balance

Hello gemlins! 💕

The month is coming to an end, so I wanted to say THANK YOU to every one of you who've been here this month too, supporting me, leaving likes and comments 💕

Summer is finally over and with the heat gone I feel a very noticeable change in my entire well-being lol. I feel more productive again, less tired and exhausted all the time. I noticed that during the last winter as well. I used to be someone who quite enjoyed sun and warmth but I guess that has changed, now I feel a lot better mentally when it's colder and darker outside. I just hope this time around my physical health won't ruin these months for me orz But so far it's looking good.

That said, my energy levels are currently through the roof, so I drew this a few nights ago and had a blast. Kai has come far over the course of the comic so far, but he's still walking on a shaky path that could throw him off any second. I hope this image can reflect that in some ways. He's further above the water than he's been in a long time, his body seems loose and carefree, but it's still a dangerous position to be in if he's not careful. But for now he is hopeful and he deserves to enjoy that :') I'm very proud of him.

#muted had its second anniversary on the day I posted the last update, which I wasn't even aware of until someone in the comments told me! Back when I started developing this story I didn't think I'd get to where I am now. I was hoping that people would be interested and love my boys, but I fully expected to have to do 20-30 commissions per month alongside the comic, like I used to when I started going freelance. The fact that I am now in a position to say no to commissions and commit all my time to this comic is still wild to me and something I think about quite often.

With this job, I'm also always walking on very thin ice, there's no security here, whether you're working for a publisher/comic platform or whether you're independent, so I'm grateful for the spot I've found for myself here. And I'm never taking your support for granted ; -;) 💕

I've been thinking about the whole webcomic industry a lot lately, sparked by tweets and posts on other socials that I keep seeing other creators put out and I have a lot of opinions on many things about this whole scene. Like pros/cons of being indie vs signed with a platform, expectations of workload vs self-care as well as the creator-audience interaction I see here and there. I'd kinda like to write a longer post about that in the near future if you guys are interested in hearing a little bit about what I think as someone who's involved in this field, yet is still also kind of looking at it from the outside because I am not signed with anyone.

I feel like it could be interesting for webcomic readers in general as well as aspiring artists/comic creators, because I feel like there's so many misconceptions out there and also a lot of (sometimes unnecessary) negativity that could scare people off of pursuing their dreams and passions, which honestly breaks my heart OTL

So yeah, big rant-y essay might be coming soon LOL;;;;;;

Also I'll do a sort-of bulletin post again soon to give everyone an overview of upcoming things and stuff, I haven't done that in a while. Summer really brings out the overwhelmed sloth in me.

Back to my storyboard now :')

Have a great day/night y'all 💕💕💕