As many of you noticed, I (finally) integrated a Discord server for Patreons!
For everyone who popped in right away— welcome in! Sorry it was kind of a spammy/chaotic mess to start. To everyone who trickles in since then, also welcome in! Still tidying it up and it’ll be a bit of a work in progress as we go, but we finally got one.
That said, if anyone has any channel suggestions or anything, let me know/drop it in the comment. I’m familiar with Discord on the casual user side, but less on the setting up a server for 100+ users. Bare with me!
TO JOIN:
You must connect your Patreon and Discord to join.
To do so, go Settings > More > Connected Apps and select Discord.
Here's a link to Patreon's how-to page on it!
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Here’s the Discord landing page info, should cover most of everything to get started:
In order to keep the Discord a safe and welcoming space, there’s a few basic rules and guidelines:
This is an 18+ space
Per Patreon’s policy, you must be 18+ to be here (or have parental permission.)
Keep It Polite!
Embrace the idea of compassionate communication and strive toward collaboration over conflict. Everyone experiences stories differently and may be coming into the discussion from another direction, just be mindful and give one another the benefit of the doubt.
Hatred of any kind is never acceptable - not even ironically. This includes but is not limited to: discrimination of any kind, harassment, doxxing, bullying, name calling, or trolling.
No NSFW Content
To be clear, I have no issue with NSFW/adult content. This just isn’t the right place for it.
No Real World/Current Politics
Again, just not the right space for discussion about the current geopolitical climate.
Stay on Channel Topics
If you feel like the conversation is straying, head on over to #chase-the-breeze
THE CHANNELS:
#latest-page - The spot for talking about the most recent page/theories/etc. (Assume there’s story spoilers if you aren’t caught up.)
#world-discussion - More general discussion about the world of Oren’s Forge, fan art, so on.
#work-in-progress - Spot for WIPs/axillary art.
#chase-the-breeze - Casual channel for off-topic conversation.
SPOILERS!
If necessary, use the Discord spoiler tags outside of the #latest-page channel.
To tag spoilers, type “||” on either side OR highlight text, right click, and select “Mark as spoiler.”
The first Volume of Oren’s Forge (page 1-200) doesn’t require any kind of spoiler tags.
Breaking the rules will result in you being muted for a period of time determined by severity and infraction history.
2023-11-29 02:49:04 +0000 UTC
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Since there's five Mondays this month, I'm going to take next week off. Next page will be Oct 30th (and the furs gonna fly).
[Click Here to Start Volume Two: Incursion from the beginning!]
2023-10-16 21:00:01 +0000 UTC
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First— I’m sorry, there’s no page today. I can’t even tell you the last time I planned to have a page up and didn’t get it done, but here we are. This last week, I had the rare opportunity to really dig into something I’m passionate about and I had to take it. That’s where all the extra hours went, I’m afraid. My birthday is also later this month and as a gift, I decided to not beat myself up too much over not finishing the next page. Hopefully you can forgive me, too! It’ll definitely be up soon, and if my schedule stays the way it is, I may try to squeeze in another page for this month to make up for it.
Anyhow, in the meanwhile, please accept some WIPs.
I went through this jag of really garbage thumbnailing— I mean, it got the job done for me, but they’re pretty indecipherable after the fact. Here’s the pair for page 270 and 271:
But, I think it's important for people to see the messy, pre-planning parts of a comic, too.
I also just really like this Swift panel from PG270. I love when I can play with a false camera focus (on that front bush, for example). I try to go in with a light touch when I use the effect since I don't do it very often in Oren's Forge, and it can overwhelm really quickly. My college background included a lot of live filming/cinematography classes-- I think I'd enjoy making a comic where I go really ham with the tight focus. I dunno, one day maybe. Someone cram a few more hours in the day, could you?
And here's Swift from 271, which I always think of as the Mountain Dew Swift
Lastly, here's another thumbnail, for page 279 (and a bonus Yarrow doodle from when I was trying to figure out the layout.)
This thumbnail is not my normal kind of thumbnail. I knew (for the most part) what the vignettes were going to be. My focus was finding a layout that was reminiscent of cracking mud or porcelain--something breaking--but also legible, with a good eye-flow. I changed it up a bit in the final page-- I wanted Quanaq in there, too, since he's the first person to plant this seed of 'what is this all for' into Rask.
Anyhow, until next time!
2023-09-18 21:00:03 +0000 UTC
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New page out next Monday!
[Click Here to Start Volume Two: Incursion from the beginning!]
Quick note!
I think this page came out pretty nice.
Also, a couple different folks over the last few weeks have told me about my Patreon being scraped— which, I have known about for a long time. I’ve done what I can. Overall, it just makes me sad it’s one of you guys, but whatever.
I have been a creator on the Internet for a long time. I believe there are three reasons people pirate-
1: Only Option - Whether by financial limitations, age, or location, they have no other option. (LGBTQ content is often restricted, for instance.)
2: Entitlement
3: Try-Before-You-Buy - And should you be seeing this somewhere other than Patreon and you’ve been enjoying this comic— I have a free/pay-what-you-want PDF of Oren’s Forge on my KoFi (https://ko-fi.com/teagangavet). You can also tip anonymously. Kicking a few bucks my way can make a huge difference toward the comics continuation.
I work really hard to get this comic out every week. I am one person, earning below minimum wage, but I am trying to make you something you can’t find anywhere else. I hope that means something.
It will only continue to get harder for small creators and their projects to survive if people don’t support them. Whatever you love— indie books, music, art, games— help the authors if you can. Otherwise, when they are gone, what do you fill that empty space with?
Anyhow. Thank you to everyone for being here.
Know with complete sincerity, I mean it that this story wouldn’t exist without you guys as Patreons. Thank you for letting me bring this story to life. I will keep trying to do my best.
2023-08-14 21:00:03 +0000 UTC
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New page out next Monday!
[Click Here to Start Volume Two: Incursion from the beginning!]
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This was a really fun page to work on, beyond just getting to revisit some old characters. I don't tend to deep dive into "my intentions" on a page because I want the work to speak for itself, and I also don't want to bully people into interpreting the story any specific way-- but one small exception here just 'cause. Feel free to skip reading the rest if you're happy with your own interpretation!
In the scene with Oren that Rask is recalling (pg 241) Oren is speaking to the other prey animals specifically, about how not to give in to their instinctual fear. However, I knew Rask would interpret his words in his own way and internalize them. This whole page is about the small parts of the whole we take away and what we make of it, even when something isn't meant specifically for us.
Quannaq is from all the way back on page 39, this time from an angle closer to how Rask would have seen him as he wondered what was the point living if everyone else was dead.
While it's actually Sprig that says Rask's name as he dies, Yarrow saying his name is meant to reflect the fact that for a moment, just before Hemlock killed him, Rask saw Yarrow's expression change, suggesting he might be open to listen.
And, last-- it's not stated explicitly in the comic and just lives in my head but you might as well know, too. The dead mouse in the snow is Rask's first solo kill, which is first referenced on page 109 when Rask and Sprig are speaking.
2023-07-17 21:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Since there's five Mondays next month, I'm going to take next week off for some downtime. I'm sorry for the cliff hanger here, but my wrist has been bugging me recently so the break comes at a good time.
Next page will be out July 10th!
[Click Here to Start Volume Two: Incursion from the beginning!]
2023-06-26 21:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Since there are five Monday's this month and I'm helping friend move across country at the moment-- I'm taking next week off from posting a page. New page will be up the 29th (and you'll find out what 'it' is!)
[Click Here to Start Volume Two: Incursion from the beginning!]
2023-05-15 21:00:01 +0000 UTC
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New page out next Monday!
[Click Here to Start Volume Two: Incursion from the beginning!]
(It really doesn't necessarily effect the over all story, but as a refresher on when I use colored speech bubbles since it's been a while-- it's when not everyone in a scene is speaking in a 'language' the others can understand.)
2023-05-08 21:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Here's the work-in-progress stages for the last panel from page 268!
Rough sketch to the inks:
Flat colors, then building out the background from the furthest back to to the foreground.
2023-04-26 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
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