my Game Plan!

I did kind of get you guys a gift, though in ways it's really for me, too. I could write a big explanation for this, but to keep it (kinda) short, the majority of pages in the archives had a problem with them -- a whole bunch of them were unproportional to the way I intended to draw them because of the way I configured my old monitor. Everything I viewed was stretched, but with most things you wouldn't be able to tell until you compared the screen to another screen, or a printout! Imagine SD TV output on an HDTV... except the opposite, because everything was stretched vertically.

Anyway, this means some rushed or less-than-stellar pages were even worse than I thought, and those little differences I noticed between seeing my comic as it was drawn on my main monitor and how pages looked on my laptop were actually there; I was NOT crazy. After that, I vowed not to skew monitor proportions anymore.

I'm mentioning this because I fixed all the pages in Chapter 1 now, as well as the Cast page pics. It bothered me too much NOT to fix. And some of the pages that were incomplete that I never wrapped up the shading on are also more or less fixed now, too, except for page 1-20! Sorry for leaving pages incomplete for so long.

Here's a subtle example of that stretching thing I mentioned:

Page 1-14. I was gonna save a better subtle example, but I saved over all my other old files before I thought of it. Here's a less subtle example, in which I fixed other things:

See, I don't want to leave pages looking bad. Some things in some pages had been bothering me for a long time, but I needed time to fix them. And now I have -- tweaking even more than just the proportion issue. Torsos too long, heads too misshapen, uncolored pages, etc. I need to re-typeset some of the pages, too, because the font I have been using has too many limitations (I think I've finally settled on a new one).

I'll be going at new pages with my best (and try not to post really incomplete pages, even if it means being a bit late). I hope you like.

Speaking of "like", I added Facebook Like buttons on all the pages in the archive, right next to that little orange share button beneath the comic. Like away!

Thanks for sticking around! I heart you all!

Game Plan

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:52:38 -0800

The following is part of the news post I just posted on my other comic's update. You should know about this!

You may know that I have two webcomics. One webcomic is time-consuming, and two are utterly so. But I don't want to quit one or put the other on a hiatus, even after so much deliberation on it.

So, I plan on alternating months spent working on pages for them. Starting January, I will only work on pages for one comic. February, I will work on the other comic exclusively. And so on. (Side art and other things for either comic can be at any time; I don't think I could manage limiting that.) Updates will still come once weekly, with however many comics I finish/am close to finishing determining how many pages are added per update. I think this is the best way to keep any consistency, and I hope it goes well. I plan to work fervently. In February, I start with this comic. (But I will be working on some of it December as well. Hopefully there will be an update of some form before Christmas.)

And, put simply, if I don't finish very many comics in one month, there may be fewer updates. If that happens, I still won't break the routine. I've just got to go with it.

For both my comics, planning is way ahead of the game, but execution is a big hang-up. I want to get over that.

Thanks for still visiting/reading. :D

While you're here, a plug! Shishinkontan is Rekka's next big comic project, and you should check it out. It's got Japanese mythology and great character design. I'm all over it. You should definitely add it to your list of things to read.

Hey. Thanks.

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:26:44 -0800

I drew this picture at some point in the summer and never scanned it for two reasons. (1) It's kind of bad (it's got "forgot how to draw warm-up sketch" written all over it), and (2) my old scanner on my old PC was kind of crappy. That's why I didn't scan a lot of things, actually, and why I went all-digital for a while, eventually driving me into an uninspired ditch of confusion and stagnation.

A lot of other things have contributed to the drag, too, but that's besides the point right now. The sentiment still remains. When I drew this sketch, this site had just hit 300k pageviews, and now 30k more have been added to that. People are still visiting and reading, even for my lack of updates, and even for this comic's rough start and jumbled appearance. I appreciate that. I'm working hard to reestablish something not only fun but GOOD. And I finally finalized script changes that should make this comic all the more enjoyable. So please, hang in there. I appreciate that anyone besides me reads this at all. :)

On that note, have some old (and better!) sketches! One-two-three!

On another note, I may be changing this news system, or the site itself, to all-Wordpress sometime soon, because, let's face it, it's kind of crappy the way it is now anyway.

Status of the Comic

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 19:28:33 -0700

Hi everyone! Actually, this is more like a "status of me" news update, since the comic itself is doing fine (planning-wise). Obviously it's been slow around here, and I'd like to thank anyone who takes the time to come by and check out the comic in spite of its seemingly dead appearance. For comments of anticipation and the occasional vote, I thank you! I can't say I deserve much of it right now!

Much like before I began my job, right now I'm trying to pull together some semblance of regularity, as well as make some form of income to sustain my natural human desire to buy things (and pay debts...not so much a natural desire), along with seeking a new job -- one that hopefully won't end with an entire company's downfall. (That may sound bad, but I can assure you I'm not great enough to cause an entire company to fail. ;D) I seem to be doing good on that regularity thing right now, so I'll be applying that to the comic. I'm honestly afraid of screwing up the next parts, but at the same time I need to be less of a wuss. Onward and inward!

Just News

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:36:52 -0700

So, that last set of crossover pages (that should have been done earlier this year) really took it out of me. It's not the usual "I'm still reeling", though -- I just haven't prepared the next update yet. I actually need to get some supplies first, but I will be drawing the next segment of updates in batch, along with the SURPRISE I have in store.

So, no update today, and probably none Friday, but next Tuesday, probably!

In writing news, I actually think I'm done trimming the fat from volume 1, finally. Now I just need to trim volume 2, which, as the in-between volume to the introduction year and a year that's much more hectic, is kind of messy. There are a lot of things I wrote in Year 1 and 2 that don't really fit anywhere and complicate the overall story. I didn't have it sorted out when I started the comic, which is why things are slow now... Sorry!! But it's getting better, and I'm learning a lot.

A lot of comic authors who do this kind of thing end up inevitably drawing stuff that they don't want for the sake of exposition, establishment, or something. I'm ruling all that stuff out. I'm making everything I draw as part of this comic, whether it's a "have to draw" or "want to draw" thing, fun to draw. No pointless dialog dragging on for days, no diverging substories with no overall purpose. Everything will go together, and I will love it, and hopefully as a result, you will love it, too.

Blind Date 10

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:16:11 -0700

Heyyy! The link in this image was broken for most of today, but it works now!

Pow! It's the last page of the crossover! This was a very good crossover, really fun, really crazy -- and from what I hear from Taversia, the pamphlets did very well at GenCon, too. (So if you're coming here from GenCon, welcome~ Some exciting stuff's gonna happen with the main comic very soon. No lie!)

For the record, I added the crossover pages to the archive now, but they don't show up in the listing pages for some reason. But you could still begin reading start-to-finish here now, and also here where the pages are much larger. (Full-size pages are still linked in Artwork, but I may move them somewhere else later.)

Thanks for the readin'. :D

Blind Date 09 - It's Almost Over!

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:04:47 -0700

Now that the heat has died down, a conversation between Chains and Vigana. Mm, awkward small talk among deadly people.

In case you're wondering why Chains has a tail in the cover but not in the crossover itself, uh... he tucked it in his pants. Yeah. Habit of his. I'm not kidding!

Also, spoilers: by Year 4 Chains grows a tail. And apparently two pairs of horns. His star tats start slowly disappearing, too.

Blind Date 08

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:29:25 -0700

This is my favorite of pages I drew for this crossover. Chains gets a little stabby, and Vigana exploits the demon's weak spot... by kicking his head clean off. (Psst... begin reading the comic crossover over here. For the record, I'm adding my pages in the art gallery for now.)

On another note, remember when I was on TGT Webcomics? Well, now the second TGT Tournament is going on, and you can vote for me (Bracket 5) in it! I'd be honored if you did. I'm up against Liliy of Wiglaf and Mordred, so I probably have no chance, but I can try! (Also, listen to my interview if you haven't already!) Voting ends tomorrow, so head on over there, my hidden legion of readers!

In other news, California's Prop 8 got overturned, and it made me happy. I was taking in news of this last night when my power went out, which is why I didn't update ~10 hours ago.

Blind Date 07

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:27:31 -0700

Doesn't look like our guys have the advantage now, does it?

If these pages are indicative of anything, it's that I love torturing my own characters (and other people's, when given the opportunity). There's a lot going on in all of them...an exercise of executing a big battle in a mere 3 pages. It killed me, but I made it through! Now I just hope it makes any semblance of sense.

I think these pages are still more saturated than intended...whoops. Oh well.

The next page comes this Friday! Don't forget!

Wayward Fall Crossover 6!

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:23:08 -0700

Suddenly, page six of the crossover with Wayward Fall, BLIND DATE, appeared! I know it's been a while, so if you need to get up to speed, reread the first five pages at Wayward Fall's website. This update was meant for yesterday, but things sort of fell behind as I crashed in need of sleep. A few details on the page are still missing, too, but may have to be cut to make a certain deadline in time...

I think I overdid it with the color. But I've been working on these for a straight week, so I can't even tell what's good or bad anymore. :x Color style's not my strong suit and I'd like to have done something different than cel shading and texture, but Taversia is printing little copies of the crossover for GenCon, which, as you may already know, is in a few days. So yeah... familiarity go! I'd rather it be in all B&W myself, but you've got to do things to the better end sometimes! By the way, if you're going to GenCon, you should look for her there. She'll also be handing out free copies of the crossover with Swiftriver.

ANYWAY I'm so excited to have almost all the crossover pages finished. The rest have a bit more linework to go before coloring, which I'm going to wrap up...let's say within the next 36 hours. I hope. <:D So you can expect at least two weeks of updates after this. Yay! For the record, yeah, the crossover is 100% canon...and occurs in what would be volume 4 in LF-time. However, most of the things that don't make sense n this little crossover will be clarified in LF much sooner than that!

In other news, Lovefeast itself has a lot in store. I've been hacking away at editing volume 1's script and editing away all my apprehensions, and I can say I'm genuinely excited about it now. I'll admit that LF wasn't fully thought-through regarding my intentions with it when I started it, but now those intentions are maturing...and manifesting! You'll see the fruits of that soon enough.

The last few months have been busy in many ways, and now I find myself with more free time again. A lot more! That means my plans for both my comics are coming into action, sooner than you think. So don't forget about us! Yay!

The vote incentive is a WIP colored version of the cover for this crossover. A lineart version is on Tavvy's site.

Gulf Auction

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:56:47 -0700

Hello pals! This is a news update to both my comics. I meant to give a little update much, much sooner, but I kind of didn't want to update without anything new to say. Suffice it to say, I'm still busy. But, while it may be far from a perfect model for webcomic updates, this adage has often proven true in my life: "slow and steady wins the race." Putting aside that I don't really like turtles (except sea turtles), I evidently can identify with them! All my goals have been slow in coming, but were very rewarding once achieved.

Anyway, speaking of sea turtles, undoubtedly you've heard of the gulf oil spill incident over the last two months, even if you're nowhere near it. Thinking of ways to contribute to it, this comes up: the Webcomics Auction for the Gulf of Mexico! If you'll recall the last webcomic-related auction I took part in, it also requires your response to be successful. So I'll be drawing two original pieces, one for each of my comics, Millennium and Lovefeast, to be auctioned off as part of this.

The proceeds will be donated to the Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund, which is being managed by The Baton Rouge Area Foundation. That's something I can get behind! So look for things to get started in July.

On another note, I appreciate that you've still been checking in, and new people have been reading every day. Don't forget about this comic! It'll still be here! (Snag the RSS feeds!)

Peep

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:38:15 -0700

Whoa, it's a bit quiet. It's almost the end of April! Maybe it's about time I made a news post. For those of you curious, the Easter Egg was on chapter 1, page 14. Or is, rather. And it will remain there...forever!

Anyway, I think it was kind of silly for me to expect to be able to begin updating again a mere week after work began. My body took its sweet time rebelling on me for forsaking its late-night orientation, but I think now that it's finally warming up and I'm really getting in the swing of things that I'm gonna be in ship-shape. Yay! That means more energy, more motivation, more pages soon! But I still have to finish up my anthology comic (whose deadline was delayed a couple times between now and December, all much for the better), which is finally making progress. I also have to finish my half of the crossover with Wayward Fall...which I have been working on, slowly. You should go read Taversia's half this instant, if you haven't yet. Seriously. Just go.

Updates will resume sometime in May, after MTAC's storm of awesomeness subsides. You will be happy.

By the way, if you're going to MTAC, you should look for me. I like talking to people. I'll be traipsing around as Momohime from Muramasa: the Demon Blade. I'll also probably be bothering Scott Sava at his table.

Also, I'd like to thank my friend JGray for including my comics in the series of Webcomic trailer plugs he ran before his site relaunch. It was awesome. If you're a new reader here from that, do stick around. I'm a bit slow, but with hope not for much longer. Exciting things comin'! (And for Mysteries of the Arcana, too -- I enjoyed its first arc's ending, and the new site's slick, with a new arc beginning as well! Go look at that, too!)

Cagin' it Up

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:52:53 -0700

It's a new page! Finally! As you'll see, the page is slightly unfinished (no toning), but I am having another small crisis of direction. The comic just isn't interesting enough on its own anymore, so I've decided that the only way to make it more engaging is to add some Nicolas Cage's head.

I hope you enjoy.

(You should enjoy this, too.)

Also, two things: the host server was down all day yesterday due to issues! But now it's back up! So please continue reading. Continue reading, because the WebComic Planet Easter Egg hunt is on, and you're gonna have to find an egg hidden somewhere in the comments sections of the comic archives... You get a WCP prize if you find all the eggs on all the sites!

EDIT 4/2: Yay! That was a nice April Fool, wasn't it? Huh...? Well, I thought so, anyway. It'll always be in the Junk part of the gallery for all posterity to see. For those who missed it but want to see it RIGHT NAO, you can also just lookie here.

The REAL slightly-unfinished version of page 1-20 is up now, and I tell you...I kinda like how the lineart on this page turned out. I'm trying to loosen up so stuff won't take as long. I will probably tone all the untoned pages in the archive on Sunday, but don't hold me to that; I've got other art projects on priority this weekend. Just so you know, I'll probably be working on the next sequence of pages all at once when I begin so I can consistently post them. For flow's sake! Also, you should know that the Easter Egg thing is indeed real, and you should be looking for it, as it is adorable and you can win nice stuff.

I tell you, my work computers have me totally spoiled. I can work on enormous files without a bit of lag. I know what I'm saving up for now. (I should actually be acquiring a remarkably powerful PC for relatively cheap in the next couple weeks. EXCITING)

Pulp Justice

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:49:35 -0700

This is an "I am alive!" update! This is also a plug update. You might as well entertain yourself with more things while we take this short break!

Have you ever wanted to be a radio supervillain? Or rather, did you have an idea for a villain you'd love to actually hear on a radiostyle podcast? Submit your idea for a radio supervillain and read about where you can get hundreds of hours of free audio drama done by the impression cast of Decoder Ring Theatre, over at topwebcomics.com! "Now in its fifth season, the series celebrates the Golden Ages of both radio and superheroes as it follows the masked protectors of 1930's Toronto through the dark days of the Depression and into the storm of WWII. Adventure and mystery are on the menu, and snappy dialogue, sassy sidekicks and two-fisted pulp justice are guaranteed!"

Having survived my first day of work, I've got a lot of acclimating to do schedule-wise. I'm excited, though. Meanwhile: comic planning! Always a sketchbook on hand! Look out!