2023 UPDATE – 8th ANNIVERSARY!
Hey everyone, it’s been a hot minute but I wanted to make an update about what’s been happening since I last posted the webcomic. The comic is not going anywhere, but I don’t see it being updated until maybe March of next year at the earliest.
This year has been pretty insane for both good and bad reasons. I spent a lot of the summer in and out of the hospital for both a family member (who is recovering now, thankfully) for my elderly dog (who has recovered too, thankfully), and for myself (who is recovering now, thankfully). But I want to focus and update you guys on the good things that have happened this year:
1-I’ve been working as a storyboard artist for a few companies, films, and tv specials, including that Reggaeton short that played during Coachella earlier this year.
2-I was rejected for a job at Nickelodeon because (one of the reasons during review was that) my boards were too focused on live action. So I ended up joining an Original Character Tournament (OCT) to add the practice as well as improve on my script writing, video editing, use of Storyboard Pro, Blender, After Effects, voice acting, and directing. Which I didn’t think I’d make it to round 4 or make such long videos, so a lot of my free time has been spent on this project. I’m very excited about it regardless. I’ll talk about it in a bit for later, I would love for you guys to watch it. But because of these practices…
3-Throughout the year and moving forward, I’ve been working as a storyboard artist, character designer, and background artist for an upcoming animated TV show I can’t talk about yet. Now that we’re moving towards production, I’ve been promoted to Art Director as well. The show is slated to come out in late 2024, but from my experience in production, I see it more as an early 2025 thing. But I will talk about it once it’s out or formally announced.
4 -I’m also working as an illustrator for an upcoming graphic novel about an alternate history Mexico with steampunk and magic. I’ll also talk about it when the book is finally done.
So as you can see it’s been…a time. A very busy time. Unfortunately it meant that I had to shelf Cosmic Fish this year too but I haven’t stopped working on it. I’m about 1/3 of the way through the next chapter, but the only reason I haven’t posted it is that I’d rather have the whole complete chapter to not go on a hiatus in the middle of a scene. (Especially because this part of the story begins wrapping up in 3 chapters). I hope by the time I’m done with the OCT (we’re at the penultimate round so I want to wrap up the story regardless if I move on to Round 5 or not), things can settle again and I can go back to working on the comic on the side plus a few other projects that are on the horizon.
Thank you everyone who reached out to me or sent a happy anniversary for Cosmic Fish (8 years total, even adding all the hiccups and hiatuses due to hurricanes or the pandemic) it’s insane regardless. I’m really glad and humbled to know the comic sticks in your mind no matter how many bumps in the road we’ve had. I have no plans on canceling this comic without giving it a proper ending. I love the story, I love the characters, and I owe too much of these years giving my blood, sweat, and tears for this story to just…stop. So thank you for everything and I’m appreciative if everyone can hold on a bit longer.
Until then, I really recommend the OCT rounds. I try my best to make it as stand alone as possible from the main story or outside narratives so everyone can enjoy it. It is a self-indulgent project where I’ve been using a lot of my favorite music as background tunes or playlists, but the narrative is an original blend of drama, mystery, and comedy. The story is about a small being called 66143-QU, a ‘space bee’-like creature created by an Ansheqaran (a universal hacker) tasked with capturing and imprisoning other Ansheqarans as a result of a war that happened billions of years ago. Trying to please its creator, the “bee” sets out to an inescapable microverse only to find out it’s already been inhabited by a multiversal prison and the prison itself is starting a battle royale with the winner being granted an escape. Out of options, the bee is forced to fight his way through it except he’s a pacifist and has no understanding of the world around him. It has a lot of themes similar to Cosmic Fish, so I think it would be up the alley of the readers here. I will say the audition is a little rough but the rest of the story picks up as the story goes on. (Not unlike webcomics, lets be honest)
I hope everyone enjoys the story and it will be fun enough while Cosmic Fish gets back on track and all the other projects start being released throughout the upcoming year.
Thank you, thank you as always, from the bottom of my heart,
Cosmographia/Eliana