Progress Update #14
over 3 years ago
– Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 07:10:21 PM
Greetings Backers,
TL;DR: Howard is finalizing the bonus story pages. We have a draft of the Confelicity/Schadenfreude coin. Final pieces for Tiny Planet Mercenary are being nailed down. Details below.
Sign up for our Newsletter! If you want to continue to be apprised of all Howard and Sandra Tayler projects and not just the ones related to this Kickstarter, we recommend you sign up for our newsletter.
Most of you have filled out your surveys, Thank You! If for any reason you did not receive your survey, or if you need to update your address, you can go to https://big-dumb-objects-schlock-mercenary-book-16.backerkit.com/ and login to fill out your survey. If you've tried that and are still having trouble, email [email protected] and we'll help.
Progress Updates
Here is the current status of deliverables in this project.
Big Dumb Objects book: Howard has pulled the final art from Travis into Clip Studio Paint to create the character and dialog portions of the story. He's creating a process that he hopes to use for creating more Schlock Mercenary stories to post online. Once this story is done the only things left will be to finalize the cover and update the "Story Thus Far" text. The cover is already in process. If you want to see some of how that process works, read below in the more details section.
Confelicity/Schadenfreude Coin: We have an image! It isn't quite right yet, but at least there is something to show you.
Howard intends to tweak the facial expressions so they better indicate joy at joy and joy at suffering. The thorny vines aren't correct because there are two separate vines drawn in slightly different styles. They need to be a contiguous branching vine all in the same style. Also the circle where the vine ends is supposed to be a place where the vine is punching through the coin to bloom on the other side. A perfectly round circle isn't yet conveying "This vine pushed it's way through the coin." So design work yet remains, but we're hopeful we can wrap these up and get them ordered soon.
Tiny Planet Mercenary: Sandra has mechanical text for all the cards in her hands. It needs to be punched up and made funny. As soon as that is done, the cards can be fully laid out in 48 hours. Alan has landed in his new home and set up his office so he can get back to work.
Slipcase: The design is done and ready to send to print. The book and slipcase have to be sent to print at the same time, so this is waiting for the book to be done.
Warning Sign Stickers: Complete! Orders which only contained stickers have been sent out. If you missed picking up stickers as part of your Kickstarter, you can get them in our store.
Enamel Pins: Complete! They look amazing. Sandra has already sent out pins to those who only had pins in their orders. We've put some of the spare Landon pins in our store, so if you missed adding them to your order, you can get one now.
Escape From the Friggen Jungle PDF: Complete! If this is a part of your order, you should have received an email with download information. If you did not get an email, you can use the link at the top of this update to login and download your copy.
Kitesfear model: Complete! They're safely stowed waiting for shipping day.
Health updates: We've drawn inward and increased our anti-Covid safety measures since our area is one of those with a surge in cases. According to our epidemiologist friends, the surge is only likely to worsen over the next several months, so we've settled into careful habits for the long haul. Howard has days when he needs oxygen supplementation to function and other days he's fine. We have another appointment with the pulmonologist in November. We're finding ways to adapt the creative load to Howard's current capabilities.
Building the Cover
For books 12-16 we settled on a design scheme which created more work than was ideal for each cover. Lesson learned, even though the resulting effect is pretty cool.
This is the sample cover for Big Dumb Objects
That circuit pattern as the background texture has to be created for each book. It starts with a texture file. The space in the middle is for the spine of the book.
I then overlay the cover elements so I can see where they will be placed. Many of these elements are place holders. I need to carefully select the comic to go on the back cover, this one was grabbed at random. The title graphic needs to be punched up and made more dramatic. Etc.
Then I take the eraser tool and carefully subtract circuits so that they leave blank space for the necessary cover elements and so that they attractively frame them. With the overlay turned off, it looks like this:
This is as far as we've gotten for Big Dumb Objects. The next steps are waiting on Howard. He takes these texture files and then runs them through filters to make it look like all those blue lines are carved into stone. Then he carefully selects a few circuits to light up with a glow. All of this is flattened and then handed back to Sandra. Howard's part will take half a day. Sandra's final part is more fiddly. The cover elements are re-layed over the top and exported for printing. Several test prints are done as we check to make sure there aren't any errors. Our next set of books won't have the fiddly circuit background, they'll have some other cool look which is a bit less work to manage.
The next progress update will be the week of November 23-27.
Thank you so much for backing our project,
Howard and Sandra
PS: You may see us on other platforms pushing products, announcing sales, or being stressed about money in these uncertain times. This is because we have sequestered the funds to pay for printing and shipping your books and other items. We are not allowed to touch those funds for day-to-day living, they're reserved to fulfill our promises to you. Day-to-day living money is a separate fund and we'll likely need to hustle to keep that fund healthy through the economic shifts that are already beginning and are likely to continue through the next months. In particular we've been increasing our offerings over on the Schlock Patreon site and Sandra's Patreon, because having a steady source of income seems like a very good thing for creatives like us.
Progress Update #13
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Sep 26, 2020 at 07:59:38 PM
Greetings Backers,
TL;DR: Tiny Planet Mercenary's layout is done there is a small delay heading for print. The last of the bonus story page spreads are in Travis' hands. Sandra commits to getting the Confelicity / Schadenfreude coin done this month. Details below.
Sign up for our Newsletter! If you want to continue to be apprised of all Howard and Sandra Tayler projects and not just the ones related to this Kickstarter, we recommend you sign up for our newsletter.
Most of you have filled out your surveys, Thank You! If for any reason you did not receive your survey, or if you need to update your address, you can go to https://big-dumb-objects-schlock-mercenary-book-16.backerkit.com/ and login to fill out your survey. If you've tried that and are still having trouble, email [email protected] and we'll help.
Progress Updates
Here is the current status of deliverables in this project.
Big Dumb Objects book: Howard has handed the last concept art to Travis for him to render into finalized art. Now Howard can turn his attention to lettering. This story took so many left turns and was completely scrapped and re-conceptualized twice. It got seriously impacted by the home flood recovery disruptions of 2019 followed by the pandemic and health issues of 2020. We're so glad it is finally becoming what it needs to be. Once this story is done the only things left will be to finalize the cover and update the "Story Thus Far" text.
Confelicity/Schadenfreude Coin: In design process. Yes, this has been in design process for several updates now. I (Sandra) fully own the failure to move forward. Visualizing things is not my strong suit, so I keep stalling, but I don't want to bother Howard because I need to keep him focused on moving the bonus story forward, particularly on a week when his energy and concentration resources are limited. But I've used this update as motivation and I submitted an art request to our coin supplier, so that's a small step forward. At a minimum I'll have some concept art to show next update, though I hope to have a finalized coin design.
Tiny Planet Mercenary: Layout approval for the cards is still pending. Gallant Knight Games is a one man shop and that shop is currently in the process of packing up his house for a surprise cross country move. As soon as Alan lands in his new home, we'll see more progress. Once files are sent to the printer, we should have a specific turn around timeline for printing.
Slipcase: The design is done and ready to send to print. The book and slipcase have to be sent to print at the same time, so this is waiting for the book to be done.
Warning Sign Stickers: Complete! Orders which only contained stickers have been sent out. If you missed picking up stickers as part of your Kickstarter, you can get them in our store.
Enamel Pins: Complete! They look amazing. Sandra has already sent out pins to those who only had pins in their orders. We've put some of the spare Landon pins in our store, so if you missed adding them to your order, you can get one now.
Escape From the Friggen Jungle PDF: Complete! If this is a part of your order, you should have received an email with download information. If you did not get an email, you can use the link at the top of this update to login and download your copy.
Kitesfear model: Complete! They're safely stowed waiting for shipping day.
Health updates: This week Howard had a resurgence of his difficulty with breathing. We suspect a combination of aerosolized pigment (from an airbrush) and a flu shot triggered a flare up. We're taking extra care to get things calmed down again. However we're also re-convinced that it would be a very bad idea for Howard to catch Covid-19, so we're being extra careful about exposure in our newly-hot-spot town.
As a reward for reading all the way to the end, here is one of the composition sketches that Howard created so Travis could see how to render the final art.
The next progress update will be the week of October 26-30.
Thank you so much for backing our project,
Howard and Sandra
PS: You may see us on other platforms pushing products, announcing sales, or being stressed about money in these uncertain times. This is because we have sequestered the funds to pay for printing and shipping your books and other items. We are not allowed to touch those funds for day-to-day living, they're reserved to fulfill our promises to you. Day-to-day living money is a separate fund and we'll likely need to hustle to keep that fund healthy through the economic shifts that are already beginning and are likely to continue through the next months. In particular we've been increasing our offerings over on the Schlock Patreon site and Sandra's Patreon, because having a steady source of income seems like a very good thing for creatives like us.
Progress Update #12
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Sep 05, 2020 at 07:09:09 PM
Greetings Backers,
TL;DR: Pins are done, Ships are done, Stickers are done, Tiny Planet Mercenary's layout is headed for print. Howard has turned his attention to the Big Dumb Objects bonus story.
Sign up for our Newsletter! If you want to continue to be apprised of all Howard and Sandra Tayler projects and not just the ones related to this Kickstarter, we recommend you sign up for our newsletter.
Most of you have filled out your surveys, Thank You! If for any reason you did not receive your survey, or if you need to update your address, you can go to https://big-dumb-objects-schlock-mercenary-book-16.backerkit.com/ and login to fill out your survey. If you've tried that and are still having trouble, email [email protected] and we'll help.
Progress Updates
Here is the current status of deliverables in this project.
Big Dumb Objects book: Howard and Travis have been working on the bonus story. They're currently on pages 10-11 of a 17 page bonus story. And we finally have cool art to share! Look down below the progress updates for a peek at the process for this bonus story. This story took so many left turns and was completely scrapped and re-conceptualized twice. It got seriously impacted by the home flood recovery disruptions of 2019 followed by the pandemic and health issues of 2020. We're so glad it is finally becoming what it needs to be. Once this story is done the only things left will be to finalize the cover and update the "Story Thus Far" text.
Slipcase: The design is done and ready to send to print. The book and slipcase have to be sent to print at the same time, so this is waiting for the book to be done.
Confelicity/Schadenfreude Coin: In design process. Hopefully we'll have something to show you next update.
Warning Sign Stickers: Done! Orders which only contained stickers have been sent out. If you missed picking up stickers as part of your Kickstarter, you can get them in our store.
Enamel Pins: Complete and arrived! They look amazing. Sandra has already sent out pins to those who only had pins in their orders. We've put some of the spare Landon pins in our store, so if you missed adding them to your order, you can get one now.
Escape From the Friggen Jungle PDF: Complete! If this is a part of your order, you should have received an email with download information. If you did not get an email, you can use the link at the top of this update to login and download your copy.
Tiny Planet Mercenary: Final layout tweaks are happening for the book, and layout approval for the cards should happen in the next week. Once files are sent to the printer, we should have a specific turn around timeline for printing.
Kitesfear model: Done and delivered to our warehouse. They're safely stowed waiting for shipping day.
Health updates: Good news! We don't have much to report since health has continued to normalize. Howard is still getting his bearings post-daily-comic and figuring out what the daily workflow looks like. One of the most important tasks of his sabbatical is finding a healthy work/life balance.
Sneak Peek at Bonus Story!
Howard and Travis created a process for this bonus story which is different from the daily comic. The roughs that Howard sends to Travis are much rougher.
Travis then takes these scribbles and renders them into a beautiful image.
Sometimes there are iterations where Howard asks for changes, but then Howard does the lettering and finalizes the story text.
At this point, images are handed to Sandra who places them into the book so we can do color test printing and copy editing. Slowly, but surely this is getting done.
The next progress update will be the week of Sept 21-26.
Thank you so much for backing our project,
Howard and Sandra
PS: You may see us on other platforms pushing products, announcing sales, or being stressed about money in these uncertain times. This is because we have sequestered the funds to pay for printing and shipping your books and other items. We are not allowed to touch those funds for day-to-day living, they're reserved to fulfill our promises to you. Day-to-day living money is a separate fund and we'll likely need to hustle to keep that fund healthy through the economic shifts that are already beginning and are likely to continue through the next months. In particular we've been increasing our offerings over on the Schlock Patreon site and Sandra's Patreon, because having a stead source of income seems like a very good thing for creatives like us.
Progress Update #11
almost 4 years ago
– Wed, Aug 05, 2020 at 09:38:33 PM
Greetings Backers,
TL;DR: Pins are done, Ships are done, Stickers are done, Tiny Planet Mercenary's layout is headed for print. Howard has turned his attention to the Big Dumb Objects bonus story.
Sign up for our Newsletter! If you want to continue to be apprised of all Howard and Sandra Tayler projects and not just the ones related to this Kickstarter, we recommend you sign up for our newsletter.
Most of you have filled out your surveys, Thank You! If for any reason you did not receive your survey, or if you need to update your address, you can go to https://big-dumb-objects-schlock-mercenary-book-16.backerkit.com/ and login to fill out your survey. If you've tried that and are still having trouble, email [email protected] and we'll help.
Progress Updates
Here is the current status of deliverables in this project.
Big Dumb Objects book: Howard and Travis have been figuring out a work flow for the bonus story since the art necessary to convey this story needs a different process than the daily comic. Howard has nailed down the scripting and we hope to have images to share soon. We're in the third iteration of color test print. Image errors were found and corrected, there are only a few remaining flagged items to fix. We need to finalize the cover and Howard needs to update the "Story Thus Far" text.
Slipcase: The design is done and ready to send to print.
Confelicity/Schadenfreude Coin: Sandra is seeking a designer to help with this so that it is one less thing for Howard to do. Turn around on coins is far shorter than books and the manufacturer for these is running business as usual. So as soon as we have a design these can go into manufacturing.
Warning Sign Stickers: Done! The stickers arrived a week ago and have been compiled into sets of 8 stickers. Orders which only contained stickers have been sent out. If you missed picking up stickers as part of your Kickstarter, you can get them in our store.
Enamel Pins: Complete and arrived! They look amazing. Sandra has already sent out pins to those who only had pins in their orders. We've put some of the spare Landon pins in our store, so if you missed adding them to your order, you can get one now.
Escape From the Friggen Jungle PDF: Complete! If this is a part of your order, you should have received an email with download information. If you did not get an email, you can use the link at the top of this update to login and download your copy.
Tiny Planet Mercenary: Sandra approved the layout PDF this weekend. There are a few additional fixes to make, but then this will be sent for print and PDF distribution can commence.
Kitesfear model: Done and delivered to our warehouse. They're safely stowed waiting for shipping day.
Health updates: Good news! Howard is breathing much better than he was. We're not entirely sure what helped him turn the corner. It could be switching his caffeine intake from powdered packets to canned drinks removed an allergen. It could be that his body just reached the point it was ready to heal and move in. Not having the pressure of a daily comic update may also be affecting things. Whatever the reason, breathing better puts Howard in a good position to exercise and improve his health. He's still getting his bearings and figuring out what the daily workflow looks like without the daily comic.
The next progress update will be the week of August 31-Sept 4.
Thank you so much for backing our project,
Howard and Sandra
PS: You may see us on other platforms pushing products, announcing sales, or being stressed about money in these uncertain times. This is because we have sequestered the funds to pay for printing and shipping your books and other items. We are not allowed to touch those funds for day-to-day living, they're reserved to fulfill our promises to you. Day-to-day living money is a separate fund and we'll likely need to hustle to keep that fund healthy through the massive economic shifts that are already beginning and are likely to continue through the next months. In particular we've been increasing our offerings over on the Schlock Patreon site and Sandra's Patreon, because having a stead source of income over the next six months to a year seems like a very good thing for creatives like us.
Progress Update #10
almost 4 years ago
– Thu, Jul 09, 2020 at 08:28:38 AM
Greetings Backers,
TL;DR: Pins are done, Ships are done, Stickers are done, Tiny Planet Mercenary is in layout. Big Dumb Objects is still waiting on Howard, who still has bad breathing days, but we're following up with medical interventions. Details below.
Most of you have filled out your surveys, Thank You! If for any reason you did not receive your survey, or if you need to update your address, you can go to https://big-dumb-objects-schlock-mercenary-book-16.backerkit.com/ and login to fill out your survey. If you've tried that and are still having trouble, email [email protected] and we'll help.
Progress Updates
Howard is currently busy writing the comics which will transition Schlock Mercenary into its epilogue strips. The end is close and, once we reach it, Howard will be able to turn his available creative time to Kickstarter products.
You may see us on other platforms pushing products, announcing sales, or being stressed about money in these uncertain times. This is because we have sequestered the funds to pay for printing and shipping your books and other items. We are not allowed to touch those funds for day-to-day living, they're reserved to fulfill our promises to you. Day-to-day living money is a separate fund and we'll likely need to hustle to keep that fund healthy through the massive economic shifts that are already beginning and are likely to continue through the next months. In particular we've been increasing our offerings over on the Schlock Patreon site and Sandra's Patreon, because having a stead source of income over the next six months to a year seems like a very good thing for creatives like us.
Here is the current status of deliverables in this project.
Big Dumb Objects book: The introduction is complete. Howard has drafted the bonus story and will start drawing it once the online comic wraps. He'll also tackle the cover backdrop at that point. The lack of progress continues to cause Howard anxiety. We're in the second iteration of color test print. Image errors were found and corrected, there are only a few remaining flagged items to fix.
Slipcase: The design is done and ready to send to print.
Confelicity/Schadenfreude Coin: Sandra is seeking a designer to help with this so that it is one less thing for Howard to do. Turn around on coins is far shorter than books and the manufacturer for these is running business as usual. So as soon as we have a design these can go into manufacturing.
Warning Sign Stickers: Done! The stickers arrived a week ago and have been compiled into sets of 8 stickers. Orders which only contained stickers have been sent out.
Enamel Pins: Complete and arrived! They look amazing. Sandra has already sent out pins to those who only had pins in their orders.
Escape From the Friggen Jungle PDF: Complete! If this is a part of your order, you should have received an email with download information. If you did not get an email, you can use the link at the top of this update to login and download your copy.
Tiny Planet Mercenary: Layout is under way. The schedules of all freelancers have been thrown out of whack by the shifts of pandemic and lockdown. This means layout may take more time than it would in a more average year. However the work done on it so far is beautiful.
After layout is done, Sandra will approve the final files. Then PDF distribution and printing can begin!
Kitesfear model: Done and delivered to our warehouse. They're safely stowed waiting for shipping day.
Health updates: Howard continues to have good breathing days and bad breathing days. This week we did a bunch of diagnostic lab work, results pending. We also purchased a Pressure Swing Adsorption device, which uses room air and compression to supply oxygen rich air to the wearer. It seems to be helping Howard not have low blood oxygen while he draws, which means he's not as worn out by drawing. Yay for technology!
The next progress update will be the week of August 3-7.
Thank you so much for backing our project,
Howard and Sandra
