I’m no longer working on this comic, just keeping it here for posterity’s sake.
I think I’ve decided on doing one page of IFF a month, and however many AHS pages I can fit in after that. The problem with this is that IFF pages always hurt my wrist like a motherfucker. Dat color is so pretty though.
In an ideal world this wouldn’t be an issue for my wrist and I would be working faster. Also, AHS would be in color too…
A more realistic alternative might be: Hoping the Patreon grows to a level where it can sustain me AND I can take a bunch of the money and throw it at another artist to help me out. Still unrealistic, since I won’t be able to update IFF fast enough to grow that audience if I feel like taking a week off after each page when doing it on my own. AHS would also suffer from this.
What to do?
By the way, the Patreon for this comic is separate from the AHS one, because some of the subject matter might not be for everyone. That’s why I split it up like that: http://www.patreon.com/pa
I’m no longer working on this comic, just keeping it here for posterity’s sake.
This Chris guy is not the brightest.
I drew this page while having a hole in my leg, hooray!
For everyone pledging toward my AHS Patreon, I decided not to include these IFF pages in there, because some people might not want to support one or the other comic.
It seems like the best solution at this point is a second Patreon for all the side comics I plan on doing: http://www.patreon.com/pa
I sometimes feel the urge to change it up a bit. Especially if you consider that I will be working on AHS for many years to come.
So, I guess this secondary Patreon is for all those side comics!
If you’re considering backing that one, keep in mind that some of those side comics may contain some adult stuff, so be aware of that before pledging.
Also, I will only be doing one of these a month at best.
Most of you probably already know that I’m having problems with my wrist.
It almost feels like my arm is slowly turning into a gnarled piece of wood.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome + Tendinitis = Ow.
Here’s what I’ve been doing so far:
- I slowed down my comic making in order to let my wrist recover.
- I didn’t work on IFF at all, because that comic makes my hand curl up into a ball of pain just from thinking about it. :c
- I got a wrist brace.
- I’m taking some Vitamin Bs as a helpful reader suggested.
- I try using my left hand for more menial tasks.
All of this helped somewhat, but it seems that as soon as I do anything, the pain returns.
A few weeks ago I started exercising again, did some weightlifting and the pain was back in full force.
I didn’t even use heavy weights or anything, so why is this happening?
Turns out I have a thing called Hypermobility.
Hyper flexible joints can have different causes, but one of them is “A Type 1 collagen or other connective tissue defect”.
In other words: My ligaments, muscles, tendons etc. are softer than normal and thus more prone to damage.
This means heavy physical activity is bad, but so are lot’s of small repetitive motions… You know… like drawing.
I’m not going to stop drawing though! I’d rather kill myself.
I really haven’t been doing well recently, because it’s getting more and more clear to me that this probably isn’t something that’s going to get better. I’ll just have to learn to deal with it somehow.
Thinking about things:
- Taking a real break.
I’ve been taking breaks on and off for some time now, but even when I am not drawing comics, I couldn’t really avoid using my hand for other work.
Gotta avoid using that hand somehow, if I take another break. - A more ergonomic workspace.
You can see my current workspace here.
Being hunched over that tablet all the time is probably not the best for me.
I’m still debating on saving up for a Cintiq or something similar, but cheaper. However, a part of me feels like I might not like it because it could actually be too big for my taste. - Be less of a perfectionist.
The thing with digital art is that it makes it possible to be a perfectionist.
Unlimited undos, erasing doesn’t damage your paper, ability to zoom in, etc. I’ve spent much longer on each individual page since I switched to digital.
Being a perfectionist seems like a bad idea if you’re not perfect. I wouldn’t even consider myself a good artist, but spending hours just refining stuff masks some of my shortcomings at the expense of my wrist.
I might have to lower my standards a bit to a more realistic level, especially considering my condition. I do want to finish this comic, as well as some others, within my lifetime. 😐
That’s all I can think of right now, if you have any suggestions, leave a comment.
I’m no longer working on this comic, just keeping it here for posterity’s sake.
Chicken scratches!
So, it’s actually been a year since I started doing this comic.
I managed to make nine pages…
Well, maybe ten if you count the desktop, which I am pretty damn proud of!
But I wanted to finish at least one page each month, without neglecting AHS… So much for that!
The biggest problem was the whole carpal tunnel thing and some other rl issues.
My wrist has actually gotten better recently, thanks to some helpful advice from my readers!
Another problem: One of the reasons I am doing this comic is to experiment with coloring, and while I am getting better, I am also finding new ways to spend even more time on each page.
If I ever want to finish this within my lifetime I might have to learn to dial back on the details a bit.
And yes… This was the page I finally had to give the main character a name and I named her Mina. Because who am I kidding? She’s basically an alternate universe version of Mina.
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