Big Ol' Stinkin' Sketch Page o' Possum Tails (Plus Update)

The last update was in September. It's now December.

...Alright, I can't let this become a trend. I honestly thought I was going to be back on my feet with Possum Tails in October, but here I am still struggling with it. Eugh. At any rate, I'm going to get SOME sort of comic made before next year, I can assure you that. If it has to be cruddy, it'll be cruddy. But it'll be something at the very least!
In the meantime, I scanned some of the results of me trying to draw more loosely. I've gotten the characters' designs where I want them, but I'm still struggling with recreating the style digitally.

Apologies for the mess!

The almighty and ever-dysfunctional Blogspot has decreed that you may not click to enlarge, so you'll just have to use this link instead.

Hope to see you again soon, and with a new comic in hand! Take care!

- Nolan P.

Painfully Late Update (No comic, sorry!)

The last comic was in May. It is now September.

Uh, yeah... sorry about that. I should've given you an update MONTHS ago.

I just want to get this out the way first, Possum Tails is not dead! It will be back with vengeance! Eventually!

As for why this absence happened, I fell apart and wasn't able to put myself back together. I had been putting WAY too much time and detail into my comics. I eventually came to dread them every week. Sitting in front of a computer for that long, picking at the same lines over and over... It's hard to maintain sanity doing that. I was treating each individual panel like a painting. Looking back, that was pretty stupid. It's a comic - people quickly hop from one panel to the next in order to catch a story and a joke. It doesn't need that level of nitpicking! (Except maybe on Sundays, but even then there's a limit!) The joke, story, and expressions matter above all else. Those are the parts that are fun to make, and fun to read. So from here on out, I'm going to shift my focus on them.

My habit of excessive nitpicking is very deeply ingrained, and will be hard to break. But I'm determined to get back in the game - there are too many stories and jokes left untold! Even though it's been over a year, it feels like the comic's only just started.

As for why there still hasn't been another comic, it's because I'm balancing quite a few projects. For the last few months, I've been trying to build up a deadline buffer for them (slowly but surely). I'm a week or two from finally achieving my goal for that, after which I can get started on building up a deadline buffer for Possum Tails.

My plan is to start drawing the comics similarly to how they're drawn in my notebooks - quick, loose, energetic, and fun. It's faster, easier, and probably does the joke more justice. Unfortunately, it's not a style I'm used to recreating on the computer, so Possum Tails will probably be going through yet another awkward phase. If you want a good idea of what that might look like, refer to that Remus drawing up there. It's not terribly elegant, but hopefully I'll get the hang of things and the comics can start flowing again.

Once I'm back in the game and maintaining things, I'll finally have the time to update the blog background and the Possum Tails tumblr! (Which is currently a train-wreck.) Sorry for the absence, and the atomic textbomb! I'll try to get things done quickly, but I'll also try and make sure not to push myself too hard.
Take care, and see you again (hopefully) soon!

Possum Tails Hibernation

Possum Tails has become too much for me to keep up with every week - I've been struggling really badly with it for a long time now. To relieve some of the pressure and give myself time to draw other things and (most importantly) do stuff away from the computer for a change, I'm going to post comics less frequently. So instead of Possum Tails being a weekly comic, it'll now be a semi-weekly comic. If I still can't hack that, I'll have to push it back to monthly. (I'm hoping it won't come to that.)

Think of it as a sort of Possum Tails hibernation - at some point when I'm much more capable, I'd like to return to weeklies. I don't know when that'll be though.

Really sorry about this - I really wish I could keep up the pace, but I'm at my wit's end with these weekly deadlines. For the next comic, I'll try and shoot for next week.

Ants on Fire

 

To enlarge this image, just close your eyes and believe.

That, or click it.

Almost one hour from missing the deadline. I have spent my entire day working on this, and I really want to do something else now.

Also, I missed last week's comic and the Possum Tails one-year anniversary. Or the anniversary of its revival, anyway. It's been a crazy couple of weeks.

Next week, I'm going to try and kick off what will be by far the biggest series yet. Here's hoping I can get back on track and stay there. See you then!

- Nolan P.

No Showers for Algernon

Sometimes you just gotta roll up your sleeves and click to enlarge.

It took nearly a year, but Al's finally been reintroduced into the strip!

In addition to that, I finally finished the Possum Tails font. It didn't come out like I hoped it would... Inserting a space creates a huge, awkward chasm between the words, so I've been having to insert and erase hyphens in order to get the right amount of space. It's much easier than drawing each individual letter though, so I'm grateful for that!

Next Friday, new comic. See you there!

 - Nolan P.

Owl's Well that Ends Well

Things too small to read even after clicking to enlarge? Fret not, a link to a larger view will be provided below.

(Larger view HERE)

(Part 6 - Finale)

All these years and I've finally finished this series (although this particular comic was only written a few months ago - the series originally ended with the fifth comic).

Disclaimer: Possum Tails is a work of fiction, and the cartoony high jinks within should not be emulated in real life. Never let your pets play in the freezer. Or walk on two legs and speak English. If you catch them in the act, make sure to call them out on it or they'll never learn.
(Although if the pet in question is a bird, you can allow them to walk on two legs and speak. Just don't let them get too uppity about it - birds are arrogant enough as it is.)

Before I start on the next comic, I really need to get to work on making a Possum Tails font. I figure getting that done will save me a lot of time and grief with lettering.

Be sure to tune in next week!

 - Nolan P.

True Friendship Never Dies

You should Click to Enlarge this thing. Just sayin'.

(Part 5)

You may have noticed that "Sunday" comics haven't been coming out regularly anymore. When making series like this, it's very difficult to work with the last-week-of-every-month cycle, so I just make them whenever they match up with the joke. Good news though, tomorrow will be a "Sunday", and the finale to this series! (But not the last time we'll see Eddie.)

Same time, same place, new comic. See you then!

 - Nolan P.