There are reasons why Summerside is taking forever. At this point, the question is to the tune of … “well, of course X is going to do Y, X would be a fool not to, what with having the means, motive, and opportunity for grand success at it. How does our heroine escape that particular peril?”

I will actually script Summerside and get it up and posted one of these days. I swear. It’s just a lot more complicated than it looks on the outside.

Still working on video game content, but I’m pleased to report that scripting has started for Summerside, if only in fits and starts. I have one of the missing pieces that I needed for it to make sense. (:

Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving, if you’re in the US, and if you’re elsewhere, have a terrific day! (:

I have a guest strip up in the blog over at Little Vampires! Drop by and check it out, and check out Becky’s great comic while you’re there. (;

Hope you’ve enjoyed Springside! There’ll be full details on Tuesday, but I’ll be taking a short break for a while. This doesn’t mean no comics (there will be comics!) but it will be a bit before Summerside starts. Take it easy, and have great holidays!

My buffer for Springside is complete. All the files have been uploaded. They are ready for your viewing as soon as they hit the schedule.

I’ll be spending the next few weeks working on getting the house ready to move, working to bring you a terrific Summerside script and comic, and … yeah.

I’m shaking, right now, literally. Springside has been a huge effort for me, and I hope you all will enjoy the rest of the story.

Edit: I realize that I haven’t updated you on the doctor’s visit. My doc says I have osteoarthritic tendinitis in my shoulder. This came complete with a calcific deposit you could see on the X-ray previews. I wasn’t smart enough to take pictures to show you. D’oh. I’ll be headed to physical therapy starting this week, and hopefully that will help.

I’m back to having problems with my shoulder and hand. I’m thinking it isn’t actually carpal tunnel, but I may have slightly dislocated my shoulder. I’m going back to the doctor today.

All of the Springside comics are base-colored. I need to finish the detailing and the text.

I need to let you folks know that I will be taking a hiatus after Springside. Mark and I are planning on moving, and I will need every speck of time I can scrounge to make it work. I hope to be uploading Crow Feathers and bonus art pieces until I can focus my attention on Summerside properly.

I sketched the last eight comics of Springside today. Up next: ink and color. I’m hoping to be done with plenty of time to script Summerside, because if Winterside and New Year taught me anything, it’s the value of not having to rush your script. (:

For the record, eight sketches in one day is WAY more than I normally do. I usually can only manage four. I essentially did nothing else today.

3 1/2 hours
12 cedar shafts
12 pink feathers
24 red feathers
12 brass tips
1 6-arrow fletching jig
glue and more glue
====================
12 arrows, with momo-style fletchings.

(Yes, I know that those are clothing color combinations from the Heian era. Yes, I’m playing Kamakura era — we’re doing SCA. Yes, I know that Japanese arrows don’t look like that; that’s OK, I’m shooting them with a western bow anyway, because I will not dishonor a Japanese bow by shooting it without someone teaching me how.)

Aren’t they awesome? (: (: (:

The ones on the top are Mark’s. He made a dozen too.

I’ll admit, I cried yesterday when I heard that Steve Jobs had died. It was like losing Jim Henson all over again.

I’ve used Apples since they were Apples, before the Mac. My first home computer (which I had to share with my brother) was an Apple IIe. My first computer of my very own was a Mac LCII. And I’m typing this on a Modbook, a modified white MacBook that’s been turned into a tablet.

Steve Jobs and his company made the tools that make my work happen. And they are a joy to work with. The Apple, the Mac, the iPod, the iPad … they have shaped my life in so many very profound ways.

I am so grateful, Steve. Thank you for all the great tools you made for us. Thank you for the innovation and the care in making it easy for the user. The world will not be the same without you.

The last day of Springside, assuming I don’t change anything between now and when I finish, will be on America’s Thanksgiving, November 24. It’ll depend on how complex some of those pages end up being … one or two might get split up, and then it may run longer.

I don’t have a pad yet for my wrists, and the swing arm hasn’t arrived, but I have the computer up on the easel, and I have my desk put together, and it is much less strainful than before. Do need that wrist pad, though.

More art ahoy, assuming things continue well. (: