After having been absent here for almost a year, I am happy to say that time away was used wisely, and I am now ready to begin updating on a monthly basis with all the new content that I will putting out. 2022 was a challenging year for me creatively and during that time I was working a number of projects that I could not publish online, which lead to my time being used up but not being able to share it with the world. So, let's get on with it and take a look back at what was done since the last update.
Studio Update
After attending Cyphacon in Lake Charles, Louisiana, we were able to make enough money to significantly upgrade the studio. I can't thank everyone enough for stopping by our booth in the artist's alley, even if you didn't purchase anything, it was wonderful meeting all of you! As far as the upgrades go, we now have a better digital drawing tablet, some musical equipment for several surprise projects, an airbrush and air compressor to add variety and new ideas for art pieces, and most importantly, a new desk and chair to promote healthier working habits over long working sessions. So again, thank you all for stopping by to help make some much needed improvements here at the studio.
Health
As mentioned above, I have a health issue involving my neck that requires frequent sessions with a chiropractor. The new desk and chair help to improve my posture so I don't put too much strain on my shoulders like my old desk and chair did. Additionally, another reason for the lack of updates was due to my commitment the go to the gym at least three times a week in order to help build muscle to better support my neck and shoulders. I have been maintaining this ritual for over six months now and I can see all that hard work paying off, as I am experiencing significantly less pain.
Besita Custos
I have been continuing to work on volume 3 of Bestia Custos when I can, and volume 2 has been copy edited. We are now working on applying those edits in preparation for a final draft.Volume 2 will be released later this year, most likely in the Spring. Speaking of book releases, I have decided to re-address my goals with the series in general and will be making some publication changes. After attending a writing panel at Holiday Matsuri in Orlando, lead by the wonderful K.T. Strange, I have decided to follow much of what was discussed in order to make the series more available to readers and reach a broader audience. I believe that my goal for the series is to simply share it with as many people as possible, but times have changed and modernity has corralled us into small corners of the internet in order to find the content we crave, making word of mouth obsolete if not targeting certain groups. So, Amazon will be Bestia Custos' new home with the release of volume 2. Money has been tight for many with inflation on the rise, so to make things more affordable we will switch the interior art to black and white for physical copies to save on printing costs. Color versions of the art may still be an option for kindle versions of each volume though. Also, there will be an art book with all art, and many unseen production pieces, collected together after the completion of volume 5, which will complete the story's first act. Working with Amazon will mean that I will still retain all rights to Bestia Custos, but we may need to limit publishing elsewhere, including this site. Art and story beat updates will still be shared on Instagram and this website, but full on rough drafts will be a thing of the past; we never had much traffic with it in the first place, and they rarely reflected the final product. Instead, I will be adding more content to the YouTube channel by showing in progress work of the art and providing updates on the story as it is developing. I'll leave this topic with a quick photo of the cover for volume 2.
Rakshasa
Rakshsa will be on hiatus until several other projects are completed, but in the future, much like Bestia Custos, story updates and in progress art will be uploaded to YouTube. I do want to return to this story, and I plan on working it more diligently when Bestia Custos' first act concludes.
Curse of The Night
The board game I have been developing for several years now is about to have all of it's main art completed. There was definitely a set back when it was decided to re-paint much of the art, as I was unsatisfied with the quality the original's presented, that, and the fact that I wanted more cohesion between the character art and the card art. All images need to be rendered into the game's printable assets and play tested before we start making prototypes to send out to potential publishers. Some of the last art pieces will be recorded this month and hopefully posted on YouTube. Below are some quick photos of what has been completed in the last six months.
YouTube
I had posted several speed painting videos on the channel over the years and this will be modified somewhat moving forward. I would like to document my work and update people monthly by compiling the month's progress into a video that is presented similarly to a podcast. I would like to have some content documented and prepared this month, if only a little.
Art Pieces
Several pieces were produced for sale over the years, but last year I spent a great deal of time participating in the 2022 Pokemon TCG art contest. Unfortunately, I failed to make it past the first qualifying round. Either way, the experience was a good one. The pieces can be seen below.
Speaking of mediums, I have begun to sculpt in preparation for a much larger interactive project down the road. To develop skill in sculpting, I have decided to create a series of latex rubber kaiju puppets to sell at conventions. These puppets will have a traditional hand operated mouth function and poseable arms and other limbs using magnets. Below is a piece that I have been working on based on the kaiju Neronga from Ultraman, my wife has become quite a fan lately.
Finally, some art I have used to make stickers to sell at conventions, I
wanted to make sure I had something that everyone could afford and take
home.
A Favor
I would like to end this post by asking all of you a favor, and that is to always be kind and respectful to artists. Many independent artists, like myself, must work full time jobs and can not produce content as much or as fast as we like. Many of us would rather ensure that our work meets our own levels of quality instead of watering it down through the daily grind simply to meet the demands of some incorporeal algorithm. I work for myself first and foremost. I have a need to express myself through my work in the time provided. Those that understand this are welcome to join my own artistic journey. But I ask that you have patience with me and others as you view, purchase, and generally consume our content. Times are tough, and kindness and patience are worth more than you'll ever know. So, please. Support local and smaller artists in anyway you can, and together, we can help make sure that artists feel heard and valued. Here's to a better year moving forward! Take it easy.
-Dreblin
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