LOVEFEAST News.

Crossover with Wayward Fall

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:05:16 -0800

I know you're achin' to get your Lovefeast fix as I work on a few other projects... So am I, actually. I'm DYING to draw the next scene, as it's a bit of a departure, and really neat besides. But in the meantime, you can get your weekly dose of Chains this week over at Wayward Fall!

Our first comic crossover, Blind Date, is set four years into the future of Lovefeast. You might say: "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Well, not really; right now I am editing volumes (years) 1 and 2 and writing volume 4, in which a lot of exciting things happen. It's the perfect time in which to set this crossover, and lines up well with Wayward Fall's timeline. :D Chains (who undergoes a few less-than-subtle changes between Freshman and Initiate years) sets out to take on an Oni, but will be he alone?

Pop on over there to begin reading! 3 of 10 pages are up so far, with the first 5 to be done by Taversia!

The next update here should come either Friday or next Tuesday.

Stars

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:05:16 -0800

Today there's not a new page (and page 19 is still untoned), but hark! A new episode of Ask Chains!

Don't forget to get all your random questions answered! Also, throw in a vote if you feel like it.

I added a couple of little things to the Development gallery, too. One thing is a sketch that was going to be a profile image, but the character is no longer a part of the major story of this comic.

History Questions

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:32:55 -0800

There's a day left in the Comic Creator's Alliance donation drive!

This page is obviously not done yet -- no BGs, and I've got to fix a couple of blobbish hands later. I was going to delay it again (as if it weren't delayed already; Friday was yesterday, and I meant to have this up at least 20 hours sooner), but I decided to tough through it and post the lineart as it is. Toning comes later. And by "later" I mean "I don't know how soon" because I have a few deadlines of important things coming up this next week. So enjoy this sneak peak at the lineart! I will probably finish its toning and other untoned pages soon and take a very short break from updating while I finish this other stuff.

Today another new character appears in the comic! You can actually see part of her on page 23, but just barely. I also added new and updated portraits to the Cast page, thus completing the portraits for all the main cast, and added one Teacher portrait. Soon to come: the rest! (The teachers are considered part of the main cast as well, but not quite as much.)

About the poll: I actually did not much enjoy history classes when I was in high school. For the most part, they were lame and largely uninformative; there's much more to American history, and the history of the world in general, that can be conveyed in much more efficient ways. My most enjoyable history classes were in college, Art History I and II; that was because learning about history through ART was amazingly effective, learning about periods and being able to place art in their original contexts. And then we actually DID things in that class, like go to art gardens and museums.

So, certain types of history and how they're presented are preferred for me, but I'm still far from a history buff. I'd rather learn more about the history of a culture by living in places and experiencing things first-hand, then delving back into books and other resources.

Pitching and Catching

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:48:54 -0800

Chains answers his first question! Gettin' kinda personal right off the bat, huh?

I learned things, drawing Chains eight times in a row like that (11 times with the last page). I actually don't like drawing characters repeatedly like that (part of why I FAILD one of the art jams I was a part of last year), which is why Eustace is in to mix it up a little. But, I'm pretty sure I'll never draw Chains's hair in any kind of consistent fashion while it's styled like this. Hey... ask about his hair, or something.

Anticipate a new regular page and a new vote incentive on Friday. I'll be removing the Ask Chains pages from the archives at that time as well. I might even add a few more character profile images, since we're soon to come upon a Character Introducing Spree.

Don't forget about the Comic Creator's Alliance! It's still going for most of this week. And it's awesome.

Ask Chains #0

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:03:05 -0800

Today I add the introductory page of Ask Chains. It won't stay in the archives, but it will always remain on the Ask Chains Page.

I decided not to rely on Nakie Chibis for this series and will probably learn how to draw more quickly and effectively by doing this... so ask things, folks! The first official episode will be posted sometime within the next few days, hopefully.

In other news, something very special is in the works, in collaboration with another comic... and you should see the fruits of this something special very soon... :D

Comic Artists Fight Against Human Trafficking

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:14:39 -0800

It's live! The Comic Creator's Alliance, into which I entered Hibiku from my comic Lovefeast, is now accepting donations.

"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 an original drawing of one of our own female characters, and combined them into a single wallpaper image. The wallpaper features characters from The Phoenix Requiem, Girls with Slingshots, Earthsong, Looking for Group, Shadowgirls, The Uniques and four IDW Publishing titles: Fallen Angel, The Dreamland Chronicles, Love & Capes, and The Dreamer, and lots, lots more! Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper. 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 www.comicalliance.weebly.com. To learn more about the problem, visit http://love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)

...

The wallpaper is seriously awesome, guys. Donate for it and know you're also helping a great cause.

Sappy Birthday

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:34:07 -0800

Today's Tuesday! That means a new page! Today is also Lovefeast's second birthday. How convenient!

So here's a goofy birthday pic for you as well as the new page, which I also like how it came out. There's also a new vote incentive, with the vote link now conveniently located directly below the latest comic. Or you could still go to the Vote/Support page and click on everything in sight.

I did change the TWC incentive, so you could take a look. Happy New Year! I'm saying "twenty-ten"! This will be quite an excellent year for all of us, I'm certain.

I also updated some info sections in the World page, as well as the Cast page... for the most part however the Cast page edits were some more fine-tuning and the removal of several characters. I've been editing down and rewriting parts of volume 1 (3 volumes are complete and 7 planned right now), and I removed some characters completely, demoted the roles and influence of others, and replanned the introduction of some for later volumes. I have a much better idea of what to do with our "starter" characters now, and while there will be plenty more, I can really focus now.

About the update schedule: I plan to update every Tuesday and every other Friday. So if I don't update one Friday, I'll update the next. That's the plan, anyway. I'm going to do whatever I can to meet that aim this month.

EDIT: Changed the poll. It is about history classes in general.

Semi-Update

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:37:42 -0800

Hello! Something crazy occurred yesterday!

Besides coloring some things relating to both my comics, I got bitten by the OCD bug sometime Monday night and began retouching a whole bunch of older pages here...and some of the more recent pages even. Pages 9 and 14 of the first chapter are still untoned (but I'm working on it), but I fixed a bunch more errors that bugged me all over. At least 8 pages were altered, like the last time I did something like this. They were things so bad that I hadn't even -really- looked at the pages again since I first made them, thus causing me to forget about how bad they were until I looked again the other night. But now they're marginally better! Some have even improved significantly. Especially re: the Big Heads department. Something I try to catch from the onset now.

I'm also planning on redrawing a couple pages 'cause I feel like it.

I do plan on changing the poll soon, but do note that the prologue is by no means normal or straightforward (like the concept of this comic), so being confused is okay. Unless you like reading comics that don't start off with sudden action and other strange, supernatural, vignette-like scenes, in which case I recommend something simpler. I like the prologue, though. I changed some small things that hopefully clarify the first 7 pages a tad more, but there's only so much that can be done. If I had to do it again, I'd approach it differently (and make it shorter - I had no idea it'd be as long as it was), but as it is now, all will actually be tied into the 1st chapter, so you'll actually receive a canon explanation with little time actually wasted. Yay!

In other news: CCA picture completed! It's in the artwork gallery.

Christmas Post

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:04:42 -0800

It's an awesome customary crossover with my other comic! Fun fact: I was going to draw Ronou in the front, but then forgot and started doodling Chains instead. Derp.

I am in great anticipation of Christmas this year. I hope you get to have fun with the people you love. Also, gifts. Gifts are always awesome (especially giving 'em).

Hibiku Update

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:08:44 -0800

Hey! How are you? Good? Good. Enjoying that new layout? I thought so.

Since it's quiet around here on the comic front (I'm starting to really miss drawing it but at the same time I'm getting lots of other things out of the way), and because I luv u, I want to post a little update - a preview of the art I'm doing for the Comic Creator's Alliance.

Hibi rarely wears the same outfit twice. The More You Know.

Umbra

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:07:50 -0800

It's already almost December 12th! Can you believe it? I sure as hell can't.

If you're just visiting here for the first time, you're seeing a brand new layout! And if you've already set a layout from visiting before, click here or on the new icon on the left to check out the new layout. Like "Yu", this one has alternating headers. Fun fact: the headers for this layout are not finished yet. I just couldn't wait to put it up anymore. I'll be finishing them soon.
Originally the header image was just going to be heads, but that wasn't interesting or conducive to the composition. Then I added bodies, and suddenly it was something completely different...

I have a bunch of other new layouts in the works, too, each better than the last. You'll enjoy them.

And with the addition of this layout, I've retired the red-and-white "Blood" layout. It never did achieve just what I wanted it to, so into infamy I cast it!

Meanwhile, I added a larger-sized, non-textured version of the Hibiku picture from her layout to the gallery, since I realized I hadn't. It was colored by Nove, you know. Still awesome.

I also updated the Sountrack/Voices page. Removed some songs, added a bunch more. Wanted some more variety, plus I had heard some excellent music recently. Only a few of the songs on the Official Unofficial Sountrack are missing on Imeem, but you can listen to most of them on the playlists (with full songs on Imeem itself). I finally added vocal descriptions of Chains, Eustace, and Hibiku, too. I wonder sometimes how people imagine my characters sounding. Don't let those descriptions ruin your fun though.

Also, the site is now available at http://lovefeast.senshuu.com as well as lf.senshuu.com. You can update links/bookmarks if you like, but both URLs still work and go to the same thing. Though you'll notice the Wordpress-powered archives default to the new URL now.

I've been subtly making small changes to pages in the prologue to add clarity, too. Also correcting other small mistakes here and there that you probably didn't notice.

EXCITING!

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:16:09 -0800

Ouf! It's a new page! And resized from the first super-hi-res page I've done since I got more RAM for my PC. Yay! My PC is still pretty awful to work on, though.
Higher-res files are strangely easier to sketch with, thus more precision in this page. Never mind that I wanted a sketchier style... I'm a lineart perfectionist, unfortunately.
Chains's hair is at its most ideal in this page. How weird, though. That low-angle view of Hibiku isn't flattering for her at all, but after observing myself and other people from that angle, I've just concluded that it isn't flattering for anybody. O hay, Hibiku is in now. She's only been on the cast page since forever.

My other comic had a big update yesterday. Go and see it! New layout and stuff! Shiny colors! Lots of cool stuff in its future. Also in Lovefeast's future! Watch out! For cool stuff!

I must copy some news from over there:

Things have been busy for me, and I'm finally starting to make a little headway in the jobbing department. That's part of what will keep me busy this coming month; the other part is the comic anthology I am now actively taking part in. The possibility of publication and the wonderful people involved makes it a fun and challenging endeavor, so I'll be turning my full comicking attention to it for most of December, until its Christmas deadline.

So, considering this, I probably won't be able to update for the rest of the year, but don't rule anything out -- a couple more pages may pop up before then. I very likely will be in a state of busy-ness for the next couple months, but I love working on this comic and moving it forward finally, so it's not going on a real hiatus.

You know the Comic Creator's Alliance I mentioned last post? It has surpassed its original goal of 50 creators joining in. Huzzah! And a little spoiler for you: I will be drawing Hibiku for it. It is relevant!

There is soon to be an Italian translation of LF, done by the main proponents of Oltrecomics. Yay! With some of the dialogue (existing and to come) I'm not sure how stuff will translate, but I'm sure it will be fantastic.

The new TWC incentive is the sketch of the next page's first panel.

I hope your Turkey Day was full of turkey and thankfulness. Even if you don't celebrate it!

Comic Creator's Alliance

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:38:37 -0800

Hey! It's been a while! Last week was relatively busy, and it looks like it'll be that way for a while. I'm gonna ride out of 2009 with fireworks! So many simultaneous projects! I've started more things than I've completed in these last few months, but I won't slow down, and I won't quit!

This is Millennium's birth-month, so I've been giving it some behind-the-scenes lovin', soon to go live... but at the same time I do have a small sketch buffer for this comic. So never fear! The first originally-HQ page will be coming with the next update.

The main reason I'm posting now is to draw attention to the Comic Creator's Alliance, a webcomic charity drive organized to help assist certain organizations (such as Love146) in the fight against human trafficking. Webcomic author? Contribute artwork. Fan? Help any way you can. It's all very heartbreaking, and more important than most realize.

I'll keep on mentioning this drive until its go-date of January 11th (National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the US).

History

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:30:08 -0800

The first teacher (not counting Jonegami) is introduced! And pretty soon Chains will be introduced in some kind of official capacity, too. :B Dood, I need to finish drawing everyone's Cast pictures.

A few things I forgot to mention last week:

The TWCL Awards are new and live! If you're all over webcomics, nominate Lovefeast if you feel it fits into any category.

The WCRCAs are at the voting stage! I was nominated in Author Congeniality. D'aw, thanks, guys. There are lots of amazing comics and people nominated this year. Go choose your true favorites!

I'm pretty sure I updated the Links page at some point recently. It's not seeing as much action as it used to, but I think it's got a good bit of comics on there.

Also, it's November! Sure doesn't feel like it... But since it's a new month and the lists have reset, you could vote to help promote this comic. It's free and quick to do, and it's also very much appreciated!

By the way, some ways you can keep up with Lovefeast, in case you were unaware: Twitter, Facebook, RSS (the little button in the URL bar), and Online Comics (linked in the sidebar)! I use all these things to some degree to keep up with things, myself.

You're Late

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:27:46 -0800

Long enough time without a page update, eh? I was considering adding two pages today, but I don't want to end up running through my buffer again. So, rather than doing that, I'll make up for this long time spent not-updating by sticking to the actual schedule for the next week. :D (After that though, it's up in the air. I do have some pages sketched in advance, but I have another webcomic/more things to focus on too.)

Good news, though: the next page is already finished, so that next page is guaranteed on Tuesday. I've also almost finished tweaking the previous page, as well as a few other pages that needed editing. Yay! Also, I managed to upgrade my PC's RAM, so it's not completely awful now, but still kinda blah and old. Still, I can work on higher quality files now, which is good. So, I took down the donation drive, but if you ever feel the mad compulsion to chuck a few dollars my way, feel free to indulge in it.

About this page: I actually need to retext it (and some other pages) later on because I've been having some Photoshop problems, so readability on this page is low right now - sorry about that. But apart from that, I had fun with making this one. Yay for silhouettes of crowds! You'll find me getting more creative with crowds as this comic continues. The first panel with the massive crowd of students actually isn't done yet. It will be soon.

If you can't tell, the Umbri there is on a screen with a feed being streamed (one-way, actually) from Purgatory. And the Umbri itself is in front of a green screen with little things popping up on occasion. Yep.

I also updated the TWC vote incentive (vote! It's almost November!) and added new stuff to the Development Gallery.

There's only one day left to nominate webcomics for the WCRCAs! Consider tossing LF's name into the ring if you happen to like its Design and all these nifty skins... or nominate another awesome comic like Goodbye Chains. Just nominate someone! You, the viewer, can spread awareness of good webcomics!

See ya Tuesday!