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Stupid Technology

by Tiff on May 9, 2013 at 12:01 am

Thought I’d share. This is just a very rough 15 minute pencil and inked strip done on my Samsung Note 8.0 this morning while I was at a doctor visit to show off what it can do. (I had uploaded files into dropbox to do actual comic inking, but ran into a problem.) I still need to fiddle with some settings. I exported a roughly, 13 x 4 inch .tiff strip at 300 DPI to dropbox, then imported it into Sketchbook Pro, which changed the size to 40 x 17 at 100 DPI. Penciled on the base layer by accident.. oops.. still getting used to it, then inked on separate layers. (I had put other files into the dropbox to do actual comics in, forgetting that you need to OPEN/download the files manually to actually use them if you don’t have access to wifi.) I exported it as a .psd as it was and did not do anything else to it other than letter it in photoshop, put word bubbles on it in Manga Studio, then resized it. Perfectly printable. Obviously didn’t finish the art, I have other comics to do! I also didn’t use the ruler tools… simply because I didn’t want to fiddle with the settings at this time. But yeah.. you CAN draw an entire comic on a Note. I have the files sitting in dropbox… :D

(Yeah, it was ME who failed… not technology.)

- Tiff

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Work Flow – Sundays

by Tiff on April 21, 2013 at 4:36 pm
Posted In: Blog

Sundays are light work days for me. I typically lay out comics, letter and take stock of what I need to do for the week, then do something with family if we didn’t do anything on Saturday. Kim goes off to Awanas in the evening during the school year, buying me a few work hours.

Today, I’ve gone over Alien Dice, Abby’s Agency, Campus Safari, Sink or Swim (two arcs), the Cyantian War short, PURE, Shivae! Vas and Serin. I didn’t touch Black Rose, Caiden and Koel, Cafe’ Anime, or Sivine Blades, because they are current in the layouts. Yes, there are a BUNCH of comics in there that have NOT updated in awhile and a few, in YEARS. Every comic, even the ones that have not updated, have 10 pages of layouts completed and 5 pages of letters completed. I print them out and then pencil them on 11 x 14 printing paper on Monday.

There were problems with PURE’s scripts last week, which I fixed mostly by collecting all the separate files into a big file in Manga Studio and then screen clipping to Onenote 2010, so I have them synced to the Microsoft cloud and into my Samsung Note 8.0. I broke down and picked it up on a payment plan we can handle last week so I can get on with work. Glitches with my livescribe pen have made me very resistant to using it. It was replaced once, but I now have a subconscious block that fills my mind with worry that it’s going to mess up every time I pick it up. :D Not good for writing scripts, even though I have.

Also picked it up, because it’s replacing half of my aging laptop. The other replacement (a yiynova) can wait. It’s part of my usual equipment replacement cycle and thankfully, tax deductible.

I’m back to scripting nightly, thanks to that Note. Last night I moved the Cyantian War scripts to near completion, writing them directly into S Note. I’ll be exporting them into PDF files then printing them into Onenote. Since there’s no dialogue. ;) On my other comics, I’ll be writing them in One Note and letting it convert them immediately to text, then draw my thumbnails in S Note to import later.

Ideally, Onenote Mobile would be all I needed IF it actually allowed you to draw on the pages. :/ I already knew that it wouldn’t. S Note would be ideal if it had a desktop sync. I refuse to use Evernote.

It should also come in handy for distracting me from the impending dental surgery I’m going to be having. Thankfully, I have insurance. I’ll be having all of my teeth removed this summer. :/ No fillings, no root canals, only one cavity, but I’ve lost so much bone mass in my jaw, they can’t hold my teeth in and only tarter below my horribly receding gum line are holding them in. I have all 32. Yippee. I get to pay to have every one of them removed. I’m not sure it could have been avoided, apparently if you’re born premature you have a variety of tooth anomalies. Mine was really small teeth, barely bigger than baby teeth. :/ SO I get to look forward to digging up $1,800 for my teeth and not a house down payment.

It sucks. But at least I have my Note to distract me with all the productive things it’s helping me do and get done. :D Increased productivity is good.

- Tiff

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For Christmas

by Tiff on December 3, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Posted In: Blog

(Note: Going to move this to another page to be updated. Right now, the total is $2,945. I just got off the phone with one company because their office was closed and I want to pay it off FIRST. That would be the biggest one, then I’ll take care of the other two small ones. I have two more to scan and will be trying to keep a balance to I can be safe for several months of payments. – Updated on 4/5 – Thank you! – Tiff

Every year, a bunch of nice readers send us unexpected gifts from my wishlists.  This year, I’d like to ask that you ignore the wish lists.  Most of the items on there are wants at the moment and nothing we really need.  What we really NEED is help from drowning.  I’m posting up my daughter’s invoices for medical bills.  If you want to help someone directly and keep our really good credit rating intact, please consider pitching in a little.  Every dollar counts toward getting these paid off.  Right now, I only have two.  UT Southwestern, which covers Kim’s MRI she had in July to see if she needed another heart surgery and the Anesthesiologist bill that went with it for far less.  I had put off doing the MRI for over a year out of sheer panic over the cost I knew we’d pay and the fact we couldn’t avoid it.  We can’t pay the $50 a month they want.  We can’t add anything else to what we already pay, even though I’ve done my best to cut and trim our budget to bare necessities (We went without a phone for a year and I do not own a cellphone).  I’m also just tired of these medical bills looming over us like a huge weight that wants to crush us at any minute.  By now, we should have been saving for a house, not saving for bills.  By now, we should have had a second child or something.  These are only the two most recent.  There are four more.  One is with a pushy collections agency, two are from Children’s and I forget what the last one is, because yes, I put them in a pile to deal with later, only later is talking to them and hearing every single one of them saying:  We’d like you to autopay $50 a month…. on SIX ACCOUNTS.   Four years ago, we were paying hundreds a month, then everything tanked and I slowed payments to $10, then eventually had to stop in hopes that eventually we could take them up again.  I paid those bills a bit longer than I should have.  This has dragged us down for the last several years and I really want to tackle it and pay them what they need, but am unable to.  This is all we ask.  Kim does not need toys and neither do I or my husband.  We need peace of mind.

Everything needs to be made out to Kimberly Ross, including paypal if you choose to go that way.  Clearly note it is a gift (otherwise, the IRS thinks I worked for it and they require a share).  I prefer mailed in, but it’s ok if other ways are easier.  Dollars help at chipping away at this debt and I will post the receipts as I get them.  It is tax deductible if you want to pay them directly and I’m ok with giving out that information privately, because you can’t exactly charge services on it. :D   This is 100% medical bills.  The first one… is that pushy collection’s agency.  I’ll post the other invoices as they send me new ones this month.  You will have our family’s thanks if you help out!

Edit: Last invoice is the most important, since it is in collections at $1,506.40.  This one is the most important for us to tackle, because since it is already in collections, it can be negotiated down a little when I have the funds to do so.

Edit:  I know, I know.  I could put this up on Indiegogo or another such site, but I’m reluctant to do so because they take 4-5% on top of paypal/amazon fees and that adds up!  I might, but for now, just pass the link along.

Mail to and please make out checks and Money Orders to:

Kimberly Ross

P.O. Box 270801

Flower Mound, TX  75027-0801

You can use my email directly through paypal/serve/amazon

Gifters Total = $2,945!

  1. CEM – $20
  2. WK – $95
  3. KB – $200
  4. LR – $50
  5. CP – $50
  6. DR – $30
  7. KB – $500
  8. CV – $2,000
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Shivae Studios Status November 2012

by Tiff on November 4, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Posted In: Blog

Going over what I need to get done and revising it because I think I’m being a little too ambitious in what I’m getting done.  So my new work goals are a little easier ons me: 10 pages – panels laid out per title.  5 pages – lettered.  (These goals are already met.)  3 pages penciled for all comics except Abby and Alien Dice.  4 pages would be good.

Comics currently updating plus days updating:

  1. Abby’s Agency – Tuesday/Thursday
  2. Alien Dice – Money Wednesday Friday (I will likely shift this to full pages once a week or two, soon.)
  3. Black Rose – Sunday
  4. Campus Safari – Monday
  5. Genoworks Saga – Wednesday
  6. Akaelae Cubs – Friday
  7. Cookie War – Tuesday and Thursday, but it needs to be scripted and it’s a short.
  8. Serin – Saturday
  9. Vas – Sunday
  10. I Married a Gamer – No set schedule at the moment.

 

Comics not currently updating, but being worked on.:

  1. Cesilee’s Diary for print only.
  2. Sink or Swim will possibly begin when the cookie war is over, need to finish scripting it.
  3. Swiftpaw Short (has an ending)
  4. PURE
  5. Sivine Blades

The changes should allow me to stream more and get those commissions all cleared up. – Tiff

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