On a slightly less happy note, I need to talk about something. I left a note on my Patreon, but since I know most of my readers don't follow that, I'll post it here:
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Wow, so I just uploaded my 129th page. It's crazy to think just how much work I've put into Marblegate these last two years. It's become part of my work ethic and I love it to death.
But, unfortunately, I'm just not hitting my deadlines. I have it set to 2 pages a week, but I just can't seem to meet that goal. When I started uploading in November 2016, I had a backlog
of about 30 pages. After 1 and a half years, I'm now down to 7. I missed my upload date 23 times in the last year and a half. Further, I'm struggling to meet deadlines with my other art job that pays my bills.
As a result, I think I need to take a step back. I need to take two weeks off from Marblegate to catch up on my backlog, reorganize myself and figure out if 2 pages a week is still possible, given that the pages
are only getting more detailed, higher-quality, and complicated.
I hope you all understand. I have no desire to stop making Marblegate. Once I can afford to do Marblegate full-time, pages are going to start picking up. But until then, I have to focus on paid work or I'm not
going to be able to pay rent.
Thank you all for your support! I'll be back on February 28th, but feel free to message me at any time if you have questions or concerns.
Re: finding time to do the comic - I think I can speak for most people when i say that although two pages a week is great, we won't be going anywhere if you have to drop down to one per week, or need to take regular time-outs. Everyone else does it after all. So keep up the good work and don't stress about the odd late / missed post.
It's tough because I have Patrons that are paying me, and I don't want to cut back on them, especially since their support has been such a huge hel pto me the last 4 months.
If I have a drop in pages, it will be more like a page every 5 days rather than 1 a week.
regarding an artist's time-availability and stress i have to whole-heartedly agree with Sturzkampf here. i encourage you to give yourself a break where possible considering your high work ethic.
as a minor tangential nit (since they brought it up) i've been been reading P. Foglio since the late 80s, and while i'm not a member of his patreon and so can't speak to that specifically i am impressed he's doing a webcomic at all considering his chops. the kindness of artists posting to the web in general continually blows my mind.
also, you possibly are being unduly harsh on yourself, Brett. keep in mind that many webcomics are put together by teams, not just individuals. high page output is often a cooperative endeavor. since you seem to be wearing all the hats -- writer, sketcher, inker, colorist, letterer, management, etc -- that is a huge amount for one person to take on and still publish more than a page a week.
wherever possible try to be kind to yourself when you can. not only are we often our own harshest critic, we are also often the least satisfied with our accomplishments. that can be a real double-whammy, and not to be underestimated.
dude -- two years! and over 125 pages. that is freakin outstanding. my hat is off to you, Brett, and i salute you.
Remember just about every full-page comic artist takes a break between chapters, even large scale operations like Studio Folglio. You can always fill in with sketches, preview artwork or 'ask the cast' pages, post some fan art or you can just stop posting for a few weeks.
Not everybody dies, at least not yet. You really only have 2 PC at the moment, and while you should be able to manage another hundred pages with them, there is a clear need for some more PC, with her former? friends? being prime candidates. They also allow for some backstory, and the ex? boyfriend? suggests a fair amount of PC interaction. There is also a lot of possible plot that needs more or different characters.
So the new party goes in, has some trouble, and is then rescued? by our main party after which the two unite.
I have used torches as emergency weapons in some games, like after 'prison escape' scenarios. And open fire tends to scare wild animals away, though monsters seem to be more attracted by it.
Throwing a torch into a dark corner or trying to pick up an out of reach small object with the sticky end of an unlit torch are possible uses too.
In cases where there is poison gas, or easily burnable items and the like around, light magic is surely better.
I'd prefer an oil latern over a torch for mere exploring, though they might break easier as well.
well let's see, the girl in plate is a paladin the elf is a ranger, our boy ozzi looks like a fighter or some kind of scout the dwarf is a barbarian and then theres the alchemist on heals over all i'd say that's a pretty well balanced party but, they could use some more firepower in the form of magic imo.
Also, I wanted to ask you. You sent me some fan art a few weeks ago (thank you very much, by the way!)
I responded with a message, but I've been suspecting that my comicfury messages are not going out, as no one ever has responded to them; not even the dev team at Comicfury themselves.
Did you get the private message I sent you as a response?
About your comic. I love it. Now having read web comics for several years now, I am not an expert at it at all. But I have noticed that the artists that do the best work at there own pace, set reasonable goal with there work and don't stop make art (good, bad or indifferent) but always improving. Not all artist are the same. Some do daily, some weekly some biweekly and some monthly. All do just fine. You could also slow down your update but keep up your pace to build a safety net. Just make sure its your decision and not someone else.
Well, I'm going to try and keep up my 2 a week schedule at least.
I want to finish this story before I turn 30 so I can move to other things, and if I slow down too much, that might not happen.
Thank you though.
I guess peripheral vision wasn't high on their list of priorities....
Regarding the deadlines, don't sweat taking the pace down a notch. The art will take the time it takes, and straining to meet some arbitrary quota is only going to burn you out. Just go at it naturally and find the pace that works best for Marblegate and (most importantly) you and we'll happily roll with that.
if they had colleen, they wouldnt have to waste money on torches :keepo: pretty bad planning imo, i would rather take free money abilities, because FREE MONEY haHAA
I just realized you do this all yourself. I thought you at least had a colorist. DANG MAN!! No wonder your tired and need to take a break. That's a super impressive accomplishment. I'd say you've earned a vacation.
I hope I speak for all the regulars here when I say that we're all extremely impressed by the quality of your art and story. We all of course want as much Marblegate as possible; but I think we all understand the risk of burnout and support you and your decision to take care of yourself and refocus. I'll be checking in every week as usual and look forward to every page you post of your extremely well done and compelling story.
I'm with everyone else. Your art is excellent, your story is both fun and engaging, your characters are well thought out. I have no problem waiting for excellent work. :-)
Hello, I'd like to support you. But since I am from Germany, and I don't like to pay 0.57ยง extra every month(I'm on a budget), I'd like to ask, if there is another option expect Patreon to support you.
If I have a drop in pages, it will be more like a page every 5 days rather than 1 a week.
Thanks for reading all this time, though.
as a minor tangential nit (since they brought it up) i've been been reading P. Foglio since the late 80s, and while i'm not a member of his patreon and so can't speak to that specifically i am impressed he's doing a webcomic at all considering his chops. the kindness of artists posting to the web in general continually blows my mind.
wherever possible try to be kind to yourself when you can. not only are we often our own harshest critic, we are also often the least satisfied with our accomplishments. that can be a real double-whammy, and not to be underestimated.
dude -- two years! and over 125 pages. that is freakin outstanding. my hat is off to you, Brett, and i salute you.
Am i right or am i right
So the new party goes in, has some trouble, and is then rescued? by our main party after which the two unite.
Oh yeah, I also hope they carry a lot of torches. A whole lot of torches.
Throwing a torch into a dark corner or trying to pick up an out of reach small object with the sticky end of an unlit torch are possible uses too.
In cases where there is poison gas, or easily burnable items and the like around, light magic is surely better.
I'd prefer an oil latern over a torch for mere exploring, though they might break easier as well.
(Love the bayonet on that crossbow.)
Also, I wanted to ask you. You sent me some fan art a few weeks ago (thank you very much, by the way!)
I responded with a message, but I've been suspecting that my comicfury messages are not going out, as no one ever has responded to them; not even the dev team at Comicfury themselves.
Did you get the private message I sent you as a response?
I want to finish this story before I turn 30 so I can move to other things, and if I slow down too much, that might not happen.
Thank you though.
Regarding the deadlines, don't sweat taking the pace down a notch. The art will take the time it takes, and straining to meet some arbitrary quota is only going to burn you out. Just go at it naturally and find the pace that works best for Marblegate and (most importantly) you and we'll happily roll with that.
And who peripheral vision when you got armor that fabulous?
Just taking two weeks off from posting to catch up on pages.
I currently have no other support pages; I'm in the process of looking into making shirts or other products or something to help support my work.
I have a paypal account as well, but I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with just accepting money handed to me with nothing to offer in return.
Do you have a suggestion for a way you prefer to support creators that you like?