Author's Note
Give a warm welcome to Ariya, our new flatter! She's been helping out with this and the coming pages, and it's been amazing having her on the team!
In preparation for releasing these pages, Izzy and I (and our editor Charlie) had some discussions about the gameplay and design for Celestial Alignment, the board game Cort and Ackerley are playing in this scene. While we don't actually see any moves take place, we wanted to ensure that the board was des...
2021-10-19 18:14:42 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
And we're BACK! And just in time to watch two old men play a board game (Well, one a half old men).
2021-10-19 18:11:54 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone!
It’s been a hot, long minute since our last big update post, so there’s plenty to get to! Make sure to read the entire post - there’s important news all around!
Mothorial has been on hiatus since the beginning of June. I had planned to take that month off for my main animation gig, Far-Fetched, to gather savings as I usually do with jobs outside of my Patreon income. However, I hadn’t planned for quarantine a...
2021-08-18 22:24:38 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
You might have noticed a little glow around Vex's small pouch. It's a bag of holding, and one of Vex's most prized possessions. Where did they get it? That's a story for another page.
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TRANSCRIPT
RAIONA: Guess I'll see you later, then...?
CORI: Guess so.
VEX: Does Rai know there's a creature running around out there?
CORI: Of course not.
2021-05-22 23:03:42 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
It's really important to me that the dialogue in Mothorial flows as naturally as possible. This can be a challenge with space limitations, but it also presents a fun opportunity to learn how to balance effective dialogue with efficient storytelling. Some pages end up having as much as 25% to 30% of their dialogue cut and combined and tweaked to fit the space, then rewritten a third time to flow properly. Webcomics, amiright?
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2021-05-16 23:06:52 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
"What should I put as a note this week? I can't think of anything."
"Put 'Raiona is a cutie.'"
"...Alright, done."
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TRANSCRIPT
RAIONA: I'll catch up with you guys, 'kay?
CORI: Sure, whatever.
AVA: ...Why do you still hang out with them, Raiona?
RAIONA: ...I need your help, Ave. I lost my brooch in the Grey Pines wi...
2021-05-10 03:16:42 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
Cori's fur and hair are not naturally these colors; as is common in some upper-class circles in Mothorial, she enjoys dyeing them from time to time to reflect moods, seasons, and current fashion. She picked up this practice from her mother, who brought it from her own background. They're the only two hewani in Mosswood who indulge in the practice. Ava tried it once and dyed her own hair green, much to Ackerley's horror.
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<...
2021-05-05 04:12:51 +0000 UTC
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(EDIT: changed Panel 1's speech bubbles for better readability, small text change)
Author's Note
As a gecko-bearded dragon, Vex is a relatively uncommon example of a species mix. In general, when two hewani have a child, that child ends up displaying only the characteristics of one of the two. While Ava, Cori, and Raiona are all monospecies, Ackerley, as a goose-pheasant, is another example of a mix.
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TRANSCRIPT
2021-04-25 02:27:49 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
Up till recent years, many small towns in Mothorial tended to house certain species depending on their climate, such as Polar Bears to the north in Icescape, or prairie dogs in the High Lands and Dust Edge. In recent years, however, there has been a shift as more families have spread out with more convenient transportation routes. Ava, Cori, and Raiona all originally come from out of town, while Vex's family have lived in Mosswood for many years.
2021-04-16 20:44:50 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
Mosswood has an eclectic layout, mostly due to its age and natural formation. While some towns and cities such as Sorelia were quite deliberately constructed around central structures, Mosswood, being one of the oldest towns in Mothorial, expanded naturally from various farms and homesteads. As a result, there are a wide variety of building styles and plenty of land to go around, and though a town center naturally formed, plenty of older structures like th...
2021-04-06 00:12:07 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
When it comes to character design, it's important to consider their silhouette! Often at least one defined visual feature can really help bring a character to life. That's why Mickey Mouse's ears are always drawn next to one another regardless on where he is facing; those two circles are what make his silhouette so iconic. In designing Ava, Izzy gave similar consideration to her silhouette, which resulted in her long strand of fur that sticks out in front ...
2021-03-26 17:00:32 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
Wanderer, or 'Der, is our first extended cameo role! If you're interested in being a part of the Mothorial universe and story, check out our $50 and $100 tiers!
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TRANSCRIPT
AVA: Has he told you any stories?
GABBY: Hun, everyone tells me stories. Most of them are dull as podstone. He claims he saw a big feyn in the Grey Pines.
WANDERER: ...
2021-03-19 02:44:07 +0000 UTC
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(delayed post, but we're keeping the archive going!)
Author's Notes
The Hillandale was a blast to design, and Izzy initially modeled it in 3D! I have a secret dream of eventually making the tavern a fully explorable place in VR. Who wouldn't want to hang out in a cozy tavern in a tree?
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TRANSCRIPT
AVA: Hey, Gabby!
GABBY: What'll you be having today, Ava?
AVA:
2021-03-19 02:32:33 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone!
We happened to get this really cool design out of a delay post, and we thought why not share it with everyone, and use it as a way to test making merch?
Yes, that's two versions of this Ava design we're planning on making! We did a first interest poll over on Foxglove Comics' Mothorial group, and we had plenty of votes to justify the regular vinyl die-cut ve...
2021-03-16 22:51:48 +0000 UTC
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Mosswood may be a quieter town than the bustling Sutton or Janlea, but as a result it has a strong sense of community. Pretty much everyone knows everyone in town by name. If you want to catch a glimpse of out-of-towners, they'll usually be in the Hillandale, the local tavern.
This is the first page with a cameo by one of our Patrons, namely Remmie!
TRANSCRIPT
AVA: Heya, Remmie!
REMMIE: How's it hanging?
2021-03-04 05:13:54 +0000 UTC
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Author’s Notes
Ackerley’s always got a quip or saying for every situation. Of course, he only seems to reference the ones that work out in his favor.
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TRANSCRIPT
ACKERLEY: ...We’ll talk about it later, okay? I promised Cort I’d play Celestial Alignment with him at the library. Care to join us?
AVA: Nah, you go have fun being an old chicken. I’m gonn check in with Gabby.
2021-02-20 21:26:18 +0000 UTC
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Author's Notes
Ava and Ackerley trade off activities each weekend, which the bird fondly refers to as "Acktivities" and "Actavaties". Unsurprisingly, these names have not caught on. Ackerley's activities tend to be relaxed, with lots of reading and snacking. Ava prefers more action-packed days out in the fields around Mosswood, much to Ackerley's chagrine. Of course, being extremely protective, there's only so far Ackerley will allow the bat's "adventures" to go.
...
2021-02-15 02:23:32 +0000 UTC
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Author’s Note
Ava's wand Wanda used to be a staff called Staffy in earlier drafts, before we realized that making the poor thing carry around a staff would be annoying both for her and for our artist. Plus, Wanda is such a better name!
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Transcript
Dash!
AVA: Get set, Ackerley!
ACKERLEY: For what? I-
LEAP!
ACKERLEY: Oof!
AVA: We don't need ...
2021-01-31 23:32:41 +0000 UTC
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Hey all! We're testing out public polls integrated into our Foxglove Discord server. Feel free to respond to the incredibly important poll below:
Is Ackerley a goose-pheasant, or a chicken?
2021-01-24 20:07:24 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
One thing you learn (or try to learn) as you write for a comic is how to make dialogue flow and fit in a page while still allowing the art to shine! Sometimes, out of necessity, you end up with text-heavy pages like this one, and you turn to close-ups to help the art continue to shine out anyway. Of course, when you're focusing on a lot of close-ups, you want to keep the visuals looking dynamic, which I think Izzy has done a marvelous job of here.
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2021-01-21 17:29:58 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone! While fixing some site bugs and uploading the new page, I went ahead and updated Patreon credits for all of our supporters level Ava and up to appear on the front page! If you would prefer not to include your name there, or have an alternative name you'd prefer, please let us know!
2021-01-18 03:25:48 +0000 UTC
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Author's Note
Feyn are a bit more aware of what's going on than animals in our world. Feyn researchers are still studying the varying levels of mental capacity of these varied creatures, but some, such as burlers and giabos, seem to have some degree of intelligence, while others are more similar to what we would consider typical of animals. Some researchers think there may be a correlation between the ability to access and use magic, as all hewani have, and this degree ...
2021-01-18 02:09:10 +0000 UTC
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Hello everyone!
This is Ari, the head writer for Mothorial! We hope you’ve had a safe and enjoyable Holiday season, and that the start of the new year has been a good one! There’s some announcements to make, as well as a poll for you all, so let’s get started!
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First off, let’s start with that poll! So as you may have noticed, there were no seasonal postcards after the Summer one. As many of you know...
2021-01-11 15:29:35 +0000 UTC
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As you've probably noticed, we like our varied fonts and custom speech bubbles here on the Mothorial team. One of the benefits of using hand-drawn speech bubbles is the ability to customize them to match the particular speech patterns of any given line, and while we do have a main font that we chose for the comic, switching to alternatives from time to time to help deliver specific lines is a really fun way to bring the characters to life!
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TRANSCRIPT
2020-12-28 02:36:47 +0000 UTC
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The burler is one of many creatures we designed for the world of Mothorial! They were inspired by moles and raccoons, and are seen as more of a pest than an actual threat. Some hewani even keep them as pets, though they can be a bit feisty and difficult to train.
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TRANSCRIPT
AVA: I SEE IT!
(the burler flees)
ACKERLEY: You scared it off!
AVA: <...
2020-12-17 21:59:53 +0000 UTC
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And we're off, introducing the stars of the show with a brand new page! All Volume 1 pages will have some sort of overhaul, so keep an eye out if you've had access to the backlog. Enjoy!
These two have gone through a lot of development to get to where they are, and if you want to learn more about the process, you can read the Writer's Blog here on our page, posted every month on the 15th!
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TRANSCRIPT
2020-12-07 01:14:50 +0000 UTC
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Seven is an important number in Mothorian culture, symbolizing the Mother, the Elder, Hewani, Feyn, the Realm of the Living, the Realm of the dead, and the Void between them. The number used to be eight, but after the Younger's betrayal, she was removed from the count.
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TRANSCRIPT
NARRATOR: As a punishment for breaking their Oath, the Elder Twin decreed that her sister was forbidden from ever ruling Mothorial.
NARRATO...
2020-11-23 15:01:02 +0000 UTC
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Some hewani treat the Phoenix as a scary story to make their kits do their chores. Others view the fabled Child of Fire with revulsion, preferring to omit her from the story entirely. Still others fear her, believing her to be a very real entity who must be extinguished. There have been occasional claims of sightings over the last 100 years, though many doubt that such a creature, even if she did exist at one time, could still be alive after so long, let alone after living in the wildlands so...
2020-11-23 15:01:02 +0000 UTC
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Stories of the being born out of the blast have been decried as superstition and fear-mongering, but some of the wounded soldiers who were off of the battlefield at the time of the event swore they saw a glowing being wandering through the dust and ash.
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TRANSCRIPT
NARRATOR: Chaos was averted, but at a great cost.
NARRATOR: The fabled fields of blue had been obliterated. Naught but the crackling of fire remained. The Fields of Mer...
2020-11-19 15:01:02 +0000 UTC
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Foreword: This issue of Writer's Blog, written by main writer Ari, details his methods of connecting with the characters in Mothorial, even during times when he wasn't writing the main script. As we move into Chapter One and properly introduce our leads, we thought it would be a good time to explore the ways in which an author becomes acquainted with his main characters!
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There is a Portuguese word ...
2020-11-15 15:00:03 +0000 UTC
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