I keep wishing it was Friday, but then that would mean I would have missed posting this, and that would be wrong. My wish will come true tomorrow…
Another week has gone by, and we’re still in motion! The Showcase has resumed uploads, and we’re just getting to the action bits; a fitting way to return, I’d say. I’m going to be using my rare injection of free time over the weekend to keep the buffer up so that we don’t slip behind schedule for the rest of the month; I’ve got a lot of stuff happening towards the end of November that might put a crimp in it, so best to preemptively avoid that.
Those who follow me on socials know that I post the preview thumbnails to Instagram, plus the links, when each comic page goes live. I also used Instagram to post my pics from my attempt at Swordtember earlier this year; it was the most active I’d been on the platform in years. I’ve been considering using it more and more, especially with all the drama unfolding around Twitter, my currently most-used social media. I don’t really have enough followers to be concerned about the whole verification thing (I’m #RatVerified, and that’s enough for me), and even if I did I wouldn’t be coughing up any amount of money to keep it. I’ll likely stick around on Twitter for as long as possible, but when it inevitably goes south, I want to have a decent presence elsewhere too. I’ve been giving Mastodon a look, but it’s a bit technical for me, and Artfol is more for tablet-based stuff; Instagram is shaping up to be my new primary, despite all the spam bots…
I’m also looking into expanding my digital art portfolio by exploring some different techniques. I recently acquired a bunch of new brushes and some instructional stuff for digital painting, which is something I’ve always wanted to give a proper try. I found the resources through Jazza via Drawfee, two content channels on YouTube that I am a big fan of, so anything that they recommend I know I will find useful. I’m also a big fan of Frank Frazetta’s style of painting, so in lieu of using up a lot of space and money on oil paints, I would love to recreate his effects in a digital medium. It’s one more thing on top of everything else, but that’s kind of the point; I need to keep my momentum going, and anything that keeps me busy is good. With any luck, once I start churning out non-comic art on a regular basis again, it’ll end up on the site in a separate gallery before too long.
In terms of things other than art, it’s currently NaNoWriMo season, and I have elected not to partake; all my previous attempts failed dismally, and I just do not have the time or energy to try again this year. It’s a shame, because I did come up with an idea that might have benefitted from some concentrated writing, but I’ve got enough going on right now. At minimum, I have to focus on the scripts for the next Showcase issue, since I’m going to be leaping directly into that in December, so a novel isn’t exactly on the cards. Add it to the list for next year.
Think that covers everything for this week; keep reading the Fifth Ace Showcase, and I’ll see you next time.
Ciao for now.