July 31, 2007
Dear readers (all 10 or so of you =P):
Honor Among Thieves is going on a long... LONG... hiatus.
I started HaT mostly on a whim. I thought I was a decent artist and that I could keep up a schedule; I've been proven wrong on both accounts. Yes, my art is "okay," but for this story, I'd like to be better than "okay." I want to be "great," I want to be "excellent." Honor Among Thieves is a story that I could do so much with, but already I'm looking back and realizing that I've made a lot of mistakes.
I'd like to start over with a clean slate and a fresh new script. I want to improve my art style and make the comic really something to look at. I want a finalized, polished storyline. I want to KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING IN TO. Because I KNOW I could do better. I KNOW I could make this a great, absorbing story.
But great things take time.
I'm going to be prepared the next time around: I'll have a backlog of pages, a flushed-out script, and a definite style of art. None of this "can't-decide-on-backgrounds" and "characters-changing-design-between-panels" stuff.
So here's my plan: Over the course of the next year and a half, I hereby swear on your deity of choice that I will 1) improve my art as much as possible, 2) write out a full - FULL! - script for Honor Among Thieves, and 3) have everything set to go on the restart date.
The restart date for Honor Among Thieves will be (write it down, now): January 1, 2009.
A long time, I know... but assuming I don't die, lose interest in art, or become a technology-loathing hermit, that will give me PLENTY of time to get my act together. The main reason I'm waiting so long is to improve my artistic ability. You can't rush that shit. It takes a LONG time to improve, a FRUSTRATINGLY long time to improve. So hopefully I'll be at least a LITTLE better after such a long break.
Right now, I can see the future HaT being in black-and-white and updating weekly. I need to work out the storyline fully (the improv-like plot I've got going right now is great for adding things in, but NOT good for continuity and the like) and actually decide on an ending. Nope, I haven't got an ending yet, folks! Mistake #1! XP The art will incorporate better character designs, camera angles, and panel layout as bare minimums.
Who knows what else'll change between now and then? That's the fun of it. It'll be like opening a time capsule, in a way.
Anyway, that's my promise. Come January 2009, HaT will return bigger and better than ever. I understand if a lot of you don't even really care, it's not like HaT is really noteworthy right now. XP But if you happen to drop by in a few years... =)
Thanks so much to anyone who stopped by to check out the new comic on the block... and lots of love to all of my friends who eagerly awaited my late updates and got on my case when I missed them. XD Honestly, I really did appreciate it! Sometimes I need a little outside influence to get me moving.
If you'd like to keep tabs on me or whatnot, you can visit my Xanga, Fool's Paradise, or my DeviantART page. I update those both on a semi-consistent basis.
See you in 2009.
--- Melissa Osborne
