Slipcase Design and News
about 5 years ago – Fri, Feb 08, 2019 at 09:31:24 PM

Waiting on mail from Mark that should arrive today! I thought I was just getting a digital color PDF as the team in China are on their holiday, but it sounds like I'll be getting more so I can review how the colors come out during that time! Which means a lot of editing will be happening this February.

In the mean time, here is the design concept for the slipcover case! The color of the case will be a bone white and the illustration you are seeing in black will be in gold foil.

A sample of the slipcase wont be received until sometime after February and I when have an actual sample to show you I’ll let you know about how much it will cost to reserve your copy.

I wish I could give you more concrete dates, but the impression I’m getting is that a lot of the dates revolve around when the final approval is giving on the project. And I wont be able to give final approval until I can see a “dummy” (book term of a sample of printed book) which wont happen until after February.

So thank you for your patience, working as fast as I can to deliver these books to you!

Sketches, Book update with a secret reveal, and a friend's new Kickstarter!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Jan 24, 2019 at 11:49:31 PM

Hello! Thought it would be fun to share some of the sketches done so far. They are inked in Micron and colored with gouache. I have a great idea for how they will be placed into the book.

For book updates, Mark got back to me about the status of the PDF! Here is what he told me:

"Timeline for proofing - I'm firming up the proof timeline now. The Chinese holiday is coming up soon, so I'm trying to see if I can get that press proof book cover done beforehand. I think the color proofs for the inside pages can be sent before the holiday. I'm unsure about the slip case proofing, but will advise on whether that can be sent beforehand or not.”

Did he mention a Slip Case??? 

Why, yes, he did :) I am happy to share that anyone who pledged $100 and over will automatically be getting a slip case added to their book.

I'll be reserving 100 for my Kickstarter backers and 100 that will be left for the public for convention sales. In one of the next update I will be sharing pictures of the proposed slipcase design.

The first 100 copies will be open to reservation once I establish the best price point. If you don't care about how much it may be, you are welcome to PM me immediately and I will add you to the "interested" list. 

Being on the list is not a guarantee as it will be based on those who have the best communication in the follow up once the list is being finalized.

Thank you so much for your patience during the printing process!

cheers,

Melissa

Now, I want to talk about my friend’s new kickstarter!

It just launched and I’m excited to share all her handwork, here is an excerpt she sent me to share with you:

Boston Metaphysical Society: The Spirit of Rebellion

Ghosts! Steampunk! Oh my! Caitlin flees to Philadelphia only to discover a ghost, a rebellion, and perhaps, her destiny. 

A standalone continuation of the original six issue mini-series, Boston Metaphysical Society. Who will love Boston Metaphysical Society?

Fans of Penny Dreadful, Girl Genius, Ruse, steampunk and gaslamp fantasy stories.People who like to read paranormal, historical fiction, and/or alternate history.If you like character-driven comics with a mix of paranormal and science fiction, then these are the comics for you!

Kickstarter Link: http://kck.st/2FS2zRo

Final PDF Approval, Bookmarkers, and Sketches!
over 5 years ago – Wed, Jan 16, 2019 at 01:14:15 AM

The final PDF was approved last Friday! Celebration!

It's approved, and according to Mark, he can get a more solid timeline from his team. Still waiting on that but I figure it would be fun to pass on the tiny milestone.  Hopefully, once they have the final files the process will go a little faster. We will find out!

In the meantime, here are fun pictures to share of what's going on behind the scenes.

Had fun formatting the final files for the bookmakers. I sent them in and I have already received the printed collection. Had fun splaying them out and seeing how they look together.  What do you think?

Also... sketches!

 
I'm getting as much prep work done on the backend so when those books are in there will be no delay!

cheers,
Melissa

Happy New Years, the postcards are in!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Jan 03, 2019 at 01:22:10 AM

The postcard collection is in! To touch and feel card stock with the artwork printed out is pretty delightful. So excited to finally have them in my hands! Lucas, Ann, Kimberli...Thank you so much for taking on the commission and being a part of this project. It's an out of this world feeling to have people you admire draw your characters.

Updates on the backend

I hope the new year is treating everyone well! I wanted to post much sooner but unfortunately I caught a cold right after Christmas. I was out for the count for about a week. Still coughing up a storm but it's more manageable and I can't wait to share more updates that are in queue now that I'm feeling better!

There are still about 50 people that need to complete the survey. I manage all the orders from there so if you haven't yet you are welcome to use this link to resend it to yourself (it sends to the email associated to your Kickstarter account) :

https://atcloudscomic.backerkit.com/

Still not getting it? Let me know and I can change your email on the backend and resend.

Schedule update!
over 5 years ago – Wed, Dec 19, 2018 at 11:09:06 PM

Updated the Schedule Graph with current task that have been completed and updated what's still to come.

Important dates to note:

• December 21st - January 7th, the team that is helping to print ATC will be on holiday during this time 
• Month of February - Major holiday in China and I've been warned that everyone takes the whole month of February off.

Where are we currently?

Right now, Mark's team has the files and he said that the team will be reviewing them to make sure everything looks good. This is a scary part because they'll have to let me know if any edits need to be made! AH!

For digital rewards and the completed 8 chapter PDF, if you haven't gotten yours please let me know! I recently found out that anyone who added on to their order in Backerkit were not receiving the downloads as I haven't charged cards. 

In Backerkit's eyes, to them the order/survey isn't complete so the downloads were not being sent. Cards are planned to be charged January 1st but if you'd like yours sooner just shoot me a message and I'll give you an alternative method to download the content!

Working Behind the Scenes

I had a bit of a hold up with the Cover File for Above the Clouds. Never laid out a layer for gold foil and it required having to bust out Illustrator. The black (except the barcode) is where the gold foil will be going:

 Can't wait to see how this turns out!

The other fun part was getting an ISBN code. For awhile, there was an issue with Bowker's website (who issue ISBN numbers). It turned out their site was hacked and extra code was found embedded on the backend that was lifting data from their customers. Their shopping cart was taken down for quite some time and I had  to do something I've done before...FAX.

I had to go to a printshop to send a FAX. Ha! Thankful it's taken care of.  There is more work happening that I'm excited to share with you but I'll save that for the next update.

Till then, here is a sketch of Cian!