Hmmm...

 So...the comic will be going on hiatus soon for season 3. I know there hasn't been a lot going on in season 2 but rest assured, that's about to change. This comic is dear to my heart, and big things are coming with it. O e of those things is that I've decided to begin work on the book format once more. This way you'll  all be able to enjoy it as a novel as well in the future.

Other new things happening are my hand drawn comic. We're finishing up the cover art for it and workshopping a name now, so expect progress soon. 

Anyway, that's all for now.

It's been a while

 I haven't been active on here for a while and I'm sorry about that. However, I don't want to spend forever on here apologizing. I want to know what you guys think. I want to get some input on a decision I'm thinking of making. 

For a while now I've been unhappy with how my comic is going on webtoon. I'm working on redoing it, making it better, making it flow more like how it's book style format does, and yet I don't feel like it's really my art style. I feel like I'm still coming into my style as an artist.

What I mean by that is that I've always just drawn what I've seen. I can look at a cartoon character and draw them without fail almost every time, but drawing my own characters, what I picture in my own mind, it's a lot harder. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Ruyn's Game. It's my baby, but it needs changed. It needs updated. The characters need to become their truest versions of what I want them to be and I can't do that right now with how I feel. I want it to be better and it's going to be, but it takes time. 

So here's the decision I need to make. Do I continue posting every week, things I may not be happy with and then going back and fixing them later? Or do I finish this season's comic and go on hiatus until I fix the things I want to fix and then begin work on the new stuff only when I'm ready for it to begin instead of rushing to put things out?

I know how I feel on the matter, but I need your help. As my readers you help me to keep this going. I only have 7 followers and one of them is myself, but the comic has already been viewed 400 times as of this morning. I don't want to lose followers or views, but I can't let it be something I'm not proud of in the end. Please help me decide what I should do going forward.

Wow I suck at Keeping up with this

 I guess the title says it all on this one. I'm not good at keeping up with postibg on a blog, though I doubt that this even gets read by a lot of you. It's not really that big of deal, just that I'm not good at this really.

Anyway, the comic is coming along. This week's page is going to surprise everyone. It's already surprised me. I think it's probably the best so far, other than last week's Easter post. That one was fun to draw. I especially loved giving them bunny ears and Alarik's startled expression at Marisol leaning on him. She's usually not one for physical contact. Lol. I can't wait for you to see what's next.

On the topic of the comic, there's going to be some changes made to past pages. I'm reworking some things here and there, making text bigger and easier to read and redrawing some of the panels. It's all so that I can progress on getting the comic ready for It's first printing run. Not sure when that's going to be yet, but I'll keep you all as informed as I can. Until then, keep watching for new things to come.

New Things Happening

  So, all of you have probably read the newest page by now and you're probably wondering: What comes next? Where is this going? 

Well, I'm here to give you a sneak peek in a way. 

You see, the comic is based up of multiple parts and multiple characters, each with their own story and part to play in the grand scheme of things, and it reads in chapters so to speak. Right now we're in Chapter One. It's lengthy I know and probably comfusing at best, but I want you to understand each character before they enter the game. I want you to get to know them, to love them, to hate certain ones of them. I want you to feel some kind of emotion when you read these pages. Please be patient with me. I'm planning big things and I want you all to be excited for them.

Marisol and Alarik's story is just beginning. They have a long way to come for it to be complete. There are still more people involved. There are still things that no one other than Ruyn knows, things I, as the author, don't even know. I think the great Stan Lee thought along similar lines when he wrote comics. You don't know what's going to happen until you're drawing it. You don't know what the characters are going to do until they've done it and it's on the page. I mean, there's an outline, but it doesn't make sense until you see it there for yourself. Remember, this story was first an rp with a friend, then it was a book idea...now it's so much more than that. It's becoming something I'm gonna be proud of. It's becoming something I want to keep doing. 

I hope you all enjoy it. I hope you like Marisol and Alarik. I hope you see some part of yourselves in the pages to come...and I hope you understand why I've done the things I've done.

I'm really bad at keeping up with this

 Hi guys, so things have been a little crazy lately. I'm working on the comic day by day but it's going to need some updates and revising before we make it to the physical print stage. I'm hoping to be able to get that done after this first chapter is completed.

That being said, after the first chapter is finished there may be a short hiatus while revisions are made for getting it ready for print. The story will be the same, just the characters and scenery will get a slight update for their final looks. I'm actually really looking forward to it and I hope you guys will be too.

It's been a while

 Sorry about not posting as much lately guys. Some things have come up in my day to day life and while I know that's no excuse, I thought you should all know why the comic is delayed this week.

Ruyn's Game means a lot to me and I don't want to put out pages that aren't quite finished, but this week I have no choice due to medical issues. 

This past week I had to go up to Carle Hospital in Champaign for some testing due to my hometown doctor saying that something is wrong. They thought maybe it was an autoimmune disease, the first round of tests came back positive. They sent me to a specialist. They ran a second round of tests. I won't know until the 3rd what they found out. The specialist thinks it may just be fibromyalgia. If that's the case then it's a better diagnosis, but still not great. She prescribed a new pain med for me in the meantime. It makes me tired, but I'm still trying to get things done. It's just that right now there's a lot going on.

I'm sorry that this week's comic isn't ready yet. I'm sorry that I may have to post a sneak peek instead of a full page, but my health is more important and I hope that you all will understand.

New stuff Coming

 So the second page of Ruyn's Game is almost finished and will be posted early on Sunday. I'll also be creating an album specifically on Facebook for Ruyn's game so that it won't get misplaced with the other things I'll be posting.

Currently I'm looking at the different platforms of web-comics I like to read. I'm thinking about posting the comic on Webtoon which holds some of my favorite comic series currently and would be good for our growth in the future. I'm hesitant about it right now, but I may give it a try and see how it goes.

Anyway, the other new stuff is some fanart I'm working on. I have at least 2 new pieces for you all to see.

Here's to Sunday being right around the corner! I'll keep you all posted!

First Comic Post and Teaser

 So, I finally posted the front page of my comic: Ruyn's Game, today. I'm worried about how it will be recieved now that it's out there for everyone to view. This has already been a labor of love essentially and I would hate for it to be viewed in a negative light.

This series is special to me because it's the first thing I've created for myself. It's bot fanart of a series someone else made for a change. This is my series, my original characters, and it feels like a lart of my heart is now out there on display for the world to see. It's terrifying really.

I hope you all like Ruyn's Game as it continues to grow. I hope you'll like the different characters, the world, the lore. I hope you find characters you absolutely love and maybe some you love to hate. I hope this continues to be a challenge. 

Some of you know that Ruyn's Game was at first a book which I tried to write, lovingly referred to as CDT. Well, CDT is in the past. The comic is easier for me, it's more fluid, it's easier to write and to change. I just hope it's well recieved. 

I hope you'll stick around and enjoy Ruyn's Game as much as I'm enjoying creating it.

Finishing a comic page feels amazing!

 Well, it's finally finished. I've worked extremely hard to make sure it's absolutely perfect, or at least as perfect as I could manage as this is the first page of the comic. The style may change slightly as I get better, I've already improved a great deal as far as I can tell from my first digital art piece to now. However, you, my dear readers will have to wait until Sunday to view the newest piece. I have a schedule to keep afterall. I promise that the next page is going to take less than 2 weeks to complete of course, now that I have the coloring and style figured out for the individual characters introduced so far.

I hope you'll enjoy the comic as it progresses. I may throw in some interesting things from time to time as well, so pay attention...otherwise you may miss something that couod be important later on. As always I'm eternally grateful for those of you still following me. I hope to keep making you glad that you did so.

Work in Progress

 So yesterday was Sunday and usually I post my completed works before midnight. This week's post did not go quite as planned, and I'm sorry for that, but making comics is hard work and I'm still learning. That being said I did at least post something, even if it was just the lineart and a work in progress.

This week I'm focusing on color schemes for the different parts of the comic, the backgrounds, and the characters themselves. It's time consuming and at times rather frustrating as I try to get it just the way I want. I know some of it may not make sense right now, but I'm hoping that when it's done it'll flow together cohesively. 

Anyway, just in case I'm still not happy with it next Sunday I have some back up pieces for you all to enjoy. They're fanart pieces mostly, some doodles here and there, but I enjoy them so I hope that you will too.

Oh, and for anyone who was confused by the figure on top of the clock tower. Their name is Ruyn and the face is actually a full face mask done in a masquerade style. I thought maybe I should clear that up.

Keeping a schedule is hard

 Sorry that this post is a few days behind guys. Keeping a schedule is hard. I'm trying really hard to stay on top of it right now, but it's hard to keep track of which thing needs posted when and which platform I'm posting on. 

I know it's no excuse, but life happens sometimes. I usually work during the evening so I only really have time for art in the mornings or after I get home. I'm also teaching my daughter during the day and trying to make things for my etsy shop. Sometimes it's overwhelming. 

I'm goig to try to keep to the schedule better. I can't wait to show you all what I'm working on. Stay tuned.

Traditional vs. Digital and some shameless hints to my nieces.

 So I've been putting off posting about this subject for a while because it's just a lot of how I feel about the different art styles and such. I guess now is a good time to talk about it though. 

I love traditional art. It's where I started, something that took a lot of practice, and I still struggle with some things. I can draw lineart and fanart of characters that others have created without a problem, but drawing my own characters has always been difficult. I've never been good at doing things step by step with circles and lines and structure or armatures, but I'm learning that with digital art and maybe it'll translate to my traditional art as well, like with shading. I can't shade anything traditionally to save my life. That doesn't stop me from trying and I'd never give up traditional art to go fully digital, even with my nice new computer being a small reach away. I love traditional art too much to give it up.

Now about digital art, there's a lot to unpack on that topic alone. You see I was hesitant to try digital art. I thought I would hate it. I didn't want to try it, I didn't want to even talk about it. I was hesitant to even discuss attempting to draw on a computer. I talked to my Uncle Steve about it, and still I hesitated. I was afraid I'd be terrible. It was terrifying to try something new. My Brother in law Nick attempted to reason with me. At first I wouldn't budge. I didn't want to try. He sat me down with his computer and handed me the drawing pen. He encouraged me. I hesitated. My nieces watched. I didn't want them to see me quit before I'd even started. I didn't want to set a bad example. 

(My nieces Lilly and Lotus draw amazing things too. I'm thinking of featuring their art on my page if they'll let me.)

I decided to try. I tooka chance and I ended up taking to it like a fish to water. I hesitated. I got mad a few times, but I liked it. Now I draw on my computer every day and I doodle or draw traditionally as well. If it hadn't been for my family I would have never even given it a chance.

(Seriously though, my nieces are amazing. They do fanart that looks like it should be actual art from the series it's from. I'm hoping that they'll let me show you all just how amazing they are too.)

New art is up!

 Hey guys so I posted my newest art piece tonight. I'm going to be posting every Sunday, sometimes it'll be fanart like tonight's post, and other times it's going to be pages from the comic I'm working on which will be starring my own original characters. I hope that you all with like what I'm doing and keep following my progress. I may even post some work in progress shots here and there. Keep watching and I'll update again soon.

Comic art isn't easy

 Wow! So I guess I didn't understand what I was getting myself into, at least not really. This is so much more than just drawing a picture. I have to think about characters and placement, layouts, and the story. It's a lot to process. 

Right now I'm working on the cover and it's nowhere near ready. Of course it's only been 2 days working maybe 12 hours total, so not bad for what it is, but it's definitely not what I'm used to. Traditional art usually only takes me about 5 hours to do if it's not a fanart piece and even then it's nowhere near as complicated as I'm finding comic art to be. It's nowhere near as complex, especially because until now I was only drawing fanart. This comic is my art, it's characters I created, and it's something I want to do really well. I want to make you guys all proud.

That being said I am truly grateful for the fact that you guys believe in me. Thanks and keep checking back. New things are coming soon.

Coming up with a schedule

 Okay, so maybe this is totally random, but how do other artists come up with a schedule if when to release their art? I'm trying to come up with a post schedule and failing, like I just finished a piece of art, but do I post it the day I finish it or do I wait and post it on a specific day? It's so confusing.

I really want you guys to see some of the stuff I'm working on, but I'm afraid to post work in progress stuff currently. Like, I feel that it's not good enough to post if it's not finished. 

Anyway, I just finished a fanart piece that I'll hopefully be posting Sunday. Nick said something about converting it to 300dpi, whatever that means. I'm going to wait and see what he says before the fanart makes it to being live on my pages. I trust him, mostly because knows more about this stuff than I do, and also because he usually isn't wrong about the things he does help me with. Hopefully we can figure it out.

So it begins

 Well, I wasn't expecting to update you guys so soon, but life sometimes does that to a person. My mom is also an amazing person who decided to give me my birthday present early this year, 3 months early. Because of her I am now the proud owner of an Envy Hp 2 in 1 computer that can do all the things I need to further my drawing abilities and work towards reaching my goal. No, she didn't buy it for me, if you're wondering, she helped me to buy it. I still paid half. Either way, I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunity to show you all what I can do, and for the support of my family during this crazy ride. 

Finding the perfect computer definitely wasn't easy and it took more than just my mom and I to make it happen. I had a lot to consider so I enlisted the help of some people very near and dear to my heart, my uncle Steve, my husband Ethan, and my brother in law Nick. With their knowledge of computers and art programs I was able to get the computer that was right for what I wanted to do. Now I just have to make it work, (not the computer, it works fine), this whole whatever it is. To say I'm scared is an understatement, I'm terrified. I mean, what if I fail? My sister in law Jodi always finishes that question though with another, and that's: What if you fly? So here's to taking the leap and seeing what happens.

Trying something new

 Hey guys, so this is going to be something different I think, maybe it'll be a good different. I've decided that it's time that I begin working towards an actual tangible goal, and while working with rocks is nice and I totally love it, it's a collection and a hobby currently. It's not that I can't go further with it, but I've always wanted to work for Disney or some other company doing art or comics. I know it's a long shot, but I want to at least try, so here's my introduction into the world of my art.

Sometimes I'll be doing fanart pieces, mostly traditional since I haven't saved enough back yet for the computer or programs I'd need to do graphic arts. Hopefully that changes soon. Other times I'll be giving you guys glimpses into my characters and the comic/book they come from. Those are the kind of things I've wanted to do. I'm not saying that I'm any good, but it can't hurt to try, right?

I guess we'll see where it goes. Anyway, welcome to my artistic journey. I hope you all enjoy it.