Hi friends,

It's been a minute since I've shared an update on my dark fantasy Comic, Dark Time.

I haven’t been posting as much to the blog or social media because I have been in the most tedious phase of this project—the roughs, which are the foundation. They are not pretty, and they took me a while to figure it out! So, I shut off distractions such as social media because I needed to focus. The good news is that I just completed the roughs for all 64 pages! With this milestone complete, I can enter the next phase.

As we begin this new year, I wanted to look back over this past year at my accomplishments and what to expect in 2024.

Reflection + Gratitude

This year has been exceptionally good for me and my family. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work on this project in the capacity that I am. Additionally, I appreciate the new friends and the sense of community I've gained. Despite feeling like a fish out of water, I feel welcomed. I've had to learn and grow significantly, especially as I branch into a new career area at this stage in my life, which is humbling. It surprises me every day how much I love learning new things and the realization of the numerous things I still need to learn.

My gratitude also extends to the welcoming and supportive indie comics community. I found a wonderful community of down-to-earth creators who want to see each other succeed. I can’t wait to get my comic out to an audience and be able to meet up with other fellow comic creators by participating in conventions and comic cons in the future!

I am also so grateful to the online art community for all of the resources, classes, and education that are so accessible.

2023 In Review

I had goals and plans for 2023, and let's just say I was a bit ambitious. I didn't take into consideration the discovery and learning process for myself, but now I definitely have a better idea of that.

Here are some of the Dark Time milestones from 2023:

• ✅ Roadmap
• ✅ Completed main character designs
• ✅ Determined book & issue structure
• ✅ Decision to independently crowdfund
• ✅ Finished writing the 3 book arc
• ✅ Finalized issue 1 script
• ✅ Completed thumbnails for 64 pages
• ✅ Opened my Kofi Shop
• ✅ Released my free book outline template
• ✅ Released my free comic thumbnail template
• ✅ Released my free mind map story/book theme development template
• ✅ Released limited edition prints for sale
• ✅ Experimented with medium, color, style, tools
• ✅ Completed Issue 1 roughs for 64 pages

✍️ This year was also a first for me in providing story editing services. For 2024, I plan to continue by adding commissions/services to my Kofi page. If interested, you can also contact me directly.

Overall, I’m happy with what I accomplished even though in hindsight, I bit off a lot more than I could chew. I know that as I grow and develop my skills and manage my time with my other projects, I will get faster and more confident.

️ Looking Forward 2024

This year's big milestones to hit:

• ❦ Final character designs
• ❦ Promotion
• ❦ Pencils for 64 pages
• ❦ Ink for 64 pages
• ❦ Finalize lettering design for 64 pages
• If I reach my promotion goals:
  • ❦ Begin Kickstarter promotion
  • ❦ Launch Kickstarter campaign

So, as you can see, next year is going to be a very big year, and I have a ton of work to do!

Dark Time Roughs

I have completed the roughs of my comic! Below are a few screenshots of the panels. They may seem a little lackluster in action, but trust me, there is some action in this! While the visuals at this stage may not be as exciting, they lay the essential foundation for the final designs and illustrations.

On to Penciling & Refinement!

The next phase is to move on to refining my rough pages with more detail. I will first take a little time to finalize the rest of the minor Character Designs before I start refining my pages.

Once the refinement stage is complete, I'll move on to inking and coloring, using a limited palette.

Follow me on my journey to creating my dark fantasy comic book / graphic novel, Dark Time.

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