Hi.
Sorry to be away from the Duck so long. As some of you know, I have retired from the Talismen series. The reasons are long and varied- many of them I have discussed in the Tali forum, and the news, and there are other reasons that I have never mentioned. It was just time to move on. I was sad to leave those characters. Very sad indeed. One day, I may return to that project, we'll see.
Anyway, my next project is called Xylia. It's still in the early stages, but I hope to premier it here on the Duck in the next month or so. Here's a teaser. ^_^
I got to be honest...I see it two ways. The first of which is I'm more then a little pissed off. As a reader you get invested into the story and the characters. To just have it dead end with nothing close to a conclusion is more then disappointing, it's flat out infuriating.
The second, as anther artist I can understand the stress and the press. And just how much full color works like these take. So I get why...but it's no less upsetting.
just catching up on my webcomics some, sad to see this end, but will be checking out your new project for sure man! Sometimes it IS better to just start fresh with something new.
Aw, Talisman is over... for now. Yeah, these projects take a lot out of you... A whole lot. Sill, it's a marvellous piece of work and you gave it a brilliant go Barb! Such a massive long term piece of work at such consistent high quality! And you got so amazingly popular with it too, you worked hard for that and deserved it. So although it may not have reached the level of success you were aiming for, you still managed a good portion of it.
I'm sure this next project will be just as good, in not better because you're going from the lessons and practice from the Talisman series ^_^
And who knows, one day you may indeed "Return to Donnelly" ^_^
Sorry to hear you're giving up on Tali...it was soooo very good. But I can't demand you continue, I can just tell you I loved it and that I want to see it continue when it becomes fun for you again!
I will have to pop over and see what this new one is about...YAY ground floor for once! LOL!
It's been nice seeing this comic, sure hope you change your mind and decide to share some more!
Hmm... just read your retirement thread on your home site. I don't know Talismen from Adam; it's just another (very) good webcomic AFAIC. Therefore maybe my approval of your decision will add a little bit to your perspective.
Yup, you can love what you do, and from the quantity of colored high quality pages you obviously did. But damn does art never make money. You can be professional quality, and often that doesn't matter either.
Jobs are for money and art is for love. I had made the decision as early as my 2nd year in college.
So, you shouldn't be crushed because you were a "nobody" at some anime con. Your quality is professional for sure. It's just that that's often not enough; it's a lottery too. And once your art is no longer tied to money, the emotional drain and indignity goes away and you can enjoy and be proud of what you create once again.
I have some last questions regarding Talismen. Art/writing related.
1. How did you do the leaves for Ch.4 p.14 panel 1 (there are other examples of it)? Did you actually draw all those leafy outlines, or did you use Photoshop and sprinkle circles all over until they look like a blob of leaves? It looks real good cuz it's kinda fairy tale like. You know, that kind of art style.
2. Where do you find Gaelic phrases to use? If it's because you speak it, then forget it. I just want to know if there's an online source somewhere. Babelfish sure doesn't help with this language.
