#ALRadeck

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Cubeamajigs - Squirrelwatch by ALRadeck

[alradeck]

Anti AI alternatives to DA and my experience. by ALRadeck. I originally meant to post this to twitter but this works here too. For folks who have a DA site and hate themselves. 

[spectrallik]

A Joyride from Beyond the Grave

Diving deep into my favorite troubled webcomic

Cover art for Caelum Sky Volume 1 by @alradeck

In the world of webcomics, 2022 felt like the year of the endless scene. No less than three artists I've been following got stuck in a lengthy, difficult sequence for months on end. One finally escaped a few weeks ago, one looks like he's found a way out and will be there soon, and one is still trapped with no clear way to fix what he's started.

That first one, Cælum Sky, fascinates me the most. Since its debut in 2019, it has been a strong contender for my favorite webcomic in recent years. But when it got stuck, it got stuck. It took over 100 pages and nearly 2 years to break free from its endless scene, and the frustration took a huge toll on both the author and the readers.

How did something this brilliant end up in such a rough position last year? What made this webcomic work so well in the first place, and what stopped working during that time? What lessons can I (and you) as writers learn from this artist's struggles and triumphs? In these next few posts, I will answer all of these questions.

Cælum Sky is based on an indie novel that was first serialized here on Tumblr in the mid-2010s. The story is centered on the two dueling leads. Neri, the red dino-looking thing, is an escapee from the underworld. Raziel, the guy with the white hair, is an angel who does the spiritual equivalent of pest control. When Neri reincarnates into a demon that is "haunting" (read: tearing apart) the home of a young widow and her spiritually gifted toddler, Raziel is sent in to exorcize the demon, and their worlds collide.

Cælum Sky builds off of its source material masterfully. From page 1, the tone and style are nailed down. Just like the protagonist, we're thrown into a world we know nothing about, right into the middle of a desperate battle for survival.

The action is beautifully chaotic, the pacing relentless, and the whole thing is rendered in this painterly art-style that's bursting with color and life. It's a bold opening statement: this comic will be a wild joyride, and you get to be on board.

After the first confrontation, the narrative shifts, and a few chapters are spent on Neri and the family. She is spiritually bound to the house, and so she has to find some way to figure out what she really is and make peace with the humans living there.

We figure things out at the same pace that Neri does. She becomes a sort of guide into this world. This is a great way to develop the narrative in a natural way while keeping the pace high. That tension, that mystery, is always there, but it creates space for deep character development along the way. That's so critical - plot is nothing without character.

By the end of Volume 1, we deeply understand who Neri is, as well as the humans in the house. Their stumbling attempts to understand each other make us feel for them. This all builds up to one of my favorite moments in any webcomic, and that's saying something.

So, to sum it up: the intense pace, strong character development and worldbuilding, and a mastery of tone and style are what make this webcomic so brilliant.

What I've shown so far covers the first 100 pages or so, and takes us to April 2021, when the endless scene began. However, there were a few cracks in the foundation that hinted at where things were heading. But this post is getting long enough, and I need to get to bed. So tune in next time where we'll get into the hard parts.

... by the way, I did mention that this webcomic has two protagonists, right?

This article is dedicated to the 50 bots following me. Because of you, I get to pretend I have an audience.

[allosauroid]

My Allosaurus pin by @alradeck came in today!

[eljackgram]

King of the land, air, and sea, this fantastical creature surveys its realm. Check out “The Storm” by ALRadeck (Andrea Radeck): http://bit.ly/2IDhpLB #thestorm #alradeck #deviantart https://www.instagram.com/p/B9pKSpABaRj/?igshid=bltpc4uj6xhy

[steamiest-avatars-blog]

“Kraken” - ALRadeck

[redvampirerose]

Art by  ALRadeck

[caelum-sky]

With my very fancy double verified status, just wanted to let ya’ll know I’m running a kickstarter tomorrow at noon for some t-shirts.  You can sign up to get notified about stuff here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alradeck/caelum-sky-t-shirt-funtime-extravaganza 

[frith-inle]

Lay me to Rest by ALRadeck

[ultrahugakitten]

Last day for 20% Etsy shop sales! by ALRadeck

[mtg-realm]

Bear Token, illustrated by Andrea Radeck

https://linktr.ee/alradeck

Someone please explain why I think this is so hilarious to me (?) . . .

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Aarakocra Sneak by ALRadeck

[alradeck]

alradeck i need more unhinged shitpost comics for bullying my friends into reading your webcomic

Yeah hold on lemmie see what new shitposts we've accumulated.

[csmeaner]

The oldest closed species type thing I can recall is Kilara's avains, which date back to 2005. Although they used to be called exclusive species and I don't think adopts were sold, just designs shared between friends. There was even cs-like drama over it in 2009 which you can still find by googling ALRadeck exclusive species. The earliest cs with adopts and myos that I know of are phloxebutt's flower critters which predate mantibabs, but I think he had some species older than those too.

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[eljackgram]

Lavender tones tie together this pun-centric digital painting, featuring a paw-plexed feline trying to unravel the mysteries of string theory. “Creature Collection: String Theory” by ALRadeck: http://bit.ly/2CAC7K7 #alradeck #creaturecollection #stringtheory #deviantart https://www.instagram.com/p/BsKFSVKlb-F/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=twze9v3jgtt7

[furgallery]

High-Five! by ALRadeck