Latest post to updates log: May 21, 2025
(scroll to bottom of post)
The Harbinger’s Path officially launched today! :D
The entire first chapter can be read here.
Here’s the description from the site:
Pact Marshal Trahearne spent 43 days captured by the Elder Dragon Mordremoth. What happened to the Firstborn during this time?
Trahearne & Malyck fan comic set during the Heart of Thorns era of Guild Wars 2.
Rated PG-13
The main thing I learned from this launch is I need to schedule more buffer time than I think I will need, to account for unforeseen occurrences, haha. I had planned to take care of the majority of the comic over the weekend, and intended to upload the pages early this morning. I had existing (comic-unrelated) plans which I didn’t allocate enough time for, such that I lost about a day’s time. I managed to have the comic live at 2 pm PT, and started posting them to socials/RSS/email after, around 2:45 pm or so. I was originally hoping to post them at around 8-9 am PT, which is what I’ll aim for in the future if I do another bulk chapter like this.
I received a few messages throughout the morning from people anticipating the comic’s launch, and I feel bad I kept you waiting. D: I hope the wait will be worth it, and I may even have a chance to do a few touch-ups tonight before you perhaps see it when you awake next morning … though from what I’ve gathered through the years, excessive revisions for the first chapter of a comic can be a potential pitfall. Maybe I should make a personal rule to not revise chapter 1 until I finish chapter 2. But I will probably end up revising a few small things, before then. :p
I was still touching up pages this morning! In my defense, I think adhering to a launch date personally helps me a great deal. The reason I was still touching-up pages was because I didn’t notice many things until it became closer and closer to the launch. Suddenly, the realization of, “Oh man! People will actually see this! I can’t show it in this state!” And that happened even to pages which I had previously checked off as “finished” last week. Funny how that is – it’s probably some psychological trickery. But I think the pages turn out better for it, than if I had allowed myself infinite time to work on them. They probably would never have been completed if I had done that – more for that pile of WIP’s we all seem to have.
The PDF
The main thing I have remaining for the first chapter is the digital PDF I wanted to put together. In the end, my ambitions to complete the PDF to coincide with launch day proved a bit lofty, haha. I think I might have struggled to finish it even if I had not had less time this weekend than I was intending. On the bright side, with the extra time (my new ETA is for this Friday, May 16), I’m hopeful I can perhaps add some flourishes I wouldn’t have had time for, had I posted it today.
At the very least, it should be a bit neater than if I had tried to fit it in for today.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 is also well under way! I have the layouts done, and have started refining. I’ve found that layouts of initial refinement are some of my favorite steps of the process – I have layouts for a lot of ideas, some Guild Wars, some with original stories with my characters – it’s so fun to note down these ideas in sketch form.
Anyway, I’m going to list Chapter 1 launch day updates below – mainly for myself, to have a record for the things I had to fix, haha – and then have some longer thoughts/likely rambling in the full post afterward.
Comic Updates Log (Ch1)
Updates: May 12, 2025
- Fixed a bug with the cover page’s mobile layout displaying incorrectly.
- Fixed a broken link on the cover page’s “next” link.
- Fixed the footer formatting on comic pages.
- Added source links for “The Nightmare Harbinger” on pages 1 and 2.
- Fixed the background image for “The Harbinger’s Path” index page displaying in an unintended way.
- Slightly updated the art for page 3 (the establishing shot).
Add-on Updates: May 13, 2025
- Slight adjustments and touch-ups to pages 9-10
- Primarily word balloons, slight art updates
- Updated art for page 8
- Turned on some layers I didn’t realize were off!
- Cleaned up art in panel 3
Add-on Update: May 17, 2025
- Slight update to the title text typography on page 3.
Add-on Updates: May 18, 2025
- Slight update/touch-up to the final speech balloon on page 15 (an errant brushstroke).
- The bonus-art version of Chapter 1’s web PDF is now live. It is currently sent to everyone who signs-up for email updates.
Add-on Updates: May 21, 2025
- Slight edits to both versions of the web PDF for Chapter 1.
- Reduced file size while maintaining the same image quality.
- Very small touch-ups in the opening 2-page spread and pg 5 PDF formatting.
- Added a version number to the PDF on the bottom of the final page. Current version: Ver. 1.02
- Neatened the PDF’s metadata.
- Added the pages-only version of the web PDF as a free download on Ko-fi.
Comic Launch Thoughts
I mentioned this on Bluesky earlier today, but I was a little surprised by how nervous I was during the lead-up to posting the pages. It’s peculiar, because it isn’t because I’m averse to feedback – I love feedback, whether positive or negative – but I dunno. I think it’s more, it’s been so many years since I’ve showed something under this name that’s as personal to me as this project turned out to be, that I feel like I’ve almost forgotten how to do that. Of course, the solution to that is practice, to remember how to again. So, here we are!
In a way, it’s almost fortuitous that I waited this long before starting this endeavor – I think I’ve mentioned this on this blog before, but I’ve sometimes felt like I should have started this comic in 2017. I think that was around when I had the inklings that this idea – and these characters apparently refused to leave my mind ever since! But (sorry for repeating myself), I think as a “comic,” it wouldn’t have turned out well if I had attempted it back then. I don’t think I would have had the patience back then. I’ve always felt comic pages required a type of patience much different than illustration, one I wasn’t confident I could manage.
Maybe the idea has been crystallizing in my mind for this long, that it has managed to overtake those doubts. Haha. But it does feel more like I had to allow these characters out from my mind. It feels almost obsessive – the expansion came out in 2015! (Oh wow, I just realized that’ll be 10 years ago this fall – October 23, to be precise!) – I always say it’s a credit to those original writers. With how they managed to craft characters who have such longevity, in terms of creative inspiration.
It feels cathartic to finally get them out, in some small way, with this project. I also think I feel less pressure doing it now, so many years after the expansion, than maybe I might have felt if I had attempted it when the expansion was more in the fanbase’s minds (I figure much of the community has likely moved on from these characters – except for us! Haha.).
Archive for Page Index Updates (Ch1)
Edit June 22, 2025: Archiving updates posted to the comic’s index page here, as I tidy it up to prepare for chapter 2’s updates there:
June 4, 2025: Chapter 2 Release Date
Quick update that work on Chapter 2 is going smoothly, with the majority of the chapter now blocked-out (what feels like the bulk of the work to me). Colors and refinements are next. With that, I estimate new pages should be ready later this month! I’ll post updates/previews on the sketchblog when I have a chance.
Edit June 4: Chapter 2 panel previews now up!
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May 19, 2025: Updates Log
There’s now an updates log, near the bottom of the launch day post alluded to in last week’s update. :D
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May 12, 2025: Chapter 1 is live!
Happy launch day! The first chapter is now live.
And that concludes Chapter 1, the “pilot” for this project! What did you think? Were there any surprises? I’d love to know! Good or bad, feel free to tell me. Hearing your impressions will help me make the comic better. :D
If you encounter any broken links or display oddities with the site, definitely please let me know so I can fix them! I’d really appreciate it!
I’ll also share some longer thoughts on the sketchblog later today.
Chapter 2 Info:
Progress on Chapter 2 has already begun! To know when Chapter 2 is posted, in addition to socials, I’ve set up a new email updates list. This is if you’d like another option outside of social media.
My aim is for this page to be the permanent, stable home for this comic – where you will always be able to read it, regardless of whatever might happen with social platforms in the future.
New pages:
Subsequent pages will be posted here as I complete each page – unless I receive feedback preferring I update the chapters in bulk, as I received for Chapter 1. If you have opinions, let me know! Again, I always welcome feedback.
Email Updates (Mailing List)
Want to stay updated, but wish there was an easier way to keep up with this site? I've set up an "email updates" or "mailing list" for this very reason. Check it out below!
New sign-ups currently receive a free PDF for The Harbinger's Path Chapter 1, from my Trahearne & Malyck GW2 fan comic. This version is exclusive to this email list, containing bonus art not currently available anywhere else.
I might change the sign-up bonus in the future, so if you're interested in seeing this PDF, consider joining soon!
You can unsubscribe anytime. Your inbox, your rules!
Or, perhaps RSS is more your style? There exists an RSS for this sketchblog, as well as an RSS for comic projects (currently page updates).
My aim is setting up ways to connect that's more stable than the whims of social platforms. If this interests you, consider signing-up.
Either way, take care and I hope to see you again!
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