project-reaper

[project-reaper]

just some concept doodles <3

[project-reaper]

Moving forward into 2024!

I haven’t really had a proper chance to say Happy New Years, so this will have to suffice, with a little breakdown of what’s been going on and what’s to come!

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

I’ve been spending the better part of the last year working on new projects and endeavors. Both with Time Gate and outside of it. From vendoring at markets and working expo’s for the first time to working on art pieces completely outside of Time Gate, 2023 was a hell of a year and it makes me all the more hyped for 2024. That said, I’ve been carrying a weight with me through 2023 that’s made it difficult to enjoy it to the fullest - the weight of knowing that [AFTERBIRTH] is still on hiatus.

This isn’t the longest hiatus that I’ve been on, but it’s certainly starting to approach the record and I wanna get it back on track. Like getting back in shape after spending an entire winter hibernating and eating nothing but junk food, getting back into drawing [AFTERBIRTH] on a schedule is gonna be a process of rebuilding good habits and learning what I can do better to keep those habits alive and well.

The fortunate side to taking hiatuses is that it always does give me a new sense of perspective. In this case, I learned that I put myself through a lot at the start of [AFTERBIRTH]’s production. Like, way more than I realized. At the time I thought I was super capable - and I am! - but now in hindsight I can recognize it wasn’t healthy or sustainable for me to manage that sort of output all on my own. I’m still grinding away at comics like I always do with those other projects I’ve mentioned, but it’s still nothing near the amount of work I put myself through just to meet my own deadlines with [AFTERBIRTH]. I also have this thing called help now in the form of a background artist who’s been working with me on those other projects, which has been an amazing and enriching experience.

Having that time away from [AFTERBIRTH] not only gave me the breathing room I needed to recuperate from the burnout I got myself into, but also got me out of the routines I had stuck myself into, which has given me some new tricks and skills that I’m really hyped to bring back into Time Gate with me.

This does, in a way, mean that I’ve had to really reflect on Time Gate, a lot. It’s a project I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and drawing as a webcomic since I was around 18-19. It’s changed a lot in that time, but I’m finding while a lot of those changes have been reflected in the comic as it is, there are still so many more I want to make - because like the comic, I’ve changed a lot, too, both as an artist and as a person, and considering Time Gate’s always been a sort of personal extension of myself, I no longer resonate with a lot of parts of it that I’ve since outgrown. It’s not so much that I want to hide or take for granted those parts of it that are ‘uglier’, but I want the writing and art to be expressed in the best way it can be because at the end of the day, I’m trying to tell a coherent story that’s enjoyable to read and experience. I’m also the sort of person who learns best by just getting their hands dirty and learning what not to do, and boy, have I spent a lot of years doing just that through Time Gate.

GOING FORWARD

So, going forward, I’ve adjusted my schedule with my other projects to accommodate the time I need to both get back into Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH] as well as prepare for the upcoming convention season. I’ve got a bunch of plans for this year’s markets with new ideas for prints and stickers and other goodies that I’m really excited to make! And I just, overall, want to pull myself out of the burnout funk. You can’t force recovery to happen on your own time but there does come a point where you gotta start taking steps otherwise you get stagnant, and I feel like that’s where I’ve been the last few months.

AFTERBIRTH FORMAT CHANGE

[AFTERBIRTH]’s format will be changing back to page format in its second season. Vertical format works for some projects and stories, but not for Time Gate. It’s been fun, but part of learning what I’m best at is learning what I’m not best at and the vertical format is too limiting for what I want to do with Time Gate in the future. Color will still be remaining!

REAPER RECOMPILED

I will also be working on the Recompiled editions of Reaper. These will predominantly be the first few volumes redrawn and rewritten to accommodate a tighter story down the road. I know, I know, “don’t get trapped redrawing/rewriting stuff”, but I feel the changes that I wanna make are so necessary that they’re part of what’s holding me back from continuing with [AFTERBIRTH] into Thread of Fate and beyond. There are a lot of really silly and otherwise unnecessary writing decisions I made back during Reaper that I currently feel aren’t working for what I’m trying to accomplish in its sequels, and let’s face it, I wrote it almost ten years ago when I was still very much learning, so it’s due for an upgrade. It'll be the last time too, because it'll be putting us on Loop 9999 and remember what Matty said about surpassing 9999-

This will be something I’ll be picking at slowly but surely. When it’s ready I’ll basically be replacing the old pages and updating any new mirror sites with only the new version (I’m currently planning on trying out NamiComi and Lemoon and of course I'll be continuing to post on ComicFury and GlobalComix).

THE BIG GREEN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM-

All of that will basically be working towards my biggest step - getting the flying fuck off Webtoons. Because let me tell you, I've basically spent the last two years like this:

Y’all know that I’m not really one to roll over and take shit from massive platforms, and Webtoons is no exception. I’ve been posting to it since 2016 and I’m very very much done with it; just like with Tapas it’s no longer the site it used to be and there’s fresh competition entering the market that I’d rather put my focus on. At the very least, I want my independence back, if I’m gonna be stuck having to market and network my own work anyways I’d much rather be doing it for my own site or platforms that aren’t constantly undercutting its creators by removing core features and not implementing necessary ones. I as well as many others have been doing our own investigating into Webtoons and we’re basically feeling like canaries in the mineshaft right now, picking up on some massive warning signs that we want to get ahead of. The worst that can happen is that I pull the same stats I pull on Webtoons somewhere else, what a tragedy that would be LMAO

LIVESTREAMING

And then of course there are my livestreams. Like learning the hard way that I shouldn’t have been drawing [AFTERBIRTH] on such a strict schedule, I’ve learned that streaming on the schedule I used to be streaming on just ain’t for me. Call it the ADHD but I’d much rather stream when I have something to legitimately talk about or showcase rather than force myself to stream even on days when I’m really not feeling up to talking. And I’d like to get back into doing actual video editing content, whether it’s speedpaints or gaming videos or commentary stuff, whatever have you. Now that I have a proper PC rig that’s actually built to do heavy duty stuff, the possibilities of what I can create are a LOT more vast and I wanna take full advantage of them!

That said, if you wanna see an example of what the streams will look like when we return, check out this lil’ time lapse demo:

Definitely couldn't do that on my old setup! It might not be regular streaming like before, but it’ll damn well be higher quality and more fun to watch haha

WELL THAT WAS A BIG WALL OF TEXT WASN'T IT

So yeah! That was a lot of words but I hope it clears up everything that's been happening on my end. Thanks for following along with my work all these years, whether it’s Time Gate or my lil’ secret projects or my streams, through all the ups and the downs. Long-term projects like these may take their toll but there’s so much joy in seeing them change and grow over time, and I want to fully embrace and reflect that growth as best as I can through what I bring you guys.

Thank you all so much, let’s make 2024 a good year <3

[project-reaper]

-observations.2.-

One time, when I was bored, I killed a butterfly.

Unbeknownst to me, that butterfly had actually been the one that captivated Uzuki on a bright, summery afternoon. It was following this butterfly that led her to run into Mitsuhiro. They would then spend the day together, connecting on a level that they hadn't even considered possible before then; this day would turn into nights, adding up to weeks and eventually months of companionship and intimacy.

It was this relationship that gave them the strength to fight for one another so many times over the course of their lives. Had Uzuki not met him, she undoubtedly would have died separate from him. They would have never become Reapers together. Mitsuhiro would have been doomed to serve the Society as a demon vessel, and Uzuki would be left on her own, wondering what would have happened had she just showed mercy to a man who simply wanted to help her.

Nah, I'm just fucking with you.

I killed the butterfly. Nothing happened. It's just a fucking butterfly.

[project-reaper]

All set up!!! Super hyped for tomorrow, just a few finishing touches that I'll be making in the morning when the convention hall's open again ❤️

So hyped to finally work my first table, this was something I've wanted to do for years and ALMOST did until the 'rona attacked and local conventions were out of the question for a while. ProjectReaper has been a personal passion project for over a decade now so to finally see it come together like this, it makes it all finally feel real. Like all those years were leading up to this.

Everything has fallen into place perfectly, all my things arrived early, my setup went together seamlessly, the weather behaved despite the forecasts saying otherwise... it really feels like the universe has been looking out for me this year, making up for all the bad and giving me new paths to follow. It's all been perfect so far. Let's hope the universe holds out for me just a bit longer - tomorrow's gonna be a good day 🙏❤️

[project-reaper]

tag yourself

[project-reaper]

ISLAND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO!

Hey y'all! I'm gonna be hosting a table at the Island Entertainment Expo this year from March 25th-26th! It's a small weekend affair but perfect for my first time hosting a table :') You can find me at Table #44!

[project-reaper]

okay but this is literally springlock and matty and i didn't even realize this was a dynamic but it is holy shit-

death's a lil' sick of people's shit lol

actually this is the best possible character dynamic

[project-reaper]

things are usually easy peasy lemon squeezy but for the last few months it's been difficult difficult lemon difficult because i want to get time gate out of hiatus but i've got my first table convention at the end of march and then i potentially have to move AGAIN at the start of april (if we get this place that we really really REALLY want) and then i have to be ready to work my first tattoo expo at the end of april

it's all a big mental and financial OOF so i'm just drawing myself some emotional support mitsuhiro's to get myself through (～￣▽￣)～

[project-reaper]

i can't exactly explain to you why this was so horrifying and hilarious at the same time

just know that the timing couldn't have been more succinct and betty white left me feeling like i had blood on my hands

[project-reaper]

i'm not saying i've forgotten my roots

i've just dyed them a different color so they aren't as noticeable 😶

[project-reaper]

springlock's favorite is based purely on who he's traumatized the most-

[project-reaper]

sometimes i'll draw stuff that isn't necessarily meant to be secretive but i just like... forget to post or never really get the right "chance" to post

if i had a dollar for every drawing i've created on a whim only to leave it on my PC untouched and unposted, i might be just a slightly-above-starving artist