Chapter 3 now available in the app!

Chapter 3 now is finally available inside the Wormworld Saga App for iPad and Android tablets.

I'm sorry that it again took a lot longer than expected. I was expecting at least some delay because I hadn't finished the special features in time. Then the French translation got delayed, there were some delays at the developer and the Apple submission took a little bit longer than expected, too. Well, of course we'll try to be faster the next time but the whole process is really complicated as hell so I won't make false promises to you.

Ok, but now Chapter 3 has landed on the app and of course I want to tease you a bit to purchase the Collector's Edition by showing some small peaks into the special content.

I added two new items to the artbook section of the app. In "The Making of Chapter 3" you'll find some work in progress "color blockings" of panel artwork and I show a lot of my character and creature development artwork (studies, drawings, digital sculptures).

"Sketchbook #2" has a bunch of recent and older (but never published) sketches associated to Chapter 3.

And the Colector's Edition of Chapter 3 of course comes with Artwork Mode (you can fade out the word balloons in order to examine the artwork) and Sketch mode (you can switch to a preliminary sketch version) which again contains a lot of behind the scenes author commentary.

I also want to announce that I'm very aware of the fact that there are many people who are interested in the special content but don't own a tablet device to run the app. I'm currently looking into possibilities to provide these special features in formats that don't require a tablet device. I'll keep you updated on that!

Chapter 3 - A Monstrous Forest

I proudly present Chapter 3 of the Wormworld Saga Digital Graphic Novel!

Go read it at wormworldsaga.com!

I was truelly looking forward to this day. I assume that since the release of Chapter 1 a lot of people were wondering what the Wormworld Saga is all about. Finally we will now follow Jonas on his first steps beyond the magic canvas and find out more about this mysterious place and its inhabitants.

Chapter 3 was a huge challenge for me as I wanted the first impression of the Wormworld to be a lasting one. This chapter is the longest chapter so far and it is full of elaborate full scale backgrounds. Including prelim, concept art and layout, I worked over 400 hours on Chapter 3. I think that it shows and I hope that everyone will enjoy the ride.

I was pressing hard to meet the scheduled release date at the end of April. While this worked out for the release on the website, users of the Wormworld Saga App will have to wait a few days until I have finished the production of the special content which will be available alongside the Collector's Edition of Chapter 3 inside the app. There's lots of concept artwork that I'm going to share and of course there will be author commentary   available again.

Ok, I'd say go and have a good time with Chapter 3! If you like it please help to spread the word and tell your friends about it.

Chapter 3, Final Artwork Completed!

It's done! Today I finished the last panel of Chapter 3. It was a big one with over 8 hours work that went into it. All in all I have worked over 300 hours on the artwork for Chapter 3. That's 100 hours more than I worked on Chapter 2 and nearly double the amount of time that I worked on Chapter 1. It was also 100 hours more than I originally expected. In the last 8 weeks I've worked many extra hours in the evenings in order to make up for it.

But I regret not a single minute of work that I put into Chapter 3. You will be able to see the effort that went into it and I'm really proud of the result. It will be very exciting for me to release the new chapter as it shows the first steps of Jonas inside the Wormworld. Together with him we'll explore fantastic places, face breakneck dangers and encounter new friends.

I have no preview images for you today as you will very soon be able to the read complete chapter. Release will be on Monday, 30th April. I'll put a countdown on the website so that you can easily find out the exact release time throughout the timezones.

Unfortunately, the release inside the Wormworld Saga App will be delayed again. This time it's not because of a software bug, though. I simply wasn't able to prepare the special content for the Collector's Edition yet. It shouldn't take me more than a week to provide it so you won't have to wait as long as the last time for the special content. What I already can say is, that the Collector's Edition will be worth the short wait. I have a lot of interesting Concept Art and work-in-progress snapshots that I will put into a huge 'Making of Chapter 3' artbook item.

Ok, still some work to do that will keep me busy over the next three days. And then you'll be welcome to the Wormworld!

Chapter 3, Milestone 4 reached!

Phew, I've cut down to 80% of the Chapter 3 artwork! I'm going to need a few days of rest after this chapter, I guess. My time-tracking indicates that in the end I'm going to spend over 300 hours on the final artwork of Chapter 3. Chapter 2 was only 200 hours although it wasn't much shorter. This figure reflects pretty nicely the fact that Chapter 3 is going to look spectacular when it's finished. I actually started to assemble the existing artwork into the layout and to see all these detailed illustrations in one big composition is a stunning experience. So, I'm confident that in the end the hard work will pay off.

In the upcoming two weeks I'm going to finish the last milestone and prepare the layout, the cover artwork and the special content for the Wormworld Saga App. I'm working extra hours every day to make sure that on April 30th everything will be ready for launch.

Alright, lots of work ahead and the clock is ticking! I'll leave you with a few preview images which again are all cropped from larger panels:

International Children's Book Day Sale!

International Children's Book Day was inaugurated in 1967 by the International Board on Books for Young People (iBbY). To celebrate it, I hereby announce our very first sales event inside the Wormworld Saga App. Today you can purchase the Collector's Editions of Chapter 1 and 2 for only 0,99€ each!

To purchase the Collector's Editions just download the free Wormworld Saga App for iPad and Android tablets and get the Collector's Editions via in-app purchase.

And in other news:

Robot Media finally updated the Android version of the Wormworld Saga App and it now runs properly on Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Also the app is now compatible to Android 3.1!

Chapter 3, Milestone 3 reached!

Alright, things ran a lot smoother with this third milestone of Chapter 3. It contained a lot more smaller panels than the average milestone and I had less work with the backgrounds. I was able to finish this one in 8,5 workdays, which is pretty much what I'm aiming at in general (my goal is to accomplish a milestone in less than two weeks = 10 workdays). However, this is not to say that this  milestone wasn't special for me. In fact I'm not able to show you very much from the third milestone because I introduced two new characters in it and there's a lot of action and dialog going on. So, for this milestone it's only one panel that I can share:

I really like this one because it communicates the movement pretty well, I think. It also makes for a nice color composition from an abstract standpoint.

Now, next week we enter April and the release of Chapter 3 is getting really close. I'm optimistic that 4 weeks will be enough for me to finish the last two milestones. I have already finished the texts and they will go out to the translators within the next few days. I'll throw in some extra hours in order to get the layout and the special content for the app ready in time and I think we can all look forward to a late April release of Chapter 3. It's going to be SO exciting to get this one out!

Now, back to work!

Chapter 3, Milestone 2 reached!

Man, I thought this moment would never come! Seriously, I've got totally tangled up in this second milestone like I've never experienced before. Note to myself: NEVER EVER let over 50% of a milestone be composed of full scale panorama images! It took me 80 hours to finish this milestone. Thats double the time of a regular milestone. I'm going to have to work very hard to keep my schedule for Chapter 3 but it's still doable. I'll have to change the way I'm handling the translations though. Normally I finish all the artwork and do the layout before I send the chapter to the translators. This time I expect to work on the artwork until the very last minute before the release of Chapter 3. So, I think I'm going to finish the dialog on the prelim version and send this out to the translators to give them enough time to do their work.

Well, the good news in all this is, that Chapter 3 is going to be spectacular! I can't show much of Milestone 2 because each single panel contains major spoilers but here's what I've got. The first two are only portions of much larger panels:

As you can see, I'm not the only one floored by the amount of work. I was really getting nervous when I realized that I had loaded too much work on my shoulders for this milestone. However, I'm happy about all the work I put into Chapter 3 so far. I want to make sure that it makes a lasting impression on the reader. I really wished I could present you the most spectacular panels right now because I'm really proud of them. But we all wil lhave to wait until Chapter 3 is released. Seing all the artwork in one huge composition will be quite an experience I guess. 

Well, still three milestones to go and the release date is looming. I better go back to work! 

The Wormworld Saga App for Android launched!

Man, we had to wait quite some time for this! But today I'm finally able to announce the launch of:

The Wormworld Saga App for Android Tablets

The app needs Android 3.2 or higher running on your device and a large screen. This is a list of devices, the app is designed to run on:

Acer

A200(picasso_e) 

Picasso(picasso) 

TPA60W(maya) 

Anydata

LePanII(LePanII_wifi)

Archos

ARCHOS 101G9(A101) 

ARCHOS 80G9(A80) 

ARCHOS 80G9(A80S) 

Archos 101 Internet Tablet(A101S)

Asus

ETBW11AA(ETBW11AA) 

EeePad Slider SL101(SL101) 

EeePad Transformer TF101(TF101) 

TF101-WiMAX(TF101-WiMAX) 

Transformer Prime TF201(TF201) 

Transformer TF101G(TF101G) 

Dell

Dell Streak 10 Pro(Streak10Pro)

Fujitsu

F-01D(blaze_tablet)

Hisense

M1101AT(TP9102)

Lenovo Mobile

IdeaTab S2010A-D(msm8660_surf) 

IdeaTabV2007A(sanpaolo) 

IdeaTabV2010A(santiago) 

Motorola

XOOM(stingray) 

XOOM(wifi_hubble)

XOOM(umts_everest)

XOOM(umts_hubble) 

XOOM(wingray) 

XOOM 2(pasteur) 

Panasonic Corporation

JT-H581VT(H581VT_A)

Pegatron

Android Tablet PC(TabletPC) 

Android Tablet PC(DukeWifi) 

Android Tablet PC(Duke3G) 

Chagall 10.1 WiFi(chagall) 

Philips Electronics

PI7000(Tablet_8) 

Quanta Corporation

IGS-1000(nk1) 

LIFETAB_P9514(LIFETAB_P9514) 

Nirvana_Tablet(Nirvana_Tablet)

OP110(OP110) 

Samsung

GT-P6800(GT-P6800) 

GT-P7501(GT-P7501) 

Galaxy Tab 10.1(GT-P7510)

Galaxy Tab 10.1(GT-P7500)

Galaxy Tab 10.1(SCH-I905)

Galaxy Tab 8.9(SGH-I957)

Sony

Sony Tablet P(nbx02) 

Tablet S(nbx03)

Toshiba

AT100(tostab03) 

AT200(tostab05)

ZTE

SmartTab10(V11A) 

SmartTab7(V71A) 

V68(V68)

So, looks like I can look forward to many new users for the Wormworld Saga App! Remember, it is a free app and you can read the complete standard version of the graphic novel inside the app for free. If you want to support the project, you can purchase a Collector's Edition of each chapter inside the app which will grant you access to several special features which are currently exclusive to the app. I hope you all enjoy the Wormworld Saga App for Android!

In other news, I'm still working on the second milestone. A good deal is finished but this will definitely be the most elaborate milestone I ever had. The amount of detail in the panels is pure madness. I'm going to be very busy the next two months in order to get this chapter out in time.

So, better back to work!

Chapter 3, Milestone 1 reached!

Wow, is it really nearly a month since my last update!? Time flies when you have fun! I honestly tried to post an update sooner but every time I thought a good occasion would come up, it got delayed again. Of course I'm refering to the Android version of the Wormworld Saga App which a lot of you are eagerly waiting for. I fear I begin to sound like a scratched record when I say that we are very close to the release. I have already seen a fully functional version of the Android App on the tablet of my brother-in-law and Robot Media is currently sending the app around to different places to get some final feedback for polishing. So, we're nearly done for real and I'm looking forward to provide you the Android version of the Wormworld Saga App soon.

But the real news of the day is that I just finished the first milestone of Chapter 3! You know what that means: artwork preview time! Fortunately we've already had a brief glimpse into the strange world Jonas entered in Chapter 2. Therefore I'm able to show you some panels from Chapter 3 without spoiling anything. Here we go:

As you can see there's plenty of stuff for Jonas to wonder about behind the magic canvas. What you see here is just a small glimpse, believe me. I have the best time painting this chapter which visually is very different from the two preceding ones. I even had to adjust my painting workflow a bit which became a little stiff and technical through all the right angles and flat surfaces I painted for the interiour scenes of Chapter 1 and 2. I'm now back to a more intuitive and loose approach. I use less layers which makes the painting process much more enjoyable and hopefully this carries through to the experience of the reader.

By the way, the flowers that grow out of my head in the milestone illustration above do not only refer to the floral explosions of Chapter 3 but also to new plans and prospects that sprouted from my head over the last few weeks. As you know, it will be a big challenge to sustain the Wormworld Saga project over the whole year and I started to think about new ways to find additional support for the project. Some of these ideas already have blossomed and I'm looking forward to presenting them to you when the time is ripe.

I'm back to my wacom then, bringing home that next milestone!

Chapter 3, Title Announcement

I've finally finished my work on the preliminary version of Chapter 3! Now I'm able to setup the milestones for the chapter and I'm also able to announce the title:

Chapter 3 - A Monstrous Forest

I took me longer than expected to create the prelim of Chapter 3. My mind refused to rush through the task and forced me to stop and think frequently. I felt horribly unproductive and slow during the last 2,5 weeks especially if I compare the prelim process to the production process during the milestone phase where I just burn through the panel illustrations. I guess I just have to admit to myself that writing a chapter is a very different task from illustrating it. If I'm able to make my peace with that I might even be able to enjoy it in the future.

My next step is something I haven't done at all up to this point. I'm going to create concept art for several characters, creatures and locations that are introduced in Chapter 3. For chapters 1 and 2 I hardly did any concept art. Jonas had already been designed when I started work on the graphic novel and the other characters were designed on the fly. The locations were improvised from my childhood memories and real life reference. Chapter 3 now contains a lot of elements that I only have a rough idea of in my head. I will have to put some extra work into their further development so that I become able to illustrate them. The good news about this is that you'll find a lot of 'Making Of' material when Chapter 3 is released. The bad news is that my schedule gets screwed up by this to some extend. I don't know how much time it will take me to finish the concept art but it is very likely that Chapter 3 won't be launched before April. However, I'll try to enjoy the concept art process and don't see it as a hindrance.

In other news: I have updated the Wormworld Saga Website to reflect the upcoming new chapter. I also changed the background image to bring us all into the right mood for Chapter 3:

Translation news: Chapter 1 is now available in a Czech and a Korean translation. Many thanks to the translators, Lukáš Balcárek and Yuna Lee, and to Ivan Berov, who again did a great job on the layout of the translations. Seriously, I don't know what I would do without this guy!

Ok, I hope I'll be able to announce the Android version of the Wormworld Saga App soon. I'm off designing stuff now.