Hey buddy, why so quiet lately, hm?
With the abundant responsibilities laid out before me at this time, one of my many projects must either be put on hold, or suffer in quality. Twilight Monk is my passion, and I have chosen to take the summer off to apply script changes, new scenes, and future script planning to ensure its quality. I also want to chill on the beach and look at girls in bikinis. Technically speaking, Twilight Monk is my 3rd job, and done as a pleasure as well as a hobby. You can look forward to a greater version of the book when it returns later this year.
As many of you know, I work as a Concept Artist in the video game industry. This industry is notorious for having long hours and lots of overtime work. My work at Blizzard and my quality standard are my highest priorities.
Over the past few months, I’ve been completing the final print production of a collection of my old comic book work called CreeD: Omnichronos. This book is 508 pages and will be published and released by IDW in August. I had to reconstruct some lettering, fix spelling errors, and add a 30+ page sketchbook collection to the book. The publication looks fantastic, and I can assure you that I personally handled all of the graphic design and cleanup myself with over 150+ hours of production going into its reconstruction.
In other CreeD news, I’m working with a Literary Manager to shop CreeD around to film studios. I feel confident that this will be a worthwhile venture, but it requires that a lot more work be done.
Additionally, I’ve been working on a flash game with a friend of mine. I cannot yet release details of the game yet, but it’ll be free to play when its ready, and Ill post more about it later.
My personal life has gone through some major changes as well, and my time and energy has been spread even thinner. Twilight Monk is my baby, and I love this project like a child. In the midst of all of these mounting responsibilities… I’m concerned that the quality of the product has begun to slip, and I cant let that happen.
I want to assure you all that I remain committed to Twilight Monk and it’s development. We are just getting started, and there WILL BE MORE coming in the future. By my estimates, my schedule should allow for more content to be released this fall. But I won’t start releasing more pages until I feel confident that the work is ready to show. My intention is to create something that is not disposable, something that speaks to the heart, and stands apart as a truly unique experience. When Twilight Monk is complete, it will be the kind of book that you will want to share with others, and cherish long after you’ve thrown out your old collection. At least… that is my goal.
-Trent
In my experience, there are those who obsess over regular updates as the only barometer of a creator’s commitment to the material. But commitment to quality is also commitment, and in my opinion, more important than the former.
Enjoy the summer – fans of quality will be here when you’re back.
In other news – congrats on that brick of a book! Holy geez, 500 pages!! I’d want some beach time just after putting that thing together.
Time off deserved! I agree with Og about quality being most important over a consistent schedule. I guess it’s obvious that I believe this because I haven’t been posting anything new for the last 4 months while I work on building a new backlog of pages for reMIND. I look at all this long term. It’s more about building dedicated fans than fans who will leave you as soon as you miss a post.
Congrats on the Creed book too. I’ll definitely be buying a copy of that when the time comes. I’m really curious about how it is working with IDW.
I’m subscribed so I’ll be here whenever you post new stuff. Have a great summer!
Thanks for the support guys. I think people have a right to be disappointed. I had hoped to keep up a weekly schedule forever. I had initially started doing 1 page a week, because I thought it would be more sustainable. I signed the CreeD deal with IDW because I thought that I could send off the pages, and that they would take care of the publishing and print prep and help me out with some editing. Which… I’ve ended up doing about all of the print prep and editing myself with the help of a few of my friends. That’s been the unexpected factor that’s pushing my other projects such as Twilight Monk behind schedule.
Trent, congratulations on your upcoming book! We’ll all check in after the Dog Days to see what you’re up to. Though being busy is the best way to be, it must be a little wrenching to leave Mao standing out there in the rain… Best of luck and see you soon!
While I, like others, want to read everything you have in store for Twilight Monk right now :) you are only human. I concur with quality over frequency. Get some rest.
Hey I’m really excited about the upcoming trade, I didn’t even know it was happening until today when I decided to look you up and see if anything has happened with CreeD recently. The first issue that collected the 1st 2 issues I believe? was the comic book that got me reading comics. I had collected super hero comes before that but none of them really got me reading and actually interested in their stories. After that I made every effort to track down any issue that came out afterwards. From there on I tended to lean towards indie books. I’m also stoked to check out Imaginery when I get the chance to order it. Take care, and Thanks for writing great books.
Trent, you truly have the talent to create art and write at a level that will someday be recognized by the film industry. Creed or Twilight Monk would blow peoples minds on the big screen. Til then, I want to proudly say I was one of the first to appreciate what YOUR PASSION has created. Keep up the great work.
Quality worth waiting for! Best of luck with the project juggling act, sounds like you’ve got quite a lot on the plate!
Cool, see you when you get back. Have fun, don’t drink too much.