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Okay, so! Hello, once again!

If you’ve been keeping up with this comic for the past few years, then upon reading this most recent update, you probably noticed some changes!
In the past year (and a half?) or so, I’ve almost completely switched over to using Procreate rather than Photoshop for comic production. I’ve had to wrestle with the learning curve of switching programs here and there, but the result is SO worth it. Procreate on my iPad works much faster than Photoshop on my computer, and it’s much comfier on my back and wrists to draw on my couch than to draw at my desk. This meant that I was able to draw the last seven pages in the span of one or two months instead of it taking several months! (And this was done while I’ve also been teaching, mind you!) AND, using the gradient map tool in Procreate has given me an efficient way to bring color back into the comic, which I’m also incredibly jazzed about.
While I was switching programs, I changed up some other things too—I decided to switch from the lettering font I was using before (called Back Issues) to a new lettering font called Jack Armstrong, and I like it a lot more. It’s a bit smaller and tighter, which allows me to fit in more dialogue without compromising so much of the space within the panels. I started using the new font in last few pages, but then I thought, “well hey, why not go back and switch the font for the whole short story?” Which ended up with me re-writing parts of the story, and re-adjusting the colors as well.
AND, here’s the big change—I’ve decided to shift towards a more large-batch update model in the form of chronologically arranged short stories, taking after works like Sherlock Holmes (which is a major inspiration for the comic.) I’ve retconned everything I’ve written up until “Dewdrops & Rosebuds” to be part of the “Prologue” of the Ballad of the Witch Doctor, with “Act I: Spring” now beginning with this short story. I like the idea of working this way because it make me feel like I’m making Completed Narratives with a smaller number of pages that don’t feel quite so intimidating to draw. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to improve my writing in ways that feel easier to compare to previous attempts. My goal is to do one or two of these stories a year, but I’m not gonna be too hard on myself if takes me longer.
Something I’ve come to terms with this past year is that unlike what I planned at its conception, The Ballad of the Witch Doctor will likely take me a very, very long time to finish. I used to be upset by that, because I hated the idea of becoming one of those artists who has a good story going and then goes on an indefinite hiatus because of burnout. Then I realized that burnout has already happened to me, several times, and it was because I kept trying to rush something that actually doesn’t need to be rushed. I got rid of the update schedule, I got rid of the monetary attachment to Patreon, but I still found myself feeling anxious about working on it. I think I was motivated by fear in a lot of ways—fear of being seen as a quitter, fear of not making anything substantial by the time I turn 30 (which is in just a few months!) fear of getting tired of this loreworld before its time, etc. But now I’ve mostly internalized the idea that there isn’t actually a deadline on this project other than the one I assign it, and that it doesn’t need one. And ever since I have, working on the comic has come so much more easily to me.
So maybe the larger narrative arc I have in mind will be finished one day… or it won’t. But if nothing else, my shorter stories will get better each time I finish one and start a new one, and I’ll be happy to have lived in this loreworld alongside these characters for however long I feel like it. I’m sort of amazed I haven’t grown tired of any of them yet, especially Corvus, who was first formed in 2017, the old bird!

I don’t know when I’ll update again, I’m hoping to have another short story published sometime next year. If you wanna keep up with me and my other projects, feel free to follow me on instagram. I’m also considering starting a substack soon just to blog about my art thoughts or whatever. We’ll see if that happens. But for now, I hope you’ve enjoyed “Dewdrops & Rosebuds.” I’m truly excited to work on the next story, but I’ll be taking a hefty winter break before I begin drafting it.