slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
Welp, I survived the Summer of Hell, somehow. Spicer-kitty did, too. ^^

Voice vol 3, New Title 10 revealed as Seraph of the End, YUUUULETIIIIDE!!!, Voice vol 1 is out, hiking, picking blackberries, and making blackberry jam. )

I'm about a week behind on my flists. I'm sorry if I've missed anything important, everyone! I'll try to catch up soon. *hugs for all*
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
I know I've pretty much vanished from the net and IRL, and for good reason.

I'm scrambling to finish Voice vol 3. I have to letter the 2nd half before Friday. Or to be precise sometime on Thursday so I can do a read-through and tweak things before turning it in. This past summer has really taken it's toll on me. Six titles at once--Lost Letters, NightS, Natsume 15, Skip 32, Voice 3, and Clay 24. Skip was rushed, and Clay was sent to me three months ahead of schedule. Indeed, I should be just starting the fall volume of Clay, not waiting for CE4 to send me corrections!

And to top off the work deluge, Spicer-kitty was so ill. *sigh*

Last week I was offered a new title, one for Shonen Jump. I'm not sure if the title has been announced, so I'll keep quiet for now. I did take it. It might seen foolish to take on another title when I'm still suffering from this summer, but given the extenuating circumstances, I'll be fine once Voice 3 is done. Not to mention the increase in pay. (Money yay!) This shall be New Title 10 until I see the announcement, which will probably be tomorrow, when the new issue of (English) Jump is out. Yep, I'm gonna have a series in a mag again! :D

It all comes down to this week. I have to finish the 2nd half of Voice 3, AND bang out the first chapter of the new title. But in a week from today, things should be better. I can start taking some time away from my computers again.

I ordered pizza delivery today, only the 2nd time in my life. (I grew up in the country, where no one delivered, and pizza delivery really isn't cost-effective when it comes to meals.) Now I have breakfast for all week. It's my personal favorite (deliverable) pizza: pepperoni lover's with stuffed crust from Pizza Hut. YUM. :9 Spicer-kitty and Kakashi think it smells really good, too. *laughs* None for them, though. Pepperoni isn't good for cats!

I do feel better, now. Well enough to make a blog post, even! I just finished my delicious breakfast, have started watching Free!, (AKA the super-fit anime bishounen high school swimming anime *swoon*), and have already done a third of today's first page--and orange one in Voice.

I'm feeling optimistic! Which is good! I always work faster when I'm in a happy mood. :3

And now, back to work!
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
Last night, I dreamed I was Ichigo in Bleach. An in-character Ichigo, at that. It was rather awesome to be so bad-ass. My love interest was even my favorite character!! I would not mind a continuation or repeat of that dream at all. X3 *is impressed with her subconscious* (Nothing naughty happened, but there were smiles exchanged and it made dream!me feel really happy--in a cool, Ichigo-esque way. Heh.)

The license has been announced, so now I can reveal the actual title of New Title 10! It is Voice Over!, aka Seiyuu Ka!, by Minami Maki of Special A fame! Told you the art is pretty. :D

Volume 11 just came out in Japan, and the series is ongoing. I will have steady work again! *throws confetti*

From a lettering perspective, I am going to earn every penny of my paycheck on this series. It's a crazy comedy, along the lines of the most busy Skip and Honey volumes. Not quite as bad as Mistress Fortune (no see-through sound effects and so much tone every page looks gray), but definitely in the "very difficult" category. And I have to letter this title with InDesign--and no text-free tiffs, at least for volume 1. *wince* I'm likely going to have to be less perfectionist about retouch, and hide said imperfections under type in ID, as I do when I can still letter in Photoshop. It's the only way to finish on-time without going insane.

But no matter, it's wonderful to have a new series to enjoy! From a talented mangaka who knows her field and delivers the laughs!! The main fonts have been decided, and today I should finally letter my first page. Woot!

My fave bookstore is having a 30% off everything in the store sale today. I'm going an hour early, to do all my shopping before the big crowd descends. I plan to catch up on Naruto (no more freebies since they don't need me to letter it anymore), partially catch up on Bleach and Bakuman (so behind...), grab the newest volumes of some shoujo (Ouran, Loveless *squee*, Black Bird, Kuroshitsuji, etc), and of course scan for any volumes in the various series I'm picking up here and there. I'm going to have to give myself a cap, though. Me at a bookstore sale is a scary thing. ^^;;;

This is a happy post. It's kinda nice!!!

And don't forget! You still have time to comment here, on this post, or send me a message if you want to stay on my friends list! If we haven't spoken in a while, please do so. :D
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
I finished the first draft of Skip 31 three weeks early. ^^V I can't remember the last time I did that! I wanted to complete it before it was time to letter Natsume 14, which will have to be rushed to make deadline, and the new BL oneshot with Clay Editor 3. Still waiting for script for both.

Pretty much all new series and oneshots for Viz are lettered in InDesign now. *pained expression* The raw pages for the BL came from Japan with text, and so the text on each one has to be whited-out and patched over in Photoshop, in addition to lettering the FX like usual. I can do that and the page placement without a script. For the latter, I launched InDesign and started a new file.

*eyes the program with distrust* I haven't used it since March or April, when I had to do a quick edit for the 2nd BL oneshot I lettered, Honey Darling. I haven't REALLY used it since February, for same. I'm sure it will all come back to me, but it's gonna be rocky.

It's the page placement that drives me nuts. It takes forever to get right, and I always second-guess myself. Am I scaling the pages too big, or too small? Is it okay for this page to be so high compared to the others, even for the sake of saving important artwork? What if I do it wrong and have to fix the ENTIRE book in a single day during corrections?!?!?! My two previous InDesign books, I ended up changing my mind how to place the pages about a third of the way into lettering, and had to go back and nudge each one individually. *headesk*

The new series with Shoujo Editor 2, New Title 10, is also an InDesign book. The wave of the future is crashing upon me, while I cling in desperation to my Photoshop life-preserver. T.T Oho, the series has an official English title. SE2 didn't say the license was announced. Mum's still the word. *zips lips*

9 pages of Natsume 14 were missing from the textless batch, so today I prepped those for lettering like usual.

And now, back to flailing about in InDesign. I hope it all comes back soon. I suppose it IS good to be using the program again, since I pay a monthly sub fee to Adobe for it, regardless of my use level. Meh.

Oh, and I had to pass on another series. One I love and have been reading for over a year. But the timing is all wrong. The first volume would be super-rushed, and with Natsume 14 already going to be rushed, and me flailing about in InDesign, it just wouldn't work out. Damn it. *sulks* If the series had been offered and ready to go a month ago, or if I didn't have to rush Natsume 14, or had only the BL or even rushed Natsume, I'd have taken it.

*sullllks*
slr2moons: a self-portrait, of me in my usual habitat: in front of my computer monitors! (Default)
Hello, my friends!

Today, I bring you two bits of good news. First, the Yuletide fic is finished! WOOT! XD I asked three people to beta read it for me, and I am so glad I did. It's amazing how many errors each one found that I missed in my uncountable read-throughs and edits. I'm not completely blind, though, because last night on my own final hard-copy read-through, I found a logic fail that would have been really embarrassing. ^^;; But no matter! I fixed that and all the problems my beta readers also caught, and YAY, it's done! Now, I can relax. But not too much, because...

I HAVE A NEW TITLE TO LETTER!!!1!1

It's with my beloved Shoujo Editor 2. She says the license won't be announced for a few more months, so I can't give any specifics, but I am truly excited. It has several volumes out in Japan, and is an ongoing series, which means more steady work for me! *tears of joy* I have read some of the mangaka's other work and found it quite enjoyable. And also...shiny art. Beautiful, gorgeous art!! *more tears of joy*

This one will have to be lettered in InDesign, but we all knew it was coming. SE2 says we will probably get clean (meaning text-free) digital pages from Japan, which would be a huge time saver. *crosses fingers for good luck* Here's hopin'!

Everyone, please welcome New Title 10 to the lineup. XD KYAA!
I have lots of other things to chat about, but best to save them for another post. I want this one to be all joy! *happy dance*