Good day readers! It’s been a while yes? I’m sure you have noticed that the title for the blog entry says “monthly” rather than “weekly”, well that’s because I have decided to make things more streamlined and easier to manage. First things first, I will still post now and again outside the scheduled “Monthly Update” which is going to be a round-up of all the things that have happened through the month…think of it as a newsletter of sorts. I’ve started with zero just because I felt like it really. Just so you are aware; the monthly update will actually be at the end of every month, I have posted this one early because I was just too excited to share what I have been doing and what my plans are.
So, the first big reveal; I HAVE A DESK! Just this minute I finished setting up my scanner and other gadgets for my beloved PC to work again, I will eventually have to put it away in the future, as my room is still not exactly finished yet in terms of the building work we have going on, however my room is no longer the storage space it was previously being used for, so now 90% of my furniture is inside, and only a handful of other peoples stuff is taking up the last bit of space the remaining bit of furniture will eventually occupy.
That aside, here’s what’s happened so far while away from my PC
Artwork Galore!
I have been taking full advantage of my time away from the PC, away from the temptations of digital-colouring and editing, and was forced to go back to traditional mediums (for colour) I haven’t touched in 10 years. I drew a large wash of concept art for my next book projects, colouring them in marker pens, and even painting some landscape concept art in oils, a medium I haven’t really used before.
Instead of flooding my site’s gallery with this concept art, I have opted to share photographs of them on my Twitter and Deviantart gallery. To see the artwork in full resolution though you will only find them on my site, and watermark-free in the books when they are finished. You can find more on my Twitter and Deviantart pages.
Writing Bonanza of Doom
It took some time getting use to my portable notebook device to write on, which doesn’t exactly have a keyboard (it’s more like a touch-pad), but once I got into the flow of things I was quickly back on track to finishing off Specimen G-13! The book is less than 2 chapters away from completion of the first draft, before it makes its way into the queue for proofing and editing. This time around however, I have decided to do the first run of edits myself after re-reading the whole thing as soon as it is finished, just to iron out any inconsistencies and plot-holes. After my first edit, I will then slap it on top of the mountain of other books my proof-reader/editor has to work on. This book is my largest one yet, and means everything to me, so I want to make sure it gets the love and attention it deserves, so I cannot give any estimate on when it will be launching as I am sure it will go through at least half a dozen editing phases…bigger books mean more work! The story I wanted to tell has wound up bigger than I thought, and what was going to just be the first book in a pair is so large I am actually having to break the whole story into 4 volumes rather than the originally intended 2.
I have been doing some minor writing for a few of the Jinimaru guides and the next line of Jinimaru Folklore stories, but really I have been focusing almost entirely on writing Specimen G-13 (part 1) and the Guidebook for Edris, which is critical for expanding the next stage of Specimen G-13’s story. All-in-all, there’s a lot of writing going on still, but as usual my proof-reader and editor is swamped with their own work so nothing is ready to publish yet. You may find one day that suddenly a bunch of books are ready to get published at the same time! I will keep you updated as the writing develops, but as of the time writing this blog post, I cannot give any estimates of when any of my projects will be published.
Comic-On? Nope, it’s Off for now.
I have my sketches and some partially inked pages for Issue #2 of Subject 218’s Comic Edition, but I have been advised to not juggle so many projects at once by a few people, so for the time being the comic is on hold. I will finish Inking Issue #2 and will continue to draw the line-work, ink where I can, but colouring/editing/etc will all be left for a later point where I have fewer projects to deal with. I understand this may be a disappointment for some of you, and I do apologise for the inconvenience, but I will be returning to the project in the near future.
The Best Little Dinosaur
RAWR! It’s Donisaur! book #1 has been a hit with the sample kids I’ve given free copies to, and I can’t wait to give them book #2! That’s right, the sketches are now ready for the next book, which is about a group of silly Ceratopsians who can’t keep out of trouble! I have made a few minor changes in the book structure, again out of advice from a few people who think I am putting too much work on my plate to manage. Before I was going to do a book each for 10 different dinosaur species, but that is going to change now to allow me to put more species into the project, without having to make the series insanely huge and over-complicated. So here’s a brief idea of how the books will be from now on:
Vol 1: T-Rexes
This book introduces the two boys who are learning about other Dinosaurs, and where they fit in the food chain.
Vol 2: Horrid Horns
This book covers the Ceratopsians, namely Triceratops, Styracosaurus, Torosaurus and Psittacosaurus.
Vol 3: Crafty Crests
This book covers the Therapods who sport crests, namely Dilophosaurus, Allosaurus, Carcharadontosaurus and Cryolophosaurus.
Vol 4: Tricky Tails
This book covers the Herbivores who have special tails, namely Stegosaurs and Ankylosaurs.
Vol 5: Spinosaurs
This book covers the Spinosaurs, namely Suchomimus, Baryonyx and Spinosaurus.
Vol 6: Rascally Raptors
This book covers the Raptors, namely Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Microraptor and Balaur bondoc.
Vol 7: Special Spikes
This book covers Dinosaurs with strange spikes on their bodies, namely Iguanodon, Carnotaurus and Gigantospinosaurus.
Vol 8: Harmonious Hadrosaurs
This book covers the Hadrosaurs, namely Parasaurolophus, Corythosaurus and Olorotitan.
Vol 9: Bizarre Birdies
This book covers the bird-like Dinosaurs, such as Gallimimus, and Archaeopteryx.
Right now I don’t have any plans to progress Donisaur beyond 10 Volumes. After reaching Volume 9’s conclusion, I will be making the final volume via poll result on which Dinosaur to cover that hasn’t already, along with opening up the design of the winning dinosaur to public vote, but that is quite a while away, so for now we’ll leave it at that.
RAWR! It’s Donisaur vol-2: Horrid Horns will be available Summer 2020. I intend on releasing vol-3: Crafty Crests by Christmas 2020.
The Future of Articles
I had recorded a bunch of videos to finish my G-Fuel Review in August, but by the time I had concluded my videos my PC was boxed away and I couldn’t finish it…and I am glad I didn’t; the footage I recorded was god awful, so I will instead be doing a conclusion video and wrapping up that article sometime in the new year. The missing pictures and segments of the article will be filled in during next week.
As for the future of articles on the site; there will be more, when I am doing less projects or when I find a subject to cover in better detail…so for the time being new Articles will not be coming for a short while.
Final Thoughts
I probably forgot something in this blog, there has been a lot happening during my absence, but I am sure I will remember something next week and can always post a smaller update when I do! Anyway, I won’t doddle any longer; I have a lot of pictures to scan in, and a book to finish writing. It’s all very exciting, and I can’t wait to see what 2020 brings.
Thomas