Hey guys! I think every couple of weeks I just can't seem to keep up on this schedule of mine. I'm sorry! But tomorrow's page won't go up on time, for sure. I'm just too tired, it was an extremely packed week and if I try to gun for tomorrow's update, I think I'll manage but also hate my life so I won't XD;; I mean, it's 9:30pm right now and all I have done is the rough sketch so... uh... let's see how far I get tonight and hopefully I'll have an ETA tomorrow. (You can see a WIP on the latest FB post as of writing this. :'D)
I do apologise as I honestly prize punctuality with the strip updates quite a bit, but... yeah. I don't know, I'm kinda wondering if I need to revise my update schedule a little. Not the twice-a-week thing, more like picking which days I update. Or maybe I just need to do 1 update for one week and 3 the next every once in a while. If you guys have any thoughts, I'm open to them!
Thanks always for your understanding, dear readers. ;_;*
I had to Google that to find out what it was! XD;; How about we say Madou sets the standard for years to come? lol XD (assuming Archaeia doesn't get destroyed in the course of this tale, lulz)
Those first 2 panels reminded me that Madou can read an ancient language! The research papers of Alphonse he handed Cain at the end of Chapter 5 (pg 339) is some proof.
Yep, that sounds like Madou alright! :P
I see that Ellis has a tail. But no ears. Did he get his ears chopped off?! D: ...Or perhaps tried to experiment with a magical spell that rebounded in a unexpected way? O.O
@Lukkai: I'm not sure when you saw the page, but you might have seen it after I edited it a little. XD; I added a white outline around Ellis (he used to only have a multiply outer glow) and then added extra multiply shade layers to panels 3 and 4, darkening Ellis's head so it would cause the middle-Ellis to pop more. It should have reduced the confusion considerably afterwards XD;;
Ah, that language would be Jihan! :) It's actually the language all mages in general (though especially black mages) are familiar with, as it's what they use to cast. Cain is able to read it, too. :) It *is* an old language, but Ancient Jihan is from before the First Aquafall and predates modern Jihan by far, so only really hardcore scholars tend to know it. *this extra trivia brought to you by rambly rufi XD*
When I read your comment the first time I was so confused, but once I saw the 'tail', I laughed till I cried XDDD I'm so sorry for the confusion! Ellis is a human, and that 'tail' was his head in the third panel, actually! XD;;; Though your theories are pretty cool and made me wish I'd thought of that, first :'D <3
I seriously want to give Madou the biggest high-five right now.
He is my fav. It's weird, though, because he's the newest member of the party.
You're pretty good at introducing new characters. When Nemi first came around, I liked her a lot, too. Same for when Mikey joined the party.
omg Chris what did you do to your avatar :'D lolol
And awww, thank you! <33 ;3;* I'm really pleased to hear that you like the new characters as they come! Thanks for being so encouraging <333 ;3;* <3 Hopefully you guys'll like Kylie's brother, too :'D <3
Only Madou would go through the trouble of making some kind of elaborate research on magical replication in the hopes of getting all the Kori wheat biscuits he wants. Now that I think about it... was he actually that upset when he couldn't get Kori wheat biscuits back then that he went through this trouble? XDDD
Ah, Ellis, you have your work cut out for you XD Also... am I right to assume that he is Human, and that thing that looks like a tail is... actually his head for the left panel? XDDD
Madou most certainly did care quite a bit, he really wanted those biscuits dangit! XD lolol, this is the sort of thing he'd go through the trouble for... :'D
And you are correct, yes and yes, and I'm a dork for not noticing how the layout could be construed differently XDDD (Thanks for affirming the fix <3)
Aw yeah, I'm so glad we got to see Madous exam! I love the panel setup here :D
HAHAHA! Omg... Madou is SUCH a troll. :D :D
This poor examiner guy hahahaha, he looks so freaked out!
50/10 I laughed so hard~~ :D
<333 Thank you seamuffin! X3 <333 *takes the 50/10 and puts it on my wall* XD <333 Whenever I make Madou-centric strips, I always think of you and hope you'll enjoy them, ahahaha! <333
Zane, I had to look up what a muffin button was and LOL XD
Madou only wrote up the theory, sadly he hasn't tried putting it into practice yet... if his idea is flawed anywhere, he'll either create biscuit-shaped craters everywhere or drown the world in biscuits so the WG needs to check his theory is sound first XDDD
Yep, earrings are super common with black mages, they tend to be the Intelligence stat boosters alongside mana increases and whatnot~~ though of course other things can do that too, earrings are just most convenient. <3
That's just it. There things are so inane that he can't even be thought to be showing off. Think about it, scooping up the mage exams would be a good way to find cutting edge technology & ideas. Madau is proving his knowledge in such a way that nothing he is providing can really come back to him or anyone in his party.
Ah thanks! One of my friends drew it for me actually, we both wanted new ones but didn't like our own ideas so we did an art trade ^u^ I really love her work it's so dang gorgeous
Madou doing what he does best. Trolling people. :D
And at the same time proving his skill while not giving anyone looking at the tests a real edge by copying his work. Brilliant.
Also I love how our evaluator seems to have gotten hand-me-downs that are a bit too big for him.
Re Flare: Ah, interesting. I did wonder about that.
Maybe it would help if you only updated once a week for sometime while you make other comics in advance, that way over time you wouldn't have to stress about doing comics last minute and you could take some time to relax since you would have a good amount of comics already done.
I agree; I think building a buffer and being a few pages ahead of the actual update is a good idea. That way if one day you don't have time to finish a page, you don't have to panic because it's already done (as long as you don't do that too often and let your buffer run out)
And yeah, if you need to, maybe take a few weeks off just to work on a buffer and not worry about updating. We'll still be around whenever you're ready :)
@Kat: Awww, thank you, Kat! X3 Yes, a buffer sounds like a reasonably good idea... I shall sit on it for a bit and figure out what the best way to do this is...
Or if you prefer to work over the weekend some, you can also think about Monday/Thursday or Monday/Friday. the first would let you alternate 3 or 4 days between updates. Any desire you have to create can be applied to the next update, and once that is ready, you can move to sketching in the next one. That way your buffer builds itself.
Another artist I know likes to rough in a bunch at once and then ink them as they are needed. It all depends on how your workflow works best. Moderate your workflow and the timing will take care of itself. I wouldn't think of changing the timing back until the buffer reaches enough for 3 mini-vacations. That way you can take one of those as a reward and have 2 for actual use.
@Just_IDD: I usually have a half-page buffer, and tend to sketch out 3 pages in advance based on thumbnails I've already done to the end of the chapter. :) Thank you for your suggestions! I might have to do some test runs for a month each to see what works best! >3<
3 pages of buffer sounds like a lovely dream at the moment XDDD but perhaps I could make it happen?? We'll see! <3 Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts <3
Yes, all the beauty in going grocery shopping, or in the way sunlight hits a dust mote. <3 XD
P.S. I love Madou
Ellis probably does decide, in the end, that the answer (if there is one) is somewhere in-between XDD
I love Madou!
Yep, that sounds like Madou alright! :P
I see that Ellis has a tail. But no ears. Did he get his ears chopped off?! D: ...Or perhaps tried to experiment with a magical spell that rebounded in a unexpected way? O.O
(...although you also see his collar just beneath it)
When I read your comment the first time I was so confused, but once I saw the 'tail', I laughed till I cried XDDD I'm so sorry for the confusion! Ellis is a human, and that 'tail' was his head in the third panel, actually! XD;;; Though your theories are pretty cool and made me wish I'd thought of that, first :'D <3
Also madou is my favorite character hands down.
Madou does seem to be getting lots of love XD;;; <3
(poor Ellis...)
indeed @alt text ;)
And Ellis can handle it, don't worry XDD
He is my fav. It's weird, though, because he's the newest member of the party.
You're pretty good at introducing new characters. When Nemi first came around, I liked her a lot, too. Same for when Mikey joined the party.
And awww, thank you! <33 ;3;* I'm really pleased to hear that you like the new characters as they come! Thanks for being so encouraging <333 ;3;* <3 Hopefully you guys'll like Kylie's brother, too :'D <3
That depends how he will turn out - if he is abel-like I doubt that - if he is more like Cain or Kylie or Mike then yes...
(I do not think being like Nemi would suit him, though...)
...
Make it happen. X)
Ah, Ellis, you have your work cut out for you XD Also... am I right to assume that he is Human, and that thing that looks like a tail is... actually his head for the left panel? XDDD
And you are correct, yes and yes, and I'm a dork for not noticing how the layout could be construed differently XDDD (Thanks for affirming the fix <3)
...see page 128...
I love how confounded the poor guy is that has to test him.
Best to just pass him with an "A+" at this point. XD
Ellis does eventually award him with an appropriate level XD lolol <3 (It probably won't get revealed for a while, though...)
HAHAHA! Omg... Madou is SUCH a troll. :D :D
This poor examiner guy hahahaha, he looks so freaked out!
50/10 I laughed so hard~~ :D
Madou only wrote up the theory, sadly he hasn't tried putting it into practice yet... if his idea is flawed anywhere, he'll either create biscuit-shaped craters everywhere or drown the world in biscuits so the WG needs to check his theory is sound first XDDD
Yep, earrings are super common with black mages, they tend to be the Intelligence stat boosters alongside mana increases and whatnot~~ though of course other things can do that too, earrings are just most convenient. <3
Hahah and what other people noticed - that head caught me off guard too, and I also thought it was a tail XD <3
Dangit, I'm so sorry XDD I seriously did not notice how it could be seen like that 'till I saw the comments XDD
And awww XD <3 much love for Madou this page lolol! XD
And maaaaybe XD
I'm gonna go with stupidly brilliant! :D
He's probably a bit of both, if not all of both XD;;;
And at the same time proving his skill while not giving anyone looking at the tests a real edge by copying his work. Brilliant.
Also I love how our evaluator seems to have gotten hand-me-downs that are a bit too big for him.
Re Flare: Ah, interesting. I did wonder about that.
Ellis has a pretty good coat on, the stat boosts on that are insane <3 XD
...we will be here and support you... *hugs*
Building up a buffer. Though that would mean tapastic will catch up earlier...
If you like it, Rufi, try it... *hugs* ♡♡♡
And yeah, if you need to, maybe take a few weeks off just to work on a buffer and not worry about updating. We'll still be around whenever you're ready :)
That sounds like an idea! I'll sit on that and see what my schedule is like in the coming few weeks, and see if it's feasible! >3<*)/
Another artist I know likes to rough in a bunch at once and then ink them as they are needed. It all depends on how your workflow works best. Moderate your workflow and the timing will take care of itself. I wouldn't think of changing the timing back until the buffer reaches enough for 3 mini-vacations. That way you can take one of those as a reward and have 2 for actual use.
3 pages of buffer sounds like a lovely dream at the moment XDDD but perhaps I could make it happen?? We'll see! <3 Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts <3
Madou is just Madou.
Keep up the fantastic work, my friend. Can't wait for the next page.
Thank you so much Outlaw!! *hugs* <3 ;3;* You're always so encouraging, and kind, and spiffy!!
Also, I really want a wheat biscuit now. x__x
I'm sure if you can grab a fresh biscuit somewhere, it'll be close -v-*