TALK/RENDER - First of the Month (May 2025)

I don't know what to do with this slot in my schedule. I could just eliminate it. It's not like any of my scheduling is fixed in stone, kind of ironic using that turn of phrase. Recapping, Saturdays are releases of my "serious" writing. Tuesdays are dominated by rendered comics with a smattering of "serious" writing that are considered too short, less than 1000 words being the rough threshold. (Tuesday, May 6 will be a short Trust Machine story, 765 words.)

And then there's the first of the month. When I started doing 3D graphics, I would experiment a lot more than I do now. The renders that I'm posting here today are all from late 2024. This is starting to feel weirdly indulgent and a waste of time. Maybe do some pinups? Any thoughts on this are welcome. I'm leaning toward just ignoring "first of the month". Or just posting stuff there occasionally.

Speaking of "from late 2024", even the comics are generally made of renders that are two to three months old. Little Witch #6 releases May 13. The renders for it were made in early February between the Feb 8 and Feb 10.

In fact, if I stick to the current release schedule of three issues every two months, the renders I was working on last night (4/29) won't be released until January 13, 2026. More about those renders below.

More of Yesterday

Yesterday, I complained about my own lack of brevity (he said in paragraph five of the "a bunch of renders" post he was composing). Since making that post that appeared yesterday, I've modified a few of the future releases: turning a handful of pages into two handfuls. (I meant to update that post but forgot to do it. So this post is a bit more padded.)

For example, last night I finished Statue Rentals #15 by splitting #14 into two comics. The original SR15 was pushed back. On 4/12, I had considered #14 done. Both were re-finished last night and the original #15, that I'll be working on next, is now #16. (Though, keen eyes will see they are both named Resting. #15 needs a better name. :) )

Looking at it like this, I really didn't do much to panel 1, did I? I hope the shift from 1280x720 to 1280x1080 makes that panel feel better. I believe the standing figure between the teal panels is easier to see in the larger format. (Seeing the renders would help. Will I remember to show the older format? Maybe. :) )

There are some dense pages that I will leave as is because they don't split in half very well story/pacing -wise. Most of yesterday was time spent rerendering the 9 panels and adding 3 new panels. A few of them really needed tweaking. That will probably be the true determining factor of which ones get revisited.

AVN Update

This was going to be a short comment because of the renders below. I'll post this as a separate story tomorrow.

The Render Roundup

In any case, I feel like getting some old renders posted and moving on from them. Most of these are from the AVN that I've put on pause and I imagine will start from scratch on the renders when I return to it. For example, this first panel was already abandoned before I stopped working on the AVN. It's was rendered on New Year's Eve 2024, so four months ago. I was learning how to use HDRI lighting and testing out a tropical building asset:

Julia here is Meredith in Statue Rentals. While making Statue Rentals I've discovered a lot of things about how Julia was poorly designed. And gods, that dress is a nightmare.

Keiko here is also going to be redesigned for the eventual AVN:

She's now Noriko in Statue Rentals. Her first appearance is in the next Statue Rentals page (#3) due May 20. (And I constantly find myself using Keiko in my scripts. A find/replace last night updated 21 instances.) I think, not sure, I made this render (along with two others similar to it) because I was trying to get her hair to drape backwards like that. Yes, she is essentially flying here.

Stacy, from Statue Rentals is the main character of the AVN. He might not change much when I return to the AVN. Here's a very old headshot.

Lastly, I hope this is the last time I post a render from 2024 (November). Someday, I'll figure out a good reason for this image. The figure was first seen by any of you in the background of "Taking a Sip" which appeared in the January Roundup. Her name is Zabrina. She's from an AVN I've probably never mentioned here (until tomorrow when I will mention it). LOL. The image is titled Dancing In A Cage In The Rain. I'm sure I was just testing out a rain asset I'd purchased.

Even more "lastly", this is some thumbnails from an animated sequence I haven't looked at since October 2024. No idea if I'll ever return to it:

As always, comments are welcome.