I'm gonna be reviving my Ko-fi page this weekend. I'm really hurting for cash at the moment. Trying to find work. If you wanna help me and Alterria as whole? This is a pretty good way of doing it. And it'll be greatly appreciated.

https://ko-fi.com/kyanbu

Chapter 4's first page goes up on October 1st. With all 20 Pages being completed on November 12th. With 3 pages going up a week instead of 4. 2 pages on Tuesdays and 1 page up on Fridays.
​​

​​​​​​Chapter 4 Extra's first page goes up on November 15th. With all 8 pages being completed on November 26th. It's back to 4 pages a week for this one and chapter 5. Speaking of...

Chapter 5's first page goes up on November 29th. With all 20 Pages completed on December 31st. Ending the year off with 5 Chapters out of 18 completed for Alterria complete.

A very productive year for me. And next year is gonna be a great one for Alterria. Since I'll be consistently updating the comic at a rate of about 2 to 4 pages a week. We should be around Chapter 15 by the end of 2025!

It's about that time again! A new chapter is around the corner and it'll bring something a bit different as far as the schedule is concerned.

After Chapter 4 is complete. The first Extra Chapter will go up, "Chapter 4 Extra". These are 8 page mini chapters inbetween the main chapters. And will be listed separately as there own chapter. Reusing the previous chapter's cover (unless I change my mind later and give them unique cover art).

Why don't I just extend the page count? I have my reasons. And if Alterria ever gets a physical print collections in the future. These will just be added to their respective main chapters.

There are currently only 4 planned Extra Chapters across Alterria's 18 Chapter run.

And lastly, Chapter 4's upload schedule will go up in about a week. I'll be doing 3 pages a week for it. And bump up to 4 pages a week for Chapter 4 Extra. So that mini chapter will be completed within 2 weeks.

The outline for Alterria has finally been completely rewritten and completed. The first story arc "Phantasm Arc" kicks off into full gear in chapter 3. This arc will last from Ch3 to Ch18. Alterria (not counting Advent Moon) will be 18 chapters long. (4 chapters longer then planned) Each chapter, being 20 pages long. While updates are 2 pages a week. I plan on transitioning into monthly chapters someday. Would love for that to happen about now-ish! lol But I need to get a bit more experience in. So for now, Updates will still be every Tuesday, Friday.

Chapter 2 page 1 will be going up this Friday. The hiatus is finally over.

So out of curiosity. I decided to sit down and math out how long it would take to tell the story of Alterria the way I wanted to.

Not counting "Advent Moon" and "Prelude of the Phantasm", there are 6 story arcs planned. Each intended to be 12 chapters long. A Chapter is 20 pages long. Currently I'm releasing 2 pages per week. there are 52 weeks in a year so at most. That's 104 pages a year assuming I never missed 2 per week. That's 5 Chapters and 4 pages a year.

Alterria counting "Prelude of the Phantasm" and Advent Moon. Would take 74 Chapters + the 30 pages of Advent Moon to complete. That's 1510 page!

It would take me 15 years to complete this story. I'd be 50 by the Time I finished!

But if I went and slashed those arcs down to 6 Chapters each. It would take me only 8 years to complete it.

I've got a lot of thinking to do about how to handle this because I still want to make games. And have been working on conceptualize a new smaller project.

My advice to anyone reading this in their 20s. Never be afraid to start! If you got an idea for a webcomic, Go for it! Even if you can't draw/write, you'll learn and improve as you go along in addition to online advise/tuts! I will never get back the 15 years a lost not bothering to just make the things I wanted to make. Drawing/writing skills be damned! Even a bad Web Comic is better than no Webcomic!

In a slightly new form with new powers not seen before!

Seriously though, i'm going to start posting on here again too.

I've finally gotten to a point where I can get my pricing where it's apparently supposed to be based on research. By industry standards, your average person technically can't afford it when you think about it.


Pricing is based on hours like with any job. With the going rate being around minimum wage, sometimes lower. Right now that's $15 an hour for some places. But I'll use $7 first, as an example because of how controversial $15 an hour is.



A full detail CG artwork, with hand drawn characters and details. Can take up to around 40 or more hours. 20 at minimum depending on the size of the scene and number of characters/creatures.


At $7 an hour, that would cost $280 for 40 hours. $140 for 20 hours. For just that one art piece.


And that's with the old (or current depending on where you are) minimum wage. That's a lot of money, but it makes sense. For it to be a livable wage, it needs to be high enough for you to actually be able to cover living and business expenses.


Going by $15 an hour, that would cost $600 for 40 hours. And $300 for 20 hours.


Yeah, that's quite the jump. Normally small time artist will do stuff for slave wage, that's basically anything under minimum wage. But doing so can risk them being taken advantage of. And prevents them from being able to make a living off of art alone. At best it's a nice bit of side income. Especially if they get exploited by a company.



It's a complicated mess, but I'm still looking for a stable pay check. So it's something I need to consider. At least until things are all set for me to open up a patreon account.

Things might continue to be slow for a while. Mainly more info on how everyone and the general public feels about Anthro and Anthro-like characters.

The reason being is because I think that's what's hurting this project and my artwork the most in terms of potential reception. That I'll have to account for that, or make a drastic changes. So I need to gather more information to better understand the relationship between the general Audience, and Anthro/Anthro-Like characters in media. As well as the dark and troubled history of the Furry Community, it's rise to prominence, the controversies within it, and it's reputation.


Depending on the feedback, I might be changing all of my non-human characters that aren't demons or tied to Phantasms. (yes I'm still pondering about this). Into to plain old humans and dropping the ani-human/beast folk thing entirely. I thought when I went back and dealt with the over sexualization (most of it, Kazumi and Tsunadai are still potentially problematic). I would be in the clear, but I'm not and unless the characters look literally like Rocket Raccoon or a Disney anthro character. It will be considered an issue, as people seem to be a bit turned off by that. Them having breasts period, regardless of sizes isn't helping much either. Even in spite them being mostly human save for ears, tails, and a thin fur coat. Making them all flat is an option I'm more then willing to do. And already started doing (character busts having been dropping though I don't think anyone noticed yet). But that alone if needed, likely wouldn't be enough.

As for how this would affect the story. It really wouldn't for most of the cast. This is because them being anthros isn't directly tied to the story. It has a history within the world of "D-Resonate". But beyond the origin of their Creation and their place in a "major war" between the 4 major Races (Humans, Ani-Humans, Demons, Celestians/Xenoians). It's not important, and me making them all humans would change nothing. As they don't behave in anyway that's connected to the animal they are based off of. Beyond most of them being based on animals domesticated by Humans, for reasons connect to their origin and that "major war". However the characters that are also part demon or whose story or abilities does reference them not being human or requires them to not be human (or entirely human). Will just be made plain old humanoid demons or Celestian/Xenoians. Since making them completely human would clash with the intended plot or take away abilities that are important to the character and plot.

In short, beyond in universe origins and history, they are only anthro because I thought it looked cool. And wanted to pay some homage to things like "Swatkats", "loony Toons", ect.


Thank you all for any feedback, and sorry for being such a disappoint for so many years. Here's hoping something, ANYTHING, comes out of all of this mess. Because I'm 10 years in, and I wanna see this through, So that these last 10 years won't be for nothing.

For those interested. I'm also doing another half off sale for commissions. Anything within reason is fair game up to and including not safe for work content. Please contact me and I'll see if it's within reason.



SALES DIGITAL PRICING FOR 2019: (Sale lasts until July 31st 2019)

* Linework $8
* Black and White or Cel Shade with simple or gradient background $15
* Flatcolor or Cel shade with simple or gradient background $15
* Fully Rendered Color , simple or gradient background $20
* Fully Rendered Color with detailed background $30

---

* $5 per extra character or creature (depending on what's asked)

So after a bit of looking around. I think it's time I moved my prices up closer to the normal asking amount. Because at the moment it's kind of too low based on how other freelancers price their work. The new prices are still a bit too low but will do for now. I'll also post the current sales prices as well below that.

NORMAL DIGITAL PRICING FOR 2019:

* Linework $16
* Black and White or Cel Shade with simple or gradient background $30
* Flatcolor or Cel shade with simple or gradient background $30
* Fully Rendered Color , simple or gradient background $40
* Fully Rendered Color with detailed background $60
* Full works Fully Render with lots of detail and texturing (near realism) $100
* $5 to $10 per extra character or creature (depending on what's asked)



SALES DIGITAL PRICING FOR 2019: (Sale lasts until April 31st 2019)

* Linework $8
* Black and White or Cel Shade with simple or gradient background $15
* Flatcolor or Cel shade with simple or gradient background $15
* Fully Rendered Color , simple or gradient background $20
* Fully Rendered Color with detailed background $30

---

* $5 per extra character or creature (depending on what's asked)

Let me know what you all think of these prices. While still too low based on normal rates this is at least better then the older pricing. And as I said before. Free lancer art is kind of my only source of income at the moment. And yes I'll be accepting NSFW commissions within reason.

https://www.deviantart.com/kyanbu/a.....-wip-749142622
https://www.deviantart.com/kyanbu/a.....-wip-752448931


So while doing research and reading on designing characters. I learned a bit more about a popular pet peeve. Anthro characters having breasts. It appears that no matter what, this one is a big no no. Mainly because while fantasy designs always bend what's possible. That only applies to things that would be a benefit. Things that are cosmetic, like human breasts. Is something that should not be on an anthro or furry character. They have to be flat as is the case with that's species in real life.


So basically it means to appeal to a more general or just main stream audience I and a lot of others would need to redesign those characters in one of two ways.


A. Make all anthro like characters flat as a board. Easy enough as the breasts add nothing and getting rid of them hurts nothing.

or

B. Make your characters Human, since at that point they may as well be human.

For me, I'm probably going to have to go with options B. Mainly because if your anthro character is too human in appearance. That too is a problem that can be seen as over sexualized. So even If I made them all flat, they are still in the red. So I may have to just make them human and rewrite a lot of the world building and plot points built around them being "Ani-Humans". I had a planned reason to explain the design but it ultimately means nothing due to "Death of the Author". It doesn't change that fact that it's a unnecessary trait. And could be seen as just as bad as Kojima's excuse for Quiet in MGSV.



Designing characters is a complicated thing. And Breasts are a big complex mess of an issue for a lot of reasons. Mainly over sexualization and medical issues caused by large breasts. So having them on a character is already walking on razors edge if that character is not a completely normal human with no genetic or magical changes. Because the logic is that if a women could change anything through genetics or magic, it would be getting rids of the dead weights on her chest if she's larger then B cup. So a fictional character with them is sexualized no matter what based on this logic alone. It is what it is due to the current state of our society and genetic oddities with humans.


So what do you all think about this?

Personally it bothers me a bit since It means I have to redesign the entire cast all over again. And rewrite huge chunks of the plot and world. Been in the concept stages for about a decade now so I would be lying if I said I wasn't partly sick of it and just want to get SOMETHING out, be it a indi game or the comic. Could also just make them all male but that would create a different much more terrible problem so not much of an option there.

After doing more research and reading up on how long it takes for comics to be produced in the comic industry. I've come up with a schedule that I can pull off even with a job as well as a style that's time friendly. It's been hectic on my end trying to figure out a good one.

* The comic will be posted as a 5 page chapter. That gives me 1 day to plan out the five pages, and 1 day to produce 1 page over the course of 7 days. Plus 1 day of bonus time.

* Each Chapter will be uploaded once a week.

* For DeviantArt and other pages that sometimes have a rule against mass upload. The pages will be split across two days. first 3 pages, then the last 2.

* The comic will be Black and White. Fits the themes (ghosts/phantasms), really compliments the goth feel some characters have. And it's faster to make these then it is to make full color pages. It takes me many hours just for one full Color CG from scratch. But only 30 minutes for a sketch that I start on traditionally working non stop.


* Details on the background and characters will be kept to a very bare minimum. To ensure that even with a full time job, I'll still be able to get a chapter out on time or worse case scenario, only a day or to late.


*The update day is every 7days after the last chapter's upload. Meaning if Chapter 0 came out on June 7th, Chapter 1 will be out on June 14th. This is much more manageable then picking a specific day since I likely won't be making any money off of this (at least not yet).

* As a heads up/reminder. Fate Dealer is mainly just a trial run. While it's canon to Sonata of the Phantasm (it's a D-Resonate story so it's in the same universe). That's only because it doesn't contradict anything that happens later on and feature a few characters that may appear later on. It's just something that's being done to get my feet wet and use to comics. Fate Dealer will be 4 chapters long. Then Sonata of the Phantasm will begin properly.

* however for this week. I'll be doing something a bit different. I'll be posting a page every day. And on the 5th page, I'll start the weekly schedule of one whole chapter every 7 days.


*there will be no covers, however I will try to draw 1 every so often that's based off of a panel from one of the chapters.


Took way~ too long to come up with his but I'm quite proud of this schedule. This should work for my current situation and for when I have a full time job. (or a bunch of good paying commissions). A nice little Birthday present for myself.

That was the year I was trying to study anatomy and drawing. And as a result there were things I did in 2013 that were close to accurate. But because i didn't properly learn about forms and how to build them through shapes. It was always inconsistent and luck based. Boxes being the best types to use as they show the plans of an object more clearly. Which I rarely used back then.

With me getting gradually worse through 2014 up until 2015 when I started improving again on that front and really got better around 2017 when I discover Proko's videos and joined concept art. And started learning the basics.

I'm kind of glad I started doing these remasters. I won't be wasting too much time on the though.

I still need to get back to work on the comic though. I think I've worked out some of my issue with the city background that's been holding me up. Sometimes I wish I had an editor or an assistant to help with things as well as act as a second opinion on certain things.

I'm going to get burned alive for this one but it is something we all need to start thinking about more. And it's how we feel about Artistic Freedom and the idea of "draw whatever you want your way".

Personally, I think it might be time for artists to start really letting go of the idea of "Artistic Freedom" for the sake of really beginning to improve and develop their work. Honestly doing this is probably the big reason why I even improved at all art and design wise.

The very idea of striving to improve your artwork goes against it. And clinging on to it usually ends up harming the artist or worse. But letting go if it makes it much easier to learn and grow. As well as branch out side of the box a bit more. There are some things best left untouched though but that's usually regarding things that are much more serious in nature. Or more complicated in nature. Sometimes both. And are usually related to themes rather then method.

It's easier to spot and fix flaws when you aren't focused on it. And it's easier to read, analyse, and accept critics when you aren't focused on it. Imagine how much head way we'd make if we could all just let go of that tired old phrase. I dream of the day when I'm completely free of it.

What do you all think of the concept of Artistic Freedom? Do you feel it's often taken to it's extreme or do you feel it's something all artists should strive for?

I may have to consider not doing pin ups anymore or at least cutting back greatly on them. Even though they are the most popular thing I upload on here (which is a problem in of itself).

Reasons for this being.

1. It takes far too long to finish these as a full color that won't lead to a profit. I'd have to give up gaming and what little of my social life I still have just to full color these and make some more meaningful progress with the project (both the game and the web comic). Doing them as commissions however is fine since I'm at least getting paid for it which can be used to help fund the project.

2. Pinups sit on a very thin line. I've mentioned before about making sure the comic and game are as well done as possible. Having glaring writing or design issues will hurt the project's reception. The pinups could contribute to that by giving the wrong impression about a character or contradicting a character. It's why most of my pinups are of only a hand full of characters. Whom would or do do this within the context of their pre established or planned character traits and interests. Yeah I can always point out what is and isn't canon. But it's sloppy when you have to keep doing that for what's likely to be seen as promotional art. Also using sex to sell is seen as a bit underhanded or lazy these days Rather then being honest about what the story or game is really about.

3. It's a sign that I'm still not good enough to gain attention through nonsexual works. I want to continue my training as much as I can. I also want to make sure that's apparent so aside from posting practice work which I decided would be best done with only upload in the more positive results or on a separate account dedicated to that all together. Cutting back on cheap pinups is a nice way of doing that considering I broke 3000 on what was basically a mediocre CG of Xaniras in a very skimpy bikini top. I want to some day be able to do that with an image that isn't riding on sex appeal.

And 4. I've reached a point where I've done everything as far as not creepy pinups are concerned. They're starting to get repetitive.

Well... I've got a bit of thinking to do as this isn't the only thing I need to think carefully about doing less of or scheduling it better due to growing time constraints. *Glances at mountain of various Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic, and Vanguard cards, and the growing tower of games in his backlog on just his PS4 alone not counting his other older consoles*.

So quite a good while ago I mentioned in my last journal about the "Death of Fantasy". But didn't explain what I meant by it. Well here's my reasoning for what I said and why I believe it's an unavoidable end to what we call "Fantasy" and the birth of a new genre that at the moment is a bit mistaken as that "Fantasy".

"Death of Fantasy" is the end result to a long road of readers and viewers becoming increasingly tired of fantastical elements that deviate from the real world over the course of hundreds of years of story telling. A side effect of increased education, over saturation of the genre, millions of copy cat and follow the leader stories, very poor executions of fantasy and popular tropes, and changing interests in what entertains us as a society. We're becoming more and more wanting of stories more grounded in reality, and less interested in anything deviating too far from it. Partly due to the genre and it's tropes being too commonly used to hide writing mistakes and laziness among other things/issues. Eventually we will reach a point were no one is going to want to read a story about anything that doesn't or can't exist or happen in real life in some way shape or form. No magic, no space travel (unless we've reached that point), no different creatures and races that don't already exist or at least have existed before going extinct. And no impractical clothing such as coats and capes or impractical weapons like the famed and well known "Keyblade" from a certain franchise I doubt will live in such an era. There are many examples of this from complaints about stories that run on rule of cool (Dragonball, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann), Rule of Sexy (Queens Blade which I swear is seemingly self aware from what I've seen) or both (Kill la Kill), along with other similar rules. To the massive success of stories like the Hobbit and Game of Thrones. Even Castlevania's grand return is much more ground then the games were. Gaming is also going through a similar transformation as well with Final Fantasy being among the most biggest examples (FFXV and onward). I don't think it'll happen any time soon. But I do believe it's an unavoidable future.

Is this a bad thing? No, it's only natural for something like this to happen. And really there's nothing we can do to stop it. You may love it, but your grand kids likely won't and so on. At best it may get a revival or two but only for a short while and as something to mock the past for liking in the first place. And at average we'll just see old ips re-imagined in more realistic settings, to the point of being related to the original in name only. Something we are already seeing today for better or worse depending on the ip in question and the execution.

For now I suppose we should enjoy some of the old fun while it lasts (keyword there being "some", certain tales were just that bad). While continuing to move forward and preparing to enjoy the great new tales this evolution will bring us. And the new bad stories we'll get along the way as well. Why am I so obsessed? Well I've been working on this project of mines for almost a decade (with only the failed Mischief Knights to show for it). And after all the studying I've been doing and just from my own experience with fellow fantasy fans and friends alike. I never stopped thinking about rather or not this project and what story comes from it would live on or not. Rather it would be remembered as a fun little series or be forgotten in the sands of time. Or even hated/mocked for just how badly it turned out. It's gone back in forth from being fantastical and whimsical (Mischief Knights) to more grounded with the current version of the project (Sonata of the Phantasm). I wanna stick to my guns on certain things but I also want to write a competent story and rely greatly on everything I've learned and will learn throughout school, my brief stay in college before that all came crashing down, and self studies through research on the internet and books (as I acquire them). I don't want all of the time spent on this long project to amount to nothing. I want to release something, and I want it to be something people will enjoy and remember for many years to come. And I want to keep creating more and more wonderful stories and games for all to enjoy for even more years to come.

Deep down, I think that's what all content creators and artists want to accomplish.

Also! It's worth noting that this is merely my opinion based on my experiences in life. For all I know I could be wrong in the end.

This debate is never ending though it does bring up a good point especial in case where both male and female characters are present in combat situations. As the idea of sexy characters is fine so along as what they wear makes since for the situation though some exception are sometimes fine (capes, ect) while others are becoming less okay (high heels on any character). It's also an early sign of the eventual gradual death of fantasy in general that will one day happen years probably decades from now. But I'll talk about that later. First my fixes or rather the fixes I agree with. Pretty much every option has been stated now. These are just the 3 that would get results in some way shape or form in the US specific. Globally it would not be easily do able.

The Fast Nuke it all approach, would be for a government intervention that bans all content featuring sexually inappropriately dressed characters (skimpy clothing) in situations such as combat regardless of sex/gender/sexuality/culture/plot where such attire would be inappropriate to wear. Exceptions are situations outside of combat where such attire would be fine such as home settings, the beach/pool, ect. And already released content during and up to a year after the bill went into affect would be allowed to sell and clear inventory (to gives devs and stores time to sell them off). Would be immediately noticeable as a major swift. And would put a stop to it almost all together. The bill would be one of the easier approaches as it would be backed by the religious community which alone makes up almost half the population. Not counting non-religious parties that would be in favor, making it "almost" a sure shot if made a public vote. Key word there being "almost". The problem is that it's an extreme approach and may cause increased tension among gamers split on both sides between rather or not such a broad stroke was even necessary over the other two options. And political concerns regarding the governments ever growing size and control over our lives outside of handling foreign affairs.

The Join them approach, would be to do the same with more and more sexy and over sexualized male characters (appealing to women and girls) while cutting back on doing it with female characters (basically doing things more equally). All while creating more varied female characters in terms of personality and body type. Much like we already kind of do with male characters. This is most likely going to be what actually ends up happening. We already have some examples such as the Final Fantasy and Tales Of franchises that do this with a mostly female fan base. Same ironically goes for Gundam as well (the guys are basically usually boy band pretty boys). We'd just do more of that in greater numbers until things balance out. Over 1500 games with over sexualized males are needed almost consecutively to come close to tipping the scale enough to be noticed even by the most prude of gamers and viewers. Other wise it's safe to say most wouldn't notice it until it was past the balance point. In the fighting wold likely continue. Alternatively making less or no stripperriffic character designs for game that are both serious and about battle/combat would also work as well. And arguably also what all parties in this debate would agree on.

The Dynamic Ads approach, would be to reduce and remove ads featuring over sexualized characters. And advertisers having greater access to our information (enough for only ads related to what you like to appear). And E3 and other gaming events would be forbidden from showing such content. Same goes for other conventions. Ads like these would be rarely seen and gamers of all types would be more easily able to see the games they would actually like. This is also some what already in affect though it's limited due to tech and legal issues. Going farther would make this more effective but comes with the issue of more of our private info being more accessible to advertisers. And unless we are cutting done on sexualized content as well out side of the ecchi/softcore porn genres. It would probably still not be a noticeable fix for many years. Seen more as a vale or sweeping it under the rug. It can very easily only make things worse.

This debate stems more from social issue regarding how we see and treat one another. Art mirrors and draws from life and society. Had things been different we'd be arguing about something else entirely. And our over usage of generalization despite it being a logically fallacy. Humans aren't perfect enough to be consistently consider one another. A walking paradox at best. And yes this is also why all of the characters are getting changes to their design in some way for my project. Once I have some of the model sheets done I'll be going of different places, including places like feminist gaming sites to get them critiqued. Adjustments will be made based on over all feed back. The main concern is not stepping on eggshells.

I'm currently focusing on the basics of drawing again. from holding a pencil/stylus to practicing my strokes and eventually gesture practice.

My weak areas are the most apparent here. So I should spend a lot of time practicing the basics over and over to spot the problems, iron out the problems. And repeat what I did right, As well as understand what I did right.


Currently I'm just practicing my stroke so that stuff will be in the scraps section. As i'm about 5 pages in on my pocket note book.

Gesture work will be upload here. I'll return to anatomy after wards as I'd already spent a lot of time on this subject and have used references.

Current thinking on how to upload everything without flooding the place with no CG work. But It probably can't be helped either way.

Something's wrong with me. I've been feeling very depressed and sometimes fatigued since 2011. I don't know why or how but once things over flow I begin to act in strange ways. I feel empty and my depression really spikes.

I don't like going to any doctor for no reason or out of paranoia. So I just tried to get some rest and practice meditation. It worked, but it keeps coming back and things begin to spiral. I know it has to be psychological. I don't feel sick or seriously ill. When I'm stressed I just...break... and it takes a whole day, sometimes weeks before I'm back to being somewhat normal again.

A lot happened that year, the biggest being Grandma's death. I was by her side at the hospital the day she passed. I don't know if I'm dealing with some kind of long lasting trauma or if it's just from my life being messy ever since. Or if I'm just dealing with depression.

When it flares up, sometimes I can become self aware of it. I lock my self away and try to meditate or just let it pass by. But this time it got the better of me and nearly ended my work. All of the stress and frustration from years of poor results in my life. And knowing just how far behind I am compared to my friends and family. My stress over the project and current events in the industry caused everything to over flow until I just broke for a while there.

I hate this cycle. It keeps coming back. I need to start thinking back, and figure out what's wrong with me.

I'm throwing in the towel. I'm convinced that I just don't have the talent for this kind of thing. I lack certain qualities that make a good artist and I hate being in people's way so I'm just going to admit defeat.

Not sure what will happen to this account but chances are good updates will continue to be few and far apart. Some things are still being worked on with the project out of fun and because well it's all I have. but for now things are uncertain.


Thank you for everything. Even if it amounted to nothing. I'll still be around but more as a viewer rather then another bad artist.

I might try my hand at game and card game reviews though. I really love games and I've been thinking about doing a review on a few of the stuff I've played throughout my life. Mainly Yugioh, and Duel Links.


Right now I'm just trying to sort things out with my life right now.

When it comes to character designs. A lot of research, writing, and hard work is required to do the job rightly. Sometimes that leads to the soul crushing process of redesigning everyone.

It's no secret that the entire industry is in what can be describe as a massive shift in how characters are drawn. It usually happens every decade and it just so happens that time is now. Ok technically it began in 2015, but we're now starting to see the fruits of it begin to bare. Pretty soon all sexual designs will be taboo for American made and western works in all contexts outside of pinups, and streetware. Erotic works are fine for now but honestly I can see us banning erotica one day. There's a lot of issue in that side of the media that's going to bring the whole thing down eventually.

So given this project is stuck in development hell as is. I need to make sure it'll be fine by the time it comes out in terms of character designs. This means I need to make sure that not a single character can be seen as problematic or too sexually designed. Especially If I end up doing the comic. That would be social suicide if things aren't all in place. Which means I need to redesign EVERYONE. At least their outfits mainly. Body types are (as of the current concept sketches I haven't uploaded yet) varied right down to small details and ready for the next step (model sheets). So it's really the outfits that could cause trouble. Mainly for a few reasons.

*Practicality: Capes, heals, long hair, long clothing, baggy clothing, lack of armor for certain job classes.

*Exposed Skin/Fur: chest and stomach, Cleavage of any kind for any reason, cleavage windows, Side boob, abs, back, legs and arms depending on job classes.

My cast breaks a lot of theses. And are mostly female making it much more noticeable. So regardless of how I feel about capes, coats, ect. They have to change. And as someone who's against Sexism entirely. It's for the better to do the right thing for character designs. Cleavage and sexual designs are very easily dated. And at the moment it's too risky to use such designs for anything, even pinups are pushing it. (DA has a bad rep partly because of this) I like them as much as the next guy, and being bi, yes that goes for sexy guys too (though they are rarely drawn an posted here). But sexuality is a very messy concept that is best to steer away from for now at least until I can get much more clearer answers and data on the next/current grey area. I've been staying up these past few weeks reviewing the issues of the past and how things have changed so far. I use to think my characters were fine based entirely on not being attacked yet and my effort to keep things from getting too silly even within pinups over the course of these last few years since the Penny Arcade incident in 2011. But it seems that may be due to me being a complete ghost. And that some of the places I'm on and the fans I have are a bit pervy (no offense). Or just outright don't care at all.

I might be able to keep a few things here and there based on new data and approval. But So far, I should play it safe and make some alternative designs to use that remove the problem designs.

It's a shame but out of respect, it must be done. By making a product I forfeit most of my creative freedom. It's the dark secret many artists often don't learn right away. So more then ever I must abide to current social trends. It's going to be awhile. And I need to find a lot of people to get there opinions of the current and new outfit designs.

Kyanbu

I can't really explain it but things have been weird for me lately, been feeling really out of it these past few months. Might be a sign that I'm doing too much at once and need to focus/rearrange things around a bit. Maybe with a schedule. But life kind of keeps that idea from really being all to practical at the moment.

I'm working on many things but nothing is really far enough along to be "done". I also owe one request that's so simple I'm embarrassed I didn't just finish it that night. There are a lot of things I want to draw but the new quality standard means I can't really produce work fast enough due to stress regarding it's quality. Technically even what I've uploaded now is kind of meh even for me. (should be a lot cleaner a better then this). I'm probably focusing too much on perfection again. But stepping back too much isn't good for my portfolio either which is still missing a lot of important things to show my drawing and design skills and limits. And things are stale enough as is with my "filler" CGs I make to keep up a consistent upload schedule. (which I'm late with)

A really strange situation and feeling. Might be because of "something" I'd rather not talk much about but I had it under control for years now so hmm... probably just doing too much at once. Just need to tunnel vision my work more. So much I want to draw both for the project, for fun and Fan art too. As well as revisiting old drawings.

Hmm....

In many of the artworks Submissions I've posted on here. Some of you may have notice that I've mention "job classes" in most of the character bios I've posted in the description box under a number of them.

Well It's time I posted some info about those "Job classes". Inspired by Final Fantasy/DnD (what job class isn't these days). This class system is a left over from the old "Mischief Knights" days of this game project's concept stage. Back when it was planned to be a JRPG, before I discovered Stencyl and felt making a sidescroller would be more doable. And scraped/retooled a lot of those concepts into what we now know as "D-Resonate, Sonata of the Phantasm".

Well here's some more info on them. The one's I've posted so far anyway along with newer ones for characters whose bios have yet to be posted. Don't worry I have no intention of making this list obnoxiously huge. Especially seeing as these have very little to do with gameplay anymore beyond character back story and reasoning for their respective move pools/abilities.

Edge Caster/Dark Fencer/Holy Knight:
Characters skilled with both close ranged weapon combat and spells. Often using Spells to enhance,Augment (via Alchemy), or add element effects to there swings, parries, and thrusts. They aren't masters of either but their strength comes from their versatility. Dark Fencer is a variation of this with more focus on DARK element and VOID element attacks as well as other Vampiric or Demonic abilities. And Holy Knight is a Variation with a focus on LIGHT element attacks and defensive techniques.

Wise Caster/Alchemist:
Characters skilled with casting spells. They usually aren't well suited at physical combat and rarely use weapons. But they make up for this with a wide range of powerful spells and a greater understanding of the elements they command. Some will often focus on mastering a single element while others will focus on building a variety of different elemental spells at the cost of a weaker output for better versatility.

Hex Dealer/Illusion Caster:
Characters skilled in casting illusions through spells and the use of the environment. Usually adapts at VOID, LIGHT, and DARK element spells. Often relying on casting their spells remotely. Through objects and living things near or connecting to them. Through hidden spell circles set to go off after meeting a certain condition. Or making contact with the same surface wall/ground/ceiling as the target or object they wish to use. Or through drone and other similar types of technology. Often teleporting/warping from place to place to make an illusion as convincing as possible. "Hex Dealers" are a combination of both this and "Wise Caster". Using cards as part of their illusions. And using special decks of "Casting Cards" to cast one time only spells and effects (usually when thrown or struck) without expending any mana. Entertainers, Assassins, and Thieves are often practitioners of this job class.

Gun Caster:
Characters skilled with both fire arms and spells. Often using spells to enhance, augment, or add element effects to their shots. Usually adapt at making trick shots through trajectory manipulation via spells and special rounds. Or through the use of Mana Guns which have grown in popularity over the recent years due to the lack of ammo being needed in place of running off of and firing Mana itself. Being able to charge via the user drawing in Mana from the environment (or enemies). And due to them all being beam weapons. Making trick shot, especially more complex one, much more easier to perform and control without much loss in power, and more lethal against traditional. They can also use special rounds to cast spells when fired or a pone impact. In a manner very similar to "Hex Dealer" and their "Casting Cards".

Sage:
Characters that have become masters of a specific element in it's entirety. Sometimes to the point of becoming physical gods of that specific element at the cost of being weaker everywhere else spell wise. Usually this isn't too much of a draw back due to how deadly these characters can be with that element (a Sage of WIND spells could literally take your breath away for example). The Seven Sages of the "Sage Citadel" are the only known "Sages" in the World, including the Space Colonies. Others may exist but they are very few and far between. And usually end up being recruited/snatched by the "Seven Sages" themselves in an attempt to maintain the balance or to take them in as their successors from time to time.

Reaper/Note Caster:
Characters that are skilled at casting a special class of spells called "R Spells" or "Resonance Spells" through the use of instruments. Usually members of the "Reapers". A Guild composed of mostly Demons and Monsters that work for the Grim Reaper "Osiris Number" and his second in command and wife "Vita Number". All Reapers including the Grim Reaper himself (with the exception of Vita who uses a beam Scythe) each wield special weapons called "Note Scythes". Magitech Scythes with instruments built into them. These weapons are used to allow them to summon and round up lost souls and spirits such as the "Phantasms". As well as cast power "R Spells" a unique type of Musical Spells that can only be cast using a "Note Scythe" or "Note" weapon. Each member of this massive group is spread across the World of Alterra. Each assigned to a specific part of the world. Note Casters in general can also sometimes summon Phantasms or other creatures. And are much more adapt at creating Resonance fields then other Job Classes to interact with the environment around them. (Director's/Creator's Note: Yes, I know they are basically Magical Rock Stars. Its the power of rock taken to a literal extreme. lol)

Martial Caster:
Characters that are skilled at both hand to hand combat and spells. Often using spells to enhance or add element effects to their strikes or movements. They are usually very physically fit, being more adapt at fighting then casting spells normally. As a result spells are often only use to improve their already impressive physical prowess and technique. Rare as a stand alone means of attacking unless range is needed. And are still a force to be reckon with even when they aren't using spells.
(Director's/Creator's Note: Characters in this job class are comparable to the Benders in the "Avatar: Last Air Bender" series. Kind of hard to avoid that from happening.)

Edge Martial:
Characters skilled in close range weapon combat but are very weak when it comes to spells. Usually relying on close range weapons, though they do possess a basic form of hand to hand combat as a back up plan or to assist with their offense/defense. Where they lack in spells, they make up for it in being very skilled with close range weapons.

Gun Martial:
Characters skilled in long range weapon combat while lacking when it comes to spells. Usually Gun wielders though some do make use of other ranged weapons as well such as throwing weapons, Mana Guns, and bows. They are often well versed in how to use fire arms efficiently and will often approach a battle with an appropriate set of guns and explosives to meet their needs. Sometimes over lap with Gun Casters due to both using Mana Guns. Though the Gun Martial isn't skill enough with spells to use them effectively.

Blast Martial:
Characters skilled with explosive devices. Often relying on setting traps or manipulating the environment to their favor through the use of well placed, well timed explosives. While they aren't great with spells much if at all. They are nearly as deadly as any Caster when it comes to traps and destructive force. Sometimes even surpassing them. However they are at times not as skilled with dealing with enemies directly as other Martials. Sometimes over lapping with "Gun Martial" in that both use long ranged side arms when needed. A skilled "Blast Martial" with the right explosives can level a city much more easily then any caster with spells due to not needing to use their own Mana. Or drawing Mana from the environment themselves outside of special explosives. Their set of skills is among the most difficult to learn and master. as a result, there are very few "Blast Martials" in the world outside of the Military.

Wise Martial:
Characters skilled in Hand to Hand combat without the use of spells. Often not fond with the idea of using spells to add element effects to their movement though they do rely on their own inner Mana for physical attack and movements. Often very physically fit and a near equal to the "Martial Caster" in combat due to their great understanding of the body and it's limits/weaknesses. Will sometimes over lap with both the "Martial Caster" and "Edge Martial" though they usually aren't masters of edge weapons nor well adapt at spells during the rare times they are used.

So for those that have been watching me over the course of these 9 years (going on 10 good god I'm getting old!). You might remember that years ago I said I wouldn't post so many WIPs and focus more on getting more completed works out.

Well you might be wondering why I went back to posting WIPs on here more frequently again. Well it's because I'm working towards improve as quickly and efficiently as I can. Which means spending a bit more time on a CG in addition to practice and studying more often (something I was starting to slack off with until I got my butt ripped in two by a critique because of it.) Getting faster only through improved accuracy and reducing mistakes. And cutting down on the number of layers I use to keep things more efficient and walked down the insane file sizes I've been getting lately for my works (xcf files). So that means this page would be very much dead for months on end unless I find something else to upload here. Which just so happened to be Practice work and more WIPs of stuff I'm working on either as practice or as part of the project.

Why not just accept my current level for the sake of the project? Because I do NOT won't to end up like Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 project. Unlike that guy who can bounce back very easily with 1 good game. I'm too green to get away with that. And I don't want D-Resonate to be remembered as a bad game with awful artwork. Perfection is unobtainable but it still must look amazing enough to stand out along side other indie games. As well as be very fun to play, stable, and clever in it's design to some extent. I need to hard and work carefully and that means putting a much effort as I can to improve and advancing my skills through study and practice. And refining the designs to create artwork that's pleasing to the eyes. That also means that every honest comment,critique is always welcome. As it can help with the refinement process.

_Later

Stylized work has always been a mixed bag in terms of reception and rather or not it can be considered good. And despite me not really being as fond of realism as I'd like to be (it's just boring most of the time) Something that I need to gradually force myself to do anyway. Not just because it's important for understanding form/anatomy but because we are gradually moving away from stylizing entirely in the vain of being more immersive and relate able with life. Besides this place has enough bad artists flooding it as is, and all I've done is add to that problem. If we don't even understand the basics or have a good foundation, we're just wasting everyone's time with threads like this on some false belief we're learning something by drawing chicken scratch ever and over with little thought put into it. I'm still going to be here, posting art, chat, and the occasional critique based off of what I've learned so far over the years. I'm far enough along to see errors in my work and others so all of that studying and practice paid off to some extent, But I'm lacking something important which greatly effects my work. Confidence, and my patients has begun to shrink over the past few months so that's really hurting things. it seems my confidence is gone for good in terms of art. And its affecting my work too much. I'm making mistakes I shouldn't be making. For now i need to just get used to working like this. So that it wont affect my work/designs. Being able to work through any mental stress even as mild as what i'm going through now, is important if i'm ever going to succeed.



I can't say my time spent these past 9 years studying/practicing, trying to be a good artist was something I regret doing. And I'm glad I came to Concept Art when I did. As it was thanks to this journey and all of you, that I learned what true talent looks like and that I've never actually been talented at drawing. I'm just some hack that got better gradually through pure luck, trial, and error and failing to really grasp any of my lesson early own years back, but what I do anyone with little effort could do easily. I lack many things that makes one a true artist. I understand/know what they are enough to know why my work and anything I design will never truly be good. And that I really should just focus on drawing and accepting my failures until I eventually over come them someday maybe decades from now. But the world doesn't completely work on honesty and odds are my career and future are both doomed before I even left the gate As I'm not going to lie about my abilities just to get sales. What a rather odd place to be. Though thankfully some places do have a low standard. And indie gaming isn't as focused on visuals. So there's some hope left there. Even if it isn't much. That this long winded project of mine, built on empty dreams might not be in vain.