The Gray Old Trees

I’m a little late in writing this–TGOT’s birthday was on March 8th–but better late than never!

It’s an incredible feeling, watching this comic evolve over time. And so quickly, too! Just over the last year or so, there’s been a shift toward story arcs rather than one-offs, and a change in release schedule that is–hopefully!–resulting in more ambitious and better-written stories. Even more recently, my characters have been looking a little different, as I’ve been learning more about character design and bringing them closer to what I’d envisioned for them.

Being an artist is thrilling because there’s always something to improve on, some aspect of my work that could be better, and the process of identifying what those are and working on them is just, so incredibly invigorating! I’ve done a lot of that over the last three years and I’m extremely proud of how far my art has come since I started drawing these comics, and extremely excited to see what I’ll be able to do by this time next year.

Thank you all for reading this, and for reading my comics!

-Strath

Hello everyone!  

A problem I’ve been struggling with for a while is that, as much as I love drawing my comics, they’ve become very labor-intensive and time-consuming, and the one-a-week schedule has proven to be a bit much for me.  I’m able to meet the deadline, but it doesn’t allow much time for editing, or pursuing other kinds of art, or having much of a life outside of art.

For this reason, I’ll be switching to a monthly batch-release schedule, with new comics being posted together on the second Friday of every month.  I’m not going to commit to a certain number of strips that will be in each batch, but I’m aiming for 2-4.  That does mean fewer comics, but I’m hoping it also means that the comics I do make will be my best work, and that the space will be filled with more studies, illustrations, paintings, videos, and maybe a little more rest as well.

With this change in schedule, my $5 tier patrons will have access to my comic strips as soon as they’re finished, rather than on a weekly basis.

My next comic strip(s) will be posted on October 14th.

Thanks for understanding!

-Tim

I said a year ago that I was excited to find out what my 104th comic strip would look like, and it was just posted today! Going into my third year of drawing these comics, I feel like I’m beginning to hit my stride and find my voice as a cartoonist. I’m becoming more comfortable with the processes of penciling and inking, and I’m increasingly able to draw out the stories and interactions I see in my head, which is one of the best feelings an artist can experience!

I’m grateful to all of y’all who come by and look at my cartoons, and I look forward to making more!
-Tim