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Picking up where I left off Monday:

Did you make Emma look like you on purpose?

The one or two of my family members who have read Skipping Tomorrows tend to ask this, and I have to remind them of a couple things. When I started drawing for this comic I had short hair. As in, Meg Ryan from “You Got Mail” short. I was also a strawberry blonde and didn’t have glasses. It wasn’t until I hit 21-22ish that my hair darkened into a kind of burnt auburn. I let it grow long now (A while back I was bound and determined to get a motorcycle and wanted everyone to know I was a girl so I grew my hair out so I’d have a ponytail streaming out from under my helmet. True story.) and I happen to need glasses for when my eyes get tired. So no, I didn’t make Emma look like me on purpose. If anything … I made me look like Emma. (If my eyes randomly turn green, I will seek help.)

Why color? The pages would go faster if it was black and white.

I wanted everyone to know that Emma’s hair was red, and that’s really hard to do in black and white. When I was little I watched episodes of “I Love Lucy” and thought she was blonde. The day I saw her in color traumatized me and still haunts me to this day. I wasn’t going to let that happen with my comic.

No. Not really. I just like working with color. Sheesh.

This is the end of the official FAQ. SteeKira was kind enough to ask these additional questions.

How did you start writing manga?

I’ve always wanted to tell stories in some form or another. I’m the common artist stereotype: a little shy, a little introverted, yet bursting at the seams to share an idea or feeling with other people. I grew up on anime, then found out about manga as a teenager. The desire to tell stories and the love of anime naturally turned into manga styled comics.

I’m actually trying to kick some of the anime out of my drawing habits, but that’s a whole other blog post for another day.

How did this story come about?

Way back in either 2001 or 2002 (I can’t remember) I was doing something completely mundane at work leaving my brain free for daydreaming. The idea of finding a time traveling friend sort of took shape and I wrote down a couple notes on a scrap of paper – I think I might still have it somewhere. Initially it was going to be a short story about a friendship between a red haired time traveller and a misfit college student. I was intently going to leave romance out of the picture, going out of my way to stress the friendship aspect – the two characters just happened to be opposite genders. Shawn even had a fiance scripted and everything was working out to be a nice, neat little slice of life tale.

This was all well and good until the first time I drew a concept sketch of Shawn and Emma together. As silly as it sounds, I remember looking at that sketch for at least a minute after I put my pencil down. I had heard of characters taking on a life of their own, but hadn’t experienced it until right then. Call me a sap, but I started a brand new script after that sketch. These guys had to be together. Shawn and Emma became twentysomethings, Shawn’s lit professor turned into his doctor, Sherri, and Jen just showed up without being asked. But that’s Jen for you.

Below is a wallpaper I made in 2004, before I even had the second version of the script finished. It’s the first official “couple” image of Shawn and Emma. They’re supposed to be sitting on a couch, but I never drew the couch. There was no official name for the project yet either, so I toyed with the idea of calling it “Because.” Why? “Because because because because! … because of the wonderful things he does, doodiddledoodiddledeedoo.” (I will now go get more coffee.)

Before there was a comic, there was a wallpaper

Is there a particular character here that you love to death?

Shawn.

Is there a particular character that you relate to?

Probably Jen. I’m not quite as unsure of myself as Emma, and I’m not as even-keeled as Shawn. And I’m simply not as cool as Sherri. However, I have dyed my hair a tad wild from time to time, I love my brothers like crazy, and I prefer to perch on furniture rather than sit like a normal person.

Thanks for the questions, everyone! I really appreciate the interest taken in this comic. Before I wrap it up, I have some good news and some bad news.

The bad news: I broke my thumb Saturday. Out of the two thumbs I have, I happened to break my right one. I am right handed. I’m still able to type and use my tablet, but it’s going slower than I’d like.

The good news: I invested in actual comic software. I’m pretty excited to use a program with comics specifically in mind, although I probably will save it for my next comic.

Without further ado:

Will Skipping Tomorrows ever be printed?

I have no plans to officially send the Skipping Tomorrows comic to the printer. There are many different reasons for this, but mostly it would be far too expensive. Part of the fun and reward of being a webcomic artist is offering something I’ve worked on very hard for free. The other reasons are personal. As you know, I’ve dragged this project out way too long. Everything about how I approach storytelling has changed, from character development to basic art style. You can see the range of this if you go from chapter one to the current chapters. As understanding fans you may not mind this, but I do. If I am going to put something to print, it must meet my standards. And if these two reasons were not enough there is also a format issue. Colors, aspect ratios, font size: these would all have to be fixed for print. I’ve been anything but consistent in putting together a project that is easily adaptable from one format to the other. I’ve also lost many of the early .psd files due to a poor archive strategy. (I like to call it the “don’t think about backups until the computer has already kicked the bucket” plan. Not recommended) These lessons have been difficult, but learned nevertheless.

All that being said…

I happen to love you guys and appreciate your infinite patience with this comic. It’s been brought to my attention  that a few of you wish to share Skipping Tomorrows with friends and family members, and a web-based format has made that difficult. When the comic is done-stick-a-fork-in-it, I am planning on making a print version available. It won’t be professionally bound with ISBN number. It may simply be 3-holed-punched and put in a presentation folder. I’m not interested in making money on this, and I’ll do my best to find the most cost effective method to make this happen.

Bleh! That was the big one, the rest are shorter.

Is Skipping Tomorrows a Christian comic?

It is not. It is simply a short, lighthearted romance story that I wanted to tell. However, I am a Christian and this is usually where the confusion stems from.

Will you ever go to a structured update schedule?

What is this structure you speak of? I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to it.

Honestly, I’d like to be organized and prepared enough to offer you all a twice a week update on my comics.  I’ve lost a lot of readers due to hiatuses and inconsistency, I understand and regret that, but I’m not going to promise a schedule and then not follow through. I am doing my best to make updates happen more frequently, though. I’m also going to make my progress easier to track through social media. (Anyone else just get a stress headache? No? Must be just me.)

If you’re a Christian, why are you drawing a comic where the two unmarried characters are living together?

A legitimate concern, I guess. First of all, I’ve gone out of my way to make sure that no shenanigans can be inferred either by the writing or artwork. It’s simply not part of the story and was never meant to be. The thing is, it is a story. I don’t open my sketchbook to suddenly find my two young adult characters in a compromising situation because the plot takes place in one apartment. If I do, I’ll have to find out who drew in my sketchbook and beat the tar out of ‘em.

End of part one – I have to hit the road before it gets dark. I blew a fuse in the dashboard of my car and if it’s dark out, I have no idea how fast I’m going. Think the cops would buy that?