RiddlrComics

Patreon Break & Patreon Change Announcement

I've been thinking about how I was going to write this for a while now. But now that I'm face-to-face with having to write it, and can no longer put it off, I'm struggling to find the words. I’ve been drawing Universery for a bit over a year now, and while I love working on it, the way I’ve been working on it isn’t sustainable long-term.

And, while I hate feeling like I'm disappointing people, or failing to live up to their expectations of me, it's one of my strongest fears if I'm being honest. I also know that it's important that I look after myself, and obviously ensure that I'm giving you folks good content as well. But I'm worried that with my current trajectory, that I won't be able to do that.

So simply put, I'll be pausing the patreon for the next two months. I need to properly stop, and regroup if I’m going to be able to keep going with making comics, so I’ve come up with what is basically a three-pronged 'attack'.

1) I'm going to be taking a few weeks completely off of Universery and StarKnights comics, my plan is to then slowly write, and thumbnail it all out while I'm on 'vacation'. I'm hoping by getting it all sorted out on my time, that I'll feel less pressure and can spend more time making it the best that I can.

2) As you probably already know, I'm going to be breaking chapter two of Universery up with a short (around 23-28 paged) comic called "StarKnights" this is still the case. But instead of drawing it out one finished page at a time, I plan on sketching every page, then lining, then colouring, etc. So not only is it a consistent style/level of quality, I’ll also be able to make changes at any point without having to ‘retcon’ pages I’ve already posted, or mess around with heavy re-writes late into the project.

3) The final 'prong' of the way I'm planning to attack this is the most relevant to peeps who are currently patrons. When I come back from 'vacation' I'll be restructuring the patreon to be more 'behind-the-scenes' focused.

Since I'll be working on the comic rather differently, my plan is to let y'all peek into my work process, give you updates on progress, and see the whole thing come together step-by-step. What that's actually going to look like, I'm still ironing out if I'm honest, but I do plan on posting scripts, thumbnails, lined pages, sketches, and character designs. Basically anything that comes about in the process of bringing this thing to life!

I'm also thinking that it'll help with getting direct feedback from y'all as well ^^ What you do/don't like, what you think I should add, that kind of thing. You'll also get first dibs on cameos, and discount codes for any paid content I release.

Simply put, I’ve got loads of things I’ve been wanting to do, I’ve had plans for physical posters, stickers, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t even begin to get into here. But the day to day grind of getting the pages done the way I have has been burning me out, it’s been such an unwieldy process.

I sometimes forget that I’ve only really been a ‘professional’ for a few years, and a ‘proper’ comic artist for just about as long and since I’m self-taught I need to remind myself that I’m still learning. The last month or two was a real wake-up call, normally I love jumping into work every day but every time I had a Uni comic on the list for that day I dreaded it. And I don’t want this project that I love to turn into something that I hate, or don’t look forward to.

I can’t guarantee that this new way of doing things will work, I just hope you’re all patient with me as I figure this all out. Thank you so much for your support, it really does mean so much to me that I even get a chance to learn and grow as a comic creator, and I hope you’ll stick around for this next stage <3

—

P.s. You’ll still be able to access the comics, and all my posts for the pause time. You just won't be charged ^^

Universery - Page 49 (Ch.1 End)

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/91645536

Whoo! Final page of chapter 1, I hope y'all have been enjoying the journey thus far. I'll be honest, this has been taking a lot out of me to get through, I doubt I'm saying anything new when I say that making comics is difficult ^^;

I'm planning on making a fair few changes to how I do things to keep myself from losing myself to this project. As much as I love working on it, and despite my best efforts, my relationship to this comic has gotten kinda toxic.

I'm planning out a post now that details my new plan for the future, and how I'm going to handle things going forward. Which will still have Universery in it, don't worry! <3

[Speedpaint] Universery - Page 49

I don't have much to say here other than a heartfelt thank you for following me along so far in all of this ^^ Nothing particularly noteworthy happens in this speedpaint, though I will say that I've been enjoying playing around with a new shading technique.

Maybe technique isn't the right word, but I've been using the lasso tool a lot more while I'm shading to block in the shapes and it's definitely a lot faster and I think the result looks a bit cleaner? I'm still messing around with it, but I'm happy with how it's turning out so far.

Universery - Page 48

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/90897026

[speedpaint] Universery - Page 48

Universery - Page 47

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/90450799

New more pages before we start on the new comic ^^ Thankfully I've managed it in such a way that at the end of this month I'll have posted the final page for this chapter of Universery, and I'll be able to start posting Starknights at the start of November :3

[speedpaint] Universery - Page 47

Universery - Page 46

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/89869465

I know I'm cutting it a bit close but whoo! Got the third page out on time :3

[Speedpaint] Universery - Page 46

Patron Comic Page Taken Down

Just letting y'all know that page 4 of Little Paws Sanitorium has been taken down due to violating Patreons posting guidelines, I was unware that dub-con/non-con was against the guidelines. After talking with LilyisFenFen (the patron who is funding the comic) we decided that it would be best if we posted the pages publicly, since a lot of the same themes will be present throughout the rest of the comic and we'd rather not risk another warning or potential strike ^^

Thanks for your understanding, and if you'd like to continue reading the comic they'll be posted on all my usual public platforms. Kinda sucks but at least it was only a warning and nothing serious as far as I can see.

Universery - Page 45

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/89566805

Whoo! New Page ^^ I'm slowly getting used to my new set-up and while I endeavour to make sure I get a third out this month I may not be able to since moving and stuff is still kinda on going :3

[Speedpaint] Universery - Page 45

You may notice that I ended up redrawing the major middle panel, and then constantly adding/removing bits the whole time ^^;;;

Little Paws Sanitorium - Page 4!

Custom Comic Champ Reward for LilyIsFenFen!

Warnings: Dub-con/Mild Non-Con, Kidnapping, Forced Diapering, Bondage

Universery - Page 44 [Speedpaint] + Dormroom Layout

Finished Page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/89246523

Whoo! Thanks for your patience <3 As a little treat, I figured I'd give any of y'all that missed seeing it on my discord a bit of a behind-the-scenes peek on my process ^^ This is a loose sketch/layout of Lily & Archies Dormroom. I have a handful of things like this for when I'm planning out comics or really big pieces so I can keep consistency. I'm going to be starting on the Starknights layouts soon ^^ So you'll be seeing them as well! 

Universery - Page 44

Speedpaint + Dormroom Layout

Hey! Sorry for taking awhile to start uploading this month, I promise I'm still alive. I've been ungodly busy moving into a new house and I severely underestimated the amount of time (and energy) it would take to do so. I promise I'll be uploading more pages this month, I might just take a few more naps in the mean time ^^; 

Universery - Page 43

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/88314912

Oh jee! I'm cutting it a touch close for the last page for this month ^^; My plan for the rest of this month is to finish the final thumbnails for Star Knights, so once I've finished the final six pages for this chapter of Universery, it should be smooth sailing for the 'filler' and will make doing Uni in the background way easier! 

p.s. Special thanks to Skyler & Tyro for helping me out with beta-ing this page ^^ Turns out asking for help... well, helps! 

Universery - Page 43 [speedpaint]

This page was a fair bit of fun to do, I like pulled back shots, and my plans for the next few pages is to visually explore the rest of the room. Which I realised that I've been neglecting ^^; Goes to show I'm still really learning when it comes to comics. Also! I figured I'd include the simplest sketch I made for this page, something about the second and third panel just struck me as funny X3

Little Paws Sanitorium - Page 3!

Custom Comic Champ Reward for LilyIsFenFen!

Warnings: Dub-con/Mild Non-Con, Kidnapping, Forced Diapering, Bondage

Crinkle Conversions - Page 5 & 6 (reward)

Omens Patron Comic!

The End ^^

Universery - Page 42

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/87876445

Whoo! New page! Sorry for the lack of content so far this month, I promise I'm putting my head down and smashing out pages lol. I've been working on all the patron comic pages, new Universery pages and finalising all my thumbnails for Starry Knights. So definitely some more news on that, and more pages to come.

Edit: Had to change up who was speaking in that middle big panel, I swear I re-read this page a dozen times and didn't realise that I'd stuck two bubbles together ^^;

Universery - Page 42 [speedpaint]

Universery - Page 41

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/87165224

Nothing is more cathartic after a frustrating conversation than face-planting a soft bed ^^

[Speedpaint] Universery - page 41

I swear, I'm going to bite Vimeo >:c At this point I'm thinking uploading to a private youtube channel instead?

Link to the speedpaint if the embed doesn't work: https://vimeo.com/851520465/6c2d7118fd

Universery - Page 40!

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/86699610

Nothin' much to say for this one :3 Gosh I love writing mean characters ^^;

[Speedpaint] Universery - Page 40

Universery - Page 39!

Speedpaint: https://www.patreon.com/posts/86528882/

Sorry for the slow uploads this month! I'm working hard on getting the inbetween comic ready, and I'm also in the process of moving (which is tedious as hell btw) so hopefully things'll start to smooth out soon ^^ It's gonna be nice living in an actual house, and not a caravan ^^; The third page for the month should be up in a few more days, thanks for your patience!

[Speedpaint] Univesery - Page 39!

Crinkle Conversions - Page 3 & 4 (reward)

Omens Patron Comic!

Little Paws Sanitorium - Page 1 & 2!

Custom Comic Champ Reward for LilyIsFenFen! ^^

Warnings: Dub-con/Mild Non-Con, Kidnapping, Forced Diapering, Bondage

Universery - Page 38 [Speedpaint]

Hoi! Nothing special to say here ^^ Other than that I really enjoy drawing Val and I'm looking forward to the next few pages~ It was kinda the first scene I ever wrote for it, so I hope you all like it <3