Here is spread 16 of reMIND. Click to enlarge.
There's nothing quite like publishing a graphic novel online. In the three plus years I've been working on my GN its been extremely hard to keep motivated. There would be months where I wouldn't even touch it and months where I was just too busy with freelance work. I'd try deadlines to spur myself towards a short term goal but that never lasts long.
I've never really understood what made me inspired but whenever I found that moment of inspiration I'd jump on it. Now I wonder if the inspiration came directly from someone's encouragement. This would answer why I was so rarely inspired to keep working on reMIND in the past while never showing anyone, keeping it top secret.
The reason I say all this is because these last few months have been an overflow of encouragement from so many people that it's making me big headed a bit. At the same time I'm finding myself in a constant state of inspiration. I'm not sure if it's true inspiration or just a fear of letting someone down if I don't update my blog or comic in time. Whatever it is, it's working and I'm grateful to you all.
A few things of note this week:
- Robert Howard wrote an incredible review of reMIND on his website Tangents.us. Here's the article: reMIND review. Thanks Robert for the kind words!
- Thanks to everyone who voted at TopWebComics, reMIND has moved up the ranks quite well this month with around 200 votes for February. As a thank you for your votes, I plan on showing samples of the next page or never before seen sketches when you vote from now on. Just a little incentive, I hope.
- DeviantArt featured a page of reMIND on Saturday. Man, that was a rush. Thousands of people came to my pages and I had over 100 comments. How very grateful I was for that! My wife wasn't, however, because it took me hours to reply to all the comments. We made up and everyones happy now. Thank you DeviantArt friends and fans!
- And last but not least, Victuals and the rat are friends. I hope I didn't just loose my whole audience.
Hate to be a nasty nitpicker, but I think there is a small spelling mistake in
the panel at the top right: "you useD to love …"
Otherwise, great stuff !
I'm glad you are a nitpicker. Grammar is my worst enemy so I thank you!
Thank you VERY much!
Awwwww.
haha aw, I like it
Rawls and Aves, Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
You're on a roll!
There's nothing better than clicking on my RSS feed button and finding that a comic was updated on the day it is supposed to be updated. I don't read that many web comics and am getting agitated with the ones that don't update on time, even if it's really good, it's a huge turn off. The fact that reMIND is very good and always on time is a huge plus.
This page looks great, There's something that I really like about the hot water heater next to the washer and dryer, it's a nice touch.
I love the idea of the bonus material for voting.
Congrats on all the exposure.
I hear what your saying about the tardy or nonexistent updates of some blogs or comics. I’ve been told that consistency is key with blogging or webcomics and I can see why after doing it a while. I really have great respect for the people who hold down a full time job and still update on time each week for years.
I’m starting to get through all my back log of pages now so I starting to sweat a bit. The second chapter has quite a few pages that still need some desperate attention. Luckily I have a small army now who expect me to deliver and there’s nothing better then other people in the deadline equation.
It’s always fun to hear what things catch peoples attention in my pages. The water heater next to the washer and dryer is an interesting thing to point out. I greatly appreciate your comments. Your new font is rocking, by the way!
The consistent comic update schedule is great, but don't burn out keeping us happy lol.
Hmmm, You might be right. I do tend to burn myself out on projects. I do have quite a few pages finished though so it will be a while before I run out of stuff. I've been working hard on it for a few weeks and then taking a few weeks off.
I appreciate your concern though. Partly I am doing this just to ensure that I get it done without any more long delays. I hate seeing another year go by with out much getting done.
One of the hallmarks of a successful webcomic is timely updates for the first 30 or so updates. If a cartoonist can pull that off, then fans see the cartoonist as reliable, and are much more likely to stick with a comic. As word-of-mouth can be a potent method of free advertising, this is more important than many cartoonists realize; it's one of the big reasons I urge cartoonists to create a buffer and then to work as if there were no buffer, using up parts of it only in emergencies or the like (and to later repair the buffer). It's funny, but if you update regularly at first, then later missed updates (if explained) are often forgiven by readers who've come to see you as reliable.
I'm glad you enjoyed the review, Jason. To be honest, I'd have been tempted to wait a little longer to see where the story is going (as I tend to put a large emphasis on story in my reviews and I've not quite figured where you are going with reMIND at this juncture) but the reviews tend to be part inspiration… and reMIND caught the Muse's attention.
Take care. :) I love the fact the cat and rat seem quite affectionate of each other. ^^
Rob H.
I think that totally makes sense to make a big buffer. I have a pretty big one with reMIND and it's a good thing because I would never been able to generate these pages in a week of off hours. I have learned a bunch of tricks that have helped me speed up my process and now that I have the style down after 3 years of working on it I've been able to get about a spread finished in a week (when I'm focused).
I can see how word of mouth is about as powerful of a tool as any. It's pretty hard to get people that excited though, but I see how consistent updates can play a big part in it. Thanks again for everything!
There's no surefire way of keeping your readership happy and keeping your updates timely. Eventually, life creates speedbumps you have to slow down for.
I've seen various release methods. Some artists just go with the flow and start drawing and posting every week, and if they fall behind, they fall behind. Others prefer to build a buffer (generally a month worth of updates) and release in that manner. I'm of the second opinion. My story is pretty slow paced at the beginning, in order to develop character and the scene. I figured that once I've completed roughly 10-15 pages, I'll commit to posting online. (I'm about 9 pages in now, so it will definitely be soon.
Seeing as my life schedule can often be erratic, I definitely want my posting schedule to be consistent. So having that buffer will help on those weeks where I'm falling behind. I also have a blog I'm trying to ramp up posting with to 3 times a week. So a webcomic placed in that posting schedule starts to cramp my time. There's no way I'd be able to rattle off a page every week from nothing, so I need that extra time to stay ahead of the game.
Agreed about the buffer. I was lucky to start reMIND way before I thought about putting it on the web. It gave me about a 6 month buffer. haha.
I'm super glad it turned out this way though because now I'm starting to get enough feedback to motivate me to get more pages done. I might have to take a short break after the first book (130 pages) is online because I have so little started on the second one. That will be a good year from now so things might change by the time I need to post those pages.
Yeah, life really does get in the way when it's a total hobby.
I found you here through Tangents, and I'm grateful to Robert Howard for the article. This is very, very good, and the blog and commentary is a real bonus. Thanks for sharing all this Jason. It might propel me to try something similar, and upload some art online.
May I make a suggestion though: avoid movement lines, they're most often not necessary. For example the last panel in spread 16 would work better without the lines, in my opinion.
I'm glad you found this site too! It's always nice to find out that I'm getting more viewers. I'm so glad you find the blog helpful too. I have some cool things in the near future to show. I've been working on a RGB vs CYMK video that I'm really excited about.
ANYWAY, If not for comments like yours, pointing out suggestions, then I'd keep chugging along never thinking about things like speed lines. It's funny that you brought it up because it's something I never though about before. I don't even know why I put them in there. I really appreciate the advice and I will definitely be aware of it from now on. I can see how the scene you mentioned could look better without them. If anything I'll soften them a bunch. Thanks again!
Nice looking pages!