So, Act two, track five is finished and published on the Gumroad store. So now the bucks will come rolling in! Well, no, but some downloads would be nice. I think this track is the most dynamic, loud one of the comic so far. I think the mice's attitude comes through really well and, while experimental, isn't so off that it throws off the rest of the comic. https://tblue.gumroad.com in case anyone out there forgot. As always, there was a bunch of stuff that needed to be done to get the PDF in shape. I had to make the cover above, edit the intro and copyright pages and re-export all the pages as I don't like the copyright tags on each page as it's obnoxious. There were also some pages that needed a little seeing-to so that it all flowed. But it's done and I can move on.

Smatt's cap is the current symbol for the cover. Don't know if it'll remain the symbol for the whole act. Eventually, everything will be under one roof and these will go away. I just wanted something to feel different and specific to someone other than Silas.

 There's been a lot of work since the last entry. There are tons of elements in this one, some of them photographic. What I needed to do was transition away from the mice, get them off stage in a way, and get to the lineless style I'll be using with Digby's chapter. There he is, lurking in the background. There was a lot of poking around with this one, shoving things here and there. It's busy but I think it works. Elements aim the eye to the lower right corner which is what I wanted, the mice are strutting, Digby is ready to take the stage. So now to continue on, after I take a look at the whole track and make any edits. Then, I'll collect it and put it on my Gumroad store, just to be consistent.

 Things haven't been so great lately. Work shifts have been longer meaning I don't have time to do much in the morning and I get home and I'm worn out. I haven't been doing my exercises, haven't been playing my ukulele or really drawing anything. The comic has been gathering dust and it's a page away from having its latest track done. Honestly, I'm utterly done with retail. I feel like I'm wasting my life. But what's a guy to do when those are the only skills he has to offer to make a living? Today, a day off in the middle of four days of long crap, felt closed in and exhausting. But in the end, I really just WANTED to get back to this, to draw something, to move forward. And I did. The ref photos are taken for the top half of the page and the first drawing is made and inked. So, it looks like nothing perhaps but it's movement. And for that, I'm happy.

 Just a bit of fun as I still manage not to get anything of importance done. Lead with the sword; that's a good idea. We'll see if he makes it to 2nd level.

 Just another bit of fun. Smatt as a barbarian warrior in his underpants, which is how they all fight apparently.

 Again, more play. This time, it's just me. I think there's still likeness in simplicity. It's not exactly my nose but it's still me in there. Again, just some fun.

 More playing about. What is fun about vector files is how you can come back and reuse them without much fuss. The background for the top image came from one of many Ghiroy development sketches from about six years ago. Beats the crap out of redrawing the whole thing. I really wish that comic had worked out. I still want to do something with fantasy but that comic and Delve Deep, which was its predecessor never gelled, no matter how much work I put into it. And it was a lot.

 It's one of those things where I happen upon a style I haven't used in awhile and am just having fun. At least I can recognize that now and let myself play instead of considering using it in the middle of a comic that's a totally different and clashing, established style. Drawing can be play and right now, I just feel like playing. Going through my old stuff, there are so many damned styles, most of them distractions that lead nowhere. I don't look down on them any more, I just see them for what they were; play. I like to play. It's not productive exactly but it is fun. And that's important, too.

 I won't be using this style for the comic, but I wanted to play. What I will say is that the background worked a lot better than I thought, looking a lot more like a drawing than the photograph it is. Just back from vacation, where I drew nothing, and it's slow getting back up to speed. Sometimes play is good for the soul, so this is just play.