Blog of Last Resort

#101 is up, and we're at the Palace!

2008-10-04T23:15:00.002-04:00

Here we are again!

For those of you paying attention, the old Entrecard box has disappeared... for now, anyway. I'm trying a little experiment with the folks at Palace in the Sky, and if it works out, I'll be one happy artist.

Now if only I could get my buffer back up...

Don't Start Your Webcomic Without Reading This!

2008-10-03T23:32:00.000-04:00

Only at my college could the following happen in the span of one day:

One friend asked me (via facebook) about how to find an artist for their webcomic.
Another one asked about how I started mine, since they already have some webspace and want to put it to use by also starting their own.
Both of these people are not only reasonably intelligent, but female.

Hooray feminism! But that's beside the point.

The point I'm making today is that both of these girls have already made the same mistakes most creators make -- that is, that they've already decided to start their projects with certain limitations in mind. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging your own limitations or recognizing outside limitiations, but there's no reason to invent new ones out of whole cloth. Some limitations aren't really limitations -- you may have sunk some money into webspace or a domain name already, but that's not a limitation you have to live with since you can always buy new hosting or a new URL.

But deciding you already need an artist for your webcomic?

That's a big decision you'll have to live with in regards to your comic and its lifespan. That's not to say that artist/writer pairs are inherently bad or that pairing with somebody versus going alone will make or break you... but it IS saying that it's something that should require plenty of thought beyond "I can't draw, but I want to make a comic, therefore I need an artist!"

There's a lot of decisions that can be seen this way; the concept that webcomics must be like newspaper comics. That there's no room for anything but superheroes in "mainstream" comics, so you have to emulate them to get anywhere. That this genre is superior to that genre and you can't make a strip about this or else you'll get raided by 4chan or that the only webcomics that succeed are video game webcomics. What size and what format and what update frequency your comic will be. And yes, no matter what you do, in order to actually start you'll need to make a certain number of decisions before you post the first comic.

Ironically, deciding what your comic actually means usually isn't one of them. It should be.

Sweet! Last Resort's on Fleen!

2008-09-29T09:59:00.002-04:00

Better late than never to post good press: Last Resort finally received some coverage on Fleen thanks to hitting the 100-strip mark!

If you're too lazy to click:

Finally, here’s a plot that makes you think Why didn’t anybody come up with this before?: reality show in space with alien critters. Last Resort is just about to hit 100 installments, so there’s enough story there to decide if you’re going to get sucked in or not, and not so much that you have to spend all day pretending to work when the boss walks by.

Thanks Fleen! Here's hoping more good webcomics press is coming our way.

YES! We've made #100!

2008-09-26T17:35:00.003-04:00

The party starts a little early, after all.

And yes, I think you all know who she is... so go post on the forums and speculate like crazy!

It's been a long time in coming, but hey, 100 strips isn't an easy feat, and actually, as of writing this... I need to work on even more strips so I can graduate without further stress here. Even for a weekly strip, this thing still takes time.

Enjoy, and like I said, if you have any ideas about how the next hundred will go... the forums are waiting for you!

Something's a little early... [AWA Details!]

2008-09-19T10:13:00.003-04:00

Shh. I know better than to count on internet access at a convention. Enjoy your early, longer-lasting anticipation. ;)

For those going to / at the con, I'll be at Table #32 in the Artist's Alley Marketplace. There will be commissions and other goodies available.

Come say hi!

#98 Was a Triumph.

2008-09-13T21:23:00.003-04:00

Okay, that's enough Portal jokes.

Just to remind people: if you're coming to Anime Weekend Atlanta, I'll be in the Artist's Alley Marketplace (Near the Dealer's!) selling various pieces of comic merch, so come on by, say hi, and buy something. ;)

#97 is here...

2008-09-06T22:11:00.005-04:00

... and I am so glad I'm working off a buffer because I've been knocked flat the past couple of days from a nasty case of con crud.

Of course, I've not had a great chance to catch up on said buffer because I've also been working on stuff for Anime Weekend Atlanta -- only a couple weeks away -- and trying very hard to look like I actually know what I'm doing. In theory (note that word!) I'm on track, but until I have everything I want printed out and on that table when I get there I'm still a nervous wreck.

Oh, and at some point schoolwork is involved. More on that as it happens.

In the meantime, enjoy this weeks new page, and hey -- if you liked the sharpie art that was featured last entry, speak up! I'm making plenty more and I have no problem showing it off before AWA (which is when I assume most of it will be sold off, so . . .)

CONTEST - Free Art For Dragon*Con Folk!

2008-09-03T11:32:00.004-04:00

Dragon*Con is dead as a dog, and I've barely got time to recover from it (including a mild but annoying cold -- blegh!) before getting ready for Anime Weekend Atlanta, which means one thing -- I need to make a LOT of stuff to fill up a big table, like the quick Sharpie sketch of Arikos up there.

I also need to make some examples of commissions that I can offer, and that's where you come in: I'm offering MORE free commissions for you!

The catch is, it's only available to "certain" Dragon*Con goers...

If you picked up one of the Last Resort Stickers for your badge (or heck, if you have any clue what I'm referring to when I mention the "Elevator Game"), send me a picture / scan of the badge with its sticker and you win!
Parade Watchers: Anyone take pictures of a short mad scientist with curly hair and carrying a Geiger counter / radiation detector? If so, I need the picture(s), and I'm offering prizes for 'em!

Don't worry so much about WHAT your commission prize will be; I want to see how many people respond first before I say what the actual commissions will look like. Rest assured though, everyone who turns in something will get a prize (and maybe even featured on the blog if I get them done fast enough!)

Oh, and if someone on staff picked up a dark grey / yellow shoulder bag with a ham radio in it at the Dead Dog staff party... my friend wants his stuff back. I'll give you a commission in return for it and we'll reimburse you for the shipping. Honest.

#96!

2008-08-29T16:44:00.002-04:00

So who wants to try and figure out everything Cypress said first?

Currently at Dragon*Con and taking advantage of a slight pause in the fun/chaos to post this. If you're at the Convention, get off the freaking internet (you're at a CON!) and come to the second floor of the Hilton in the "Reality Wing" where all the cool technology stuff is.

Take care!

#95!

2008-08-23T20:27:00.005-04:00

And now we see why Cypress was willing to wear that haircut.

For those who'll be doing convention-hopping in Atlanta soon:

I'll be working at Dragon*Con in Atlanta next weekend -- literally, I'm on staff. Don't expect much if you find me, but if you're hanging around the Space/Science tracks anyway, say hello -- I'm bound to have something on hand, after all, and I doubt you're the type to pass up ~~frozen~~ liquid nitrogen ice cream* anyway.
However, my working at Anime Weekend Atlanta is all for the comic. Still putting together what I can to make the table awesome, but as I said before, speak up and you'll be rewarded.
Hope to see you there!

* Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream is made WITH liquid nitrogen, not made FROM liquid nitrogen. Never consume liquid nitrogen. (Seriously.) Available whenever the schedule says it's available -- my best guess is Sunday -- and while supplies and sanity Last.

THIS JUST IN: Last Resort At Anime Weekend Atlanta!

2008-08-21T09:48:00.004-04:00

Last Resort's movin' on up, folks!

Just yesterday, I secured a table in the Artist's Alley Marketplace for Anime Weekend Atlanta (Sept. 19-21, 2008), which is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin -- except it's not only filled with plenty more artists, it's also a good bit larger than MomoCon (and if my success from the spring is any indication, this is a VERY good thing!)

For those that'll be there, now's the best time to sway my opinions on what ought to be offered at the table, (or suggest something you want me to make especially for you!), so if you've got a great idea, send me an e-mail -- and even if it's something that I won't be able to get done in time for AWA, a good idea could still end up being something I make and offer later!

Links for 2008-08-16 [del.icio.us]

2008-08-17T00:00:00-05:00

10 Steps to the Perfect List Post
Good to keep in mind for my next post! :)

Here comes #94!

2008-08-16T23:25:00.003-04:00

Fun Fact: I actually drew #94 before #93. You'd never notice, though.

The summer's officially over for me, though, and while I didn't end up completing enough strips to last me through graduation . . . it's into November, easily. Hopefully that won't take too long to correct.

See you all next week!

We're on Facebook! (again!)

2008-08-14T23:20:00.003-04:00

Everyone else is on Facebook. The comic should be, too!

To prove my point, I've gone and made a nice, new, shiny Facebook Page just for Last Resort. Much better than the old group, yes?

Check it out, say hello, and become a fan all over again today.

New Wallpaper!

2008-08-12T10:35:00.006-04:00

Because nothing says "I'm getting ready to go back to school!" quite like cartoony wallpaper, eh?

I've just added this blue beauty of a Black-and-White Jigsaw (complete with some interesting sticks) and dressed to fight in some odd armor we've not seen in the pages yet. Is it a teaser for this upcoming episode, or just an excuse to draw Jigsaw in a new outfit? Maybe it's both!

Either way, you can snag one of the full-size versions of these (available in five different resolutions!) for a token donation through the Last Resort homepage.

The Idiot's Guide to Backing Up Your Webcomic

2008-08-11T11:18:00.006-04:00

The world ends tomorrow, and your computer may die!

Scary, isn't it? But let's be honest here; between the statistics for laptop theft, catastrophic viruses, crotchety webhosts, Hurricane What's-Her-Face, or even good old Mother Nature sending 50,000 volts of "Why don't you ever call me?!" through your machine, the message is clear; sooner or later, your machine WILL bite the dirt, and when the Grim Hacker comes, if you are not ready, you will pay. And whether that be 50 strips from now or 500, you will NOT be happy.

Fortunately, the solution is readily available to all, and involves one or more of the following:

An External Hard Drive ($100 or so, but will offer the most storage)
A Flash Drive (best I've seen is $30 for 4 GB)
A CD/DVD Burner and the appropriate -R discs (Do NOT get -RW discs. These have a higher chance of failure) (cost varies based on whether you already have a burner or not - if you don't, then don't bother with this route)

Here's how you do it:

Determine all files that need to be backed up. (PROTIP: If you're going to need it for publishing your book, save it)
COPY (do not transfer) the files onto the media of your choice.
Repeat with a new piece of media.
Keep at least one copy of your backup separate from the rest. Leave it with your parent(s), your best friend, a safe deposit box... the idea is that if something truly catastrophic were to occur to your current abode (like a natural disaster), there will be another copy of the necessary files somewhere in safekeeping. Especially if that somewhere is somewhere else.
Do this all over again as often as you think you need to -- At least every three months / 10-20 strips, depending on which occurs more often. I like to do a backup before any traveling with the computer occurs as well, not just for the obvious chance of something happening while on the trip, but also because of the chance the travel itself causes problems as well.

The "doing it all over again" part is one of the most important, as the idea is not that you will need it tomorrow per se, but at some point in the future. Which also means you'll need to repeat this all in the future. But hey... the more you do it, the less you'll worry about losing, right?

Have any other good tips for backing up your files? Comment and let me know!

Links for 2008-08-10 [del.icio.us]

2008-08-11T00:00:00-05:00

The secret of the web (hint: it's a virtue)
Says it all, I think

Ooooh, it's #93! I'm so scared.

2008-08-09T20:12:00.004-04:00

Good things happened this week! Unfortunately I can't tell you about them yet. At least, I don't think I can.

Please accept this nice color page, just like all the others I bring you each week, as penance to help tide you over in the meantime. ;)

7 Reasons you need to START YOUR COMIC ALREADY!

2008-08-04T13:27:00.004-04:00

"So I've been working on this great new idea..."

Fewer things have induced so much groaning when they come from the right kind of people. And by "Right Kind of People" I mean "You know how rare it is for you to even finish a sentence?" The ones who have great ideas, and heck, they might even be some of the brightest folk you know, but for some reason, when it gets to actually doing it it either doesn't happen or it all gets forced into existence within the last 24 hours?

There's nothing wrong with having ideas. But there's a certain level of idea hoarding that's not productive to you or anyone else. Yeah, I'm guilty of doing it a little myself, but whether it's some great new merchandise I've been plotzing around with or a pack of half-written blog articles I have to force myself to go ahead and actually finish, At least I'm still getting a page a week up (which is also the only one with an actual deadline, which may be part of my laziness elsewhere). And for that alone, I have to say it:

Start. The. Comic.

There's no time like the present, and there are plenty of reasons why, if you've got a comic on the brain, you may as well get started right the heck now:

You Need a Big Archive.
Very few comics receive attention and acclaim when they only have a few strips, unless they're doing something incredibly awesome or they're made by someone who already has some built-in star power behind them. Besides, the more you have whenever an eventual reader comes along, the more they'll have at their fingertips to hunt through so they can decide for themselves whether you're worth their time or not.
You Need the Name Recognition.
I'm not talking about YOUR name -- unless, y'know, you're really good at propping up your own ego as is -- but the name of your comic and 2-3 of your main characters. It's not everything, sure, but when you're starting out, they can't very well make a decision about you if they don't know who you are. Sean Tevis gets it, and he's not even trying to make a name in webcomics!
You Need to Stop Sucking So Much.
Okay, we get it, your art isn't what you want it to be. Making a strip per whatever timeframe you work in will force it to improve by sheer habit. Well, it'll improve if you're actually drawing every page instead of depending on clipart or Poser. The whole idea of your art improving is that there is some sort of new art being made, after all.
You Need to Stop Putting it Off.
Nobody likes a "I'm not quite done yet." And as much as you shouldn't be thinking about your competiton, you're not getting anywhere while you're not finished, and everyone else out there IS. Unless there's some great payoff to waiting any longer (like, say, having X amount of comics already completed by launch), why wait?
You can always improve later.
Heck, people EXPECT you to improve, practically. Take advantage of this. (Note that an improvement in art doesn't count if you do what Exiern did and claim improvement by hiring a new artist. It's one thing to START with an artist/writer combo, but hiring one later on makes it look more like a business transaction and interrupts the artistic flow of the comic to boot.)
You can always do more research later.
Learning about Marketing is important when starting out, sure. Learning about Sales and merchandising? Not as much. Unless your entire plan hinges on shamelessly whoring your webcomic as a way to get people to buy into your high concept movie script (*cough*), odds are good you'll have a couple years to get things up to speed, which dovetails nicely with the idea that . . .
It's going to take you X number of years ANYWAY.
Proof? Look at all the webcomics you already like. Look at when they started. If you start noticing that pretty much all of these comics took 5-7 years to get where they are... well, you're starting to get the idea. It's very unlikely that you can do a whole lot those first two years, so if you can spend the first couple years getting your kinks worked out while still gaining the additional archives and profile from that time . . . then good on you.

In short, there's no good reason why you shouldn't go ahead and get to work on that new comic, unless you just . . . really don't want to work on it. And it's not like there's anything wrong with that, except that if you keep telling yourself you're going to (and don't), it's just going to annoy the rest of us who either want to see some actual work or just want you to stop talking about it.

And for those of us that alreasy have a comic in some form, stop thinking that putting your magnum opus on hold is going to earn you any more bragging rights than the rest of us.

Get to work on it, monkey!

#92 is UP!

2008-08-02T20:00:00.003-04:00

Because nothing says "Great Team Chemistry" like arguing with your lieutenant.

The end of the summer is looming, and... I still have a ton of comics I want to get done before school kicks back up again. (It sure as heck isn't for lack of drawing, through -- just that there's something really satisfying in having the entire semester knocked out of the way first. Ah well.)

I also have some blog articles on the back burner, so 'hopefully' I can finish them up and have them ready later this week. And this is all on top of / aside whatever (minor) preparations for Dragon*Con I ought to have in store.

Is it just me, or does the whole "it being August" thing catch everyone else off-guard too?

Links for 2008-07-27 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-28T00:00:00-05:00

Your Convention Guide to Dragon*Con
A little something I made up for all the folks going to Dragon*Con. Photos, Vids, Tips, all that good stuff. :)

#91! W00T

2008-07-26T22:43:00.003-04:00

And before anyone says anything:

That is her POUCH.
She is a marsupial.

Thank you.

I'll say more soon, honest, but in the meantime, enjoy the comic!

FREE: Four Awesome New Ways to Show Your Support for Last Resort!

2008-07-21T16:29:00.002-04:00

Well, you'll be showing your support for the teams, at least!

Over in the forums I've just posted some great new image bars for use as fan signatures. Since it's next to impossible to be on the internet without encountering a forum that lets you have image signatures, this is a simple, painless, and easy way to get in on the fun.

Four fine signatures are over there (One for each team), So there shouldn't be any difficulty in picking your favorites. Literally any phpBB-type forum will support this code, and it not only shows your team colors, it also gives people a handy link to the website (so curious folk don't have to wonder for very long what's going on) .

With all this, I just have to ask: Which one's your favorite?

Links for 2008-07-19 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-20T00:00:00-05:00

The Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge Method, Or, Blogging Is Flirting
Sure, why not?

And This is #90, Where We Must Remind You This is a Web-14 Comic.

2008-07-19T22:27:00.004-04:00

... Granted, we should have reminded you on #89, but hey, this is what that little rating button at the bottom of the page is for, yes?

At any rate, this is #90, and while I know a few of you (Yes, I'm referring to you, Reader Madmann) were hoping she'd chicken out at the last second . . . well, see for yourself.

More to come next week! In the meantime, the forums are always open.

Links for 2008-07-17 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-18T00:00:00-05:00

21 Ways to Make Your Blog or Website Sticky
I've already implemented a few of his ideas; let's see how many more I can hit...

Road Crew Review!

2008-07-15T16:51:00.002-04:00

Just a quick acknowledgment: it appears Tommie of Road Crew took some time out to feature Last Resort!

His own comic's a little young but you can still pop over there to look at the nice things he had to say about the comic. Thanks, Tommie!

#89, #89, It's up, #89...

2008-07-12T15:19:00.002-04:00

Slightly early update, but nobody minds, right?

The forums are open, as always...

Who Else Wants Awesome Comic Merchandise?

2008-07-07T12:07:00.007-04:00

Well, you can't have it. Not yet at least.

One of the things I'm trying to build up as I get further along on my comic is how I make money off of it -- which makes sense, if only because it's not only an easy way to track my progress, there's also something to be said for the feeling of "Holy crap, people are actually willing to PAY ME for this stuff?" And if working at conventions taught me anything, going to them is certainly worthwhile, once you have the right materials prepared.

"The Right Materials" includes merchandising.

Since I wasn't able to make AnthroCon like I hoped I would, I've been sitting on more things than I intended to have lying around, like the nice, shiny 1" buttons shown here. They're convention-only at the moment, but I'm showing them off anyway -- most of the bunch I have now are the four "Team" buttons in their various colors, alongside one of my older buttons (with the white background) for comparison.

Feedback appreciated, as always. ;)

And now, in the 250m Wireless Router Punt...

2008-07-06T00:27:00.002-04:00

A new comic page!

G'night folks.

Links for 2008-07-03 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-04T00:00:00-05:00

How to Analyze and Improve the ‘Bounce Rate’ for Your Website
Hey, it can't hurt to try a few things... speaking of which, I tweaked a little something on the front page. Let's see if anyone notices.

Links for 2008-06-30 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-01T00:00:00-05:00

The Microfame Game and the New Rules of Internet Celebrity -- New York Magazine
Marketers, take note.