Spiky-Haired Dragon, Worthless Knight

[ak-ryuu]

I thought I'd start a thread about it here, so I (and you) don't forget about it. It will be my first break in 7 years of working on this comic, and I really, really need it. I can't promise the comic will be better after I return, but I can try. Until then I may have to rush things a bit -- I have 888 comics done now, and have to get to 920 before I can think about having a break. I like to have at least 2 months buffer so it would be better if I got to 940 first ...

Scripts are mostly done up to 920. I know pretty exactly what happens up to 1000, which I hope I can manage to make look really great as that's probably the roundest number I'll ever reach! I may or may not take another break at 1000, but if I do, it will end on a cliffhanger. (The upcoming break after 920 won't, don't worry :))

Currently I'm thinking that I want to end the comic either on strip #2000, or maybe on #1840 so that the upcoming break would be exactly at the half-time point. Not sure if I can fit the remaining story into just another 920 or 1080 strips though ... I wish I had the time and the energy to just sit down and write *all* the scripts. Heh. Maybe after that three month break :)

Anyway, I'll keep you informed, and the comic *will* be back after the three months break. And I'll stay around on the forums anyway -- in fact, I was thinking that I could make a weekly "archives" post in the Story forum, starting from the beginning of the comic and covering several comics each week, to finally cover the early years from before we had a forum. Maybe there's still something to discuss about the old ones, right?
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"My sanity is like a house of cards; carefully constructed, fragile, and of no use to anybody."

[Nocturne]

[Clickbeetle]

Bump. Got a little idea you might like, or you might not... but might as well put it out there.

I follow another comic called Erfworld (www.erfworld.com) and they do sort of a mixed comic/text format over there. The key scenes in the story are portrayed in traditional comic form, and in between comics they fill in some of the gaps with text-only updates written more like a short chapter in a novel.

Such a format might be worth considering for SHD-WK after the hiatus is over, considering that you've been talking about needing to speed up the story and really think about what scenes are necessary. You could just draw the important scenes and fill in some of the background scenes with text updates. Additionally, you could do this for those "wall of text" comics where the art is pretty much just there for the sake of having art, and what's really important is what is being said.

It's sort of a compromise between trimming the story and keeping all the character development/world-building details in. Just something to think about as you take your break and start working on building up your buffer again. Don't stress yourself out too much.
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"None of us is as dumb as all of us."

[ak-ryuu]

[Only awerewolf on tuesday]

I read Erfworld too, and I have to say I don't like the text updates, in fact I've given up reading them. I'm fairly certain they'd work better for Spiky than Erfworld, but I'd still advise against using them unless you absolutely have to to continue.
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I won the award for longest username!

[ak-ryuu]

[Clickbeetle]

Yeah don't do it if you can still draw without a problem, but just if things get too overwhelming.

[ak-ryuu]

Well, I said I'll keep you informed, so I will ... it's not looking so great right now. The break starts after comic #920, and I'm currently up to #908, and I have been rather quite sick again recently, so I'm struggling to even make it to the planned break.

Then during those three months, I'm going to have to refill my buffers instead of taking my break ;> But I'll worry about that if I even make it there.

Still not planning to give up though, but I'll probably end up disappointing you if not in terms of update schedule, then at least in terms of quality ...
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"My sanity is like a house of cards; carefully constructed, fragile, and of no use to anybody."

[Negation]

I'm wishing here that you will be able to finish the comic properly and tell the story until the end. Don't die of exhaustion in the meantime.
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A whisper in your ear

[Nocturne]

[ak-ryuu]

So I finally finished and uploaded #920, the last strip before the break.

I'll take a much needed break now until the end of August, during which I won't do more about the comic than maybe write a few scripts ... and after that I'll have two months to somehow refill my buffers. In an ideal world, I'd spend my break recharging my creative batteries and working on my art (if you can even call it that), and return with an improved comic. In reality, that's not going to happen and the comic will likely look the same as ever (or at least I hope I'll manage at least that :)).

But I'm glad I can stop thinking about it for a bit now ...
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"My sanity is like a house of cards; carefully constructed, fragile, and of no use to anybody."

[adDiyn]

I hope the break will give as much energy back as possible. I do know how it feels, if you are running on reserve for a longer period.

I am very much looking forward to your return and with you the ongoing of the comic.

And yes it definitly is art: To devise a story like that is art.
To bring the story to paper (script) is art.
And finally to draw the panels is art. (You wouldn't want to see me trying that.)

I enjoyed the comic up to now and will enjoy it as soon as you have returned, whenever you feel recharged enough...

My best wishes

Jakob

[ak-ryuu]

Thanks for the kind words, adDiyn :)

Only 6 comics left before the break ... which also means that the story is about half over now. (Which also means it will still take almost forever to reach the end :))
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"My sanity is like a house of cards; carefully constructed, fragile, and of no use to anybody."

[ak-ryuu]

So I said I'd keep you updated in this thread ... with only 3 comics left before the break, the hiatus is right around the corner.

I will keep up the regular Tuesday/Friday posts in the Story thread, adding threads for the part of the archives that are older than the forums. If my calculations are correct, that's 14 comics twice a week. I'll hope you'll join me there to discuss, if there's anything left to discuss about those old strips ;)

After the break, my situation with the comic will not be better than before. I *will* have a new comic online at the beginning of November, and I *will* continue the story; but I can't guarantee there won't be further breaks, or that I can keep up the 2 comics per week schedule. I have surgery coming up (don't have the date yet, probably towards the end of the hiatus) which is throwing yet another wrench in my plans, and I have no idea how long recovery will take and when things will hopefully get better, so ... I'll just keep doing the best I can, and keep hoping you'll continue to read and go through the story with me, because that's what makes it worth writing it :)
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"My sanity is like a house of cards; carefully constructed, fragile, and of no use to anybody."

[LadyAxum]

Don't worry, we will keep reading. I hope your surgery goes well. take care of yourself!