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!!
YAAAAAYYY!!!!!!!GO FOR IT HANS!
It wasn’t an okay news for me..
..It was GREAT news actually.:D
It’s good to hear that you’ve been working diligently on the story. I know you wouldn’t abandon this for anything but the lack of updates scared me a bit. Still, I didn’t lose faith in you.
You’re already talented with structures and landscapes as is, with what you’ve shown us in the first volume. And now you developing the Alatus Institute in that aspect makes me..giddy. (for lack of a better word)
Anyway, here’s to hoping for more great things coming from you, Sir Hans. Good luck!
YES. I’m so looking forward to your new site. =) Been following you and your comics for years now and am glad that you’ve been working on this in your spare time.
Your structures are already amazing, but I admire how you still drive yourself to go beyond that. Best wishes!
You’re BACK! :) :D :D
Personally I like the website layout perfectly fine, but whatever you say :) Question- When you say “blogs for each of the student council members,” do you mean you will be posting as them or are you setting something like an RPG up?
Whatever you do, best of luck and THANK YOU!
Keep us updated! ~Silver
Yay for an update on what you’re doing Hans :D It’s great that you’re still working on something comic-related, and I know I’m definitely willing to wait for the main story line as long as little things like what you’re doing are coming ^_^ Even status updates are amazing!
We love you Hans!
:D It’s a happy day to see you alive.
The idea of updating the site and adding new things sounds awesome! If you need any help with writing, please let me know.
Best of luck,
Turner
Thanks for your kind words everyone!! Oh, but my structures weren’t that good!! D: I’ll post up some drawings I did in my perspective class this semester when the new site goes up so you can see what the updated Alatus Institute will look like :>
Silver: For the blogs, I-I was thinking about just writing as them, but the RP thing is interesting!! I might not incorporate that for the official student council blogs but maybe for something else?
If you guys have anything you’d like to see in the new Directions of Destiny website and/or the Alatus website, comment and let me know :D
This sounds great, I wish you the very best sir! Behind-the-scenes stuff can only make your job easier, because you have a stronger framework to lean on and it lends your world greater reality.
And I think anyone who is (or has ever been) a university student can’t help but sympathize with you. It really is a full-time job. On top of which lots of folk work, and most everyone has a social life. That’s a lot of time taken up… we only spend so many hours awake.
So again, best to you and keep it up! And any updates, even those without new pages, are always appreciated!
Hurray! Glad to hear about all the new stuff thats happening. Good to know you’re still working on the storyline and such behind the scenes, not just letting go and forgetting about it!
Sounds like you’re working hard, so whenever this does start back up again, your fans will be waiting! =) The new websites sound really great too. I’ll most certainly be checking back in January! And if you need more time, don’t stress about it, we’ll still show back up :P
Thank you for the reply, Hans! :D :D Can’t wait!! :)
Awesome news! I would love to see any doodle or concept art you’ve been cooking up! It helps know you are alive and still passionate about the series (like we all are!).
Thankyou so much for the update! :D
Dude, Hans is alive!?! That’s awesome. :]
I’m excited that you’ll be more interactive with your readers! :D It makes the comic (even though it won’t be updating for a while) seem even better.
Good luck!
WHOOP! :D Can hardly wait!
That makes me so happy! Honestly, I was a little worried with the lack of updates, but I certainly understand about being a university student. I could never even dream of doing a webcomic while tending classes full time! I am excited about the new website and even more excited at the thought of minicomics and blogs. We know so little about how the characters are when they aren’t fighting monsters and other such things, and they all seem to have such wonderful personalities. I am looking forward to getting to know them better!
Hey Hans,
OOC, what writing books have you been reading? Any books you’d strongly recommend?
The changes would be welcome, especially since I’d like to read what you have to say without reading them in a little box like that. I think the stuff you’re planning is great (looking forward to the blogs and mini-comics!).
But of course, I’m really excited about the story. I’ve only become a fan very recently, but I’ve been poking about here and there, and I’m intrigued to find out that this story’s been going on for quite a while. I believe an acquaintance even cosplayed one of your characters! (Over here.)
But I digress. Anyway, I’m really glad that you’ve gotten around to taking writing more seriously. (‘Cause writing’s a wonderful, if taxing thing.) I’m all for improvement, so I don’t mind waiting a few weeks (or months or years or a lifetime…well, I hope I get to read it before I die, anyway) to see your work. Take it easy, though. I know your work is tough (I mean, I only write, and it’s already hell for me).
Suggestions… Hmm, I guess you’re better off focusing on the story, and maybe promoting it a little. Those cool extras you mentioned are very welcome, of course, but people are more interested in the actual storyline. (Wonder if you can advertise in webcomic sites, though? It’d be awesome if more people could find out about this. The banners help, but not by much.:/)
I don’t care what you do to the site, I just want more Zeph <3
Good luck on everything!
^^ This sounds so awesome Hans! Go for it :) But I still can’t wait for the story to get back on a roll
YAY! The new layout is absolutely stupendous! :D :D
HAPPY NEW YEAR HANS! =)!
Yay! :) I’ve been following you for a long time now and I must say that your art and development is definitely one of the best online comics out there (from what I’ve seen so far.. plus you managed to publish it too!) I just want to say that I’m excited to continue following you until the very end. Please don’t feel despair. I know making a comic can be really tiring (and it demands a lot of time and diligence.. I tried when I was in middle school. totally failed). And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON’T EVER QUIT!! :( I’ve had a lot of disappointments when good comics decide to quit. (two to be exact. Saturnalia by spacecoyote to work on an acual published comic. and Lunar Souls by.. dunno who)
So.. this was a really long and really late comment. Just dropping by to encourage you and to tell you how excited I am :)
btw, like the new layout n_n
You should definitely amuse yourself by perusing through my email Hans! Go DoD!!