Comments For Page 403

You knew Lord Taguna had to show up again sometime, right? Who's lord Taguna? He's the one That Balap took Charhex from. You can read the story in the archive starting on Page 29.

I hope no one thought I had forgotten this storyline, it's just taken me this long to get back to it. A lots happened to Racheal since her and Balap were last here. Looks like Lord Taguna isn't taking any chances this time and has hired some powerful muscle to take the girls in. Will Racheal and friends last longer then the previous group? Or will they just surrender and hope for the best? Considering what happened to the others (see page 368-370), surrendering isn't really an option, but they don't know that. What will their fate be? Wait and see.

Comments For Page 402

Well, He is a pretty cute looking elf boy. Can anything that cute be dangerous? Wait and see.

Sorry for the late update again. This new style is taking a long time to prefect. I started working on the page early because I knew it would take a while. I even had most of the art done and ready to color by the time I normally start drawing the comic. However, the more time I have, the more of a perfectionist I seem to become. I must have spend close to two hours just fixing the art and putting in backgrounds. It then took me another two hours to color the page and closer to three hours to shade everything and make a few more corrections I didn't see until I started coloring and shading the page. All in all, it took twice as long to create this page then before the style change and I had already begun spending more time on the art and backgrounds before that.

I do like this new style though, so I'll keep working on it. I want to be a better artist so the more I challenge myself, the better the art will get. It's a lot of hard work though, so expect to see many more late updates until I prefect this level of quality.

For good or ill, I've probably reached the limit of where I can improve this style. The only way I can get any better is to start using a lot of reference material and 3D models to create a more realistic style, but then the art wouldn't be uniquely mine anymore. I like my simple style. I think it fits the genre of the comic as well. If I do want to create better art, I'll do it in wallpapers and posters.

Well, Christmas is over. Time to figure out what I'm going to do to survive next year. I didn't make much money since I graduated and my savings are pretty much gone. I need to do something to make my site more popular so I can at least generate some ad revenue. I'm thinking of starting another comic to run 5-7 days a week. This would be a 3-5 panel gag strip done in a simple style that I can crank out pretty quickly. I'll try to start it next week, but I'm still not sure if my idea is funny enough. I want to make sure the concept can sustain a daily update before putting a lot of effort into it. Eventually, I'm just going to have to put something up and see what people think of it. You can over analyze something to death and still not know if it's funny or not. All you can do is put it out there and see if anyone's interested.

Comments For Page 401

The terrible trio has been revealed. But who are they and what do they plan to do to our heroes? They will introduce themselves on Friday so don't miss it.

I originally hadn't planned to do a regular page today, but I opted to do a reveal of the new characters instead. The first two panels are basically quick throwaway art just to fill up the page. I spend most of the time working on the last panel.

As a bonus to people reading my blog, I'll reveal the character's names here. From left to right they are Totoroi, Arlancy, and Oricarl.

Well my brother and his family is here, so I should say hi. I'll be back on Friday.

Comments For Page 400

Wow! I've made it to 400 pages of my web comic. Quite an achievement, and just look at that beautiful image. Make sure you click on it and see it full size. I'm amazed at how good my art has gotten in such a short time. Granted this page took a lot of work to color and shade, but it wouldn't look nearly as good without the tips I picked up (see previous post).

There will not be a new page on Wednesday. If I get a few minutes, I might do a filler; however, I will give you all a nice Christmas Present on Tuesday. It is a secret at this point, but rest assured it will be a nice gift. The present will only be around from Christmas eve to Boxing day. After that it will be taken down and likely won't be seen on this site again.

It's getting late, so I better get some sleep. I'll see you sometime after Christmas.

Have a Merry Christmas and best wishes for this holiday season.

Comments For Page 399

Oooh, pretty. I was reading some tutorials on how to draw digitally and I came across a site called Draw Furry. On the site are a lot of different techniques for drawing and coloring digitally. One post I found particularly interesting was this one. Kelly explains how she created the image on the front page. She says she uses a dark blue gray for her shadows, and the effect is really nice. She also filled in the whole character with shadow on a new layer. Then she used an eraser to remove the shadows from the lighter areas. Once she added some highlights, she had a very nice 3D image.

As you can see, I used the technique myself and it really wasn't any more time consuming then the old method I used for drawing shadows. The shadows are heavier then I usually use, but that's because this page's events takes place at sunrise. I won't be so shadow heavy in future pages (unless the scene once again calls for it).

What did take extra time to do was all the gradients. They really help give a more 3D look to complement the shadows, but it takes a while to line them up properly so they look right. I also placed a picture in the background of the first panel that I drew for art class (you can see it on my Deviant Art page). I did this because I wanted a nice sunrise to complement the rest of the picture.

Remember, the big Four-O-O is on Monday. It's going to show a spectacular view of the area, so don't miss it.

Comments For Page 398

Doesn't look like Balap is going to be much help in this fight. That is one big hammer, he's lucky it didn't actually hit him. Actually it looks more like a croquet mallet then a war hammer.






This page didn't take a long as the last couple. I don't know if I'm getting better at this, or if the pictures were just easier to draw. I started a lot sooner then I usually do so that helped. I actually got the picture colored before I got too tired to see straight.

I did the basic animation for my 2 second project, so now I just need to draw my character over the roughs and color it. This is the equivalent of drawing and coloring the same character 48 times. A daunting and time consuming task, but the animation will look really nice when I'm done (I hope). If the speed of putting up todays page is any indication, it might not take as long as I fear. I have a week to work on it, but with any luck I'll be done by Friday. It will be a nice christmas present to give to all my loyal fans.

Comments For Page 397

I guess the skeletons have nothing better to do then to ambush people teleporting in from other dimensions.

It took quite a while to draw and color all those skeletons. I really could have used some more around the sides to give more of a claustrophobic feeling. I suppose if the girls are going to survive this encounter there can't be too many skeletons.

Racheal's in real trouble since her legs are trapped. At least her ring is thought activated so it's only a matter of generating a weapon and cutting herself loose. There's the little problem of the other skeletons to worry about though since they likely won't give her the chance to escape.

Racheal looks really cute in the first panel. It's just one of those lucky accidents where I made the head and eyes too big. Maybe I should draw the characters cuter on purpose. Would you like that?

I'm working on a new project that I hope to have finished in a few days. I'm trying to get back into animation. It's really been too long since I've done anything and I really should keep practicing before I forget what I've learned. There are a few contests going on that I plan to enter, so I have something to motivate me. I seem to need real deadlines in order to do anything. If everything works out, I'll try to do more animation in the future.

Comments For Page 396

Who are these robed figures and what danger will they be to our heroes? The answer to these questions and more will be revealed next week.

This page didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. I even started work on it early, but I still ended up rushing at the end.

I really should have used some reference photos for the robes. It took a few tries to get them to hang right, and they still don't look perfect. I really should have used the underling forms but I didn't want to reveal what the characters looked like until later.

I debated about whether the second panel should have a crowd of people or not. Ultimately, laziness won out. I really should have used a smaller chamber for a private audience with the king though.

The last panel isn't what I wanted at all. I originally planed to freeze frame them in mid trip. However, problems with getting the cloaks right and the desirer to show the feet changed things a bit. I'd like to redo it but I've got another things to work on.

Speaking of which, I should get back to work. I'll see you Monday.

Comments For Page 395

Brand new story starts today. These two characters along with the two introduced in the previous side story (pages 368-370) will play a major role in this story. More characters will be introduced on Friday and the story will really get going on Monday.

As you can see I tried a different shading technique and a new hair color process. I think it looks pretty good and it didn't take much more time then the usual methods. Actually the hair looks better and was easier to do, so I think I'll stick to this method.

This page was as much an experiment to try drawing different female body types as it was a fun, sexy story. This story takes place in a heavy populated area so there will be people of many sizes and shapes showing up. This includes some strong handsome men, so expect the story dynamics to go up a notch.

Page 400 is quickly approaching and that means a large double page spread. This time I'm going to use the space for a huge establishing shot of the kingdom and the army of a thousand mentioned on the title.

This will be the girls' most dangerous adventure yet. Some will live, some will die and some will be changed forever as the story continues. Keep reading and I'll keep posting. See you Friday.

Comments For Page 394

As promised, here is the new cover for the previous chapter along with the old cover which is actually for the next chapter.

I filled in the hedge with a texture from Photoshop instead of my usual rough leaf drawings. It doesn't stand out as much but it is cleaner. This picture was colored and shaded in Photoshop instead of using Manga Studio as I usually do. I may continue to do this in the future. However, I'll still want to use the text balloons and textures from Manga Studio. I can get the colors from the previous comics, so getting the proper color shouldn't be a problem.


I'll be doing some side stories for the next couple of pages before getting back into the main story. These are not fillers, but will impact the main story later on. One story will be very sexy and the other will be very dark. Let me know if you would like more of this kind of art in the main storyline.

Comments For Page 393

The gang is finally on their way to rescue their friends. Hopefully they are not too late.

Expect big changes next week. By this point in my comic's life I should be getting at least 1000 people visiting my page every day, but I'm only getting a fraction of that. Why? Probably because the comic is too tame. It is not extremely funny, it is merely amusing at times. It is not action packed, but has the occasional violent scene. The art is not spectacular, but it gets the job done. The writing isn't amazing, but it's not bad either. Basically, in it's current state, my web comic is too middle of the road to get much notice. I have neither strong fans nor harsh critics.

It's time to change all that. I had originally planned for this comic to be weird. Dr. Seuss meets Tim Burton weird. However, due to my lack of drawing skill and time, I played it safe most of the time and now I'm paying for that. Well, no longer. Starting next week, the comic will be going in a brand new direction. I'm not going to let my inner critic hold me back any longer. Expect more weirdness, more danger, and more over-the-top humor then ever before. I'm going to make the type of comic I'd want to read. I know I'll likely tick some people off, but any reaction is better than the poor response I'm getting now.

Expect two covers on Monday. One to replace the one used in the old story line because it no longer fits (as discussed in the last post), and a new one to commemorate the new direction the comic is going. I also have plans for a few other things, but considering my track record, I wouldn't get my hopes up. If anyone has any comments or suggestions please let me know. I'm always looking for ways to improve my comic.

Comments For Page 392

My first twelve panel page. I've really been dragging this story line out way too long and it's going to end Friday, even if I have to do a 20 panel page - which I won't. I should be able to deal with everything in nine to twelve panels and then on Monday there will be a new cover for the past storyline.

That's right, I said past. The cover I originally made was meant for the next storyline, but I figured that this section would be short (the gang gets the satchel and is quickly on their way), so I did one cover to cover both stories; however, somewhere along the way, I decided it would be more interesting if Cepani took and hid the satchel, which led to the current story line.

In the end it was a good thing as it allowed me to deal with a few loose ends like how Racheal knows the language, why Slara doesn't like Cepani, what happened to Charhex, who Birhena is (and how she joins the group), what happened to Racheal's ring, and how Balap gets a new weapon. That last one likely wouldn't have happened at all without this story but I have plans for it in the future.

As the last panel suggests, I want to make it clear that these stories about the origins of the Animal Tokens are just stories. Each one has a bases of truth but none of then (and there are going to be several more before the saga ends) tells the whole truth. Don't worry, Slara isn't going to tell her story next. Fact is, she doesn't know much more then anyone else. As she'll make clear on Friday, she just finds Terra's story too full of holes to be believable.

Sorry my blog is up so late. I was working all day and this is the first chance I've gotten to sit down and type this up. I was up late last night trying to get the comic done because I knew I wouldn't have any time to work on it today. I had to get up early and add the shadows before going to work. I don't know how many people noticed there weren't any shadows on the page last night but I had the corrected page up before most people would have been awake this morning.

Comments For Page 391

What a lot of stuff Cepani has collected. Can you see the satchel anywhere?

That's a pretty large bed. I guess Birhena won't need all that room anymore.

Sorry that this page is up late once again. I could blame the third panel, but it actually wasn't that difficult - just time consuming. The real reason this is up late is because I watched "The Incredibles" on TV instead of working. I had seen the movie before, but I had forgotten a lot. Especially at the beginning when the characters are being introduced. There's some good stuff there that I missed the first time.

I didn't take the time to do perfect perspective, so if somethings are a little wonky it's because they were wonky to begin with. I've done enough good perspective drawings that I at least kept thinks looking too out of place. Let me know if anything looks really off and I'll change it.

Comments For Page 390

The gang has finally made it to the center of the maze, but where is the satchel? Something tells me they won't be able to just walk in and pick it up. That would be too easy.

Sorry to be late posting again. At least I got the B&W image up this time; however, the picture looks much better in color. This new technique is adding over an hour to the process even though I'm not doing too much extra. I think what's really taking the time is my fussing over the look of the drawings. I'm trying to reach a level of competence where I can draw the characters accurately each time without needing to look at previous drawings. I know most people look at model sheets but I'd rather not be a slave to a particular drawing. I want to keep my style loose while still maintain a level of accuracy.

I painted a picture using a wet ink technique yesterday and I like the results. Not many people paint with ink these days but I like the process. You can get some very nice results with little effort. You still need a strong drawing to paint over, but the end result can look photo-realistic in the hands of a skilled painter. Back when B&W photography was common, you would often see ink paintings in magazines. Now that everything is in color, you don't see them much anymore.


Woman in Ink by ~DungeonWarden on deviantART

You can learn more about this technique in this article:
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive: Wash Painting: In Praise Of Happy Accidents

Comments For Page 389

Could Birhena have turned on the group already? Come back Friday and see where those arms are coming from.

Sorry for the delay in putting the page up. As you can see I'm trying to improve the look of my art by varying the line thickness and by adding more shading. I tried to put up the black and white image last night but the recent update to the host seems to have rendered the FTP site unusable. I'm hoping this will soon be corrected. If not, I'll send a nice letter of compliant in hopes that it will be fixed.

In the mean time, I'm forced to use the Control Panel to upload to my site. The Control Panel is very useful for coding and altering the web site, but it's very slow at uploading anything, mainly because you can only upload one thing at a time.

I read a new tutorial for Manga Studio and found out there is a very easy way to create panel boarders. I wish I had known about this sooner as it saves me a lot of time setting up the page. Of course setting it up this new way took a while, causing this page to be posted even later, but now I can create all sorts of panels (including triangles and circles) with ease. I was tempted to try some unusual shaped panels, but that likely would have pushed the posting time back even further. I'll try to fit in some unusual panels in the future.

Comments For Page 388

I don't know what Birhena is complaining about. She's still the tallest one in the group. Balap has been short all his life and you don't hear him complaining ... much.

I had a hard time making birhena look like she was pointing behind herself. I think I finally got it right, but she doesn't look right overall. I think she's too small and the face isn't quite right. I am getting pretty good drawing everyone else though.

I created a background picture using a Milt Gross image posted on John K's Website. You can see the original image in this post.

Milt Gross Living Room by ~DungeonWarden on deviantART

If you look on the right hand side of the blog, you'll see the new picture viewer Blogger added to the site. Currently it is linked to my web page thumbnails. You can move through the pages using the buttons on the images. Just move the pointed onto the image and you'll see the controls.

Comments For Page 387

Now that Birhena is calmed down, will we finally get some answers? Wait and see.

Sorry for the delay in getting this page up. My computer decided to go into a slow crash last night and I was unable to get the page done. I was also really tired which didn't help. Has anyone else had their computer slow down to the point of stopping without actually stopping? It's one thing for the computer to just crash (that's expected with MS Windows), but for the computer to take several minutes to do something that normally takes less then a second is just agonizing. I have a pretty fast computer and I keep it free of Viruses and Spyware, so I don't know what caused the problem. It seems to have gone away on it's own, whatever it was.

I'm amazed at how much nicer my faces look now. It wasn't that many months ago that I was having trouble drawing a head with any consistency. Now, I can draw specific heads for each character. It takes a little more work to keep then "on model" but at least I can do it now. You can almost tell what the characters are thinking by their expressions.

The real test of an artist's ability with expressions is to draw a silent comic - trying to tell a story through a characters expressions rather then their words. I've seen a couple of silent comics, though they often cheat somewhat by including non-spoken text; however, a story in an old Archie comic only has text in a poster about a school dance that sets up the story, which I think is fine. I'll have to try it sometime.

Comments For Page 386

Well, they're not quite back to normal. Can you spot the differences?

Racheal's hair is now a dark brown instead of her original black. This is due to her hair becoming golden brown in her lion form.

Toi's skin has changed color, becoming a lighter shade of golden brown. This is her natural skin color.

Birhena's skin has also returned to it's natural color. In both cases, this is because the fur they were covered with has disappeared.

Birhena's horns have changed color. This was mostly so they contrast better with her hair and skin. Her horns are also shorter as a result of her returning to her quasi-human form.

I've been drawing the characters with muzzles for too long. It's good to get back to doing more human faces. As you can see, I put some effort into giving the characters unique faces. Racheal has a round face, Toi is more heart shaped, and Birhena is squarish. I'll redesign the other characters as they are reintroduced.

Slara unfortunately will always have a muzzle, unless she somehow acquires an animal token of her own. Lets see, what tokens are unaccounted for...

Tiger (Feline) - Racheal
Rat (rodent) - Toi
Ox (bovine) - Angel
Dragon (drake) - Ann
Rabbit (Lagomorpha) - Bunny
Snake (Reptile) - Terra
Horse (Equine) - Horese
Sheep (Bovidae) - Birhena
Boar (Swine) - Georgena
Rooster (Avian) - Unnamed
Monkey (Primate) - Unknown
Dog (Canine) - Unknown

The first name is the classical Chinese Zodiac animal. The word in brackets is the family this animal comes from. As you can tell by Racheal's recent lion form, the girls are not limited to the classical animal forms but can transform into any species within the same family. So far, only Horese and Terra have the ability to control what form they take. The others will transform randomly when they are subjected to trauma.

The boar and Rooster have been designed, but have not been introduced (though Gena was seen in a flashback), so that only leaves the monkey and Dog. The most logical choice is for Slara to become the monkey. This would be backwards from what the others experienced as the transformation would make her look more human (which is the reason I want to transform her in the first place).

There are still a few plot points that need to be dealt with first, but I'll see how things are going by the time the Rooster girl is introduced.

Keep reading and supporting the comic.

Comments For Page 385

What is happening to Birhena? Come back Wednesday to find out.

Sorry this story line is taking so long. Originally I had planned to just go through the labyrinth quickly and get to the next part of the story. But I figured it wouldn't be much of a maze if the characters could just hurry right through it.

This story line should end by Friday and the characters will finally be on their way...but to where? Strange things are coming in the future so please keep reading. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Comments For Page 384

Seems like the words won't work unless two people speak them at the same time. But what do the words actually to? Come back Monday to find out.

Don't worry, Toi is alright. Getting smacked into the bushes isn't nearly as bad as being crushed into the ground, though she was taken by surprise.

I've got lots of documents to write in hopes of making some money so I better get to it. I'll let you know if anything comes of it.

Comments For Page 383

Can words stop a rampaging monster? Racheal seems to think so. Though, she better read quickly if she hopes to accomplish anything. I don't know how much Toi can do to slow Birhena down.

Did you notice that I finally am using a font for the text instead of writing it out by hand? The font is called Adam Warden 2.0 and can be found free at "http://www.1001fonts.com" I like the hand written style of this font. It looks similar to my own handwriting but isn't as rough. I'm still writing out the text in the roughs so I know where to put the text so that it fits in a word balloon.

Nothing else to say so I'll see you o Friday.

Comments For Page 382

What is so important about page 56 that Racheal has to read it now? You'll have to come back Wednesday and find out. I'll just say the results will be pretty interesting.

I started working on the page early because I knew it would take a while to get made and consequently it was done earlier then normal. I was even able to make this post before it got to late.

I don't know what else to say. So good night and I'll see you Wednesday.

Comments For Page 381

Looks like Racheal's going back into the pit. At least she has company this time. I suppose she'll just jump out again, if Birhena will let her that is.

I got Dragon Quest Monster: Joker yesterday (see previous post) so I might not be updating for a while. Just kidding. I'll still put up regular updates, I just won't put up any extra stuff for awhile.

I don't really have anything to add, so I'll see you on Monday.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

I got my copy of DQM: Joker!




At first I wasn't sure if I'd want as game that was basically just a side story for the Dragon Quest series, but the more information I saw and the more images and videos I watched, the more I knew that this is more then just a side game. It is a game worthy of the Dragon Quest title.

DQMJ is very similar to Dragon Quest VIII, same 3D graphics, same art style, same DQ style interface. The main difference is that you fight with a monster team instead of an adventuring party. This means combat uses different tactics but it's still the same DQ look to the battles.

I really love the idea of playing DQ on my DS. Having a great portable game is always a bonus, as I'll be able to play the game anywhere.

I pre-ordered the game online; therefore, I have to wait until it gets here in the mail instead of buying it in the store opening day, but I'm willing to wait a few more days for this great game. Who am I kidding. I can't wait. Postman, please hurry!

Comments For Page 380

Could Slara have really left Birhena to die? What do we really know about her? Come back Friday and see how she responds to this accusation.

I need a break from all the action to tell the story of how Birhena got the way she is now. Maybe that's a story for another time. I never know how much information I should tell and how much I should show. Timing is important as well. I don't want to bore people with a lot of exposition.

I finally put up the remake of page nine. Now that I'm rewriting the story, I'm taking my time with the updates. It's unlikely anyone wants to buy a copy of the comic in it's current state, so I'll need to fix it up before continuing with that idea.

I'd like to make a calendar but I don't really want to over work myself making it unless I know it will sell. Calendars only last a year, so I need to make it worthwhile.

It's getting late. I'll see you on Friday.

Comments For Page 379

Racheal's method of stopping Birhena may be more permanent then Slara's, which is why she's giving Slara the opportunity to go first.

I want to apologize to those who were looking for my comic earlier. I wasn't feeling well and was a bit slow getting the page finished. As you can see, this was a pretty complex page so it would have taken longer then normal anyway. I suppose I should have started working on it earlier but you know how things go.

If anyone's wondering why Toi looks more detailed in the bottom left panel, it's because I used a photo of a pose I liked for reference. I did that for the Halloween image as well and I kind of like the look. I'd use more references, but there aren't any photo's of cat girls twisting in the air (There are not many images of cats twisting in the air for that matter).

Is Birhena a friend or foe? Find out on Wednesday.

Comments For Page 378

Birhena, Bir-he-na. Now where have I heard that name before? Didn't Horese mention something about Birhena in relation to Georgena? Something that made Angel squirm?

Then Birhena is the ram token. But why is she so big? Is this something Angel did? Why is she on Slara's home world? Stay tuned to find out.

Six panels of action really take a long time to draw. Panel one was particularly hard as I wanted to show Racheal's cat like reflexes and flexibility as she dodged the hammer. Toi is also pretty quick and flexible. Slara on the other hand was nearly flattened.

Strange that Slara is the one who wants to stop the fight. Maybe she knows something that Toi doesn't? Or maybe Toi is still too much of a beast to think clearly. Either way it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Comments For Page 378 and Page 8

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Here is a lovely image of Racheal for your viewing pleasure. This image is based on a photograph but is in no way a copy of that photo. I build the image though solid construction and observation the way a true artist should. Having a photo reference does have certain advantages over trying to draw from your head.

Page 8 was draw completely from my head but the posing is still strong because of the construction lines. The weakness is in the proportions and fore-shorting. I'm getting better at it though.

Comments For Page 377

Who is this new adversary? She's certainly no minotaur. Looks like the gang is in big trouble whatever she it.

In case you haven't noticed, that girl's head is above the hedge. That means she must be 14-16 feet tall. Well over twice as tall as anyone else. That hammer she's holding must be as big as Toi. No one could hope to survive being hit by that thing.

I don't know if anyone noticed that I haven't updated the remakes in a while. This is for two reasons.

First off, I finally found someone to critique my web comic. He found a lot of problems with the way the story starts. Racheal seems to accept her fate a little too easily, and he is right. I just wanted to get to the more interesting parts of the story and made the mistake of pushing Racheal into a situation she really shouldn't have agreed to. Because of this, I've decided to actually rewrite the story. I should put the first rewrite up tonight or tomorrow morning.

Secondly, I have been working on a project for a client and that kept me busy Friday and Saturday. I'm waiting for an evaluation, so I have some free time to work on the story now. I'll probably miss a few more updates once the client returns, but for now I'll keep working on my web site.

I'm working on the story for my main comic as well. I want to write a good story arch that really forces Racheal to think about what she's doing. She's been following everyone else for too long and needs to take a more proactive lead in the story. I hope you enjoy the new focus on story.

Comments For Page 376

Seems like Racheal is still in her right mind, but she seems unhappy with the situation. Toi is being her usual self-centered self though. Doesn't she realize how strange she looks?

Sorry, for the lateness of this post. It was late when I put up the page and I noticed an error when I went to view it. I don't like drawing the whiskers on the characters faces because it makes it hard to color. However, this time I left the whiskers off thinking to add them on later and didn't. I only just fixed the error.

The other think is I just forgot to update. I try to update when I post so there is no chance to forget, but I just didn't have the energy last night and I got busy this morning and forgot about it.

I don't know how many people read this anyway. Maybe I'm just wasting my time. If anyone reads this, plese post a comment so I know you're out there.

Comments For Page 375

Racheal has transformed again. This time into some kind of lion woman. Will she be able to control her temper this time or will she end up riping her friends apart? I wonder if she can even speak in that form.

I tried to keep Racheal's appearance hidden until the last panel so that her new form would be a surprise. I wonder how many people would just jump to the last panel anyway.

I like how much cleaner my art is now. The thumbnail is very readable. There are still some white edges under the lines though. This only appears in the thumbnail, so it likely has something to do with how Manga Studio formats the image.

One of my new reads mentioned that the front page needs work so I'm going to see what I can do about that today. Page 8 should be up tonight. See you Friday.

Comments For Page 374

Does Racheal have a paw now? Has she transformed again? Check back Wednesday and see.

I decided that I need more introspection from my main character. I'm not sure how well her personality comes across in the story and I though this might help.

I've got a line on a new job, so there may be a bit of slow down on the updates. I'm hoping to be able to keep up both tasks, but a paying job needs to take priority over my hobby. I hope you understand.

Comments For Page 373

Oh no! Looks like Racheal got hurt - again. What's going to happen to her now?

I finally put up a Wonder Project ad. For less then 50 cents a day, I have a small button on the main Girl Genus page. I've gotten about 100 new page views already and the ads only been up 24 hours. Hopefully many of those people will stay on and become regular readers.

Tomorrow (October 20, 2007) is 24-hour comic day. I'm going to put all my other activities on hold and try to participate. There isn't any local group involved that I know of, so I'll have to do it alone. I'll put the pages up as a vote incentive and make the whole thing available for $5. Hopefully, some of the new viewers will have some money and can help support the site.

Comments For Page 4

It took me a little longer to update this page then the others, mainly because this is the worst page of the bunch. Not only was it just a bunch of talking heads, but the words didn't really convey the emotional content of the scene.

As you can see, I've completely rewritten the dialogue. If you don't remember the old text, just click on the image and scroll to the bottom of the page to see the older version.

I've also added backgrounds to make the pages more interesting to look at. Add to all that, the better quality artwork, and you have a vast improvement all around. It's pages like this that I've wanted to fix for a long time. It's about time I got around to it.

Comments For Page 372 and Page 3

Remember kids, don't run around in pit filled labyrinths. Sounds like good advice regardless if you're being chased by a killer rabbit or not. Seems like Slara should have known better. Well, they won't make that mistake again.

I feel that the simple trick of drawing at 1200 ppi has really improved my art a lot. Part of the reason is that those annoying little mistakes can't be seen at all now. The other reason is I can draw a lot bigger and detailed images knowing that it will all be reduced in the end. I have to be careful not to draw small details, since those will disappear as well.

Do you like the feeling of depth in the last panel? I don't think it would have looked nearly as good with out the different line thickness. Racheal at the bottom has very thin lines and little detail, while Slara and Toi are more detailed with thicker lines. It really is a nice effect that just wouldn't have been possible before. The best thing about it is that the page didn't take any longer then usual to draw.

Look at this remake of page 3. It took me less then an hour to draw this, about the same amount of time as it took to draw the original page two and a half years ago, but the difference in quality it remarkable. I added little details like the stitching on the glove just because I could. I could never have done that in the past.

Comments For Page 371

We now return to the gang in the labyrinth. Where's a Holy Hand Grenade when you need one? (Shame on you if you've never seen Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail.)

Notice anything different in todays page? I guess the most noticeable thing in the thumbnail is that the words are clear and easy to read. That's actually the result of the real change which you can only see in the full size image.

Taking some advice from Scott McCloud, I set my drawing to 1200 ppi. I have heard about this before but it was never really said why this is a good idea. Mr. McCloud's book, Making Comics, actually shows you what a higher ppi will do.

Basically, working at a higher scale allows you to vary the brush size easier for a greater variety of line thicknesses. Working at 300 ppi (which I usually do), forces you to use tiny 3-5 pixel brushes to get any detail. At 1200 ppi, I can use a 20 pixel brush to get the same quality of line. This allows greater flexibility, and I can use pressure sensitive brushes now for even better line quality.

One thing to be aware of is that 1200 ppi files are huge. Once you're done, you should save your final Photoshop (or whatever drawing program you are using) image at 300 ppi (for print) and save your web image (.jpg or .gif) at 72 ppi. Oh, and when scanning in images, scan then at the highest ppi you're scanner will allow. It's much easier to clean up a 600 or 1200 ppi image then a 300 ppi one.

I highly recommend Making Comics to anyone interested in telling a story with pictures. Although the focus is on comics, his advice and examples can be applied to other forms of art as well.

Page 1 and 2

Here they are. The first two pages of my web comic updated with new art and word balloons.

I'd forgotten how bad my printing was in the beginning. Fortunately, I'd written everything big enough that it was somewhat readable. I'm sure there are many people who will be glad to have some better quality images to read from.

My printing is so much better now that you can almost read page 2 despite it being half the size of the original. As usual, you can click on the image to get the larger version.

Comments For Page 370

What happened to Obitckert? How did he get captured and and tortured by this strange woman and where did she come from? What happened to the rest of the gang? These and many other questions will not be answered on Monday.

I did up an announcement about the new book idea in the forums. You can go these and discuss the book idea or post in the comments below. So far there has been no comments so I'll work on an other project for a while. I will do the paperback version of my story someday. It is a good source of income for many web comic creators so it would be foolish of me not to put one out. In fact, there should have been at least two books out already. I wish I had done a better job on the first 50 pages or so. It's the task of fixing those pages that's really holding me back.

Maybe I should switch to a 7 day update schedule. Regular updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and fixing older pages on the other days. That way the comic would eventually be finished and the book can come out sooner rather then later. Yes, I'll put out an improved version of page 1 for tomorrow and see how it goes.

Comments For Page 369

A snake, a rabbit and a cow? Where have we seen those animals before? They certainly don't look like normal animals. Could it be...? Nay, that's impossible - or is it? Come back Friday to learn more about these strange creatures.

My business partner isn't as ill as she though, so we will work on our business plan once again. The doctors don't know what the cause of her illness is, so it's still iffy about when we can start the business. I'm hoping this won't drag on too long. Money is tight right now, so I'm going to have to find a way to make some money.

Is there any hope people might pre-order my book? I'll do up a high-quality poster for the first 50 people that tell me they want to buy a print version of my story. Just post a message in the comments below.

The first book will contain the first story arch (up to the point Racheal goes to the BioBattle dome for the first time). The book will include all new art (since the original art sucks and isn't good enough to print), a full color cover, and some bonus content. The price will likely be $12.99 (this may change). If I get at least 10 comments asking for the book, I'll get the book ready for November 1, 2007. Otherwise, I'll work on it whenever I can.

Comments For Page 368

Who are these characters? You'll have to wait to find out, though there are a few clues about who one of them might be.

I'm changing things once again. This time it's the final export that is different. Click on the thumbnail and you'll see that the large version isn't so large anymore. On the advice of the gang at Webcomics Weekly (the link is in a previous post), I've put a lower quality (but still very clear and readable) version on my webpage and will offer a higher quality printable image for sale (higher quality then any of the previous pages).

The main reason I'm doing this is because I will be making a graphic novel version of my webcomic available for those that want a printed copy. It's also a good source of income to sell individual prints. I only have high quality versions of the pages from page 355 to today, so if you want an older page I'll have to rework it.

The early pages are simple black and white sketches so it'd shouldn't take too long to rescale them for the book. I may even fix a few pages and put them up in place of the old ones. I've got the cover sketched out, so hopefully it wouldn't be too long before it's done. I'm going to push to have it done before the end of the month. I'll let you know when it's near completion.

Comments For Page 367

Well, it's about time Charhex showed up again. It's been something like 150 pages since we've last seen him. Hopefully, he'll be put to some practical use instead of just being comic relief.

Well, I have some bad news. My partner pulled out of our business deal at the last minute and I'm jobless once again. She left due to health problems, so I'm hoping she'll recover enough to try again in the future. In the meantime, I'm going to need to do more freelance work.

I know some web comic artists do commissions for their reader and I'm willing to do the same. Just let me know what you want and I do it up for you at a reasonable cost. The more complex (several characters, detailed backgrounds, etc.) you want, the more it will cost, but if you just want an original signed picture of one of my characters in black and white, it will only cost $5.

Please buy some things from the store (http://www.cafepress.com/dungeonwarden). I'll try to get my comic in book form as soon as possible. I know many of you would like a nice hard copy to read and I'm going to do my best to get that to you soon. It takes a lot of effort to make money, so I need to get off my butt and just do it.

Comments For Page 366

In this day and age, we often forget what a rare gift it is to be able to read and write.

Sorry for panel 5. I don't know why Toi and Balap look so distorted in that one. I'm too tired to fix it.

Speaking of which, I think I'll go to bed now. I may post a longer comment later. Tomorrow's a busy day, so I may not get the chance. I'll talk to you again Friday if not before.

Comments For Page 365

Basilisks and a minotaur? How is our gang going to get past that? Or are they going to take Slara's advice and give up trying to recover the satchel? Find out what they decide to do next time.

Once again, I'm trying something different. This time I have talking heads explaining what's happening in the panels. I have seen this used in other comics and I think it works here.

I wish I could get some feed back about the different things I'm trying in this comic. I guess if no one is complaining I'll have to assume you like the changes or at least don't mind them. I would hope that if I do anything you hate, you would speak up right away. Either way, I'm going to keep playing around with my layouts and style, if for no other reason then to keep me interested in doing this.

I'll see you on Wednesday.

Comments For Page 364

So that's what awaits in the labyrinth. Still, that's doesn't explain why Slara is so upset. Could there be something more to the labyrinth then we've been told? Wait and see.

I'm trying something a little different with the panels. I originally wanted the maze to form it's own panel and break the top panel into three panels, but it didn't really work out that way. The words kind of got in the way. I suppose I could rework it, but I don't want to spend a lot of time on it.

Speaking of time, did anyone notice how late in the day I'm posting this? After all my talk about getting faster and better at putting up pages, I end up being late again.

This time it wasn't really my fault. Thursdays are busy days for me anyway because of Choir practice and art class. On top of that, one of my nieces came for a visit and I didn't want to miss seeing her. She doesn't visit very often and her visits are always short. Yesterday was no exception, but it still took a chunk out of my drawing time.

I did get all the drawing done last night, but the coloring didn't get done until this morning. It really amazes me that it takes two hours to color my art. It's not like I'm doing anything complex with the colors. It's mostly just using the fill tool. The hair and shadows are what take the time. I guess that's why I like drawing Slara the best - no hair to worry about.