You might notice that there's a lot more art this month. Funny story, I've been working a different position at my job where I spend hours loading parts into a machine for testing in an environment where I can't have my phone but I can have my drawing supplies. It takes about ten minutes on a good day to finish testing a part, so that's a lot of boredom that translates into a lot of art!

Don't worry, it's probably temporary. Another project I started working on this month is scanning all the art that hasn't been properly scanned over the last few years and organizing it with tags and proper dates. The fruits of that labor are now evident in the quality of the art uploads you can enjoy on this website now.

You may notice some colorful digital images featured in an update that is traditionally just pen and paper. That's because I have started sketching digitally with an iPad and Apple Pencil. They're crude and not up to the standard for what I consider "finished" (just what is up with that Virginia?), but they represent an important step in my artistic progress.

I've made attempts at tracing 3D mockups for backgrounds in the past, and I intend on returning to that, this time using Procreate. I also need to experiment with scanning inked lineart to color digitally in Procreate, since at the moment sketching and inking on the tablet already feels better than coloring. For whatever reason, my techniques that work in Clip Studio Paint and IbisPaint aren't working as smoothly for me in Procreate.

I've been making digital inroads this month. I can confirm that drawing on the iPad feels "right," I just need to get more comfortable with it and with using the tools Procreate provides. Otherwise I feel like I did not make very much art this month. Is that true? Possibly? There's a very specific set of circumstances that makes it easy for me to draw on my lunch break at work, and every time I'm assigned to a different position or my schedule changes it disrupts the delicate balance that allows me to produce Natashas on demand.

Currently, I have the script for the first chapter of Dimestore Novel written out and ready for art. I have events for the first few chapters laid out but I don't want to get into writing the script until I can see how the first script is working out. Once I have a better feel for how things need to be paced out I'll feel better about planning further ahead.

It remains to be seen if the iPad and Procreate will be helpful in getting me from random Natashas to actually drawing a comic. I need to do some test art using 3D backgrounds from Sweet Home 3D, if drawing digitally directly over the pre-made background works for me that will greatly simplify the the process of producing a comic panel, and once I have panels drawn putting them together into a comic page ought to be a fairly straightforward process. Will 2024 be the year Dimestore Novel finally starts to happen? Hope so.

Well I set out to draw at least twice as much art as I did in November and December of last year, and by all accounts that is what I did. Is it mostly just Natasha looking cute and awkward? Yes. I have my limits. When the going gets tough, the tough draw comforting things. I'm sorry that this is all I have to offer you, but stay tuned because perhaps I will have something more to give soon.

Please note among the various cute Natashas I have included Friend Allison's David, teaching us all how to say "bullshit" in American Sign Language.

As we approach the end of the year, we enter a twilight art period. The problem is, these roundups bring together all the physical art I've made in the month, but they don't reflect the behind the scenes work I'm doing updating ComicControl and writing and, I dunno, Graphic Design.

A lot of behind the scenes work has been going on this month, including updating the design for dimestore.fun and writing out future comic pages. I also had time to do some art to show my love for fellow artist Grog of Finland. Unfortunately, the art here was done in two parts because I didn't like how Perpsichory's legs turned out. If you want to see the completed version, direct your gaze to the Gallery.
We also see young Nemo, of his Adventures in Dreamland, and Ashley, and a brief cameo by Virginia and Evangeline.