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.