It’s been a stop-and-start kind of week; every time I start on something, I have to stop because something else happens. I need a holiday…
You may have noticed the inconsistent nature of Fifth Ace Showcase updates this week; with everything else going on, I haven’t been able to get stuff done on that front. The day job has been wildly oscillating between nothing happening and frantic crunching, and I never know what it’s going to be, so I can’t slip any free time doodling in between like I usually do. Not to mention, the crunching is not triggering the manic side of my creativity at all; it all processes as incredibly tedious and unstimulating, which means I lack any motivation to actually do it. It gets done, because that’s my job, but I take no pleasure or satisfaction in it at all. Pretty sure this is an ADHD thing; I was never officially diagnosed, but I’ve picked up enough clues over the years.
My neck issues haven’t been as much of a hindrance in this regard as you might think. Naturally, I’d be more efficient if I didn’t have to wear the brace; all it really does is slow me down as opposed to preventing me from doing anything. I have to pop a pain pill every now and then, since my neck being held in one spot does get a bit strenuous, though it’s ultimately just something I’m living with at this point. I will say, with the weather as cold as it is, the brace makes for an effective neck-warmer; it’s the one part of my body that doesn’t immediately feel the chill when I step out of the office. Plus, while I can’t sleep comfortably in bed with the brace on, if I need a quick nap in my chair, it’s a surprisingly comfortable pillow substitute.
Even the weekend is going to chew up a bunch of my creation time; I’m running two games of D&D between Friday and Sunday, though I am getting paid for one of them. That’ll leave me with Saturday to work on comic stuff unimpeded, but I’ll likely use most of it just to recover from everything else that’s been happening. So if the current Showcase story doesn’t quite wrap up before the end of the month, don’t be too surprised. Admittedly, it’s not only the Showcase pages that have been on my mind.
I’ve been agonising over getting a cover page done for Fifth Ace Showcase #1 ever since I finished drawing it a couple of years(!) ago, but nothing I’ve come up with ever seemed to fit. I’ve gone through several iterations recently, and I think I’ve nearly cracked it; even if I do, you likely won’t see it on the main site for some time, if at all. Because, once the cover is done, and I’ve found the time to draw the backup Nadir story, it’ll all be displayed in its entirety in downloadable PDF form, most likely on a funding site or somewhere like itch.io. It might even reach printed format someday, though I’ll probably have to launch a Kickstarter to get the kind of money I’d need for the cost.
Once again, it’s all a lot of planning, only so much action; I just don’t have enough hours in the day or energy in my body. I’m prioritising the important stuff first, and that means my health and my family. Everything else, no matter how much I want to get done, is secondary to staying alive and keeping my connection to my loved ones strong. We’ll see what I can fit in between all that by next week.
Ciao for now.