Sketch of the Day- Heartbroken Cave Troll

Sketch of the Day- Storm Shadow

Sketch of the Day- Duke, G.I.Joe

On Loss and Continuing On, Part Two.

Continuation from Part One, which you can read here.

One recent event, in particular, reminded me of how to keep going. To keep enjoying art, enjoying storytelling, enjoying my friends and the people around us.

My Seattle friends Dev and Justin flew in for a quick weekend trip, to contribute to the Aurora Rises fundraiser, being held at All C's Comics in Aurora, Colorado. They had been signed up to sell prints and sketches for fans, with proceeds going to the victims families and medical expenses. I had just planned to have breakfast with them, then drop them off behind the table and then do some shopping for the good charity. Instead, Justin invited me to sit at their table and sketch with them. I was a little nervous. There I was, sitting and drawing not only with Dev and Justin, but with other such notable comics creators such as Mike Mignola, Matt Fraction, and Steve Niles.

After I got over my initial jitters, I got to sketching. It was fun to be reminded that, hey, yeah-- sitting in a comic store drawing superheroes IS fun. I remember how to do this. I spent my whole young life doing this.

We got to talking with the many great guys and gals who attended the show and who made it happen. They were just the greatest bunch of people. Everyone was happy, joking, drawing, donating to the cause, and just enjoying the day.

We talked for a while with a couple who were in the Aurora theater and survived the shooting, Denise and Brandon. They were just the sweetest people. They'd both been wounded, having had the bullets extracted only recently. But they were both up, walking (Brandon with a cane, for now), and even driving. And just very sweet. Denise made us all peanut butter cookies. (they were quite good). Talk about a sweetheart. We talked to them a while, gave them a couple drawings and thanked them.

Thanks to Justin and Dev for being here for the event, and for roping me in to draw with them. It was an event to remember. Thankas to Mignola, Fraction, Niles, and the other creators who showed up to contribute, and much thanks to the amazing people at All C's Comics in Aurora who put it all on.

You can see photos of the event on the Aurora Rises Facebook page here.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.492533697440601.121938.479465245414113&type=1

Here is the Aurora Rises webpage, where you can find out about more great fundraising events and how you can help.

http://aurorarises.com/fundraisershome/

I was told that All C's was the largest comic store in Aurora, and that many of the Aurora shooting victims were regular shoppers there. Some of those people don't get to shop there anymore. That's just tragic. That just sucks. But it's great to remember that others, still recovering and moving on with life, will still get to.

Later this week I'll pick up where I left off after my Grandpa passed. I'll get back to documenting the process of creating my own story and world. But I just felt that it was worth writing, that...

...I feel inspired. I feel shocked out of my apathy. I remember, a little bit, what it was like to be 12 years old, drawing these characters in my room for hours on hours, and loving every second of it. Drawing these little funnybook characters... while it's not curing cancer, it CAN matter. Or at least be a lot of fun. It's that spirit that is motivating me to try to draw at least a Sketch-A-Day, which some of you may have seen on this blog or on facebook or deviantart. It's been fun and I aim to keep the momentum.

Best to all,

Travis

Back from Vacation... Sketch-of-the-Day Continues!

Now that I'm back home after rest and relaxation all last week... Time to continue on my Sketch-A-Day quest.

In keeping with my recent G.I.Joe obsession... Here's the first Joe of the week- Shipwreck!

Sketch of the Day BONUS SKETCH- Battlestar Galacti-Lyla!

A card I made for her birthday this year...

Sketch of the Day- Dr. Doom

DOOOOOOM!!!

Sketch of the Day- Captain America

Sketch of the Day BONUS SKETCH!!! Sly Cooper!

Here's a second BONUS Sketch of the Day! Two sketches in one day, whaaaaaat? Holey moley!

This Sly Cooper sketch is for a Sly Cooper super-fan over on Deviant Art.

Sketch of the Day- She-Hulk and the Wasp

She-Hulk and the Wasp.  Can we get some more female Avengers in the next movie??

Sketch of the Day- THOR

Thor, God of Thundaaaahhh and Rock and Rooowwooooollll

On Loss and Continuing On, Part One.

Hello again, friends...

So, I've been away from the blog for a few months now. Previous to this unforeseen hiatus, I was cruising right along, footloose and fancy free, and enjoying the momentum of writing and posting cartoons, not to mention updating on the big mystery project. I was writing, writing, writing... all motivated at least in part by the "deadlines" that I'd set up with my brother Jordan, who was helping me keep them (or else I'd have to pay him a hefty fee).

Motivated by that, I finished my script. It's more like a movie screenplay than a comic script- it follows a 3- act structure and it's about 130 pages. I was, and still am, pretty proud of it, even if it does need a few more drafts to tighten it up. Encouraged by this momentum, I was ready and eager to begin my next draft, and as usual, to document it all on the blog.

And then, my Grandpa suddenly died.

He and I had become quite close in the last couple years. We were good buddies as much as family. Suddenly he was gone from our lives.

I have other friends who've recently lost family members, too. Too many deaths in too short a time. Too many losses.

It's hard to understand the grieving process until you've been in it a while. To say that my Grandpa's death hit hard is a huge understatement. I've written much about him in previous posts, so I'll keep this one short, but needless to say- when it comes to the art projects, blog, etc.,... it just all fell apart.

At least, for a while. I'm getting back on track. It's a process. It feels like re-learning how to ride a bike, in a way. I know how, it's just hard to get back on. But I'm working towards it.

A couple people have asked me if I've yet had to pay Jordan the fee for missing a milestone. I'm happy to say that I haven't. As I said above, the milestone process has so far enabled me to finish a pretty hefty script, so I'm considering it a success enough to keep it going for a while. But, I will say that after we lost our Grandfather, the project and the milestones lost all meaning for a while. We just decided to let them drop until it felt right to pick them back up.

So, that time is now. We've reorganized the milestone deadlines in a way that makes sense going forward, and I intend to stick to them, produce work that's as good as I can make it, maybe work some late nights, and try to keep my money in my pocket.

It's good to be back. I'm a little rusty, a little shaky, a little beat-up, but I'm re-learning how creating can again be fun.

One event, in particular, was SO inspiring and encouraging. So instrumental in reminding me on how to get "back on the bike", back into the swing of things. I had a couple good friends come into town and include me in a fundraising event for the Aurora shooting victims. It was intense at times, but really great, really inspiring. I'll write more on that later this week.

Col. Eugene C. Watkins

My grandfather, Colonel Eugene Conrad Watkins, "Gene" to his friends, passed away last Friday May 11th. I haven't been able to write much on the blog since, as my family and I are in mourning, remembering a great man. A man who was brave, generous, kind, humble. A man who served his country for most of his life as an air force pilot and officer.

The world has lost a wonderful father, grandfather, and friend.

I'll be back to the blog as usual next week.

Thoughts on my Grandfather

Grandpa, Charis, and I at Grandpa's favorite Mexican restuarant.

This week I’m taking a break from posting about the process, and just writing a little about what’s in my heart. Yesterday, my grandfather suffered a minor heart attack. I’m happy to report that he’s conscious, talking, and in good spirits, and will make a good recovery and be out of the hospital in another day or two. In fact, due to the repaired splints they put in, the doctors say he may have better oxygen and bloodflow, and may have better energy than previously. The family gathered at the hospital as soon as we heard, and after a tense afternoon at the ER, we were all so relieved to hear that he came through the procedure healthy and well. By the time we saw him in the ICU room, he was jovial, smiling and joking with us.

Those of you who know me know how close I’ve grown to my grandfather in the last couple years. When I left San Francisco in 2010, I moved home to Denver to be closer to my family. He kindly and generously opened up his home to me, saying I could stay as long as I needed, and in fact gave me almost the full basement to set up my room and work area. I helped him around the house a bit, doing dishes and yardwork and stuff. We grew much closer over that year than we’d ever previously been, since previous to this, I’d been living away from Denver for many years.

Every morning (or afternoon, depending on when I’d wake up) we’d chat over coffee, talking about this or that- the news, politics, family goings-on, anything really that came to mind. Then in the evenings, 6 p.m. sharp every night, it was Jeopardy time. Between the two of us, we did pretty good! For Christmas that year, I drew him the following “Jeopardy” illustration.

Rocking at "Jeopardy"

The thing I love most about being home in Colorado is family dinners and holiday get togethers. Most Sundays my mom has the family over for dinner (and her and Scott’s amazing home-cooked meals!). I’ve enjoyed them immensely, and continue to, almost every week. For most holidays, we go up to my aunt and uncle’s beautiful ranch up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and spend a lovely day in eachother’s company, with another amazing meal courtesy of my mom and aunt Libby, with my mom’s husband Scott and Uncle Jim frequently grilling the steaks or cooking the meats. It’s always a great time.

Dinner at the big-kid's table- Grandpa's 88th birthday.

Time for presents!

Lyla and I watching Grandpa open presents! Lyla looks perplexed.

One other activity Grandpa and I enjoyed from time to time was watching action and Western movies together. He’s a big Western buff, the biggest I know. As I’m currently writing a story set in the old west, I enjoy watching classic westerns with him, and hearing him chat about the time period, notable lawmen and outlaws, classic firearms, stuff like that. I look forward to picking his brain for many years to come, as he’s a wealth of knowledge and history. For his birthday, I drew the following western-themed illustration (he’s also a big fan of NCIS, which I referenced in this drawing...)

Grandpa is also a wonderful support- in our family we have people of many trades and interests, and without exception he supports us all in our work, our lives, and in pursuing our dreams. He loves to hear what we’ve got going on, how we’re working towards fulfilling our various projects to fruition. He’s a great listener and often has good advice for us all.

Though I no longer live under his roof, Lyla and I still see Grandpa a couple times a week. We often visit during the week to chat, and play a round of Jeopardy. He and Lyla have grown close too-- they love to chat about this and that, often about history and about interesting events in Grandpa’s life. A career pilot and officer in the airforce, he always has interesting stories about different time periods, events, battles, family history, and much more. Not to mention, we all share a love of chocolate, and during our visits he always shares with us from the basket of chocolates he keeps on the side table. We very much enjoy our almost-weekly visits.

Grandpa and Mom look excited for dessert! (we all are).

The only thing that can make Grandpa run for cover- Scott's adamantium claws.

Grandpa's return, armed with a battle-axe. It's going to take a lot more than a minor heart attack to keep this man down!

My grandfather is a generous, wise, principled, and loving man. He loves a laugh and loves being around family. We all love being around him too, and look forward to many more years to come of enjoying his company, his laughter, and his spirit. See you at Sunday dinner, Grandpa!

Story Story Story

It’s funny, though I suppose not surprising, how some people react to the “Jordan Gets All Trav’s Money, Trav Dies Penniless and Alone Plan”. For every person who tells me they think it’s a good way to keep motivated, I get people who think it’s just bizarre. I have a buddy who was kidding around with me, saying “Dude, if you miss every milestone, that’s TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!” Haha... My reply was, that’s obviously not sustainable. I have nowhere close to that kind of money!

But, the point is that I’m working hard to not have to pay ANY money. And so far it’s seeming to work. It’s definitely a wackadoo idea, and I can see why some people give me a bit of grief about it (all good-natured, of course).

Anyway, last week I pitched to Lyla the story for book one. Sitting down at the corkboard outline, I ran through the whole book rapid-fire, explaining each major beat. It felt like I was at an animation studio, pitching storyboards, and it was really fun. I was happy to find that she felt it was a pretty strong start. She pointed out a few elements that needed clarification, or felt lacking in some way, and I took them and started making edits, additions, and cuts. I think the outline is more solid for it, and armed with a more solid outline which I created in Google Docs, I started writing the script for Book 1.

So, as of now I’m in the middle of the first draft, and I’ve been pretty good about keeping up with it. At times it’s a bit daunting, and at times I find it hard to get motivated to sit down at the computer and type, but mostly it’s been a total blast. As the story comes together, I’ve been often pleasantly surprised at how much I like it. That doesn’t mean it’s actually that good yet, but I have confidence that it’ll get “good enough” (as opposed to “perfect”)...

The characters and their voices are taking shape. The story elements are finding what they need, be it drama, emotion, humor, action, romance. I’m striving to include all of them. I’m also referencing a book as recommended on Jason Brubaker’s excellent Remind Blog called Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald. It’s a really straightforward, easy to understand look at what makes successful stories. It includes a lot of fun examples from the world of both screenplays and comic scripts, and thankfully doesn’t reference Citizen Kane or Chinatown anywhere in the book, but instead includes fun ones like Raiders of the Lost Ark. That’s a lot more my speed, and I appreciate the author’s perspective.

So, that’s where I’m at this week- story story story! I expect to be done with the first draft at the end of this week... Then it’s time for revisions... More next time!

I'm Good Enough... I'm Smart Enough...and Doggone It...

I’m now in Week 4 of the six weeks that I've got scheduled for writing. I wrote last week about how I used the corkboard and post-its to outline the overall 4-volume story. The corkboard method really served its purpose well, and once I was happy with where it’s at, the next step was to open up Google Docs and get started on a much more detailed, scene-by-scene outline for Book 1.

I also mentioned last week a recommendation for writing tactics and inspiration, Stephen King’s book On Writing. While I found much of it to be very helpful in setting a strong mindset for creating, one aspect that I differ with King is that of plotting. King writes about how he hates to plot, hates to know how the book will progress, or even end. He prefers to just stick his characters in a situation and let them “show” him how they deal with it. It's probably a very fun way to write.

I understand how this loose form of writing could be valuable to writers who tend to rely on plotting or outlining too much, and end up with a rigid or lifeless story, but that’s a risk I’ll need to take, because I feel that I NEED to create an outline to properly plot my story. What’s more, it’s turned out to be really helpful to work out the story beats, the flow, the arc, all that good stuff. I guess that’s what it’s intended to do! :)

I found that as I fleshed out the outline, that it really required me to figure out so many little aspects of the story. How can this happen there, if that hasn't happened there, and how will this affect this and that, and wow, I need to write another this so that can take place. It was really illuminating and a lot of fun, and I'm happy to say that the story is really taking shape.

Stephen King also writes in his book how -- and I’m paraphrasing here-- though it’s NOT possible to go from being a bad writer to a good writer, and it’s NOT possible to go from being a good writer to a GREAT writer (the Shakespeares, etc.), it IS possible to go from being an adequate writer to a really good writer. That’s good enough for me to try. I think I’m probably an adequate writer now. But I think, through lots of practice and passion, I could be really good (or at least, the project could be really good). Sounds good to me. OK, maybe I should work on my vocabulary.

I haven't written in ages and have never written a story that will actually be published. I have no idea how it'll turn out, and it's a little dauting, but I'll just have to trust that it'll be good enough to be worth doing. It doesn't have to be “great”, just “kinda good”. Kinda good is enough. It doesn't have to be perfect. Google tells me that it was Voltaire that said “Perfection is the Enemy of the Good.” I’ve recently read a slightly different version, one that said that "Perfection is the enemy of the Possible". So, I'm not focusing on, or striving for, perfection- just “Possible”. Possible = Kinda Good = Good Enough.

Creating Order Out of Chaos- The Corkboard Outline

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m happy to report that (as of yet) I do not owe Jordan any of my money.

I’m currently in Week Three of a 6-week period dedicated to writing the script. I suspected that 6 weeks is a pretty intense deadline for a first-time scriptwriter who's writing in their free time, and I was right. That being said, the story is proving to be a TON of fun to create.

During Week One, I outlined the whole overarching story for ALL the books in my new series. That’s right, the whole story is completely plotted in outline form! This is a big step for me. The first time I’ve ever done so much plotting work (or really, this much story work of any kind).


For the last couple years, I've kept a gigantic (and chaotically disorganized) google doc that I'd use to "brain dump" anytime I had a new thought, story moment, or inspiration. I'd use it to keep track of all the little ideas I didn't want to forget (which I totally would, without fail, if I didn't log them in the doc). Using this doc, I began the work of translating it into something cohesive.

I used the corkboard pin-up method used by most old-school animation houses, movie studios, and other storywriters. I'd write each story moment in the google doc on a post-it note, and pin it up and see how it fit together. I found it to be amazingly easy to create this way. Nothing was lost track of, story beats were added, deleted, arranged and re-arranged. Then, they were color-coded with the following tags:

• Character’s age (as it progresses)
• Year (as they progress)
• Introduction of an important character
• Important character/emotional moment
• Action beat
• Romantic or humor beat

There are a couple other tags I used, but those are the important ones. Using these tags allowed me to see how events flowed, if they were balanced, if they made sense. It also enabled me to keep the timeline straight, and plan it out so the character’s age and the dates all worked. I’d rearrange, replace, and brainstorm new story moments on the spot, refining until it all came together. I had a pretty solid little tale plotted, and most importantly, it kept me engaged and excited. Momentum and enthusiasm kept springing forth, the more and more the plot came together.

So, that was all Week One. Week Two was taking this general, overarching storyline and breaking it down into further smaller chunks- which would become a more detailed outline for Book One. More on that soon!

Creating a Schedule and Guarding It Ruthlessly

I’m happy to report that the last two weeks have been incredibly productive! In terms of personal work, I’ve created more in the last two weeks than I have in the last ten years. Using the tools I’ve described in previous posts, I’ve forced myself to follow what’s perhaps the most important aspect of working on a project: sticking to a schedule.

Duh. It makes sense. All companies do this (at least in theory- oftentimes schedules become “fluid”). But for after-hours passion projects, it often seems that the schedule is the first thing to be ignored.

I’ve read recently in various sources about how crucial it is to stick to a schedule, but the most helpful of them was Paul Silvia’s “How to Write A Lot” (a book on academic writing, but which proposes many helpful tools) and “On Writing” by Stephen King (King’s appropriately-titled book on the craft of writing). Both books propose that foremost in importance for any writer (and I broaden this to artist, or any creator on a mission) is creating a schedule and sticking to it. Coincidentally, both authors happen to write during their early morning hours, but they encourage the reader to set their schedule to whatever times work best for them.

How best to set and quantify the schedule? Silvia quantifies his goal as a scheduled, uninterrupted block of time for a few hours in the morning, every morning. King quantifies his goal as 2000 words per day, and if that takes him into the afternoon hours, so be it- he doesn’t leave his desk until the goal is reached. In King’s case, he does it 365 days a year (easy to see how he’s so prolific).

Both writers talk about the importance of guarding this time ruthlessly from any outside distraction. They will not allow any appointments or commitments to be scheduled during this time. They do not do anything else during this time. The door to the office shuts and remains shut (and aside from bathroom breaks, I’m guessing) they don’t come out ‘til they meet their goal for the day.

These hours are protected ruthlessly. It’s set aside for writing, and writing is all they do with this time. Of course, “writing” could just as easily be “drawing”, “coloring”, “lettering”, etc., and in my case, will be, soon enough. But for now, I too am writing.

I’ve got a fulltime day job, so I’ve been following this procedure in my early mornings before I report for work. I’ve been getting up really early (6 a.m., or earlier), and after coffee/tea and a quick breakfast, I shower or splash water on my face and sit down to my computer. If I find myself on autopilot, drifting towards the google chrome button, I’m reminded by Stayfocusd that wasting time on the Internet is not allowed right now, and “SHOULDN’T I BE WORKING” (see the last entry on this blog). I set my “FocusBooster” timer, open my google doc, and start typing away.

I’m proud to say that as of now, I’m on track- I don’t yet owe Jordan any of my money.
More on that in a couple days...

That Foul, Time-Sucking Beast... The Internet

Earlier in the week, I posted about my new plan to stay on track- The “Jordan Gets All Trav’s Money, Trav Dies Penniless and Alone” Plan. The long-term plan that I’ve employed to (hopefully) keep my ass on track.

In the shorter-term, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, there’s a small handful of tools that I’ve found very helpful in keeping me focused on that day’s tasks.

Knowing that in addition to being lazy, I am also a gigantic procrastinator (maybe they’re the same thing?), I decided it’s past time that I do my best to destroy my biggest distractions.

So long, Internet.

At least, for most of the day. Though I really didn't have many problems when delivering paid/client work, my personal work was another story. When I should have been working on my passion projects, instead I would frequently let the Internet distract me. The sites I tended to waste time on (HuffPost, Facebook, any number of comics/geek-related sites) had taken up too much of my life already.

I found a good widget for Google Chrome called StayFocusd, installed it, and set my options so that it blocks Internet sites for much of the day (I get a two-hour window at lunch, and another few hours in the evening). Thus, I'm now forced to do all my emailing/correspondance, facebooking, blogging, and (most importantly) photoreference-gathering within those windows. I can tell you, it definitely cuts down on needless surfing. The widget makes it very hard to cheat, and I also uninstalled all other browsers, like Firefox, to keep myself from doing so. So, except for a couple hours a day, I’m completely Internet-free.

It’s been a little odd being Internet-free- it feels weird, like I’m going through some kind of withdrawal. But, the upside is that I’m slowly recalling that wondrous, glorious time-- the 90’s-- back when I did most of my art traditionally, and certainly without the help of the Internet.

As for staying focused on my current task, the other widget I’m using is a timer called Focus Booster, which is based on “the Pomodoro Technique”, which alleges that the best allotted time for focusing on a task is 25 minutes, then a 5 minute break. Then repeat. So far, I have to admit that even if it IS the placebo effect working, I do find myself significantly more focused when I use it.

So, that’s it in a nutshell. Basically, 1. do away with beers (and subsequent hangovers), 2. pay a painful amount of money if I slack off, 3. kill the internet, and 4. use a timer. The lush that lives in me definitely misses my beloved evening beers, but the procrastinator/lazy couch potato in me doesn’t particularly miss the slacking and the internet (probably because, as expected, I still find plenty of time for both most evenings).

If I'm totally honest, it's slightly embarrasing that I even need all these steps. I'd love to say that I have willpower of steel, but I'm just not that awesome. So, it's my intention to get my ass in gear, and those are the tools that I've put in place to make sure I do.

More next week about the incredibly productive weeks I’ve had, tackling the process of storywriting for the project...

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

My newest goal- ensure that my brother doesn't take all my hard-earned money.

Let me back up and explain...

I’ve always admired artists who are driven, consistent, and resolute. Artists that follow through, finish their projects and show them to the world. I have many artist friends who have these qualities in spades. It was a hard realization to swallow when I admitted to myself that I was, historically speaking, not one of them.

Back to Lyla and I-- We agreed it was obvious that a new tactic was needed to keep me motivated and on track. I needed deadlines that mattered.

Our idea- what if I were to set up deadlines for my new project, as most creators do, but what if I was to ensure that I lose money each time I missed one? This is how it often works for companies, when they miss a deadline milestone-- why not me?

And I’m not talking 20 bucks or something, ‘cuz the honest and embarrasing truth is that I’ll “lazy” my way right through 20 bucks if given the chance. No, the missed deadline fee had to hurt.

I drew up my schedule, complete with all my projected deadlines, and then enlisted the help of my brother Jordan to act as Mr. Consequences. The agreement is, basically, every time I miss a deadline, I have to pay him $500. Ouch.

Holy shit, $500 for every missed deadline??? Yup. That's the point-- it has to hurt if I miss the deadline (and, it’s a win-win for Jordan- either I make the progress that both he and I want to see, or he gets all my money. Win-win). I call it the “Jordan Gets All Trav’s Money, Trav Dies Penniless and Alone Plan”.

I know, it sounds weird. Wacky. A bit extreme. Definitely outside the norm... But the norm just wasn’t working for me, and I need something does work.

I can assure you all, I don’t just have five hundred dollar stacks laying around. Far from it. This will be painful if I miss a deadline. Even ruinous, if I miss multiple. (Though, if it ends up that I choose to pay out multiple payments of $500 rather than get my ass in gear creating stories, then maybe I’m not the guy I thought I was, and it’s time for some serious soul-searching).

The good news is, thus far, I’ve had an unbelievably productive week! Honest. Swear to God. I’ll post more in detail (and with proof, no less!) on that, very soon...

On Getting Started and Staying on Task

So, a few words on what's lead up to this point.

For many months (or years) now, when it comes to my personal work, I've wrestled with managing my time, energy, and productivity. I've never had a problem coming up with story ideas, particularly in the last few years- they seem to flow quite freely. A good thing; but it became frustrating when slowly they piled up, creating a backlog of stories to tell, but no actual work was getting done in the way of telling them.

I've heard it said that execution is more valuable than ideas, and none of my ideas or plans were getting executed. This went on for years. I'd dream up a cool idea and then fantasize about how great it'll be when it's unveiled to the world.



Basically, there was lots of dreaming and fantasizing but very little action or execution.

In the last year or so, after I'd moved from Seattle back to Denver, Colorado (to be closer to family and figure out my next steps), things have started to become clearer in my head about what I needed to do. A number of things lead to this (including doing away with my usual and beloved evening beers), but chief among them is the ongoing talks that my lovely and talented partner-in-crime Lyla Warren and I often have regarding creative projects and how to ensure progress. We seem to never tire of the topic, and it's so much fun. We trade input on each other's current projects (and future ones too), and generally keep each other excited and fired-up to keep working.

In the course of these talks, one pitfall that we'd identified in the creator-owned passion project was a lack of deadlines that matter. I'd never had a problem working on deadlines commercially, whether in games, comics, illustration, whatever. I'd pull the late hours or all-nighters as I needed, and enjoy the satisfaction of pleasing myself and the client. I'd enjoy the high- intensity hours, the creative buzz, and the comradery. But when it came to my own labors-of-love, I'd never been able to stick with it. I'd lapse into laziness or find excuses to stall. There were no actual deadlines that mattered, so I didn't have any motivation.

To that end, Lyla and I formulated a crazy idea... one that would either keep me on task, or else... More on that soon!