We’re at the end of January, and I’m figuring out my art goals for 2025 (finally!)
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m still not 100% clear on these goals, and it’s probably okay. So they are not so much actual goals as… directions?
Table of Contents
“At War’s Edge” Going Forward
Definitely Keep Going
I’m definitely intending to keep up with the regular publishing. And hopefully not do that several-month-long production break this year.
There will be new characters introduced this year (hopefully the very last two characters that haven’t appeared on screen yet – Kuno and “that colleague” of his that Isal and Neia have been discussing).
And there will be one or two new locations, but those will be smaller rooms in a familiar style that shouldn’t require too much set-up.
And there will be no new crowds, yay!
So the main production and publication should be proceeding more or less on schedule, possibly with a week or two of break at the end of the chapter.
Increase Buffer
I’d like to build a bigger buffer than I am at right now. The production is only about 2 weeks ahead of publication, I’d love to get it to more like 4-6 weeks.
One Outline to Rule Them All
I’d like to complete the outline of the entire story.
To be clear, it’s not that I don’t know where the story is going. I’ve known the general direction of the plot from the beginning. I have multiple future scenes planned and even scripted, I’ve finished most of the relevant worldbuilding and backstories last summer, and I have a ton of ideas including three possible endings.
This year, I’d like to finally organise this into a complete outline. For one thing, it might make picking the right ending easier. For another, we’re getting close to that point in the story where the plot might start diverging based on what ending I pick. Also, given how complex the plot is with its multiple story lines, I want to make sure I’m not leaving any threads hanging.
So, at least a draft of the entire outline is becoming a must-have. And I think I’ve come up with a fun way of doing it. Using Blender!
Starting That Major Art Update, Sort Of
In other news, I’ve been again looking at my old art from the beginning of the webcomic, and it really makes me cringe.
That’s a healthy thing. It’s been over five years since the webcomic launched in 2019. I got my diploma, found a job as a 3d artist, and did over 270 webcomic pages since then. I obviously learned a lot. It would be worrying if I weren’t cringing at my old art.
And don’t get me wrong, I am glad that I haven’t started the art update yet. I spent the last year deep-diving into cinematic lighting, and while I still have a lot to learn there, the difference is obvious. I recently tried re-lighting the scene in the marshal’s office from 2022, and, I mean…
Yep, seems I’ve learned a bit about lighting. (And I’m much happier with the new hair.)
That being said. I’m still not sure I’m ready to start the update. (I’m also not sure I ever will feel confident. There always will be things to learn and improve.)
But. We’re at a point where I don’t want to tell people about the webcomic because of how unhappy I am with a lot of the early art. (This is also why I’ve never done any real marketing for “At War’s Edge” – I was technically putting it out there, but also didn’t really want people to see it, lol.)
And, therefore…
The Sky Port (Video?) Project
I’m going to try a soft start to the update this year.
I’m going to take the first scene of the webcomic – the one in the Shelisk sky port – and revamp that.
I’m not completely horrified by this piece, but it’s not something I’d want in my portfolio anymore, either. The environment can definitely be improved, and the whole thing needs to be reshot at higher resolution. And with better lighting. And with better facial expressions and updated hair and cloth shaders. And with better camera work. (Back then I didn’t know any compositing, or even how to do basic focus depth. I was rendering image layers separately and blurring the background in GIMP. No facepalm emoji conveys my feelings on the matter appropriately… though Areghyr from the office render above kinda does.)
I don’t know if I’m going to get the reshoot of the Sky Port scene this year, but I would dearly like to do at least the environment update. And I’m thinking it would be cool to document the process, maybe even do a video at the end or something. I’m horribly shy about putting my face or voice on Internet, but this might be good place to start with at least the voice?
Also, I’ve picked up music composing as a hobby over the last year, and I’ve been itching to try proper animation. So this might be an opportunity to do something with that. A short fly-through over the wharves, maybe?
Always Keep Learning
Goes without saying, but it’s still worth writing down.
I want to keep learning this year, and learning in a structured way. I’ve got a Udemy course on cinematic lighting I still need to finish, and a course on Blender geometry nodes (which I’ve been woefully under-using so far). And a music theory course.
I have a bad habit of abandoning Udemy courses halfway through, but these three I’d really like to actually complete, preferably this year.
Not sure where this is all taking me. But I’m definitely excited to find out.
Here’s to a good 2025, everyone!