Fun Fact: I actually drew panel 5 with my left hand. No fake bad draw’nz from me! I give you the real thing, because I care.

For a long time now, I’ve not been very happy with my life or my work. It’s been extraordinarily frustrating for me because, at a glance, I am doing exactly what I always wanted to be doing. I’m writing and drawing my own comic, which has been fairly successful and continues to grow each year. I’m a self-employed artist who sets her own prices and her own schedule. I’m in control of my career 100%.

Most of the time though, in practice, it doesn’t feel that way. While I do enjoy working on BPD, there are definitely times where the 3-a-week posting schedule has forced me to churn out pages I was less than happy with, to produce content simply so there would be content to post.  Other times I feel limited by the comic strip format, where every comic needs to be satisfying by itself and where long stories take FOREVER to get though. When I’m not working on BPD, my time is spent working on commissioned work for other people which, while rewarding and satisfying to a point, it drains all of my creative energy to the point where I have hardly anything left for when I DO get the time to work on personal projects.

I’m not at my burn-out point. I passed it months ago and have been running on fumes ever since, with almost no opportunity to stop and relax.

Let me be very clear: I have no intention on quitting BPD forever. I enjoy writing and drawing these characters, and have a lot of stories I would still like to tell with them. However, I’m slowly coming to the realization that the daily format just doesn’t work for me anymore. When I have a long story to tell, I feel forced to rush through it in order to not spend half a year on one plot line. And if I do let a story run for months (as the most recent “Shadow in the Basement” storyline), I’m not able to do short one-off gags or topical jokes because I don’t want to interrupt the main story.

I’m just not sure how I want to proceed from here. The main idea right now that appeals to me is, once year 4 finishes at the end of May, to continue doing BPD comics as self-contained stories released in PDF form for purchase (VERY cheaply, roughly around $1.99-$2.99, though it will depend on each story’s length) and possibly collecting them in book form whenever there’s enough of them. I’d also like to start doing them in color (something I know a LOT of you have been asking for, but with the 3-a-week schedule is impossible to do right now), and maybe change up the format a little bit.

One shot comics would still be posted for free to the blog for anyone who wants them, as well as other content: reviews for games, movies, or TV shows, art how-to videos, animations, and other stuff. Heck, if I can find someone who knows how to develop games for smart phones I’d love to work with them on some stuff (if that’s YOU, get in touch!) I know I want to do SOMETHING else along side the comic, I just haven’t settled on exactly what that thing (or things) would be yet. And of course, the archives would also not go away for anyone who still wanted to read those for free.

The other elephant in the room – something which artistic types typically don’t like to discuss, but it’s still extremely important – is the financial aspect. 3 1/2 years I’ve been working on BPD and 90-95% of my income still comes from commission work. Commissions eat up a LOT of my time, which only provide something for one person. There’s also the fact that, if a month goes by where I don’t have a certain number of people willing to spend $150+ on artwork, I’m in serious financial trouble.  I’d much rather be spending my time and effort on artwork and content LOTS of people can spend a little bit of money for and enjoy, that also allows me to pay my bills and my rent. This isn’t to say I want to stop doing commissions forever, but I’d like it to be supplementary income to things like comics, merch, and other more reliable sources. I’ve even considered the idea of an optional subscription service for a few bucks a month that would give you access to bonus content or deals, but again that’s still up in the air.

Whatever I do, 3 things need to change: (1), The current schedule, format, and pacing of BPD just doesn’t work anymore for the stories I want to tell, (2) I need more flexibility in my day-to-day work so I’m not just doing the same old thing week after week, month after month, and (3) I need to rework my business model to lower my reliance on commissions and move to something more consistent and predictable. And I’d like to do those 3 things while pissing off as few people as possible. Because let’s be honest; I wouldn’t be doing what I do without the support of everyone who reads my comic, checks out my artwork, or buys a book or drawing. I want to make sure YOU guys like where I end up just as much as me.

I am 100% open for your input, questions, and suggestions. If there’s something your concerned about, tell me. If you have something you’d perhaps like to see, suggest it. If you’re a creator who is or has been in a similar situation, I’d LOVE to hear from you. I still haven’t settled on what I’m going to be doing, or even when, but any outside perspective is definitely welcome. When I make the chance, I want it to be the RIGHT change.

Thank you in advance for your support and understanding. ^_^

When Liz “rescued” Max from her Cigarettes. . .