Weekly update for Dec. 17, 2018 ( Comic will be late! )

Death-Ray Comix Anthology Issue #1
Death Ray Expo Anthology #1 is now available at the Big Bot Design store!
https://big-bot.com/collections/merch/products/death-ray-comix-anthology-issue-1

As stated above, this week’s comic update will be late. It should land on Thursday. Sorry for the delay. Let’s blame it on holiday activities disrupting the workflow. ( Not to mention a weird wordpress bug I ran into when updating recently. ) 

Sadly, I won’t be hitting #100 before the year is out. The change in comic formatting and numbering soaked up the additional updates. ( I will be seven comics short. ) However, I will stick it out by making sure there will be comic updates each remaining week of 2018. There might be a short break in January. I will keep yall posted on that. 

Also, on the Patreon side of things, the new Gomradi lore piece is also delayed. Principle art is about done and should post this Saturday. The poll to pick the next topic will be posted shortly afterwards. If you are a patron you can vote on the next topic!

In the meantime, the process vid for the last Muradjinn pic is ready to view. Check it out below!

Created on Procreate by Eldon Cowgur…as if I needed to tell you that…

That is all for now! See you Thursday.

-Eldon

Weekly update for Dec. 10, 2018

Death Ray Expo Anthology Issue.1

A few quick updates for the week. 

The above is a comic page I contributed to a local anthology in association with the Cattywampus/Death Ray Expo maker/creator faire. ( https://gocattywampus.com/ ) It was recently only available to event visitors, but should be up for purchase online shortly. It is full of comics and content from NWA local creators. I’ll make a specific post when they are available. All purchases will go toward supporting further anthologies. 

The Patreon post for today’s update has some preliminary design work for Argann and his Ogroon. Check it out for free! 

Speaking of the Patreon, there will be a new lore update up this weekend. We will be exploring the Gomradi. New art and insights! The post will be free to read. However, only patrons will get to vote for the next topic. 

Translation for today’s page will be up Saturday.

And that is it for now, 

Till next time,

-Eldon

Weekly update for Nov. 19, 2018. ( No comic this week.)

Process vid will be on Patreon in a few days.

Hello readers,

There won’t be a comic update for Thanksgiving week. Hope all my U.S readers have a happy turkey day. I’m still aiming to reach comic update one hundred before 2018 runs out. As such, I’m not announcing a Christmas or New Years break just yet. ( I’ll need to do the math first. )

In other news, I’m starting to renovate the old Astray3 art. It’s been over a year and it’s time to slap a fresh coat of paint on the old shed. Look for changes to happen throughout the remainder of 2018. ( And probably into 2019. )

Also, I’ll soon make all the concept art and character info public on the Patreon page. I’ve decided to stop putting exclusive content behind a paywall. You will still have to view it over on the Patreon page. ( So, temptingly close to that donation button. ) I’ll drop an announcement here when that change takes place. 

That is it for now. See you next Monday.

All the best,

-Eldon

Weekly update for Oct. 29, 2018

Greetings dear readers,

A quick update and reminder. Today’s update will be pushed to tomorrow. The art is complete and only awaits the lettering to be finalized. Sorry about the delay. This leads us to the next topic..

Next week’s update will be pushed to the following week. ( November 12th to be specific. ) This will allow for a micro buffer to help updates stay on schedule. Look for further breaks around the holidays. Most likely the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. 

That is it for now.

See you Tuesday,

-Eldon

Weekly update for Oct. 15, 2018

Hey everybody! It’s time for a quick update on the comic. October has turned into a busy month for yours truly. Obligations just keep stacking up. But, your plucky comic creator pal pushes ever onward. 

As all you early bird readers have probably noticed, comic updates have been lagging a bit. That’s because production has been coming down to the wire lately. There is currently no buffer. I’m considering a series of one week posting breaks to build up a small buffer. I will try to offer some advanced warning when those breaks will happen. 

Lastly, an announcement ahead of the formal announcement. All Patreon posts will be made public starting soon. I will make a post here when they are all switched to public viewing. This will unlock all the previous character design posts and exclusive background info for everybody to view.  

Until next week dear readers,

-Eldon

Weekly update for Oct. 1, 2018

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

…..or thereabouts.

As you see from today’s update there are going to be some changes to the comic for year two. Starting today Monday updates will be double sized to compensate for the once a week schedule. This will allow each comic to contain the same amount of story content as the old double posts while giving the art more room to breath. 

This isn’t a radical change for the comic. The new size represents the format I used to plan the old double updates. I’m simply eliminating the half sheet restriction and developing it as a whole.

An example of the original update format.

I have a few other things planned for A3 year two. I will post an update with additional details soon.

See you then,

-Eldon

Weekly update for Sept. 24, 2018

Hey you wonderful readers,

A quick update for this week. This comic will be the last before the new Astray3’s one year anniversary. Next week will be the start of a new year for the comic. If you’ve been reading these little weekly notes you’d know I’ve been contemplating some changes. I’ll be debuting one of those changes next week. Tune in next Monday to see a “big” change to the comic. 

All the best,

-Eldon.

Weekly update for Sept. 17, 2018

Fwoosh….A bit late getting this week’s update posted. At the time of this writing I’ve been working on the comic for about 17 hours straight. So, not a lot of yakity yak on this post. ( My wrist is killing me. ) A quick reminder, A3 is moving to a once a week update for the foreseeable future. So, check back Mondays for the regular update. However, you may want to check the blog during the week for extras and updates. 

See ya next week,

-Eldon

Weekly update for Sept. 10, 2018

Finally, we will have a two update week. It’s been a long time coming, but it is finally here! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!…However, this will probably be the last double update week for the foreseeable future. ( Not saying this will be the situation indefinitely. )

We are quickly reaching the one year anniversary for this version of Astray3. HURRAY! However, hold the cake and confetti, it is time for some introspection and reevaluation. While, I do consider the current version a success purely based on it’s continued existence, the last year has certainly been a learning experience. ( For instance, I now have a solid idea of what can be accomplished on a week to week basis. )

It’s painfully apparent that the webcomic environment has changed since the original A3 run. Thus the theme for Astray3 v2 year two will be experimentation. Fear not, A3 will go largely untouched and continue to update on a “weekly” basis. Although, there maybe inconsistencies in the release schedule due to taking time to work on related projects. ( Such as putting together a print version, updating the site, or just plain life issues. ) Also, since A3 is a personal project, I won’t be moving it to a popular webcomic collective site. That way I can keep it clear of any tricksy contract issues and outside meddling. 

What are my bold NEW ideas then? Well, there is nothing concrete yet. I just have some vague concepts in mind. For one, I’m considering a smaller, less complicated side comic to feature on those big webcomic collective sites. I currently try, and regularly fail at, creating two A3 comics a week. Each A3 update takes an average of 20 to 25 hours to create. ( That is a loooose estimate. Not even accounting for thumb-nailing and writer’s block. It might go as high as 30 hours. ) Moving A3 to a once a week schedule will free up time for a second feature designed to be produced in less than half the time. This second comic won’t be featured here, but hopefully, will point the new audience to Astray3.  That is the rough idea anyway. 

What do you think fair readers?

See you next week,

-Eldon