Online graphic novel by Shilin. http://carciphona.com
The books are here and they are safe! They've been in cold weather for ages so I'm letting them air out a bit and get warmer naturally LOL... they were just like bricks of ice. I will still be waiting for about a month before launching preorders, so I can cut about half the price off US shipping (hopefully) for you guys in the future.

To kind of make up for the lack of any art at all in the recent past due to my time constraints, here is a WIP for a commission I was working on! oh fabric my love


Voting bonus: I drew this like, RIGHT NOW, just to break the terrible vote incentive streak I've been having. Seems when I try to force out illustrations I just end up slashing them some more q_q
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=149&chapter=6&lang= Maon, 06 Feb 2012 02:30:00 EST
Voting bonus: I'm working on some CD covers so I haven't drawn anything again. Instead I put together this stupid collage of panels from the manga. I noticed these from proofreading volume 2 over and over again LOL...
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=147&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 30 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST
Trying really hard to get back into drawing stuff now that the thumbnails are done, man it's hard to change pace ):

Voting bonus: A little more progress on the sleeping picture!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=145&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:45:00 EST
I finally finished thumbnailing all of volume 3! It's not as fun to draw out the entire story this way because by the time I finished the thumbnails (which is now) I would've known the story so well and can't tell if it's even interesting anymore ): each page would probably also be less creative LOL... I would have to fancy them up as I go along. It does help me be consistent with the pace, pages and story though... the dilemma

Voting bonus: trying to make a new site layout ):
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=143&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST
I've been busy the whole week with my family, and I'm still hacking away at the next volume which is taking the entirety of my mind so once again, I don't have much to say and I don't have a new voting incentive ): I'll try to draw something for next week! (although I've said that to myself every time sunday came about for the past month HAHA) I did, however, upload 5 more fanart/gifts I got from last month onto the goodies page to distract you from my lack of work to present, so go take a look!

Voting bonus: same wip from last week!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=141&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:50:00 EST
I hope everyone had a happy new year!! I haven't slept too well because of new things going on in the house and I'm actually really sleepy right now LOL... BUT YEAH I HOPE YOURS STARTED OFF OK!! Here is a little something I drew for the new years just because I never draw festive drawings ): tiny Meron failing at skating yaaa


Voting bonus: I've been having trouble making voting images lately because I've been geared to storyboard and write. The sudden jump in my manga progress rate brought storywriting back to the front of my to do list because I will have to actually get off my lazy ass and finalize a lot of things far far down the line just so I can finish the next part of the story. So I slapped on some colours to an old sketch! I want to finish this anyway but I just don't have any ideas for the surroundings ):
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=139&chapter=6&lang= Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:50:00 EST
Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy your breaks if you have one, and if you don't, well, may the spirit of the holiday be with you anyway! I didn't have much time to whip up a new incentive this week so it's still the old one ): But votes are still appreciated as always! Voting bonus: Lots of des's on the front page of the site this week...!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=137&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:10:00 EST
Extra character information for the next part of the story! For those of you who have not read the walls of text in my world setting page, there is a specific group of human civilization called the Northerners. They have a history that I won't cover for a while, but I'd just like to mention that they are named in Chinese, then translated into English in a strange phonetic way. Their first and lastname generally work together as a phrase to describe a natural phenomenon and they are specifically named that way. There is no set pattern and therefore no way to tell which parts of these characters' names are their firstnames and which is their last aside from judging by how they are addressed by others. For example, Sangyun Rae's lastname is Sangyun and most of his subjects address him as Lord Sangyun, while his friends, like Weirin and Keri, call him Lord Rae or sometimes just Rae. Rosien Keur's first name is Rosien, and that's what Rae calls her.

I don't like writing those as addendums because I feel like everything pertinent to the story/world should be naturally explained in the story itself. Things will be clarified eventually but because the story updates so slowly, I thought leaving people to get confused over a minor detail like WHAT'S THIS CHARACTER'S NAME for the upcoming months/years is not quite the way to go :D;;

Voting bonus: Lots of des's on the front page of the site this week...!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=135&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:10:00 EST
In other news, I am now selling 11x17 inch prints! (ledger size, ie. 2 sheets of regular printer paper big!) I've been selling these for ages at conventions I attend, but because of ridiculous shipping involved, I've only sold then online once before and have let DeviantART handle it thereafter. My friend is helping me ship them now so the shipping is actually not double-digits. My art is rather elaborate so they look great on a big size ^^ You can Check them out here, and for the next few weeks or months, all posters are buy 2 get 1 free (:


I've also made large posters available on my DeviantART print shop (16x24 inch up to 24x36 inch). I took them off for a while because I wanted to try to get them made on my own, but that was even harder than getting these 11x17" posters shipped. So after some requests over the past half a year, I've put them back up.

Voting bonus: The first spontaneous drawing in a while... I don't know which version I like better haha
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=133&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:10:00 EST
After many suggestions, I've finally took some time between waiting for the volume 2 proof and replaced the text boxes for page navigation with some drop down menus. So now there is no way you can get an error with improper inputs (unless you change the url directly to some incorrect value, in which case I can't help you there, you deserve that error page). The drop down should automatically select the page you're on right now, and reload the correct page/chapter lists when you change the volume value. Hopefully this is more convenient for everyone (: Please let me know if there are any problems with the menu.

I used to talk about the drawing process of each page on updates, but since I finished these ages ago, I stopped doing that because I would have forgotten what I wanted to say about the page ): But I remember this set of pages. Every action scene I come across is like an opportunity to redeem myself in executing them well after MONTHS of talking pages. But once again I ended with some mediocrity because, well, what do I expect from not practicing :D;; better luck next book!

Voting bonus: A bunch of Merons I drew for my Spanish translator Celes as a gift! she requested Meron or vel/des x meron so I did that HAHA
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=131&chapter=6&lang= Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST
I bought a Cintiq so here's a random headshot of Des as a guinea pig! I'll probably change his eye colours but I hadn't settled on them at the time of drawing this.

Voting bonus: No new incentive this week ): WIP for said cover image!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=129&chapter=6 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:10:00 EST
I livestream from time to time but I only post announcements on twitter, DA and sometimes Tumblr, so some of you might not know that I do. But I will be livestreaming in about 10-20 minutes (it is now 8:45PM EST, GMT-5) and I will be colouring the cover for volume 2, so if you're interested, feel free to drop by! http://livestream.com/shilin

Preorders for my art book will run on until tonight :D

Voting bonus: WIP so far for said cover image!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=127&chapter=6 Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:45:00 EST
Got nothing much to say, time to run back to toning billions of pages :D ONLY 4 AWAY FROM COMPLETION! - - -

Preorders for my art book will run on until November 20 :D

Voting bonus: my archeological dig for scraps to post continues... not sure if I had already posted this or not
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=125&chapter=6 Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST
And although I don't think this site is a big source of the art book support since its content is not exclusive to Carciphona (I could be wrong), Thank you everyone who preordered a copy! I'm very grateful and I will show my thanks in the form of pushing forward with work. As long as I can maintain the present level of support I receive, I can rely on publishing my work and count on it to return me enough income to continue this career full time. I will continue to save up pages but once I reach 1 or 2 chapters of buffer (LOL THAT'S A LOT BUT DON'T WORRY I GOT THIS) I will start updating twice a week (: or once every other day with just one page since apparently that kind of psychology works better for some readers for continuity. I couldn't have promised this without your help so I'm indebted to all of you to be able to say this ;;

In less serious news, I keep forgetting but my spanish translator Celes drew me this hysterial hypothesis of Des and Meron when she mentioned that Meron look uncomfortable seeing Des and omg... I'm just going to let the picture speak for itself


- - -

Preorders for my art book will run on until November 20 :D

Voting bonus: So I felt bad and looked through my old sketchbook for any sketches that I have not posted yet AND I DIDNT FIND ANYTHING. So here is a headshot from a year or so ago that I'm fond of despite being utterly generic and incomplete. He existed before Des and I had a lot of trouble differenciating them because they are so damn similar, so in the end I resorted to leaving this guy's design problems for later. HE IS SOMEBODY'S PARENT. CAN YOU GUESS WHO? you will not find out the answer for many many years though :'D
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=123&chapter=6 Sun, 05 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST
My art book is now available for preorder at my shop! The preorder event will run from today until November 20. It is a collection of the best of my art, and since I focus on Carciphona a lot, the majority of the book is actually Carciphona art XD The book will ship in time for the holidays, so if you or a friend like it, this might make a good gift ^^ See the poster below for some relatively flattering pictures of the book and details about what's in the book, or go to the shop and preorder a copy :D Thanks so much again for your patience and interest!



Voting bonus: more bonus sketches @u@;;;;.............
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=121&chapter=6 Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:30:00 EST
I'm back from NYAF! I had a great time there both at the convention and in New York City. Thanks for coming by if you did! I really appreciate your support there and your help to make the con awesome ;; If you're interested, I've written a longwinded derp post about the trip on my blog here: http://blog.ashen-ray.com/2011/10/20/new-york/

And oh my god it's finally happening, my art book Toccata will be released on this upcoming Sunday, October 30, at 8 PM EST!! Why the specific date and time you ask? WELL, just like volume 1 preorders, I will be doing a preorder event with discounted prices and bonus goods for those who purchase in advance! I will be giving out free lettersize prints this time while these prints last to those who preorder. The first 50 will get to pick which prints they want as well :D Some of you may have already seen/bought the book at NYAF and have posted nice comments testifying for quality and value, which I am very grateful for!

So please check back at my storenvy shop, HTTP://SHILIN.STORENVY.COM next Sunday if you're interested :D I will also be updating as usual on schedule around that time.


Voting bonus: it makes me sad that I still have to use these bonus sketches as incentives LOL where did all my drawingn time go...
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=119&chapter=6 Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:20:00 EST
Next week I'll be in New York city for a week so I won't be updating. Please check back on the 23rd or something for the next update! I will also most likely have a set release date for my artbook by that time as well LOL FINALLY HOLY CRAP

Also I keep forgetting but I've made a Facebook page for Carciphona! It has nothing on it right now because I really just made it so that no one can take that username, but I xpost short update notices there, and will post any future important notices, art, books etc there as well. You can show your support by liking the page :D

Since all I've been drawing is pages and pages of serious business and drama, I hope it is excusable that I draw some random booty as a break


Voting bonus: Some more bonus sketches for volume 1's preorders! I consider this Keri to be the best sketch of the pile except for MAYBE the veloce with a cat, maybe
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=117&chapter=6 Sun, 9 Oct 2011 8:00:00 EST
Enjoy the 2 extra pages as promised (: and as a reminder I will be going to New York Anime Festival artist alley on the weekend of the 14th! It's on the 4th floor of the convention center. I will be selling my prints, manga and my ARTBOOK that has not been released anywhere else and won't be for another few weeks!! So please come find me and other awesome artists if you're going :D

I have nothing else for show today and I shall plunge right back to work yayyyyyyyyyyyy

Voting bonus: Volume 2 cover draft! LE EXCITE. As much as I love Blackbird eating ramen it is unfortunately not an acceptable cover
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=115&chapter=6 Wed, 5 Oct 2011 11:30:00 EST An extra update will be posted on Thursday to make up for the lack of anything happening on these pages LOL :D;

Up to page 126 is done now, but in exchange I have nothing to post again so here are another two bonus sketches I did for the release of volume 1 :)


Voting bonus: Volume 2 cover draft! LE EXCITE. As much as I love Blackbird eating ramen it is unfortunately not an acceptable cover
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=113&chapter=6 Sun, 2 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EST
I've finished the WIP I posted as incentive last week, and I plastered it on the main page as the new banner. I'm so happy I don't have to look at the cover image anymore lol I'm not particularly fond of it ): This one only has Veloce on it, but at least it gets the story's genres across and looks... a little more exciting? Hope you like!

Voting bonus: a sketch that I've been working on in small increments. It's still not done but I don't know what to do with it and I don't think I'll get much progress on it any time soon.
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=111&chapter=5 Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST
I don't have much to say except that I've been super busy, I don't have much to show either, so I'll just leave you guys to read the wall of text veloce is saying instead!

Voting bonus: I've been really busy so I don't have any good vote incentives ): here's a little progress I've made on a recent illustration.
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=109&chapter=5 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:00:00 EST
Author confession: I have a lot of beef with the following couple of pages until the conclusion of this chapter ): I changed this part of the chapter sequence completely at least 5 times over many years, especially this year, and made countless countless changes to it, because the original had soooo much information crammed in in a narrative way it was terrible (much worse than now). In the end I just couldn't figure out a way to fix this story telling hell I made for myself years ago because no amount of surface fixing can fix problems at the root, so I just sucked it up and just aimed to finish it, get over it and move on. So if the next few pages look like I've given up on them, I did HAHAHA

And the good news is, I finished the chapter! I am planning to finish this book sooner for convenience reasons, so I've been drawing a lot more pages than usual. Up to page 112 is done :D and I am taking a break to sort out the material of the next arc before starting it. If all works well, I should have a lot of buffer pages at the end of this and be able to either post bonus updates for whatever reason, or increase update frequency if I can keep this up for a while haha.

And I have nothing new to post so here is a pair of bonus sketches I did for volume 1 book release :D I put the pile of sketches I did in a basket and just took quick photos under my lamp LOLOL. The recipients are separate but the drawings are themed together! I wanted to finish the theme with other characters but I kind of forgot about it after 30 more blackbird/veloce requests ):


Voting bonus: A random scenario page that is actually close to the current story! I did this as a break from drawing pages but this is itself a page, and it took a lot longer than my normal pages lol /failbreak
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=107&chapter=5 Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EST
More pages as promised to make up for my random hiatus! And I almost forgot to process new fanart I've gotten in the past while LOL BUT I REMEMBERED LAST MINUTE. You can see them in the goodies section, outlined in red! Two of them were GIVEN to me at a convention oh my god I was sooo happy ;; thanks so much again for drawing these, whether they're intended for me or you just wanted to draw the characters!

And when I was taking a break I was thinking about updating some site background/banner drawings, then I realized the number of character drawings where they actually WEAR NORMAL CLOTHES is next to 0, so having no pictures I could use, I decided to make a new one lmao. WIP below!


Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=105&chapter=5 Sun, 04 Sep 2011 21:30:00 EST
I'm back from all the conventions of August! (but August is over) My only convention left this year is New York Anime Festival in October, so I'll have some time to breathe in September. Thanks to everyone who came by, left a message or bought something! This is the most conventions I've ever been to in one go because I'm not really a convention person BUT I'LL DO ANYTHING TO PROMOTE CARCIPHONA YEAHHHH!

Then afterwards I was so caught up in finishing my artbook--I had no idea how ill-prepared I was for it--that I had to skip a few weeks of updates, and that's right after boasting about my punctuality ): I will make up for it by updating again this weekend. Said artbook will be released in the upcoming weeks also :D I AM SO EXCITED.

I also got a lot of fanart in the past while that I've been neglecting to put up; I think I'll get to that this weekend!

I'm saving a lot of art to post for my artbook release and I haven't been drawing much so here's a sketch I did at a convention. These are all Carciphona characters that you won't see until you're 50 so feel free to take wild guesses of who the heck they are! My scanner conveniently broke when I scanned this so the left half is cut off lmao ):


AND LASTLY, the vote incentive is the finished version of the illustration I've posted so many wips of. I haven't posted this in its completion anywhere else and I've forked out my life over it (even though it doesn't look it) so I hope it makes up for my uncalled for hiatus.

Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=103&chapter=5 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 1:00:00 EST
There won't be an update next week because I will be at Otakuthon! I was going to do the pages beforehand so I wouldn't have to skip updates, but I have too much other stuff to do ): So please come back in 2 weeks for the next update! But if you're going to Otakuthon at the Palais de Congres Montreal next weekend, please come by and say hi! I will be at the Artisan's space (a row sandwiched between the Artist Alley and the Dealers XD) table 312, facing the Artist Alley, with my usual print collection and volume 1 for sale :D

Another exciting piece of news is, I am finalizing work on my upcoming artbook slated to release in September! This will be my first art book ever so even though I won't be able to get too many new pieces in (too busy ): ), I'm still really excited about finally having something like this available (: I originally was going to release a Carciphona-only book but I decided variety is good. It would only be an issue of words anyway because more than half the book is Carciphona art LOL.

And lastly here's another random non plot related piece of these two. I use them too freely as elements of expression I'm sorry if it confuses anybody lmao


Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=101&chapter=5 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 02:45:00 EST
I am back from Otakon :D Thanks so much to everyone who came by and mentioned carciphona to me and/or bought stuff, along with the fun times I had with my friends plus oogling at idols whom I've met for the first time, I had an amazing weekend! To those of you who are new, I hope you will enjoy the manga (: I will do my best to bring you volume 2 early next year.

I didn't draw anything new in the past weeks because I barely had time, so here is another old work as eyecandy:


Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=99&chapter=5 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:45:00 EST
I will be attending Otakon this upcoming weekend. I will be selling some prints and books at the Artist alley, tables Y03/Y04 (next to the bathrooms LOL. There's a huge sign on the wall for the bathrooms in the alley so you can't miss it HAHAHA) If you've wanted a book but didn't want to pay for shipping and you'll be there, this is your chance to do so! I won't be able to bring too many so please come early if you want to make sure you get one (:

I forgot to mention a few weeks ago, I've finished Blackbird's character profile image! You can see her along with her profile (and everyone else's) here. When I started working on these profile images it was about 3 or 4 years ago... The way I draw/colour has changed a lot over the years so it was kind of painful trying to preserve my old colouring style on this image in order to maintain some consistency. Because of this I don't want to draw Iriel a profile anymore LOL... I decided to toss him in the non-mains group, since a lot of those characters play crucial roles in the story anyway he's fine in the party. I've also drawn her outfit from volume 2 instead of 1 because I like it better, even though she won't wear this again in the future XD

And here is a random bonus sketch of music, jets, and blackbird/veloce!


Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=97&chapter=5 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:00:00 EST
Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=95&chapter=5 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:00:00 EST
More random pics of non mains LOL. I'm drawing like an entire year worth of non main characters in two days... HAVE A VOCRUEN.


Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=93&chapter=5 Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST
I think I draw nothing except for veloce and blackbird SO HERE IS A PICTURE OF VELOCE'S MOM. Sometime in ancient history she used to be such an angelic, ethereal being but look what happened


Also here is a drawing video of my future artbook cover! The voting image is a screenshot of the piece as well :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ZrYs7q_Os

Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=91&chapter=5 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 9:00:00 EST
I've been doing thumbnails and character design for the next part of the story. Here is the Minister of Arenscura! Followed by some crappy thumbnails of the next chapter. If you can figure out wtf is going on well, you just got a preview of what happens next :D




Click below to vote for us and see bonus art stuffs!
]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=89&chapter=5 Sun, 26 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST
I have been working on thumbnails for the next part of the story in attempt to keep track of pagecount, then I realized I have quite a bit of character design that I haven't done yet :D so the vote incentive is one of them! I was going to swap the bonus illustration here with the vote incentive but I didn't want to give the impression that I keep drawing smutty crap just to get people to vote lol.

The bonus pic is an edit I did of last week's art book cover draft. I just felt like adding another person and turning it into a dance and this happened :D


]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=87&chapter=5 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:30:00 EST
Lots of updates today: first of all, the Spanish version of chapter 3 and 4 are up, with chapter 5 coming soon I think :D Thanks so so soooo much to D-Artemisatto for the translation. You can read it here. I believe a French, German and Russian version are also being worked on right now (Part of chapter 4 in French is already uploaded), and as always, the Chinese version is up to date with current updates. Although saying that here is probably not very useful HAHA.

I also forgot to mention for a month but there are 8 new fanarts up in the goodies section LOL. New pieces will now be emphasized in a red frame so you can find them easily. Go look at them!

And lastly, I am planning to create an art book in the near future of most of my presentable art so far (and some new unreleased pieces) So to give myself some sort of incentive to work towards it, I decided to draft up a cover that I can look forward to painting. If I don't change my mind, this will be the cover and title of the book :D I will try to get this done before the winter months because shipping in snow/slush is balls.


]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=85&chapter=5 Sun, 12 Jun 2011 09:30:00 EST
and here is a picture of the piles of books that I've spent all week packing. All orders are packed and I expect to ship every order out by Tuesday. Some of you who live in Canada may receive your book this week at the earliest!


]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=83&chapter=5 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:00:00 EST
For some reason my updates always manage to match my work load perfectly; whenever I have no time over the weekend, the page is always really simple to draw (I plan a few pages ahead of time so the cause and effect is not the other way around LOL). I was at Anime North this weekend! I wasted a lot of money buying artbooks as usual and then played some RO while a friend had a sleepover here, so I didn't really start on the update until last night :D;

Preorders ends tomorrow! The books are supposed to arrive today but they haven't yet. I will most certainly spam about it when it happens (or spam the company about it tomorrow if it doesn't get here today), and everyone who have paid before they arrive should expect to have their books shipped out sometime this week ^^. I will be taking down the preorder page tomorrow, and replace it with a real shop this week or next. There won't be any new items aside from the book, regularly priced at $15. But I intend to try build up my catalogue over time!

and here's something I scribbled up. I wasn't happy with the other roughs I made for this scene so I tried again! and I'm not happy with this one either... LOL but here it is anyways!


]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=81&chapter=5 Mon, 30 May 2011 16:30:00 EST
I've been working on the 100 free sketches for preorders, and while I wanted to post a lot of them I don't think it's nice to people who are getting them. I might post them way later on though!

Preorders ends sometime around next update! After preorder period ends, the price of the book will be upped to $15, so if you want a copy, get one here before it's too late :D

]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=79&chapter=5 Mon, 23 May 2011 02:30:00 EST
I've also updated the home page and manga viewer page of the website to be more newbie friendly, with first/last page links and (hopefully) better organized discussion blocks! Sadly it doesn't work on my ipad's safari for some reason and I can't fix it. But if you see anything wrong with it on your browser, please e-mail me or leave a comment to let me know!

We're half way through the preorder promotion, and about 450 copies (half my stock!) have already been reserved/paid for. Thank you guys so much I love you all ;w; The least I could do is to keep up with bonus drawings but shit hit the fan and I couldn't do anything for 2 days LOL;;;; So I only have a non-Blackbird CG as vote incentive, because I'm more of an illustrator than a manga artist (I think) :D It's the first stage design of a new character of mine for another story I'm developing ^^

]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=77&chapter=5 Mon, 16 May 2011 01:00:00 EST
Thank you guys so much for already making my first publication sale a success in its first week! (at least in my opinion LOL) I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to continue doing something I'm passionate about with your support. It doesn't matter that I work more hours a day than a steady 9-5 job, I will try my best to really plan out my working schedule for the rest of the year, and hopefully be able to work it out so I can bring you more updates a week.

But because of the preorder stuff plus a commission I had to work on, I didn't have any time to draw anything this week to post here ): All I got is a sketch that you can see by voting (or subscribing to my blog art blog etc)

Also, tons of questions were answered on Veloce's Formspring! I will not be answering any more questions, but I will leave the page up for a week or so for anyone who has time to kill and would like to know more about this stone wall (:

]]> http://carciphona.com/view.php?page=75&chapter=5 Mon, 09 May 2011 17:00:00 EST ]]> http://carciphona.com/shop.php
Also, Volume 1 will debut in book form tonight at http://carciphona.com/shop.php :D

]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=73&chapter=5
I've made a mini game after The Meek! I've made a Formspring account for Veloce. For the next few weeks, you can feel free to ask her any question! They will all be answered unless she doesn't know how to answer them (like questions about me, for example), it completely spoils the story, or if it's inappropriate.

Have fun! ]]> http://formspring.me/visrin
Today I also bring you some big news! First of all:

Blackbird is finally available in print!


No fancy publisher, just self publishing, but I promise you I put in a lot of blood sweat and tears (ok maybe not blood) to make sure these books look as professional as they can, and cost as little as they can. This will also be the first printed work I've done, and next week is also the 6th(I think ? LOL I'M LOSING COUNT) anniversary of Blackbird. To celebrate both of these occasions, from May 1 (next sunday) until May 31, I will be holding a 1-month-long preorder promotion! The book will be available at a great discount accompanied by free sketches, and a very limited edition, cute little charm will also be available for sale! Check back on this page: http://carciphona.com/shop.php on May 1 at 20:00 EST for all this awesomeness :D

Which brings me to the second point, as you may have noticed from the promotion sign above. I am renaming "Blackbird" to "Carciphona". Blackbird has been an established title of this series, and I did make sure there is nothing else in the manga world out there with the same name. But sometime between when I started the series and now, a very well-known Japanese manga of the same title was published and licensed here in North America by Viz. A lot of people think this is not a big deal, but I don't know where I'll go with this series; maybe it will go nowhere and remain small, maybe it will luck out and become successful, but wherever it ends up, I wouldn't want risk getting sued and then to look back and think to myself, "damn I should've changed the name when I could". There is no better time than now when I am releasing the first book, so I'm changing it now. As for the meaning of the new title, you will get a glimpse of it in the refined dialog of the first book, and at the end of the current chapter!

And I'd like to thank you guys again for reading (: Whether you're new to this work or been through its entire growth, I am really happy that you've decided to stick around and I hope you'll continue to enjoy it!

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These pages were hell to draw, I hope one day I can be good enough to not have to feel so challenged like a noob and take forever on a single manga page lol ): Also I keep drawing smaller and smaller, and my web display size can no longer do my pages justice... I would change to a 1 page layout but I personally really feel disconnection between the pages with 1-page viewers lol. At least now I really look forward to printing volume 2 because it will look awesomesauce compared to the shitty web version HAHA.

And I finished that illustration that I've been showing countless WIPs of! Here it is but you can always find it along with the rest of my illustrations on the goodies page.

ok time to go do everything else that I need to do that is also late because of this stupid update lol ):

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In other awesome news, I received the proof copy of the volume 1 last week! I took some pictures and posted them on my blog. Click on the image below to go read more about it and see the photos!


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Some people have asked me about Meron's colours over time so I drew this little chibi of her to do that XD


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There is another new awesome fanart of keri in the goodies page this week :D

I've made 2 drawing videos of a painting process. If you're interested in seeing how my drawing process looks like at the speed of light, you can view them here: http://youtube.com/shilinTV

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There is also a new awesome fanart of veloce in the goodies page :D go look at it!

and bad scrap is bad BUT IT'S SOMETHING I GUESS... I'll finish these when I have time ):


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This week's pages pissed me off so much I don't know why, I redrew every panel 2 or 3 times, and the cardstock is just battered with pencil tracks it's unacceptable. I really should've restarted it somewhere down the line, maybe it would've turned out better BUT IT'S TOO LATE NOW.

and here's a glittery panel of glitter from the exclusive 10-page story that will be included in the printed version of volume 1


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Once upon a time I did weekly vote incentives on TWC, but I got rid of the voting feature for some reason I can no longer recall. Now that I draw more frequently, it's time for it to return! I'll try to keep posting extra sketches here and if I draw more than one sketch that week, you can see it by voting! All sketches are usually posted on my tumblr/personal blog already though, if keeping up with blogs is more your style.

And here's something stupid I did to slap on my manga viewer as the you've-reached-the-end page


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Next week's update might be missed to work on the final few pages of volume 1's extra story. I'll try not to though!

And while I was a vegetable from the hospital, I have restored the goodies section that I have destroyed since my layout revamp. That means old fanarts and illustrations are back up for your viewing pleasure! yes I LOVE to do useless website stuff like these HEHEHEHEH

And a simplistic (or not...) scrap
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I do a lot of story related (or not) sketches but I usually only post 1 here every week. You can see the rest on my art blog that might as well be a Blackbird blog (lol blackblirdblogblah?)

weirin's bff lord sangyun rae of arenscura
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I livestreamed the toning of page 52 yesterday. You can find the video on my livestream library at http://shilin.livestream.com. It's 3.5 hours long and there is no speed playing feature that I know of so it may be annoying to watch lol.

And I also whipped up a scrap for the song I wrote this week. The song is now finished and can be downloaded here.
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I've been wasting a lot of time playing with Reason after Chris helped me find it again, and I just played with instruments and effects on little songs I had written ages ago. If you were around many, many, many years ago you probably remember that I once had this hideous midi up on my manga site that I called Veloce's theme song. Over the weekend I photoshopped REASON'ed the shit out of it (at the cost of late update lmfao)

In any case you can click here to dl and listen to what I have so far (: it loops seamlessly so it lacks a proper beginning and ending. ]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=49&chapter=5
Pages 129-136 are also toned! ALL UNTONED PAGES ARE FINALLY FINISHED I AM SO VERY INCREDIBLY RELIEVED ^__^ Next is fixing the bleeds of the first 30 pages but I found out the place I want to print through only requires 1/8 inch bleeds, so my situation may not be as dire as I had anticipated! I also need to make sure there's no engrish in the first book before I print it (which I'm sure there's a fucking ton right now... especially the beginning lol), so if you have time, please check whatever amount of pages you feel like for anything that is utterly out of this world and needs to be fixed, and send me an email at shilin@ashen-ray.com. THANK YOU SO MUCH! It's almost ready for printing :D :D :D

Lastly I've also worked on Weirin's profile picture 2 weeks ago, and is now up on her profile! I realized not many people even know the existence of these character profiles so I thought I would mention them LOL. As useless as these character profiles are, I do enjoy making them.
]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=47&chapter=5
I was so scared to draw the zoomlines on page 45 with a pencil, because I was scared I'd make a mistake and ruin the page LOL. (bruised pages are a bitch to fix even if I'm only using a pencil) I used so much lead but in the end I blacked out most of the bottom part on Photoshop because I went overboard with the gradient of zoomlines. My poor hardwork wasted ):

And here's a rough painting I did on livestream last week. Hopefully I'll finish it for vday or something so it would look like I drew it for the occasion lolol
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Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year! And birthday if applicable. Seriously I know too many people who are born around this time, ESPECIALLY ON CHRISTMAS DAY WHAT IS THIS LOL. And here's a group pic in a totally different setting and completely out of character :D You can find a wall of text about this alternate universe on my blog.
]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=43&chapter=4
I don't have any fancy gifts aside from the little sketch I posted a few weeks back. The best I can do is not miss this update so I started it early because I'll be gone for the next few days :D...... It's 4am now but THAT'S OK because I spent 4 hours watching march of the penguins twice today lmfao. I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT XMAS and continue to enjoy the remainder of your holidays.

And here is a little Keri because I've been neglecting him
]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=41&chapter=4 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=39&chapter=4
I've added DISQUS to the manga viewer; you can find it by scrolling down each page. You can now leave comments on each page and replies will be much easier to track! I don't know if I want to keep it yet so I haven't gotten rid of the Chatbox, which is nice for all around general messages and it's so much fun making it slide.

Lastly if you don't check the front page, which is now decorated with a little holiday card, here it is! I would love to draw something better but I have absolutely no time, and I'd probably work on pages instead if I actually do have time lol ): Thank you very much for reading!

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I was determined to do everything the best I can, so I buried myself in piles of reference and tried my best to learn more about tall ships/rigged ships/sail boats/whatever you call them! This ship ended up to be mostly based on a famous ship named "Sovereign of the Seas", you can google the name if you're interested to see the absolutely GORGEOUS original ship.

I hope there aren't any ship fanatics in the crowd to cringe at the horrendous mistakes I've made all over that ship. I know how that feels when I see art or comics where people play instruments all crooked and it is not nice at all ): needless to say I did not consider the consequences of having an entire scene take place on a ship and now I'm raging.

In continuation to last week's sketch, here's Veloce and Blackbird doing something other than standing around!
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I have decided to expand update notification options and use LJ as one of the means to do so. If LJ is more convenient for you, or you just don't like using RSS, you can feel free to friend my account at http://shilin.livejournal.com. Everything you see here on this RSS will be posted there as well from now on (that means including extra sketches and stuff!)

Anyway, I printed out the templates for this week too small, so I was trying to squish more stuff into the page to prevent them from looking empty when enlarged. The result? I SQUISHED TOO MUCH STUFF ONTO THE PAGES and now they look cramped. Fortunately it's just a bunch of kids detonating their plot devices so I might as well keep it short! Pages 113-118 are also toned.

And since I love to draw illustrations that look NOTHING like the actual manga, here is a sketch of Veloce and Blackbird with fancy clothes
]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=33&chapter=4
Busy weeks ): no bonus sketches! I'll try to cook up something for next week. ]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=31&chapter=4
Nothing else to show today, tiresome week!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=29&chapter=4
And a random gif I made about a week ago from an inside joke
]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=27&chapter=4
so I broke my promise about last week, but here it is this week! The original version of Blackbird was drawn from 2005 to the end of 2006, during which 5 chapters were produced. At the end of chapter 5, I decided to restart because it's the cool thing to do I really disliked the old art, and most of chapter 1-3's art are very rough. After I took down the old version for good, I've been asked numerous times over the years to repost them; a lot of people even preferred the old version to the new one. So now that the current version has caught up to the old one in terms of plot (everything from now on will differ from what happens in the old version), I've posted a zip of all the pages of old Blackbird up. You can download it over at the bottom of the archive page.]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=25&chapter=4
I will be putting up downloads of the old version of Blackbird next week since I've received a lot of requests for it over the years. I really hate looking at old art a lot so I took them off for a long time (I haven't looked at the files myself during all this time either because I just can't stand it LOL). Another reason I held off posting them up again was because so far, this version is pretty much the same as the last, so by reposting it I'm spoiling Blackbird for new readers. But next week's update will be the last update where the same thing happens in both the new and old version. Everything that happens from then on will be different from the old plot.

And here are two sketches of Blackbird since she hasn't shown up for ages XD
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I went all out and toned 8 pages for this week. only 24 to go ffffff ):

Once in a while someone would ask me how I create comic pages, or ask me to do a tutorial. So I made one out of this week's update. You can see it here! Hopefully this is somewhat helpful!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=21&chapter=4
I will resume toning old pages soon ): hopefully! here's the finished version of the work in progress from last time.
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Sorry for the long wait! In between getting sick, other work, and playing RO, I've missed a few updates ): but here's something I'm working on!
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The first chapter of Blackbird is also now available in Spanish thanks to Berenice! You can view the spanish version by going to the archive, or opening the viewer window, and check the spanish button when you search for a page.

And all I have today is a clothing design I can't use for at least like 7 more chapters lmao
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The sketch today is prompted by a song named "Haruame", or spring rain. go to http://blog.ashen-ray.com to listen to the song and read more about how this sketch came to be! Or just enjoy the piece as is here (:
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I drew this at Otakon and rough coloured it when I got back. I was tired from Otakon and the doctors, so I treated myself to a lot of folds and a lot of red :D I really wanted to make this a book cover for something, but I don't have any books that needs such a cover LOL


And I drew sketched this really quickly during a livestream session for some other piece. It looks like crap but I'll share it anyways!
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I am also going to Otakon this weekend and will be in the artist alley with 4 other friends! Our tables are way off in a corner though, so consult the program or something if you can't find me (:

And here's a sketch:

Inspired by Dead Fantasy! This is a scene from the next part (not chapter) of the story. ]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=9&chapter=4 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=7&chapter=4 http://europe.ashen-ray.com.

I will try to be good with updates for the next few weeks, before I have to go to Otakon. However I do have a lot of work piled up (again) so I may or may not do so well in being punctual. The best way to keep up is still, naturally, by using this RSS feed!

Lastly, I usually post all WIPs, sketches and scraps on my blog and nowhere else. But from now on I'll post Blackbird-related scraps and stuff on this feed as well whenever there is an update, so that people who do not check my blog still get to see random Blackbird stuff. I will try to figure out how to incorporate relevant posts on my blog onto this site in the future when I have time.

Sketch of the week is this random haunted house looking group pic. It is taken from an actual scene in the story, minus the fact that they're supposed to be running through a forest, not some mansion ): I just didn't feel like drawing trees LOL.
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I will probably only be able to get a few more pages toned and *maybe* one more update in before Anime North. I will be going on a 3-week-ish hiatus as I will be traveling to Europe for 2 weeks after AN! We plan to travel light so even if I want to work on Blackbird during the trip, I can't because the binder and stuff would be too bulky to bring along. I'll use my free time there to get down some of the upcoming character/item design, but most importantly, try to absorb Europe the best I could. Hopefully I will learn lots while there and show it in my future work!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=3&chapter=4 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=93&chapter=2 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=89&chapter=3
Since this is the start of a new chapter, I'm pretty sure some parts of my site will either be out of date or generated broken links. I will look over stuff and get them fixed tomorrow.]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=cover&chapter=4
And I lied about starting volume 2 this week ): I was pulling my hair out over the details of this image for some reason, even though it's not even anything spectacular. I've spent the better part of the week getting worked up over fussy details. I swear I resaved this file like at least 10 times after I finished it. Oh, and don't mind the glaring colours on the back cover. I was at a total lost of what to do on the back, and this is my 2-am solution after researching back-covers for the whole night. I may change it later because it is pretty ridiculous (not to mention the art recycling lol) but it will have to do for now!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=cover&chapter=1
I have edited the past 10 pages of dialog slightly and I will change 1 or 2 things again in the next few days. This is the price I pay for not having a prepared script for volume 1. It is an improvement from havingn NO SCRIPT AT ALL for the old version, but I still need to work on that ): hopefully it won't happen for volume 2!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=159&chapter=3
There is only one more page left before volume 1 concludes! I was going to delay posting until I finish the last page, but it's been 2 weeks since the last update, so I decided to post this up first. I will do my best and finish the last page quickly.

The new volume 2 will be different from the old volume 2. Two chapters dedicated to one event will be skipped, so chapter 4 will start with the events of the originally planned chapter 6. However, I will be doing a few test pages before I start illustration volume 2 pages. As some of you know, right now I fold a lettersize paper in half and draw one full page on each half. That's a really small working area. Although I feel like it's perfect for me because I am more accustomed to drawing small than drawing big, I would like to try out doing full-page pages and see if I can handle it. So expect a few pages of story that won't actually happen until very far down the road!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=157&chapter=3
Amazingly, this volume is only a few pages away from being finished. Unfortunately, there are still abount 50 pages to tone ):]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=155&chapter=3
Some dialog on the last 2 pages are edited, since I am apparently horrible at this language thing. Also I've noticed my layout style varies too much ): I am not very satisfied with the last 10 pages or so as much as I am with today's update. Need more practice!]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=153&chapter=3 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=151&chapter=3
This will probably be the last pages I tone before next week's update; I will be spending the remainder of the week working on a commission.]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=77&chapter=2 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=149&chapter=3 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=73&chapter=2 http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=71&chapter=2
I will set it as my goal to tone 2 old pages everytime I post new pages as the volume is coming to a close soon. Hopefully it will make the polishing of the first volume a much quicker process and minimize stall time before continuing the story.]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=147&chapter=3 Protagonist monologue continues til the end of time. Some story background information pages are also updated. Without images though they're pretty much huge walls of text for the hardcore bored. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=145&chapter=3 Veloce speaks her mind. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=143&chapter=3
Also, a new layout is up! It is image-heavy but hopefully nice to look at. Please check it out and let me know of any layout placement errors that you come across! There are a lot of incomplete links that lead to nowhere, I will update those in the near future.]]> http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/view.php?page=141&chapter=3 The servants of Keritzel's mansion shows their concern for their masters' safety. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=139 Weirin points out something odd. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=137 Veloce proves that good manners doesn't bring you too far. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=135 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=133 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=131 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=129 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=127 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=125 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=123 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=121 There will be a 1-month hiatus in updates as AX is drawing near, and I will be staying at LA for about a week after the event as well. See you in a while~ http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/ Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=3&page=119 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=117 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=115 Please check the news for more details. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=113 lol I broke half of my promise since it's no longer Sunday :p but I've fulfilled the other part by bringing you 4 pages this week. I missed the days when I did 4 pages everyweek, finished pages too. On a more positive note, 2 more weeks of school, then exams and done :D! By done I mean I'll have other stuff to work on LOL;; Hopefully the toning part will go as planned. Onto today's pages: WATCH OUT VEL, SOMEONE'S BEEN STALKING YOU http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=109 Silly girls, always making a mess wherever they go. My video card isn't fixed yet, but I think the fever being gone helps me brighten up a bit about polishing the line art; this week's pages felt better to me. I love this pencil *v* http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=107 Here are your new pages with all my germs and viruses on them. I suggest you start from 103 if you don't understand the action because you forgot what happened before. I finished it earlier when I still had the flu (and I still do) and I was too tired to completely rearrange my various machineries and connections to be able to scan it so it had to wait until now. My video card also died last week, so I hadn't been able to do anything art related on my comp, and it won't get fixed until the next time I go home, which is in 2 weeks. This weekend and the next were supposed to be for me to catch up with all the things I've missed so much due to school, but nooooo, I had to get sick and have my brainchild malfunction. I swear I am not the boy (or girl) that cried wolf; shit just happens to me. I used a 0.3mm pencil to draw this page, something I've recently obtained thanks to my friend who found it for me. It's awesome, it makes the 0.5 pencil I used to use feel like a marker. This was supposed to make up for my inability to draw on large pages (so I draw with a smaller pencil) I can't control it very well yet, so some details are messy; on top of that, the integrated graphics card I'm using right now is just shit, and everything on my table is messed up because I had to change my work environment due to the computer malfunction so it's not scanned properly either. In general this page turned out like some kind of shit that it's not supposed to be. I will rescan it when I get to toning everything, I hope you understand if you don't get what's going on. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=105 Dude like, today is obviously Sunday right? Yeah. This late page has been brought to you in part by my incompetency; you don't know how many times I redrew some of those panels (the pencil dent/marks aren't visible here because I clean it up in photoshop with levels and dodge/burn). Sometimes I wish I know the basics so my life could be easier. Otherwise, just in case some of you may think that Maelstrom characters are all ducks or something and can float on water, it's Watertread - a skill that can be learned by everyone through hardwork without the use of magic. Similar things can be done for walking on air or walls/ceilings, it's just that some are harder to do than others. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=103 I am terribly sorry for the constant delay in updates in the past while. I try my best to keep up, but now that I update every week again, I am always late. So I will push back the update schedule to Sunday; hopefully that will let me be a little more on-time so I won't waste your time checking back. If you want to be notified, you can always subscribe to my RSS feed or mailing list. If you don't know how to use RSS feeds... learn it! It's really very convenient for keeping up with the web. KERI LIVES IN THE WHITE HOUSE! I'd be pretty fit if I were him, having to travel large distances daily from room to room. That doesn't mean I don't want to go to Europe and live in an expensive house for a day though! The birds here are the aerial equivalent of horses. Yes, they have long white beards; if Santa existed in Maelstrom, the sleighs would be led by these fellows. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=101 BAD BAD KIDS, stay up so late to flirt; you're going to be in so much shit if you get busted--oh wait, busted already! Incentives are a random comment and a scrap CG I did earlier this week. The CG was posted on hte forum and my blog, but since not many people check those, I might as well use it as incentive here anyway. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=99 Sorry for the lateness; those who read the chatbox would know that I've lost my binder in school twice 2 days in a row. It's here now D: And why is Keri feels the necessity to dance around when playing violin? I don't know, most likely due to my obsession with riverdance and fiddlers. I wish I play violin lol;; http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=97 I only had time to tone one page, so this is gonna look weird lol =( somehow it's taking me longer and longer and longer to do each page. Aren't I supposed to speed up the process as I get more familiar with how I draw the pages...? Oh yes, a new illust of Keri is added, for those of you who don't use DeviantART. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=95 FIGHT BEGIN!!! FIGHT OVER!!! Hope you enjoyed the elaborate war show. jk the real fights start later lol ): and if you don't know what the shit is on the first few panels... you might when I get them toned one day. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=93 Sorry for the lack of updates in the past month or so, a lot of stuff was messed up and I posted update statuses whenever on the main site whenever I knew I couldn't make it. I will spare you the unnecessary details therein and promise I'll try hard to not do this too often. Anyways woooo I'm always late now, so I guess when I say Friday, check back on Saturday...? (if I change my schedule to Saturday, I'll probably end up finishing it on Sunday or something) I have no discipline. )= And I keep getting more and more carried away with my "toning" lol... it feels like CG set cut-and-paste to me now since this is exactly how I cel-shade full-detail CGs. I kind of enjoy it, so I hope you won't mind the delays that's resulting from it. And it looks like I won't be getting the tones done for the untoned pages in my break afterall; so this trend of update will continue on (except for today's) through til my school year ends in April. Sorry and I hope you'll understand. Otherwise, horray for Blackbird being literal weee http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=91 Silly Veloce, that's not an illness, it's called a HANG OVER, and here's the number for Alcoholic Anonymous. http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=89 I dedicate the C: face to Karu; your C: is the one and only inspiration behind this and I can't get it out of my mind LOL http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=87 CAUTION: EXTREMELY IRRELEVANTLY EMO http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=85 Tuesdays with Veloce as she busts your face with mind-boggling analogies http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=83 Keri's being NOSY? HE MUST'VE PICKED THAT UP FROM WEIRIN! http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=81 I'm on time! I am on time!! http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=79 OUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE!!! There is no better time to act cool than now :O oh and if you hadn't noticed, there's now a shout box along with the new feed :) http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=77 And the RSS Feed is born! I just found out I drew Gorchen (the old man) wrong for the past like 8 pages, because I didn't look at the earlier pages for reference... so I had to do some beard shaving )= http://blackbird.ashen-ray.com/archive/view2.php?chapter=2&page=75