Never a dull day for perpetually exhausted parental figures.
Pretty much what it says on the tin. I added the About section.
Issue 3 is still coming along. It’s about half of the way done and I’d venture to say it’s looking great so far. I’m working out a good time to start posting again but I feel like we’re closer to that time than not. The post image is from the current page I’m working on!
Except it’s neither cosmic, nor is it radiation.
A lot’s been happening with the comic in the background (and that’s the part that’s relevant!) as of late and for those of you still reading, I’ve figured that instead of simply telling you about it, I should probably show you:
There are still a lot of warm colors and outlines, but now I’ve also opted for punchier colors and hatch shading, giving the visuals some volume while also cutting down on how long it takes to illustrate each page. Ironically, with the time saved, I’ve started going in on more diverse and flashier visual effects, so it’s still taking me some time to get Issue 3 done. Currently, the plan is still for this to be a 36-page issue, but I’m considering posting again once I’m about halfway through the issue and posting one page a week, giving me time to finish the remaining pages, while also scheduling them to go up as they are completed.
It’s been nearly a year since Issue 2 finished, but I feel that the time taken to go back and reevaluate the direction I was going with Issue 3 was definitely the best call, as this really gave me the opportunity flesh out the pacing a lot more and give everyone a chance to really shine.
I’ll be back with another update soon…ish, but until then, please enjoy the new screens!
Fuckin’ YEET
Issue 3 is still currently in progress. Here’s a panel. It’s a meeple of Magnus being flung into a rock.
The end of the year was a super busy time, but production will be back in full swing. I’m moving to a new house and recently changed accounts at work so I still have a good bit of work ahead of me, but to give you all an idea where we are, as of this posting, Issue 3 of Electric Fencer is about 28% of the way complete and it looks absolutely gorgeous. You’ll have lots of bright colors and full page illustrations to look forward to, hence how much longer it’s taking to produce this issue. I’ll try to have another update before too long. Just know that we’ve got plans for Electric Fencer that’ll top last year.
I finally got around to doing something I’ve been wanting to do and made an update to the Characters page. The page in its previous format kind of…sucked? So I made a bunch of new key art for the main characters and some banners to go with them. I think they look rather nice myself.
Hop on over to the new and improved Characters page and check out everyone’s updated bios!
Just a quick sneak peek at what I’ve got cooking for Issue 3. I’m really fond of this new pen I made in Clip Studio! It’ll take some practice to get the line widths consistent, but I’m really digging the visuals.
A few life updates:
I’ve been hammering away at commissions, so I haven’t had nearly the time I thought I’d have. Either way, I’ve made time here and there to get back to work on the comic. Sure, it sounds like empty promises, but there have definitely been Electric Fencer-related things going on behind the curtain.
I’ve been working on that new-ish style for coloring, and it’s been showing a lot of promise with how quickly I can get illustrations completed (the image of Elliott and Andrew as children above was worked on and completed in only a couple of hours).
Work (the 9–5) has gotten to be a little hectic and draining to the point where it’s actively getting in the way of producing the comic, but for the month of October, I’m going to focus on getting back on track despite the situation. Electric Fencer Issue 3 will be up a bit later than I initially intended but it’ll definitely be worth the wait.
Speaking of which, updates on Issue 3: I wasn’t especially happy with the direction it was going and I figured rather than going forward and simply hoping the comic levels out, I decided to start from the beginning, but this time with better knowledge and more tools in my belt. The new coloring style practice has been a result of that effort. Additionally, Issue 3 will be our first BIG issue with it being a whopping 36 pages as opposed to our usual 24. I wanted to really give the characters a chance to show what they can do as well as touching on some other bits of character development before we go full swing into the adventure.
Tags have been added to each of the pages make your favorites easier to find. I’m new to this SEO business (I imagine some SEO guru out there is saying, “Ooh! He said the thing!!), but here’s hoping this little update will help each new page or post gain some traction and more people can find them.
The layout of the front page has been changed as well and now there’s a background to make the site not feel like you’re looking at a wall. There’ll more of these types of cosmetic changes in the future as well.
While you’re waiting for Issue 3, why not reread the series so far from Issue 1? I hear that’s a great way to build hype for a new season of TV, so maybe it’ll work here? We’ve also got our three articles in the Extras section—Sestius? Wait, What?, What is Klein?, and It’s a Fairly Large World, After All—covering some element of the worldbuilding for Electric Fencer. I promise you won’t be quizzed on it, but they’ll all play some role down the line in the narrative.
I’ve been out for the summer, but not necessarily on vacation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My day job has been keeping me busy, as well as commissions. I’ve actually been suffering from a slight bit of burnout from these two things, but even worse, I’ve been dealing with creative constipation in the sense that I really want to work on Electric Fencer content that will push the story forward, but I’ve had a ton of other responsibilities that have set me back. Mental health has also taken something of an asswhooping these last few months so all I’ve really wanted to do was sleep or play video games. I got back into World of Warcraft, which has been a lot of fun. If only a soul-sucking timesink could help get comics done…
So while I haven’t been as active in this space the last few months as I’d like, I do have some excellent news: I have an appearance this month at the West Virginia Pop Culture Convention (WVPopCon) from August 27th to the 28th! During our appearance at 3 Rivers Comicon back in early June, the showrunner for WVPopCon approached us and invited us to purchase a booth at the event. We’ll be there with books, stickers, buttons, prints, and the like for sale.
Speaking of books, we’ve begun printing hard copies of Issue 1 to sell at conventions. We’re still figuring out what we’ll do to make them available for sale through the site. Big shout out to the mad lads at Greko Printing and Comix Well Spring for always turning out super high quality prints for us in such a short time and just being super cool about it.
I’ve also been working on doodles and sketches moreso than I ever have in the past, and I’m thinking some of that will be coming forward in Issue 3. I’ve already informed our writer that I’d like to go with a simpler visual style than the ultra detailed shading we had before, and the results I’ve been toying with have been coming out pretty nicely. Have a look:
This means that Issue 3 is going to be restarted to employ the new art style as well as fix some minor inconsistencies brought about by the original way we were going about it. The goal is to still have something out by mid-late October at the absolute latest, but I’ll keep you all posted should things change. With this style, I’m hoping to be able to finish the art for each issue much more quickly than before.
I think that’s about all I have for now, but I hope to be back with more updates before long. See you then!
Best caption gets a high five at my next convention.
Speaking of which, I’ll be at 3 Rivers Comicon again this year from June 4-5. I was a late addition, but I’m glad to be there nonetheless. If you’re in the Pittsburgh area this weekend, come on by and say hi.
Hello! It’s been a minute. I’ve had public appearances and a lot of freelance to tend to over the past month, so it’s been a lot quieter here than I intended, but I finally have the first bit of supplemental material I promised. It’s a world map and with it comes a new article in the Extras section, It’s a Fairly Large World, After All. Unlike the other two articles, this one will be ongoing and info on new continents and nations will be added as we continue. Our first bit is a rundown of the continent of Laurentiis. Check it out.
Page 24 of Issue 2 has gone live, and with that, Issue 2 has come to a close. Thanks for following along thus far! Issue 3 is going to be great.
As previously mentioned, the comic itself is going to go dark for the next few months while I catch up on life stuff and progress on Issue 3. You’ve actually already seen a couple of shots of the next issue (the profile pictures for the distortion beasts are lifted from Issue 3). Here’s a few more, sans context:
As you can see, I went with slightly warmer, more vibrant colors and the characters are more expressive. This is actually the first issue of Electric Fencer that will be done 100% digitally. In previous years of my creative career, I started with traditional pencil and paper art, then scanned everything in and inked and colored the sketches. Switching to this method of production, I feel, has made for a more impactful and dynamic comic.
I’ll be back soon with more updates. Thanks for reading!
Issue 3
