One of the perks of being a Tier 3 member? Getting a fresh from the drawing tablet sketch, once per month! Here’s a warm-up sketch from this morning, plus a high res version attached!
SR
Page 18-19
Tier 3 members: Next Wednesday at 7:30pm, I’ll be running my first livestream Q&A from my studio. Watch for a separate email shortly with the link. I’m stoked to finally get the livestream thing up and running, so hope to see you there! One other thing: if you’re a Tier 1 & 2, there’s plenty of time this week to think about moving to tier 3, so you can join in on that conversation. The additional rewards for Tier 3 members are pretty special, too. The big reward? You’ll get a collected HARK digital comic when the first issue is completed next month. HARK #1 will include a special Patreon-exclusive cover art, plus some never-before-seen concept art from the series. If you’re in this for the long haul, each consecutive issue will be made available as an easy digital download.
But enough of my blathering. I’ll reel in my excitement and just present this latest page, which isn’t a page at all, but a gigantic double-pager. You can download a higher-res version in the link below.
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Page 17
My first draft script of this page included some heavy exposition, and I went through several rewrites to boil it down to it’s core narrative, seen here. Writing is hard. The thing I’ve learned over the years: When you get stuck, take a step back and revisit the work a day or two later, if time permits. Whenever I do that, I can usually find solutions to problems I didn’t know existed the first time around.
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Page 16
I’m a mere 3 pages away from completing the first issue of HARK. That milestone is not to be confused with the Patreon release schedule, though. There’s still 10 more pages to release online before official celebrating can commence in full. After that, I’ll be working on a Patreon-exclusive cover art for the downloadable pdf version, available to Tier 2 and 3 supporters. The digital comic will also contain some extra things that won’t be reflected in the pages already released into the wild. Once that’s finished, I may also take a couple of weeks to focus on marketing-related things before I dive into issue 2. Or not. As much as I like the idea of taking a breather between issues, I also want to maintain the weekly momentum of getting a new page of HARK posted every Wednesday until the whole thing is done.
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Page 15
The next piece of technology to break down this week? My trusty Wacom Cintiq tablet, which had been an indestructible workhorse for the past ten years. I used this tablet almost every day for a decade, and of all the times it could have chosen to croak, it apparently had to be this week, right after I replaced an expensive piece of hardware in my Mac Pro.
So, I was once again in scramble mode. As a freelancer, any time I have to troubleshoot hardware or software issues, it’s money lost. And it’s been a costly two weeks for me. After researching the market for cheaper tablet options, I decided it was best to stick with a proven brand, Wacom. There are some competing tablet manufacturers who appear to be catching up with them, but from the mixed reviews I’ve read, they aren’t quite there yet. As much as I love Wacom products, I was intrigued with the idea of working in a different (and cheaper!) tablet platform. But to be honest, I don’t have time to do any more troubleshooting, especially with an untried tablet brand that has a history of glitches and incompatibility issues.
At the end of an extensive research, I decided to purchase a new Cintiq tablet 22″ HD that is basically the modern equivalent of my old Cintiq. Plugging this beast in, I’m kind of shocked at how much the technology has advanced since 2010. For now, my old Cintiq is sitting unplugged on another table in my studio, awaiting its fate. I used that Cintiq to create countless designs and illustrations over the years, including all of the art for my previous graphic novel, Saga Of A Doomed Universe. I’m not sentimental about such things, but it doesn’t seem right to just throw the old tablet out. On the other hand, maybe I should just smash it to bits with a hammer.
SR