Am I undermining my more serious works (i.e. quests) by drawing so much porn of them

even as they are in progress

do i even care

Time for a little artist insight!

Here’s an interesting test for anyone who enjoyed RubyQuest:
Re-read the quest. Look for any mention of “cat”, “fox”, “bunny”, “ear”, “tail”, “snout”, or anything like that.
You won’t find it.
For instance, when Ruby meets Red, he’s described as “the man”.

The characters in NanQuest, as in RubyQuest, were primarily given their animal identities as a means of visual shorthand, not literal personification. The ears are a way to easily tell the characters apart and give them some personality. Whether or not Ruby is literally a rabbit girl is not significant to the narrative. Ruby never uses her bunny jumping power, Ace never flies like a bird, Filbert never stuffs seeds in his cheeks. There may be, in both quests, some symbolism or connotations to these choices, but every character could be a human and it wouldn’t change much. This is by design.

Initially I thought to differentiate the characters by giving them all different hats. But there’s an obvious flaw here: Hats can be removed or switched. I needed a more definitive way to prove a character was a character, and not just wearing someone else’s hat. Thus the ears. Now you know!

To answer your question more directly however, while RubyQuest had simple and direct animal analogues, NanQuest is less obvious (other than Nan herself who’s pretty obviously a goat). This is largely because NanQuest has a significantly bigger cast, and because reusing obvious animals like cats would make people think they were RubyQuest cameos.
As a result, while I do have certain animals influencing the design of given characters, they’re not really important. So large speech aside, here’s your concise answer: It doesn’t matter. Just draw whatever you think they should be!

more stream doodles from earlier today

AAAAHAHAHAHAHA

At long last my internet has come through. After the move my internet was shot pretty badly and we’d be lucky to get 4kb/s sometimes.

Now we’ve finally, finally got our own connection at 6mbit/sec and holy cow this is a rush
I’m able to watch youtube again
I can load animated GIFs
I can check my tumblr dashboard without having to let it sit for a few minutes

I know this will sound silly, or like an exaggeration of how bad it was for comedy’s sake, but truth be told, it’s a little weird clicking something, and having it just load

CONNECTION RE-ESTABLISHED.

Updates will resume tomorrow.

Yes, that includes DiveQuest and NanQuest.

(Picture drawn by Klondike)

I want to apologize for not updating my quests yesterday. As I may have mentioned we don’t really have our own internet connection here and pretty much just piggyback on the wifi from our downstairs neighbors, so it’s quite slow and when it goes down, there’s nothing we can really do.
It brings up an issue: Quests can’t really be done ahead of time, you can’t schedule future updates and you can’t make a stash of them all at once to update over time. It’s got to be on the spot. So occasionally, an obstacle like this may come up.
I’m sorry for those who were waiting, but this may happen from time to time, and I apologize in advance for the days when it does.

As an apology here’s a leaked spoiler for the ending of Nanquest.

The State of Things

The rather generous sums raised for my supporters/patrons/benefactors/saviors is currently being put to use, though right now all I’ve really spent it on is overdue electric bills, rent, and ant traps (we’re a bit infested). But we did celebrate with our  first meal out at a restaurant pretty much since we came to town. That really lifted our spirits.

Right now we’re sort of recovering from the depression and crushing anxiety that’s been our existence for the past few months. It’s not a change we can adapt to overnight, knowing that we won’t be out on the streets in a matter of time.
One thing I want to get on quick is setting up plans for the future. As generous as this money is, it won’t last forever, and the best thing I can do with the time all my supporters have graciously given me is to make preparations for the future — ideally in a way that can support myself indefinitely, if maintained. I’m looking into a central website, archives, merchandise, and so on.

So as far as status updates go, this one can be summed up thusly:

• Doing better than I have in a long time.
• Trying to get back on a good schedule.
• Making plans for the future I’ve been allowed.

Also, I apologize for the fact that Boxdog has not yet fully caught up to its 3-a-week schedule. I haven’t touched it in over a year and it’s taking some effort to gear back up. But it will hit that goal, mark my words. Until then, I’ll try to get as much done for it as I can.

And thanks again to all my supporters.

So I’ve been getting a lot of good questions lately and I wanted to address some major concerns and curiosities.

DiveQuest and NanQuest update schedule: Both quests will update at least once a day on weekdays. But because of the nature of Questing itself, I cannot be more specific. I cannot say what will make one day have more updates than another, nor can I give a set schedule for what time of day the updates will be I know that can make it a bit hard to keep up with, but unfortunately it’s a nebulous art form and not easy to structure around.

Boxdog update schedule: Boxdog does not update on a set daily schedule (for instance Monday/Wednesday/Friday) but will update three times a week.

Commissions: For those who sent in commission requests and had them accepted or confirmed, I appreciate your patience. I still intend to get those done, but with everything else I’ve been working on lately my attention has admittedly been elsewhere. I thank you for waiting and I will get these done as soon as I can. As before, payment is only due upon delivery, and only as much as you think the finished piece is worth.

Ice Pack: Not forgotten. There will be more updates in the future but I can’t promise any kind of schedule at the moment.

I’ll do some more Q&A response soon, as well. And ideally, I’ll get some quick links to quests and comics up on my sidebar once I figure it out.
Thanks for your support, and for bearing with me!

NanQuest is back! Thanks to the generosity of my supporters and patrons during the quest drive, the quest has returned in full force.

NanQuest is the spiritual successor to RubyQuest, which many of you may know. It’s a horror-themed quest with suspense, mystery, and intrigue. It’s currently ongoing, at 6 chapters.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6 (Now Updating!)

DiveQuest is back. Thanks to the generosity of my supporters and patrons during the quest drive, the quest has returned in full force.

DiveQuest is an ongoing adventure-themed quest. Unlike RubyQuest, it is open-ended, and features a wide cast of characters. It is generally more light than RQ and focuses more on humor and shipping character interaction (though it has darker moments as well). It’s also my longest quest, and has no intention of stopping any time soon.

You can find the entire spoiler-free chapter list here. Or click here to jump straight to the latest chapter!

(And don’t worry, I know what else you’re waiting for…)

INTRODUCING THE TGWEAVER QUEST DRIVE

Ladies and Gentlemen, to all my dedicated fans and supporters, I present to you the fever dream of a wild man. It’s a shot in the dark, a grab at the moon, but damn it, it’s time I stuck my neck out for something. So without further ado, the QUEST DRIVE:

WHAT: As proposed by my readers, I’ve opened up a fundraiser attempt such that I can focus all my time and effort purely on Questing, Comics, and other art and doodles. What commissions I’ve received already have largely been for Quest-related materials, or for continued content on works I have been lax on updating. That in part spurred this idea. Without getting into the kind of self-pitying details that have consumed much of this blog in the past, I can summarize by saying the premise is simple: Depression, exhaustion, and preoccupation concerning continued search for employment and scrounging for sustenance while living below the poverty line has cramped my quests and other artistic attempts. I’ve received many messages asking when they’ll pick back up, and the truth is these are serious projects and in-depth endeavors I want to be able to fully commit to. I don’t want to simply churn out content when my mind is elsewhere. I don’t want to produce a NanQuest chapter, for instance, that’s rushed, stressed, or poorly composed simply because I wasn’t in the right place to write for it. That’s where the Quest Drive comes in.

WHAT?: The Quest Drive is a collaborative fundraiser that allows me to cover my barest needs in order to survive, clear my mind, and focus on Quests. Think of it as hiring me to be your full-time quest-runner. Or a community commission by all donators for more - more of everything. If you, the readers, think it’s a worthwhile investment to chip in and sponsor me, I will do everything to make you, the patrons proud of that investment.

It’s a tall order, and I’m not sure it can succeed, but I want to believe that it’s possible, and I know that I want to put everything I can into this. I know people want more, and I’d love to get back to giving you all what you want.

For what: For as long as I’m sponsored, I’ll be able to put all my creative efforts and mental focus on the creation of art. Not just sketches and doodles like I post here, but full quests and comics, the means and depths of which I have not had the wherewithal for for many months. For specifics, I’ve listed milestones below.

How Much: I live as frugally as possible, rent cheap, and stretched my savings for years. Currently I live on roughly $10,000 USD a year, all expenses told - that’s food, bills, everything - and am working hard to tighten the belt even more. That means to sponsor me for one full month, I have to raise about $800 USD. It’s a lot to ask, and a lot to hope for, but I hope to do everything I can to make that steep price worth it.

So, what could be worth that kind of investment?
Well, in addition to allowing me to focus on my art, producing more of the sketches, concepts, and art you’ve come to expect from me, but there are also milestones. I’m setting this up on a small scale first, to give the idea a test run. If it doesn’t work, I’ll keep looking. If it does? More milestones will follow!

Milestones

1. One Month in One Week: Return of the Quest
   The source of it all!
   
    The initial test run is one week, the last open day being August 1st. If an entire month has been successfully raised by August 1st, both DiveQuest and NanQuest will resume updating immediately, both at least once per weekday, as of August 2nd. The Quests will return and keep a regular schedule of updates, guaranteed, for as long as sponsoring lasts. The quest drive will be considered viable and extended another month.
2. Two Months: The Sad Sack Surprise
   Surprise!
   
    That’s right: If two full months are raised, Boxdog is officially back. The depressing mish-mash returns to her webcomic, which obligations have caused me to set aside for many months now. I promised Boxdog wasn’t abandoned, that it would be back one day. Well if this Milestone is hit, that day is now! Boxdog will update a minimum of 3 times a week (on no specific day schedule as yet), and will continue as long as the project allows. The first update will be within 3 days of the milestone being reached, andnot at the end of the second month, in the event the milestone is hit sooner.
3. Three Months: The Mystery Box
   What’s this?
   
    It’s a secret. If three months of sponsorship are raised, you get art every day, all the previous milestones, plus I’ll unveil this super-secret, never-before-announced project right here, which will be available for public consumption. It will begin September 1st, if the milestone is met by then! If not, a delay may or may not be necessary.

If the drive goes well, more milestones can be added subsequently. If not — well, sometimes things don’t work out the way we hoped. But at the least I’ll have tried.

So that’s the long and short of it. If you don’t want to, you’re under no obligation or expectation. But if you feel this is a cause worth donating to, I’ll do everything I can by giving you all, in return, the kinds of things that made you a fan to begin with. Your help is appreciated more than you can know, and I’ll try my best to make that donation one you can feel good about.
Thank you to everyone who encouraged me and believed in me enough to push me to pursue this, and thanks in advance to every fan who feels so generous as to make a donation.

I won’t let you down.

You can use the ChipIn widget on the sidebar of this very blog to pitch in towards this effort.

There are a lot of long-term options for artists online. Merchandising, for instance, or a website that generated serious ad revenue (this takes a lot), and even the idea of a full webcomic that can support its author is a lofty goal — look at how few, out of tens of thousands of webcomics trying for it, have ever become self-sustaining like that. These are all long investments, though, and while I’d like to pursue them, I have to worry more about my immediate situation.
I was referring to the idea posited to me the other night, which I related in an earlier post. Specifically, the idea of ‘funding’ questing. That if I could raise enough money for general-purpose productions (quests, comics, art, etc) then I could work on them, essentially, indefinitely. Think of it almost like a broad-spectrum commission. Instead of funding a single image, entire quests and comic endeavors could be funded. The pros are that it’s open content, and much more of it than a commission would buy. The cons are that it requires much more funding in total, and perhaps its biggest shortcoming contrasted to actual commissions, would leave donators with a general return rather than one custom-tailored to their wishes. Big hurdles to clear, to be sure, even if there were enough people willing to pay into the concept to begin with. Because it’s not a singular “goal”, Kickstarter can’t be used for this. But there must be another way to handle the logistics.

In short, if the audience truly wants to pitch in for this, I can make questing and comics my full-time job. It wouldn’t take much. Just enough to cover the bare essentials.
It’s hoping for a lot, even with all the people who’ve been telling me to take a shot at this, all the fans who’ve encouraged me to try this approach. But if it works, well, if there’s even a chance that it could work, why not try?
I want to be optimistic about something for once. So here’s to it. I’ll see if I can make this work. Somehow.

Okay
Maybe it could work.

I wouldn’t have believed it, but I’ve been getting a lot of PMs and letters about this fundraising thing, encouraging me to give it a shot. Perhaps I should. It’s true I would love to provide the things I’m constantly being asked for. I love working on my stories and I love seeing people read and enjoy them. And it feels insanely selfish even to put it this way, but the answer is yes, if I didn’t have to worry about money, I would pretty much just be drawing all day.

I’m trying to figure out how this will work. I’ve made plans, I’ve got ideas to enact. For now, I won’t publish them just yet. That will be part of the push. But as for the actual fundraising, I’m at a loss of where to go. I’m not familiar enough with Kickstarter to know if this is something that really falls under the purview of their system. I’d probably want to start with a very limited ‘test’ run for a period of maybe one month, and see if that works out. If it does… well, I guess we’ll see.

I feel like I’m getting ahead of myself. And I know I’m hoping for a lot. But I wouldn’t have even begun to hope if it hadn’t been for these people who believed in me, supported me, encouraged me to try something. Maybe there is a reason to hope. But it’s a big wish.

I suppose we’ll find out.

I mean
Yes?

If I could afford to survive on my bare minimum because of this, I’d work on Nan AND DiveQuest every day. I’d be ecstatic. Outside of money I have a pretty decent life and my stresses sure seem to be rooted there; As I said, scraping for cash is all I’ve really got going on with my time and my mind. So yeah, hypothetically, I could do that. I’d love to.

People have already been really generous with me. But
You gotta realize you’re talking about a lot of money, and if it were going to be for any period of time, probably more than once.
If some wealthy oil baron fell in love with scared goats in creepy hotels and wanted to like, sponsor me, then I’d quest all day. But to literally pay my way, that’s like, rent, bills, groceries. That’s a lot of cash you’re talking. Almost eight hundred bucks, and that’s per month

And even if they did I wouldn’t even know where to start. A big markerboard with a painted on thermometer and a sign that says “Goal” on it?

I don’t know I mean it’s a flattering sentiment, really, and it would make a fun daydream for any artist I’m sure but
It’s not something that could really happen

A lot of people have been asking me about NanQuest.

NanQuest is on hiatus right now until I can get my life together. So is DiveQuest.
I enjoy both stories immensely and have every intention of finishing them, someday. But right now I have more important concerns, like trying to make rent at the end of the month.
I want to emphasize that it’s not just a matter of free time. Much of my time is spent trying to focus on commissions or explore potential new sources of income, including online work and data entry, and trying to figure out how I’m going to make ends meet. But even what free time I have can’t really be spent on questing, because quests are very big investments, creatively. When I work on a quest I want to be focused and coherent. Things have been bad for me for along time. And I’ve learned that if I’m so stressed or depressed I can’t write a chapter, I don’t want to force it and end up with a bad segment of a story that’ll stick. I’d never be able to undo that chapter. It would be a dark mark on the entire quest. I’d rather postpone until I know I can write the level of quality people  expect, rather than just churning out content for its own sake.

Poverty is crushing my drive, consuming my time, and wrecking any coherent attempts I could make on a quest.
I know it is a letdown, both to my long-time readers and all the fresh new fans I love to see springing up on tumblr, but for the time being, I’m just not in a place where I can work like that.
I apologize sincerely to you all.

Here’s a doodle of Nan and Henry as consolation.

First bunch of commissions! More will be coming soon, hopefully with better speed, as a few real life concerns have temporarily gone by the wayside.

The first image is a DiveQuest Album cover for Nitrosparxx. You may already know him for his work on the RubyQuest, DiveQuest, and NanQuest unofficial soundtracks!

The little pony character, Mercury, belongs Jutsy.

Fuck Yeah Kamen Pony requested the comic with everyone’s favorite smirking scientist, Red.

And lastly, for now, a simple .gif of Tom removing and replacing his bandage, for Dashmelted.