I've finally got the BackerKit store open for Sparks and Monsters! This is the last chance at some of the campaign exclusives like medals and patches. Also, to my surprise, we have some Hardcover editions left. I wasn't expecting to be able to add that to the BK store, but there it is. Hooray!
Tonight the page colors might be a little late because the kids and I are going to be doing a bunch of c...
2022-01-05 00:20:28 +0000 UTC
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Edit: I've finally got the BackerKit store open for Sparks and Monsters! This is the last chance at some of the campaign exclusives like medals and patches. Also, to my surprise, we have some Hardcover editions left. I wasn't expecting to be able to add that to the BK store, but there it is. Hooray!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's so interesting to watch the time go by. We still have some snow here, but onl...
2022-01-02 07:47:28 +0000 UTC
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Happy New Year, everyone! I'm starting the year late on my deadlines. What else is new? I'm upping my dragon-drawing game, and that's fun.
Thanks, all!
--Kaja
2021-12-30 07:45:33 +0000 UTC
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It snowed! We are buried in snow! It's so pretty!
Here in Seattle we don't get a lot of snow, and it doesn't really last, so when we do get it it's a treat. We took our car in for repairs the Tuesday before Christmas, they were supposed to fix it that day, but we still don't have it back and we can't get hold of anybody at the shop. We wouldn't be taking it out in the snow anyway, and even without the snow it's not a huge emergency, but I suppose we'll need to figure out how to get it b...
2021-12-29 02:30:57 +0000 UTC
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Edit: I've uploaded a bigger picture. That was looking kind of tiny.
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Here is the first in a series Phil wants to do, illustrating life in Mechanicsburg throughout the year. The Snowplow Brothers as they clear the street, followed by carolers and a horde of children.
Phil was working so hard to get ahead, and then he got that booster shot and it all went down the drain. Oh well. He's feeling much better now, but he was wretched for a surprisi...
2021-12-27 05:32:02 +0000 UTC
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The problem with doing this ahead of time for Patreon is that I lose track of what I've already got in the pipeline for the regular page. I forgot I didn't have the colors up! Well, I've been very busy. I love putting the pages up early here, though. It's fun for me.
A Merry Christmas to those who partake, and a wonderful weekend to everyone!
--Kaja
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And here's the page for Friday! Cheyenne's working on it right now, I know this because he te...
2021-12-22 20:31:09 +0000 UTC
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Ok, I'm back on track! Here's Wednesday's page, and Cheyenne got the colors in so early that I hadn't even finished lettering it! (Also, this one took a lot of rewriting.)
After getting the Kickstarter fulfilled (as much as I currently can) I kind of froze up. I've still got a heap of things to do, Christmas is looming, for one thing, but I've been moving so slowly. The basement packing room was so choked one couldn't walk through it, the result of a shipping binge followed swiftly by a...
2021-12-21 03:31:39 +0000 UTC
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eek! I lost track of the time over the weekend, and almost missed tonight's upload. My Mom had some eye surgery which went very well, she's recovering nicely. I, on the other hand, am a bit of a wreck. She only has the one eye left, the other is glass, so it was a bit worrying to have scalpels near it.
Anyway, here's the color work, with not a moment to spare!
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Monday's page!
See you soon, have a great weekend!
--Kaja
2021-12-17 02:52:14 +0000 UTC
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There we go. Color!
I had my second shingles vaccine on Monday, and it absolutely wrecked me. I spent all yesterday feeling worse than I have in years, and am still feeling it a bit today. On the bright side, I understand that it's my immune system doing what it's supposed to. So Wotan knows that the curse is working.
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Here's Friday's page! I've got a few ...
2021-12-15 03:33:03 +0000 UTC
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EDIT: Ta-dah! Colors! This is for Monday and Wednesday. Phil's drawn Friday but I haven't scanned it yet.
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Here's a double-spread with Monday and Wednesday's pages. There isn't really anything being said here except possibly RHAAAAA! I haven't decided yet.
Frankly, I don't know how our guys got away. I guess the Deepdwellers are too hopped up on crazy juice to be stealthy.
At any rate, since there isn't much going on here talky-wise, I thou...
2021-12-13 00:25:46 +0000 UTC
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And here's the final! Now to try to do some Christmas shopping before it's too late. This is the first I've been able to spare the brain cel.
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I'm lettering tonight's page, kind of late-ish but I got distracted.
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So! I am now done with all the shipping I can currently do. I spent most of today clearing up my living room, with a small side diversion because for once, the floor was clear. While I had the space, I pulled the LARGE box ...
2021-12-10 02:59:48 +0000 UTC
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Packing update: I RAN OUT OF MAILERS WITH 30 ORDERS LEFT TO SHIP! AAAAAAAH! HOW DID I MIS-COUNT? HOW? WHYYYYY?
Ahem. Anyway, today new ones arrived, and now that the page is up, I can get back to putting books in them.
I also got more tape. This was very exciting. I was nearly out.
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Phil just finished this, and I'd like to letter it right away, but I am SO CLOSE to having all the Sparks and Mo...
2021-12-07 03:17:58 +0000 UTC
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And here is Monday's page! Phil got a little ahead because he didn't want to be drawing during a con, so it's nice to have it early.
I can't say when the colors will come in, since Cheyenne is going to the con, at least on Thursday, but I'll post them when they do.
Thanks, everyone!
--Kaja
2021-12-02 04:58:04 +0000 UTC
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I just wrote a huge post, and when I tried to edit something, it all went sideways and no amount of "undo" or backtracking would bring it back.
Argh.
Well, the con begins tomorrow, and I have a lot to take care of, so here's Friday's page, colors will be along within the hour. Have a great weekend, everyone!
--Kaja
2021-12-02 04:25:37 +0000 UTC
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I'm sorry this is a bit later than I like, but I had to wrestle with the words a bit. Here's a bit of fun, Lucrezia's fancy hat went missing on this page, and Cheyenne drew it in on all the panels. He did a wonderful job of it, too!
I went through and signed all the books that went to the Emerald City Comic Con today (loading day, and the freight elevator was broken.) So even if I won't be at the con, people can still get signed books. I feel pretty happy about that.
It sounds lik...
2021-12-01 06:00:45 +0000 UTC
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Things are in full circus mode here, as I try to finish what I can of the Kickstarter shipping while getting things together for the con. I'm finding a perverse sort of fun in the need for careful time management that I can only attribute to my love of video games. It's also satisfying to break the bigger jobs down into smaller jobs and finish "quests" as I go along.
I'll still be glad when the crunch is done.
Oh, and we've got yellowjackets in one of the outside walls, a problem ...
2021-11-29 03:35:40 +0000 UTC
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Happy Thanksgiving, all you USA folks out there, and happy weekend to everyone else!
We probably won't get the colors up tonight, because Cheyenne needs to catch his turkey just like the rest of us. I'll post them later when they come in.
Phil will be at Emerald City Comic Con starting December 2, at booth 118, our usual spot. I'll be signing as much as I can get my hands on before the con, so people can get autographed books.
Because I want to make an advertising postcard f...
2021-11-25 22:38:39 +0000 UTC
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This is pretty late tonight so I'm not going to blather about stuff. Tomorrow I'll be alternating packing things and cooking!
Below is the update I just posted to our Kickstarter page, I thought it might amuse everyone here as well. I suspect there is some overlap, sorry to duplicate for those who read both!
We Are Currently on Thanksgiving Holiday
First, off, please be aware that Chris Sorensen, who handles our email and correspondence, is on a well-d...
2021-11-24 05:35:46 +0000 UTC
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Welcome back to the week, everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Here's Monday's page, plus Cheyenne's colors on that new promo art for volume 20. I love the water effect!
See you all soon with Wednesday's page, I'm off to get back to work. I've been taping things up so much that my phone no longer recognizes my finger prints, so I guess it's time to go do some crime.
(Don't worry, I'm lawful good. I can't really do crime.)
Thanks, all!
--Kaja
2021-11-22 02:46:26 +0000 UTC
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Phil finished the art for this page late last night (sorry Cheyenne) so I didn't get a chance to letter it early. I was busy changing all my passwords because I stupidly clicked on a "confirm your email" button in an email from GoDaddy and then thought "wait, I don't use that email address with that account," looked it up, and discovered that I had clicked on a phishing link. On my phone. Which has a bunch of pretty important stuff on it. So, yeah, argh.
In my defense I was both d...
2021-11-19 03:21:55 +0000 UTC
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I don't have a lot to say right now, because I am spending most of every day packing and shipping boxes and my energy is all going into that. Everything hurts, which sucks, but I think that's because I'm usually behind a desk pushing pixels and those don't weigh a lot.
I've included the latest thing Phil has drawn! I hope to have this Kickstarter all shipped by the end of the year, and a shiny new one launching sometime in early 2022, and I'm having Phil get all the art settled ah...
2021-11-16 05:58:03 +0000 UTC
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Hello everyone!
This weekend we are very excited because Phil's new novel has just come out! It's called The Night Sheriff and it's published by Prince of Cats Literary Productions. I know "Prince of Cats" sounds like one of our imprints, but it isn't. It's a completely different publisher run and owned by people who a...
2021-11-14 06:56:28 +0000 UTC
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Here's Friday's page, and the bookplate design Phil drew for Volume 3! I love this one.
Back soon with colors! I'm off to pack more stuff to ship.
--Kaja
2021-11-10 01:36:06 +0000 UTC
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LESS THAN 17 HOURS LEFT FOR THE GURPS KICKSTARTER! It's doing very well and we're thrilled that it's finally happening!
So, Wednesday's page. Sorry about this, but there isn't much going on here. Just falling through the dark and screaming. They're about to find something neat, though.
Phil seems to have gone off on a roll with these bookplates. Here's the art fo...
2021-11-08 04:35:31 +0000 UTC
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Well, Steve Jackson's Girl Genius RPG Kickstarter is doing very well, and has less than two days to go before it's all over!
As you see, we are back to the main story, and about time, too. I'm working on a "Story so far" page to put in front of this one, but it isn't done yet. I lettered this page while trying to work out what the ssf needs to say, and then I thought "well, they might as well see it early!"
I've also included the raw drawing that Phil has done for a Volume One boo...
2021-11-07 04:06:00 +0000 UTC
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Things were wild around here today, and I didn't get the thing I wanted to post done. Instead, I have a somewhat retro piece of comics fan art and the base drawing for the next Kickstarter campaign's bookplate. We'll be returning to the regular comic on Monday!
Anyway, I'm sorry for the filler, but things just happened and all my muscles are screaming, probably from stress. I need to stretch.
Have a good weekend!
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What it says on the fir...
2021-11-05 05:53:51 +0000 UTC
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Here's the last page of the Monster Guild story. A big cheer for Cheyenne, who did a fantastic job!
First off, we have the final color page. Next, Cheyenne's line art proof that he sent us to show progress. After that, it's the storyboard that Phil sent to Cheyenne for placement and finally, the usual kind of layout that Phil and I work with when we're actually writing the thing. Phil and I talk things through and then he sketches it out. If I like it, he draws it up and I use a page li...
2021-11-03 05:24:26 +0000 UTC
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Happy Halloween!
See you in November!
--Kaja
2021-11-01 03:11:20 +0000 UTC
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Edit: Here are the colors! We're nearing the end of this story, and we'll be back to our regular story soon. Phil's arm seems to be healing very well, and we're looking forward to getting back to work!
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And here's Friday's page in black and white! As always, I'll post the colors when they come in.
I've also added Phil's Guildhall design and a couple of sheets of monster tests.
I really have to get the Halloween decorations out. Our h...
2021-10-27 03:54:22 +0000 UTC
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Wednesday's page, and it's pretty early this time! Cheyenne got his computer working and his power came back on after the storm, and here are the colors.
WATCH OUT! MILDLY NSFW ART IN THE LAST PIC! Phil decided it would be funny to do a larger drawing of Cheyenne's Zeetha wall scroll from the gift shop on page 8. So...sorry to post stuff that's less safe for work, but we thought you'd probably find it amusing.
Let's see...what else? We had a visit from two young raccoons ton...
2021-10-26 07:24:32 +0000 UTC
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