Updates

The Alatus Gift Shop

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:07:18 -0800

It's been a little longer since the last entry than I had hoped for, but I'm back for some more site updates! A lot of things have been going on in the backend lately, including a server change that should speed things up a bit, and a slightly updated layout! I had quickly grown tired of the duller colors of the original new layout, so I adjusted the color scheme to have more contrast, and I decreased the size of the header a little too so that it's less overpowering.

Also, the three weeks before the new semester started I'd been working on figuring out a new shopping cart script for this site, because previously I had used this other program (Zen Cart) that was kind of ghetto!! It did its job but it was a major pain in the butt to use, and it was lacking a certain level of customization.

Namely how I wanted two stores to share the same product IDs and database and cart, but have different layouts with only certain products appearing in each store. If you ever tried to use the Shop link here, you may have been a little jarred by the fact that it takes you to a separate website with a separate layout and everything--I didn't want that! :O I want Directions of Destiny to be its own site and I wanted visitors have a more streamlined experience when they browse this site.

Long story short, I managed to find Magento, the perfect open-source shopping cart script that does everything I want, and after weeks of burrowing myself deep in code and support forums, I've finally finished the New Alatus Gift Shop!

Annnd the feature item right now is the new Section 2.1 book for only $4! :O! This was something I printed back in the summer to try to promote my comic at the summer conventions, and I've finally gotten around to making it available online. For those of you who were around back then, it is similar to the first mini-book I released back in 2005 for Sections 1.1 and 1.2, but this time it's just one chapter, but with lots of extra content! Notably, I've included a full breakdown of my comic-making process in the book, and there are a few new minicomic strips as well as some sketches and other stuff!

For the time being my store on my personal website is closed, but the cool thing is that when I get around to putting it back up I'll be able to have both that and the Alatus Gift Shop share the same shopping cart and everything ahhh I'm so excited Dx! Anyway, I think that pretty much fully wraps up all the site-maintenance stuff for Directions of Destiny, so from here on out I should be putting up much more comic-related content :D Check back soon!

New layout

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:43:00 -0800

As you may have noticed, I've managed to put up a new layout for this site like I said I would in the last entry! I hope that it makes it much easier to get around and more visually appealing for you. :D Also like I said, with this big ol' blog space on the front page, I plan to update more often throughout this year with various sketches and art and stuff related to the comic as I flesh out the script for the rest of the story. Please check back every now and then if you're interested!

As a bonus, here's the line-art for the two header character art I've done so far. Instead of using a pen to ink the line-art, I drew the sketch in blue pencil and "inked" it with pencil, and so I like the nice softer effect it leaves? I plan to add header art for the rest of the characcters too in my spare time.

A lot of things were going a little haywire in the background over the last few days as I was putting this up, but I think most things should be working properly now? If you find anything that doesn't work, please comment in this entry to let me know about it, or if you have any suggestions you should leave a note as well :>

Status Update

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:09:44 -0800

I have come to give you a report! I-it's not good news, but it's not bad news either really. It's...okay news?

After years of on-and-off hiatuses, I think I've finally come to realize that I'm probably just not built to tackle school and regularly update an on-going comic at once. D: That said, I have one year left and I'm graduating next December if everything goes as planned!! (I-if it seems like I've been in college forever, that's pretty much been the case.) BUT that doesn't necessarily mean that I won't update the comic at all until then!!

I started this comic out in a really haphazard manner, and even after so long, sometimes I would go straight into drawing after only scripting out a few pages in advance. It worked in getting me to just DRAW, and my comic-drawing skills have improved a lot from when I first began, but now I really want the story and the concept to hold up with the art!

Over the past several months I've been developing the Alatus Institute further, working out the details to the building exteriors and interiors, adding more structures to the campus, and fleshing out the surrounding landscapes and towns around the school and stuff. I've also been taking out two birds with one stone by making many of my school projects directly correlate with my plans for the comic, and lately I've been really into drawing environments, so what I hope this leads to is an Alatus Institute that is much more REAL.

Another idea I've been entertaining is turning alatusinstitute.com into an official school website, where information about the school can be posted along with other fun things, like blogs for each of the student council members, and regularly updated minicomics! Although minicomics aren't substitutes for real comic pages that progress the main story, they ARE a lot easier to draw inbetween classes and don't require any planning. I really want to go through with this idea soon so that I can at least share the fun I'm having with my characters before the real comic pages continue updating.

Finally, I've been thinking much more about storycrafting and plot structure over the past year. I've been reading a lot of books on writing, and from there I've been further solidifying my story--laying out all the scenes in the entire comic from here until the end and making sure every scene is constantly driving towards the finale and no panels are wasted on boring things that make a story drag! I've been making a lot of notes on the rest of the story that will get organized and polished into full scripted thumbnails which I plan to show my friends so that I can get some good feedback before drawing them out and publishing it online. I'm really pumped about taking writing more seriously!! :D

With all these things going on in the background, I really don't want to keep it all to myself! In two weeks winter break will come, and the first thing on my agenda is to redesign this website. It'll feature a more accessible and streamlined layout that is more blog-friendly so big-ol' written entries like this won't feel so cramped. I also want to post a lot of the concept art I've been doing, plus random sketches of the characters, and maybe occasionally story thumbnails and things like that to get reader feedback! It'll make things much more interactive around here, and by constantly updating with what's going on and getting lots of input, I hope that it'll make the comic even better!

I hope to have the new site done in January 2010, so check back often :D Until then, if you have anything you'd like to see in the new Directions of Destiny website and/or the Alatus website, or if you have any issues with or comments on the current layout, comment back and let me know!!

Section 2.1 ends w/ pg. 32

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:49:23 -0800

She kept him waiting.:[

Another sketch of Ryan is up at TWC

Ha ha so I actually updated the comic last week but I forgot to put the notice up on the front page about it. Er, ha ha. So if you missed the page just look back one??

END OF CHAPTER!!

There's gonna be a short hiatus while I flesh out the rest of Unit 2, only a few weeks this time though. In the mean time I'll also be working on the Section 2.2 cover illustration :B

Section 2.1 cont. w/ pg. 30

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:43:42 -0800

Ribbit

A sketch of Ryan is up at TWC

Otakon and San Diego Comic Con were great!! Thanks to everyone who came by my table at Otakon :B

I kinda had forgotten to update before going to both those conventions, ha ha D:

I. almost forgot to update today too. I lose track of time really easily :[ I'M SORRY!!

I have more things to say but I'll wait 'til next week >_>

Section 2.1 cont. w/ pg. 29

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:28:44 -0800

Done cleaning!

A sketch of Zephan again is up at TWC

Otakon is next week guys!!

k no time gotta go bye

Section 2.1 cont. w/ pg. 28

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:03:19 -0800

Douglas is still fixated on Azalea's hair, or something.

A sketch of Celan is up at TWC :B Remember that guy? He's Mei's friend.

Anime Expo starts today!! What are you guys doing reading this, go visit me at tables D15 and D16 in the Artist Alley!!! If you don't know where that is, check out my deviantArt for a lovely map :B

AND MY SPECIAL TREAT IS READY PLEASE COME BUY KTHX

Section 2.1 cont. w/ pgs. 26 & 27

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Does anybody ever find themselves accidentally fondling somebody else's hair? ...No? ...I see.

A sketch of Ryan is up at TWC :B

...Anime Expo is next week!! I'll be located at tables D15 and D16 in the Artist Alley, I've posted more details on my deviantArt journal :D If you're planning on going, please stop by!!

There'll be a special treat for you waiting :B

Section 2.1 continues with page 25

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:16:47 -0800

The comic

is back!

@_@

Just a single page this time, but as the summer progresses I hope to pick up the momentum :B I have the rest of the current chapter inked and lettered so things should move smoothly from here on out!

Thanks for sticking around, everybody :D

Incidentally there's a new vote incentive too ha ha D: A fancy Xin is available for viewing at TWC :B

...Additionally, I got a Twitter. D:

Updates Return June 18

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:46:27 -0800

So May came and went and many of you probably noticed that updates have not occurred yet. >__> Sorry about that! I shall now break down my excuses in a nice clean bulleted list :'D

School got more hectic as the semester came to a close
I got a job working as a graphic artist in my school's graphic services department
Fanime Con was the weekend right after finals (HELLO EVERYBODY I SAW WHO WAS THERE!)
Preparation for Fanime Con (and in turn the rest of the summer conventions) took up the better part of May
Commissionsss

That's basically the gist of it. The good news is I finished the semester with four A's and one B, and the comic is coming back Thursday, June 18!! In the meantime, I'll go back to updating the blog on Slime Mansion starting Monday with stuff I've been working on lately again. See you in two weeks here! @_@

EDIT JUNE 18: HAY GUYS THE COMIC IS BEING UPDATED TODAY!! ...IN A LITTLE BIT LOLOL :')

Hiatus

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:55:06 -0800

Ha ha, um, hey guys, it's been a while. D: I finally have a bit of free time this weekend though cause spring break is coming up and most of my major school projects are out of the way for now, so I got around to finally writing this blurb explaining my absence.

Basically, I'm still alive? It's not QUITE the dire barely-surviving situation that many of you might have expected though, for better or for worse. The story goes that my grandma left for Taiwan back during winter break soon after finals, and since my mom works two jobs and my little brother has tennis practice til 6PM on most days (HEY GUYS MY LITTLE BROTHER MADE THE HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS TEAM WOOOOO), I'm basically the maid/housewife now, lol. Also, four of the five classes I'm taking this semester are studio art classes which have double the hours and workload of normal lecture classes, so I haven't had a whole~ lot of time to do much else.

But I want to!! I feel like it's been so long since I worked on stuff for myself, and I really really want to be able to work on this comic especially, but every time I think that I'll have some time to do it, there's always some other project or household chore or some hungry mom or brother to feed that needs my attention more.

...That being said, um, screw that!! I'm gonna try to work on the comic anyway, because it makes me happy!!! ...is what I'd like to say, but it was easier to work on the comic before with my lecture classes cause I could bring them to class and just work on them while I listened to the teacher, but I can't really do that in studio classes since we're expected to actually work on our projects the whole six hours. :/ And most nights I want to just skimp out on cooking and get take-out instead, but in this economy and our current household financial situation (we're in debt is all I'll say ha ha), it'd be really irresponsible of me to needlessly spend money.

Still, I really do want to do more comic work! I even told a lot of people who bought my book that I'd have the second volume out by the summer conventions, except that's looking...less plausible now. But basically, my goal is to try to get the first two chapters of Unit 2 done by the end of the semester so I can do another little mini-book like I did in 2005 with the first two chapters of Unit 1. So if I want to do that, I'll have to SOMEway or another get my ass hauling on it in the immediate future, which means that updates ARE coming.

Sooo for now, tentatively, I'm saying that there'll be updates again around May. It could be sooner, it could be later, but I can't say for certain yet. I do know that my grandma's coming back finally some time in the middle of April though, so pretty soon I'll be relieved of my maid duties so I can dedicate more time to comic-drawing at home. :B

In conclusion, I apologize for keeping so many of you in the dark, but I have not and WILL NOT abandon this comic, because it really is like a child to me. In the meantime, I'll be periodically updating my personal website again with stuff I've been working on for school as well as general life updates, so you can tune in to that if you want while you wait. :D For the rest of you, see you again in May(?)!!

No comic update

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:23:18 -0800

Heeyy guuuyys, sorry I haven't been updating the past few weeks but it's finals time so I had been working on projects and studying and yada yada yada lame crap like that. I prrrobably won't have a real update for you next Thursday, but I'll have -something- to show for my time away from the comic! Until then~

Section 2.1 continues with page 24

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Cursed?

This week's vote incentives sketches showcase Zephan and ANOTHER Zephan! Please vote at TWC and Buzzcomix!

OH MAN YOU GUYS IT'S THANKSGIVING BREAK YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSssssss

Section 2.1 continues with page 23

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Cursed.

This week's vote incentives sketches showcase Chrystelle and Zephan! Please vote at TWC and Buzzcomix!

Oh my god so I had accidentally deleted pages 20 and 21, so I kind of need to redo those. Blagh!!

No comic update

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Guys. It's been a rough two weeks for me. I'll resume updates next week, for sure.