What I end up doing will probably look something like that, yeah. A thought, I’m not sure how I feel about a ‘patrons read early’ type setup, but doing this would open up the option for it at least.
As thanks for your attention to this and ongoing patience, here's some concept art of a few life stages of Bola's species.
...in advance for the slowdown and only releasing 2 of the 4 pages I'm finishing in a couple days' time to start building up this backlog- after a month of waiting I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but know that this is in service of stockpiling pages and the good of the comic as a whole.
...as I'll make 6-8 pages for every 4 I release for the next couple of months. I also plan on making a website at some point in that time, since packing a whole webcomic into a bluesky thread is obviously unsustainable long-term. Anyway, what I'm leading into is an apology...
...the overall faster timeline. For the sake of a better comic long-term I aim to move back towards this regime and build a buffer of finished pages from which I can release on a regular schedule, but doing so means making pages faster than I drop them. As such a slowdown in updates is expected...
As always, work is ongoing, and as we approach the end of Chapter 2 I'm giving more thought to what the most effective work schedule may be. Chapter 1 was made in large chunks rather than 4 page batches, giving a period of rumination and a view of the big picture that was beneficial despite...
A rough graphite drawing of Bola's splayed out hand, with an outline of her head behind it.
Same as previous, but with a human hand on the right side of the page. It's a lot smaller.
The drawing again but with a raw chicken in front of it. It looks easily palmable by the hand.
Oh wow, 150 followers! That was sudden.
Here, have a life size Bola hand (ft. my hand and a 5lb chicken to scale) I sketched a bit ago for fun/practice.
It's 14 inches long, and 17.5 inches wide splayed out. I also roughed in an outline of her head to better contextualize it.
wait what
Unedited illustration of Bola from Cascade tilting her head and twirling her finger next to it.
One of the beauties of post processing is that it lets me play around on the raw sheets with no consequences
50 pages reached, hooray!
Only 3 pages this update so we can get back in sync with the intended page turn order next update, which the spread a few pages ago threw off. Odd pages are left pages in chapter 2.
(pp. 50-52)
50 pages reached, hooray!
Only 3 pages this update so we can get back in sync with the intended page turn order next update, which the spread a few pages ago threw off. Odd pages are left pages in chapter 2.
(pp. 50-52)
First time posting the new update I forgot to make it a reply, second time bsky put the pages in the wrong order. Third time’s the charm as soon as I get back from the Burger Store. Apologies folks
WHY DID IT SWITCH THE PAGES OUT OF ORDER
Bit of a deal sweetener, starting with the coming update I’ll be peppering some easter eggs in the raw scans available for T2 subs. Here’s an example.
Also, I’m probably moving next update’s release date to Dec. 20th.
An unfinished graphite drawing of an upcoming panel in Cascade. It is a top-down view of Bola walking along a broad stone trackway through the forest. Foliage creeps over the sides. While the enourmous flagstones between the track and ties are cracked, the track and ties themselves are not.
Under construction
Secret!
I’ll probably be more open about posting concept art after their subject debuts. Though, there are some random bits of concept art you can find on my main account, @snekinnatenk.bsky.social.
I’m a sucker for little side stories and worldbuilding conveyed through background details. Stuff like the change in value halfway up the bridge showing the water level at the height of the wet season is something I want to do a lot of in this comic.
Closeup of page 18 of Cascade, showing a panicked cuspie trying to hide right next to Bola as she exits Tonodzen's house, thinking she doesn't see it. She does.
Crypsis is their main defense, but their fur tears out easily as a fallback method of escape. Captive cuspies don't know they're white, and may still pretend to be bushes if a predator is near, as seen on page 18.
Their thick fur makes their naked legs and bellies important for keeping cool.
Graphite drawing of a cuspie, an animal resembling a very fluffy capybara. This is the initial concept sketch.
Those are feral cuspies, the same kind of animal Tonodzen keeps. Wild ones are green, having soft, thick fur that absorbs water and fosters a unique kind of algae that masks their smell and makes them resemble bushes or lumps of moss. Captive ones are frequently sheared, and remain white and fluffy.
Many, and many are written to appear later on. The walls of my bedroom are increasingly covered in concept art for creatures and other things- all of which I look forward to showing in the story one day.
This, like all the dialogue, is localized into english- “Bola” being a more faithful representation of her name to us than the actual syllables said by the characters would be.
2. There’s a very long answer to this, but a short one would be no.
1. “Bola” isn’t her “true” name so much as a translation of a translation. The name her parents gave her is her mother tongue’s word for the throwing weapon known in english as a bola. It’s not pronounceable by hominids, so she now goes by the Kunoese word for her namesake.
Now that I've reached 100 followers (thank you!) I want to do a celebratory Q and A. If you're curious about anything to do with the world or process, leave a comment and I'll answer if it doesn't spoil anything. If it's a fun one, I might throw in a doodle, too. (I may take a while to answer)
(pp. 46-49)
(pp. 46-49)
the small child
I’m still alive, by the way. Work ongoing
Bad news: no update on the 27th, because I’ve been procrastinating.
Good news: I’ve been procrastinating by doing concept art and learning to make environmental references in blender, which will improve the comic in the future.