It's been awhile, huh? Surveys are ready to be sent out, however, I'm waiting another month or two to do a smoke test and then the initial send.
Things have been as chaotic as ever, but I'm mostly on schedule. I'm really glad I built in extra time for myself. I won't mention the horrors of the world directly, but oof bagoof... I'm sure many of you are aware. It's hard not to be a despondent pile of goop as your brain tries to process just what the heck is going on.
The best thing to do is to do what you can. Don't overstretch and / or overstress yourself. If it's 2 in the morning, there's not much you can do about a situation, so try not to panic about it.
Rest when you need it. It's okay to do nothing. I've been having some "do nothing" days myself. My "do nothing" is basically playing a cozy video game, napping, and eating yummy snacks. I'm not productive. I'm just existing.
There's a lot more I could say, however, a lot of things are more situational to where you live and to what's going on around you.
I hope things go okay for you. I hope you have some yummy food and some time to rest.
Where are we on the timeline? I'm still working on some stories. Of the three I have left to write, I've refined my little quick drafts (outline synopsis thingies). Once finished with those, I'll be doing touch-ups.
In March, things will be sent to the editor. During that time, I'll be working on the layout art and more. Then more edits and fixes once the wonderful editor (Otters Editing) has done their thing.
Of course, I'll be giving y'all another update in the middle of February to let you know how it's going.
Beyond March, It's art, layout, and editing until June! Then, I'll order some proofs to make sure I have things looking good. More touch-ups. Once I get a proof that's well and good, it's ordering things, packaging them up, and sending them.
I'm still planning on early September for sending out physical and digital books and rewards. However, if things go smoothly, I might do so earlier. But, well, we'll see.
ART TIME I usually work on my art things during dnd (Dungeons and Dragons) time. Unfortunately, dnd schedules have not been aligning as well as usual. It's a curse many dnd players know well. I think we'll be getting back to more of a routine schedule on all of the campaigns soon (I'm in three of them).
But, I have gotten the outline for the 1st Make-A-Fairy done! It took me a hot minute to figure out how I wanted to do the crystals and background itself.
The symmetry tool did wonders for many aspects of the fairy! I didn't end up using that when it came to the crystals though. I'm thinking a lot of blues for the color scheme. I really like how this almost has a stained glass style to it. At least, I think it does.
I also think I should add some rusty shadings. You see, the mouth for this fairy is not where the mouth is. That's just more of a mimicry. Can you guess where the actual mouth is?
Oh yeah! This design is one of the sticker designs! Isn't she cute?! A fairy holding a fairy friend! So cute! This was a fun one to make. I was going with a different color scheme originally, but these colors worked so much better.
Title Reveals Hey! Want to know what some of the titles of the short stories will be? Heck, I'll even throw in the title of a poem.
Short Stories -The Painter's Fairy Folly -The Gift of Names
Poem -What's for Supper?
Okay, that's all I'm going to bug you with! It's probably a bit longer of an update than people care for. As a quick reminder, the pre-order store is open! If you weren't able to pledge during the campaign, you can still order the book and things. And don't be afraid to share it with those you think might be interested!
How a great day! Fairy kisses and best wished to you all! -Spooky Pickle
