Status report

[For the sake of simplicity, today's journal entry will be only in English... I'm confident my fellow Spanish speakers have the right English mastery to understand at least half of what I'm gonna say.]

So... how long has it been since my last journal entry? Let's see... December 11th, 2012... woah, that makes more than a year and a half... And I bet you're wondering how I'm doing after that journal. Because it's clear things have changed, specially if you follow me here.

Let's see what I need to clarify after all this time...

“Hi, I'm here for your Felaryan stories. Where are you Felaryan stories?”

That's one good first question no one asked, indeed... As I said a year and a half ago, I've put that stuff on hiatus. But looks like the hiatus will turn into “leaving Felarya for good”, though it isn't final... yet.

Why? Did I lose interest on the setting? Is the community, their concepts and stories not that good for me? Do I have many another things to do and I can't spend more time with Felaryan stuff? It sure isn't about the community, that's for sure, you guys don't have anything to do with this... No, it's about losing some interest on Felarya altogether, mainly since I have a lot to do out of that world of dangers and half-naked predators.

Which is a pity, indeed. I've missed some good – and bad – things and I've lost a lot of contact with this. Also, I have pending stories, but without the interest on the setting, it only leaves me with my characters. Some might have a second chance in the future, as they'd feature other things, but for the rest of them... I'm afraid either they'll stay in this limbo or they'll simply come back if my interest on Felarya ever returns.

I know, I wasn't that well known among other people in the Felaryan community, but it's always bad news when someone decides to leave it, even if there's the slightest chance of returning.

“You mentioned some time ago that you might consider commissions... so...?”

So? Oh, that... I'm not going to do them. Mainly because of the fiscal and legal issues here in Spain regarding this. Some people think that commissions are as easy as “this is my price list”, but thanks to some other people who know quite a lot more about this, I have seen that there's more to that, and that what seems easy is actually harder and more legally complicated.

I'll stick with my own art, fan-arts, some gifts and if someone is up for an art trade, I'm all for it. But no commissions, sorry.

“So... what are you doing right now?”

See? That's easier to answer... As you've seen on my account, I've been doing some art here and there. Not that much.

Last year, I finally finished my first webcomic, which has a mix of both good of bad things – more of the latter than the former. But still, it was an experience I will never regret, it's shown me so many things, and helped me find some good colleagues. Which is something pretty good in the end.

And earlier this year I joined forces with to make a short comic called “Apolo”. It's all in Spanish and it was part of a challenge, similar to NaNoWriMo. We were supposed to make a 30-page comic in 30 days. It lasted 36, but it wasn't the writer's fault, but mine. I wanted to keep a level similar to what I usually do, and that was very tiring. Still, I could finish the 30 pages, even if I missed the deadline. Many others couldn't even finish this, and taking in account I have tried to keep my level while others just simplified their art or experimented with something new and faster... well, I can't say it was a big failure, more like taking a big risk and facing consequences that are actually less than I expected. Call me brave, call me stupid, it's your choice. Well, that was some months ago...

Currently, I'm drawing “Zodiac”, a webcomic written by . It's another challenge, because the first episode, drawn by , shows not only character development and gags, but also action and many dynamic scenes - what you need in a fantasy comic featuring Spanish pirates. I'm know for being kinda static, but if I want to improve, these challenges will surely help me, not only with my own effort, but also thanks to other people's opinions and criticism.

Also, I intend to go with my second webcomic – when I say “my second” I mean “100% mine, not as just the writer or the artist” -, somewhere before the end of the year. I have re-written many parts of the script, re-thought some scenes and characters, and that has been delaying the comic more than I expected.

The thing is that, despite I'm very busy with my current job and all, I'm doing my best to have something artistic going, even you don't see it here on deviantArt.

So that's all. Yep, nothing else to say.