I know that some of you started to get the impression that I might have spent too much time on the wrong stuff and that I should simply have concentrated on the graphic novel. I myself am a bit shocked by the fact that 9 months have passed and that I'm only 20% into Chapter 2. On the other hand, if we compare the different options I had this year, it turns out that nothing was lost and a lot was gained.
Had I decided not to act on the success of Chapter 1 and just continue on Chapter 2 besides my day job, I would have been at about 80% of the final artwork by now and a release in December would have been a save bet. Chapter 3 would have been coming at the end of 2012 and Chapter 4 in 2013 and so on.
What I did instead was giving interviews for blogs, newspapers, radio and tv stations in January. I prepared a kickstarter fundraising campaign in February and fueled it with videos and PR in March. I worked on the app, created, packed and shipped the kickstarter rewards and negotiated with publishers in April, Mai and June. I quit my job in July, attended startup workshops and prepared a business plan in order to apply for state money to support my new business. In August, I finished my work on the app, produced the first 20% of artwork for Chapter 2 and took a summer vacation with my wife and son. I launched the Wormworld Saga App and prepared the bookfair when I came home late September.
Now, Chapter 2 is still scheduled for December but, thanks to my work on the business and infrastructure, I'm working fulltime on the graphic novel now and I'm fully financed until at least July 2012. By that time I plan to have already released Chapter 3 and 4. How it will go on from that point will heavily depend on the success of the app and the number of countries my publisher can place the Wormworld Saga Book Edition.
So, there's still a lot to do in the future. I'm at the very beginning of this adventure. I've just built my ship and set my course towards the unknown. But out on the sea I'll have plenty of time for painting!
My return from the bookfair marks an important milestone for me. I have now finished the business stuff and I'm happy with the result so far. I'm now going to concentrate on art again. That means that from now on you'll see milestone updates and artwork posts here on the blog. Of course I'll keep you updated about app updates (especially the upcoming Android version) but this blog is going to see a lot more art than in the last few months. I promise that.
To kick that off, I want to share an artwork with you that I created at Frankfurt Bookfair. When I wasn't talking to people I painted on this insanely detailed abstract composition. Click on it for a HUGE version!
See you soon with the next Chapter 2 milestone!
Wishing you the best Daniel! You're an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteCant wait for second chapter :)
ReplyDeleteOh, das sieht toll aus!
ReplyDeleteBin gespannt auf deine nächsten Blogposts mit hoffentlich ein paar Kostproben!
Daniel
ReplyDeleteWe are very patient people and support your honesty. I'm sure the 2nd chapter will be brilliant. Carry on!
Das ist richtig schön psychedelisch geworden. Erscheint mir wie eine sehr aufwändige Telefonskizze. Hinter Deiner "Tür" dort wars sicher auch manchmal etwas langweilig. :)
ReplyDeleteBin auch gespannt wie es weiter geht.
I support you! You are so much of an inspiration! :-))
ReplyDeleteSieht gut aus Daniël! Awesome painting!
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn`t get too much impatient comments, or even people telling you you need to work more on the saga. A freelance business is not the same as doing art all day, I hope people will understand that. I can see that you worked hard to get financially set up and ready to go art-wise, well done! Have loads of fun working on Wormworld!
Daniel, es war toll dich mal in echt beim Zeichnen beobachten zu können! Und über das Erinnerungsfoto ham wa uns auch sehr gefreut :)
ReplyDelete