Nearly 3 years in, it’s time to address things pertaining to the comic and Section Nyan in general. This is gonna be long, so buckle up, buckaroo.
1.) New Coloring Style Going Forward.
Starting today, all new pages (except for a few older pages already made for a later issue) will be presented in this hard, cel-shaded style of coloring, which includes incomplete shading and coloring of locations and characters, particularly those meant to be background elements. (i.e., only things that have an active participation in a scene has complete shading and coloring, with some case-by-case exceptions.)
It’s an older style I’ve used in 2013 in my first (cancelled) webcomic project, and was inspired by the eccentric presentation method used by Studio Shaft on their Monotagari series anime adaptation. You can see a sample of my old work here:
I’ve returned to this style for several reasons:
a.) It’s slightly faster to finish.
b.) I’ve grown to dislike my current shading method, and think it works best for single pieces like covers or posters, not for a panel-by-panel work. Working on something I like works wonders on improving output.
c.) It looks cleaner.
d.) It doesn’t obscure the linework much, which the current shading method tends to do.
e.) I find flat colors most aesthetically pleasing, and emphasizes the shading when it *is* used.
As I’ve recently switched back, it looks raw. I’ll try to polish the presentation more and more as new pages get finished.
2.) Some Social Media Accounts are Dormant, for Various Reasons.
Particularly Pixiv and Reddit.
a.)Pixiv: I decided that just reposting ads in my pixiv account is in bad taste, and the current ads no longer feature unique artwork anyway. I also am not producing new non-comic art for reasons to be explained below. Will post once I made something of note, however (like clean versions of ad art).
b.)Reddit: I keep getting downvoted, and I don’t know why. It’s a frustrating experience.
I currently got my hands full on just making the damn comic, so these issues are pushed in the back for now.
3.) I need to do more work nowadays.
Without a doubt, this is the biggest factor for the changes.
My current finances are crap. Computers and drawing tablets are expensive, and last me five years on average before breaking down. Electricity costs spiked recently where I live, that it’s ridiculous. So lately I’ve found myself studying to improve my work, and planning other projects in order to make bank. It’s difficult to break even in webcomics anyway, let alone be successful, so I can’t really expect to make decent money off of this.
While the common response is to put the non-profitable webcomic on hold while things get sorted out, I dislike that solution. I put my earlier 2013 webcomic on hold when my dad died of cancer, and I found it extremely difficult to return when things settled, so much that I canceled the damn thing. In retrospect, it turned out to work out in the end, as cancelling that led into me working on PA-RAL-LEL-LUM instead, leading to the thing you’re reading now, but I don’t want a repeat of that situation. I’ll keep on working on this title as I study and do my other projects, keeping it available for free.
So in short: No cancellations. Hiatus only invoked in the direst of situations.
4.) Thank you.
Thanks for sticking with me. 2023 was a horrible year for me personally, and your views do tell me I have a reason to keep on working. Here’s hoping 2024 won’t suck as much.
Section Nyan! 