Directions of Destiny

Section 2.1 continues with pages 18 through 19

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Azalea's OCD alert is going off again.

Ryan and Libelle are here for this week's vote incentives. :> Vote at TWC and Buzzcomix!

I got a motorcycle license!! 8D

I'll catch up with the comic in time for next week's update :>

Section 2.1 continues with pages 14 through 17

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Nice to meet you, Sebastian and Claudia.

It's Douglas and Zephan again for the vote incentive sketches! I-I forgot what exactly the person who requested Douglas for their pre-order sketch had specified. "Sexy"?? Additionally you can put Zephan's vote incentive sketch to the right of Douglas, and it'd be kind of like Zephan's glancing over in that way. Vote at TWC and Buzzcomix!

You may be wondering why you're seeing pages 14 and 15 again, and why they seem considerably different from the pages 14 and 15 from last week. Well, this is because LOL HANS IS A GENIUS!!! Where by "a genius" I mean "mentally deficient." :[ So I've been working on a lot of my pages at school these days to squeeze in as much comic-time as I can, but the day I worked on pages 14 and 15, I didn't have my script on hand! So, naturally, I end up forgetting about five lines or so of dialogue. AAAuuuuuuggh!!

Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed the missing dialogue until after I had put the new pages up last week, so the fixed pages are going up this week instead. These are the pages as they were originally intended, but the layout's been changed too from last week's to accommodate the extra panels. I'm sorry!!! D;

Mmm, well, come back next week :D

Section 2.1 continues with pages 12 through 15

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

In Japan it is apparently rude to talk on your cell phone while walking in public.

Douglas and Zephan are here this week for the vote incentive sketches! Vote at TWC and Buzzcomix!

This update marks the first time in over four years where the comic has finally progressed beyond the furthest chronological point reached in previous versions! For people who have been following this comic for a while, you may have remembered the previous scene with Luka appearing in the old version of Directions of Destiny right before the story was completely overhauled. Although the current version of the story has covered much more plot elements up to this point, as well as changing several plot elements altogether so that the Luka scene has a completely different meaning in the current version, the time line of the Alatus Institute had never gone past this point...until now!!

...This is probably only exciting to me. ;D()()

Anyway, welcome to all the new readers this week :D See you next week!!

Section 2.1 continues with pages 9 through 11

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

It's always a little awkward when you walk in on your brother in the middle playing with his sword.

Our main protagonists Zephan and Azalea are here for this week's vote incentive sketches :> Vote at TWC and Buzzcomix!

If anybody had trouble commenting, sending an e-mail to me, or shopping at the Mansion Boutique over the last few weeks, those problems should (hopefully!!) be resolved now because I've ditched my old website server like a germy old rag!!

I also added a bit more navigation to the comic display pages, namely a Subscribe to RSS Feed link and a Return to Archive link. Info page has also been tweaked slightly with a new synopsis.

That's all for this week, Adieu, adieu~

Section 2.1 continues

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Oh Luka, stop showing off.

Sorry to anybody who expected the previous scene to continue in this update! Heh, heh, heh.

So um, I got interviewed last week! By the Animenewsnetwork! I-I guess you can read it, if you want? The journalist made me sound much more coherent than I actually was. Nonetheless, there is one thing that I want to clarify about the interview. Some parts mention me re-writing and re-drawing certain parts of the story since I published Unit 1 two years ago. This is not what you think!! I had actually not been redrawing anything, but I HAD been re-writing FUTURE chapters of the story from my original draft, especially chapters here in Unit 2.

So that's what I had been doing the last two years regarding the comic: re-imagining the rest of it, in my head. So don't think I spent the whole time redoing the whole thing again!! I didn't!! @w@()()

Aaaanyway, it's Zephan week for vote incentive sketches, so check them out! Buzzcomix and TWC!

Until next tiiiime~ :>

Section 2.1 continues

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Truth be told, I've been looking forward to drawing that first panel on page 6 for perhaps two or three years now. :9

Vote incentives are going back to the pre-order sketches for the time being, so check them out at Buzzcomix and TWC!

See you next week! :D

Section 2.1 continues

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:26:08 -0800

A bit overprotective?

Updates have officially returned. :D I'm making an oath to myself that I won't miss updates ever again!! Otherwise I'll punch myself in the face. :[

The vote incentives are back as well, and this week rather than going back to uploading the pre-order sketches, I'm putting up two inked drawings I did recently! Buzzcomix has an inked sketch I did of Azalea when I was playing with a friend's technical pen. (Conclusion: I didn't like it!) And TWC has an inked group collage of the student council members which I did kind of for fun, and to get back into the swing of drawing my characters?

My friend Yuko had given me the bright idea to try using cheap Wal-Mart cardstock paper for my comics instead of the printer paper I had been using this whole time, so this picture was kind of a practice run with the cardstock to see how it accepts the ink. (Conclusion: I like it!)

Anyway, um, I think I'm done rambling for now. Bookmark or subscribe to the RSS feed of my personal site if you're ever interested in seeing my other artwork, or just reading my journal, because I plan on doing more of that now! :D

Updates Resume Next Week!

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0800

First thing's first: updates will most definitely be resuming come next Thursday, August 28th!! I've been making more breakthroughs in the script for the overall story lately, so I am very excited to get this thing back up and rolling! I've got the next several pages inked already so there should be absolutely no excuse for me to not finish something.

Also, I finally got my butt moving with finishing streamlining the layout for this site! This includes all the sub-sections like the Guestbook and Links, and but the whole site is now a lot more unified! :D What haven't been streamlined however are the Shop and the Forums--for the shop, I've simply linked to the Mansion Boutique at my portfolio site for now, and for the forums, eeehhh that will just have to wait. 9_9

Additionally, I've also updated the Gallery with all the current illustrations I have related to Directions of Destiny, as well as FAN ART!! Some of which have been sitting in my E-mail Inbox for over two years waiting to be put up @w@! So definitely give those a look :D

Links have also been updated to reflect most of my current webcomics reading list.

Otakon came and went and as always it's fantastic meeting all the Directions of Destiny fans in person! I'm sorry I ran out of copies of the book to sell, but I will definitely attend again next year, but this time with plenty of both Unit 1 and Unit 2 in stock!!

I'll see you all next week with the update!! 8D

Another Status Update

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0800

First of all, Otakon is coming up this weekend in Baltimore, MD, and as I had mentioned before, I will have a table in the artist alley! So if anybody is planning on going, find me at table C5! Comment if you're going!

For people who aren't going to make it, don't feel too left out because over the past week I changed my personal site to include an online store! You'll be able to find everything that I've been selling at these conventions over there, including the Something Colorful artbook! Furthermore, in addition to PayPal, the store also accepts payments through Google Checkout, as well as automating check and money order transactions so you don't have to print and fill out a form! ;D Check it out!

Incidentally, my personal site itself got a nice facelift too. :3

Since I last posted, I managed to move back into my mom's house, although everything's a complete mess! I've been living on the couch of the living room this whole time because we haven't cleared out enough furniture for me to establish myself in an actual bedroom, but we're hoping to get that underway after I get back from Otakon. Because of this, I haven't been able to work on the comic pages since there's literally no physical space for me to do so! :[ But what I HAVE been doing is planning out more of the plot, so when I do get those pages underway they should pan out smoothly?

As for my laptop, it finally got fixed too! It turns out that they had to replace the whole motherboard along with the cable connecting it to the LCD. >_o BUT it's been working splendidly now, so glad that's been taken care of. :Db

Anyway, I'll definitely get back to work on the comic when we get all the furniture in place. Until then, I'll try to keep you regularly posted!

Status Update

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:51:36 -0800

So the good news is that the crisis mentioned in the last update has been resolved! The bad news is that I will have to move back to my mom's house, so I'll be busy doing that for the next few weeks. >_o

Aaand more bad news is the fact that my laptop's back in the shop now for the THIRD TIME. It's still the same problem as before, which I thought was fixed the first time around, but I guess it was just biding its time?? So they never actually figured out what was causing it until this afternoon when the screen messed up and froze again, and rather than just trying to turn the computer off and back on like I used to do, I just brought it into the shop in its frozen state and told the guy, "THIS is what my laptop's been doing for the past MONTH AND A HALF!!"

So I guess it's got nothing to do with overheating and everything to do with the graphics card (which is integrated into the motherboard) being messed up? :< Hopefully it'll be fixed some time next week.

Anime Expo was pretty cool, although I was nervous about it because it was the first convention where I had already brought Directions of Destiny to before. Of course everybody who bought the book the first time two years ago gave me a hard time about the second book not being out yet, but I don't blame you guys. 8D()() It does motivate me to work harder to get the second book out by next year though, so wish me luck >3<b

And for people going to Otakon, table assignments have been given out, and I will be sitting at table C5! See you there~

An Update on the Current Situation

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:42:16 -0800

Okay, so first of all the laptop got fixed and it hasn't really given me any more problems since the repairs were done. However, Anime Expo is coming up next week so that takes priority as far as what I need to work on right now, but other than that things have been going down here at my apartment that have been very stressful lately, which is why I haven't been able to update at all.

The most minor of the problems, although it'd still given me endless amounts of grief, was Rupert's (my cat's) inconsistent toilet habits. Ever since I left him with my mom while I was gone to conventions, he'd been peeing and pooping all over the apartment instead of in the toilet like I had trained him to. Before I left for the conventions he was really good about using the toilet, but since I came back it's like he'd been detrained. For the past three weeks I had tried to keep a constant watch over him to make sure that he didn't leave me any presents on the floor, and some nights I would stay up all night just watching him because it would be maybe 12AM and he would start acting like he needs to go, but then it'd be 5AM and he still hasn't gone, until finally I fall asleep at 7AM to wake up an hour later and find that the whole apartment smells like crap. Suffice to say these are not ideal working conditions. Today, however, I gave in and put him back into a litterbox on top of the toilet, where I plan to retrain him back up towards using the toilet, but at a slower pace that's more comfortable for him. I think that if he can associate the bathroom and the toilet with elimination again after getting used to using the litterbox on top of the toilet, he'll stop doing it everywhere? So um, that's one issue taken care of for now?

Another issue was the $700+ which one of my old roommates owed me for his final rent payment. I don't think my roommates and I left on good terms, especially after certain events that happened halfway through their stay; and even after a year I still have no real insight to their character, so for all I know the guy could just up and leave and not return my money. I would be able to get a hold of him sometimes, but he kept saying that he'll pay me later, he'll pay me later. I kept telling him, "Well, okay, take your time," because I wanted to trust that he's not in fact a terrible person and he won't just make off with my money. But finally, it was last Saturday, and I was calling him while he was at the airport about to go back to Japan for forevers, and he's still telling me that he'll pay me later. By this point I've practically chewed my whole hand off with anxiety. Anyway, the short of it is that at long last, yesterday one of his friends came over to drop off his money and forge his signature to cancel his lease. (The other roommate who had left earlier hadn't signed his lease cancellation letter either, but I just forged his signature myself because I had already collected his debt. 9_9) So that's one more thing off my chest.

The most dire of my problems however had just reared its head to me within the past week, although I should've seen it already from miles away. It has not been resolved yet, so I'm not going to talk about it, but basically if worse comes to worse I might have to move back to my mom's house. That in and of itself isn't so bad, but if it does happen, it will take a while.

Anyway, I really hope everything works out, but I'm not betting on the solution being clean and easy. Until then I'll try to squeeze whatever comic drawing I can inbetween, but I can't guarantee any consistent updates until everything's resolved. I apologize :/

Laptop broken D8

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:12:16 -0800

H-hey guys! Um, so the conventions the past three weeks have been fantastic, and it was wonderful seeing old fans of the comic in person! It really motivated me to work really hard this month to get a buffer of comic pages going on to ensure punctual updates for the rest of the summer!

...Except there is the minor complication of my laptop being in the repair shop right now. >_o I should've mentioned something sooner but augh no updates for like three whole weeks right after I said I'd resume updates == my eternal SHAME. But in any case, while working on prints at A-Kon, my laptop started to just freeze up completely and the fan would start going off right afterwards. It survived through the con all right because I managed to finish my prints before it really started going haywire, but since I've been back every time I tried to turn it on it'd freeze before I could even get past the log-in page.

So now the laptop's being fixed and I'm not entirely sure when I'll get it back. In the meantime I'll try to pencil and ink more comic pages? But to tide you over for now, I started updating my deviantArt gallery! Granted most of the stuff I'm uploading is already on my website, but eventually I'll get around to uploading some of the new fan art prints that I did for the conventions. :D

I'm hoping that I get my laptop back by next Thursday's update so I could put something up, so check back then!

No new pages

Thu, 15 May 2008 07:38:53 -0800

No new pages because I'm packing to go to ACEN!!! See you guys there for those who are going!!

No new pages D:

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0800

A-ah crap. So I'm missing this week's update because finals week is next week and I've got a gajillion projects due, apparently. 8( One of said projects however is for my illustration class, for which we were supposed to create a book cover for a book of our choice. I asked my professor if it was all right if I made a book cover for my own book, and she said okay! 8D So that's what I have to show for myself this week.

The original is on 18x24 hot press illustration board, and the whole thing was painted in gouache. Unfortunately the gouache I have is some cheap, crappy brand I bought from the student book store, so any time I wanted to blend anything it would act up on me and I'd go slam my head in the wall. =_= BUT IN ANY CASE it's done now, and I will be offering it as a print for sale at the conventions I'll be attending starting from *gasp* NEXT WEEKEND!

That's right, I'll be attending the artist alley at several conventions this summer all over the United States starting May 16, at Anime Central in Illinois! I've listed my full schedule in today's page update, and also here. Check to see if I'll be going to anything close to you, and maybe we can meet in person! :Db

My apologies for not having the new pages up this week, but I'll make my strongest effort to get it done for next week!!

Section 2.1 continues

Thu, 01 May 2008 01:24:58 -0800

All right, guys, here we go: the return of DIALOGUE. U-unfortunately it's not yet a dialogue since it's only a single speech bubble, on a single page no less. But next week I'll have two pages for you, and perhaps the week after I'll have more...?

I-I need some time to get back up to speed on this comic-making business is all. >_>

Anyway, today's the first of the month, and that means that vote counts reset at TopWebComics and Buzzcomix, which means it's especially crucial to get some good votes in now since if we get a decent surge of votes NOW then it means a decent surge of exposure for the comic, meaning more readers and therefore more PRESSURE FOR ME TO UPDATE MORE FREQUENTLY AND ON TIME...!! O-on second thought, maybe you shouldn't vote too much after all.

But the daily vote incentives thing is still going on, by the way.

Also, I updated most of the rest of the site with the new layout, but more significant is the fact that I updated the cast page profiles with real descriptions of each character! Albeit it's only maybe two sentences each, but augh I was up 'til 7AM one night just getting the new cast page up and working!!

Mmm, well, until next week!