Fighting Fire With… uh
Jun11
Sorry about the slow update folks. Summer is always a bit hard on me here in Texas, and last summer nearly killed me. I’m trying to think of clever ways to say I’m struggling with depression, but I’m not really sure why I’m trying to be clever about it.
The takeaway is that trying to be creative right now is a bit difficult. It’s strange that drawing naked elves seems like more of a chore than a pleasure these days, but that’s the way my brain works. So begins the long crawl to Fall… Ugh.
Again, thank you for your patience and support.
Was that the lizard guy getting FOOMED?
Looks like, but I would never have guessed without your comment.
I don’ think so. I think that was just a near miss with a fireball.
I don’t get it… Where’s the depression coming from? You have a story planned out right? And you’re getting close to the end? If you have everything written out then why the struggle in creativity?
I have everything outlined where I want it to go, but the characters always surprise me and can take the narrative to places I never dreamed. For example, characters like Phawkes, Moonblade, and Lassa were originally just kind of there to move the plot along. I never thought they’d become as popular as they did, and now they’ve gone so far as to demand their own storylines.
Yeah I know I’m hella late, but yoke obviously never struggled with depression. It’s not something you can just turn on or off, it’s not something you choose to be. It’s like a null field spell.
8)
It may feel like a chore at times ( work is work, no matter how much you like it sometimes), but it’s beautiful work! Thank you for drawing naked elves for us to enjoy!
Thank you!
Take as much time of as you need from Delve, so its a pleasure to draw the comic, and not a chore, better that we (the readers) get some update irregular, then regularly and you burn out and the comic dies….
We ((the readers) are very thankful that you do take the time and effort to do such a great comic like Delve.
Personally, I think that if you draw as a chore, it wouldn’t be as good as it could be anyway. Unless you have everything planned in advance, I guess. So, not really worth it forcing yourself into drawing.
PS: That was supposed to be general “you”, not you specifically. In fact, you’re not only comic artists suffering with depressions.
Thank you. I apologize for the long delays the comic has suffered at times, but it helps to know I have the support of readers like you who will be waiting for me to get back to it when the bad times have passed.
Never bring a knife to a firefight. Even a magic one.
Fireproof clothing would be advisable as well, but… Let’s admit it, many of us enjoy the view. 😉
And those who don’t outright enjoy it, still appreciate it. You know, those of us who might also appreciate how much the sex scenes in Game of Thrones resemble classic nude paintings (whether or not we care who they may or may not be portaits of. Art, yay! 🙂
You don’t need to think of a clever way to talk about depression–take it easy. We understand.
Comic continues to be awesome.
Thanks!
I’m sorry to hear you’re going through a rough patch. I hope it gets better for you and that you have support. And I’d like to let you know, again, that I really like your comic.
Thank you. I appreciate your support.
If the thing you love becomes a chore, you’ll burn yourself out! Don’t be afraid to take some time to breathe-in (http://theoatmeal.com/comics/creativity).
Thank you. It is important to remember to recharge now and again.
Yes the heat here in Texas can be a pain, but the rain is doing the worst of it now.
Don’t worry about any delays, come August you’ll be hiding from the heat inside, and run out of non art things to do.
I miss the rainy bit.
Looking at the image URL of the vote incentive and decrementing it manually to view previous images no longer works. It just says “Error 0004. Unable to load the image.”
Your work is awesome so hang on yourself and remember you want to live so fight with this shit you going trough and keep work on yourself. Sorry for my language but I work on it.
Thank you, and don’t worry about the language. I get a little cussy when I get depressed.
bro I hear ya but if you have any loved one family friends call them hell if you have friends on skype call them and talk to them more this summer it help I know I have depression to. do not ever let it win you are stronger than it but it is ok to say I need a hug or I need to talk to some one. do not suffer alone with this talk to some one let out your feelings and say I need help I need to talk trust me it helps hell eve a old war vet like me need to be hugged and told am a good person so call and talk to some one you love today ok bro
Thanks for the advice and the support. I tend to hole up and hide from the world when I get like this. My wife helps a lot, but I try not to talk to her too much about it for fear of depressing the hell outta her too. Then nobody would be left to open the kids’ spaghettios! 8)
Depression is donkey, but allways remember that there are a lot of guys like me who loves you for the great artist you are. …Love like in a manly non-gay way of course… Unless some of these other dudes are actually ladies?.. But then it still would not be gay, I guess.. Unless one of your male fans happens to be gay…. Then I think maybe loving you as an artist could be considered “gay”. Still wouldnt be a romantic love, tho. Can unromantic love still be gay? Like, “I love your art in a gay way!”.
…. Naah. Totally non gay bro love all around for you. You rock.
“Brofist”
…. (isn’t “bro-fist” kind of… sexually loaded? OMG. Thats SO gay!)
brofists are only gay if the knuckles have been tattooed (or painted) as a rainbow. 😛
This assumes the fist in question is… clean. That would kind of… make its own point.
Hah hah, thanks! A manly squint and tip of the hat will suffice.
Sorry, Wormius: did not read your comment at first but, shit, I know what that is and it sucks. I send you a virtual bear hug, hope it helps (I’m too far from Texas or wherever you live for a real one, sorry). I think it sucks particularly when people like you that give so much to humankind (at the very least in form of great art) faces this kind of existential challenge. I don’t have any advise (other than if you used to be a chain smoker and quit smoking in the last few years, retaking the vice may help, sadly enough: it did help me and seems to be a common pattern, also contact with nature, exercise and the usual: “exploit” your friends and loved ones because they may help, although sometimes they may be a bit oblivious) and please ignore all that junk in the parenthesis if you think convenient, advise sucks. But know that we do value you a lot, seriously.
And take a vacation if you think necessary. We will miss Delve but your needs are first.
Yay, hugs! I send Wormius one, too. I know depression; we all need hugs.
Thank you. Sadly, my favorite vice is eating lots of bad food, and I’ve gotten to the age where I just can’t do that anymore. I keep joking to my wife that we should take up drinking, but neither of us ever developed a taste for alcohol, so that limits the amount of diversions available to us when the sad comes knockin’. Having three kids in a two bedroom house limits the options even further. 8)
I was thinking: What if our heroines instead of being determined by feelings of justice (rage) would be dominated by one of pointlessness (depression)? They’d drop their weapons and let themselves be carried to the Devourer sheepishly. Is that the end they deserve, friend Wormius?
Let the rage beat, let’s do justice!
Just found your site thanks to a fan of mine – he warned me that my most recent webcomic thing shared a name with yours (I’ll gladly change my comic’s name)! I tore through your comic, and it’s excellently plotted! =D My heart goes out to you while you fight the heat of Texas – I live on the coast of Texas and spending 5 minutes outside is almost like stepping into a sauna. We’re not even in July yet, and it’s already ridiculous. As for your depression, I also know a thing or two about that as well. I always find it helps me to work on other things or even just take a break from it for awhile. =D The best advice I can give is just remind yourself as often as you can that it’s all chemical – you can’t control it, and it’ll eventually balance itself back out again. Remind yourself that you have fans that genuinely care about your livelihood, and that whatever time you need for you is time well-spent. =)
Thank you, and don’t worry about comic names too much. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of variations of “Delve” out there. If I’d had any idea at all what I was doing when I started this, I would have picked a more original name. Of course, if I’d had any idea what I was getting into back then, I’d have probably just spent all this time learning to program games. Stay cool, fellow Texan!
That sucks, dude. Sounds like you need a holiday to recharge your batteries. I’m dealing with (situational) depression going on seven years myself, so I have an inkling what you’re going through. If you need to chat and vent, let us know.
Thanks! I may write up a blog post or something to get some of it off my chest, or I may not. I usually set out to write something like that, get halfway through it and then get disgusted with how rambling and pointless it all is and then just get back to work.
Rambling and pointless is sort of the point of writing. And you’re actually pretty good at this whole writing do-hicker-thing. Or at least, so I have observed.
Take your time and work as you can. I understand the pain of depression all too well my friend. Recently changed medical groups and my new doc “doesn’t prescribe antidepressants” and my insurance doesn’t cover psych (the only way to get my meds) so I’ve been struggling myself without medical balance.
Stay strong, and seek out friends/family and help if you need to. You’re not alone in your battle with depression!
Take care, and update when you can. No rush from me at least!
That sucks. Another Delve reader suggested that I try L-Dopa as an herbal alternative to prescription meds, and I gave it a shot. I have to say that it had effects similar to taking Zoloft, not quite as strong, but it definitely took the edge off of my anxiety and helped me get back to that “Office Space” zone of not giving a damn about the whole situation. I didn’t want to stay there all the time, so, like Zoloft, I eventually stopped taking it, but it did help me get through a rough patch, so I thought I’d mention it to you.
I miss the snake lady who gets aroused by being told about how she would have lots of violence being done to her.
God, the grammar of this sentence was a challenge. I hope I got it right. I’m a non-native speaker.
Anyway, I guess I suffer from “casual nudity overload” ever since I read through both Delve and BTB. I want to touch the snake lady’s neck instead. 🙂
….and then I went ahead and looked up her name. Um, is that Paraxyss lady seriously a dude with breasts and a nice curvy ass? Damn, now I want to cut him apart and slowly hang him up by his entrails, keeping him within an inch of his life to hear him beg for mercy for being a trap, but I guess that would just make everything worse. -_-
I really dig all your work that I’ve read. I understand creativity doesn’t always flow so easily.
I do hope the best for you. Again, you’re a talented artist, both with the comic and your novels.
Thank you, and thanks for reading the books too. 8)
I hope Tuul becomes a character that sticks around.
Hi, just found this comic and read all the archives. Very nice, but it seems like it skips around alot. Is there more somewhere, like behind a pay wall or something?
Hi, and welcome to the Delve! I’m afraid the comic just skips around because I’m mentally unbalanced and not really good with narrative flows. The only paywall available at this time is my Patreon page, which is mainly there to protect all the non-paying viewers from stacks of crude and unseemly pencil sketches of random elven maidens and the leering monsters they occasionally cross paths with. Then again, if you’re into that sort of thing, I’m always happy to have a new Patron. 8)
Just a random bit if curiosity, you’re not by any chance the artist named Andrew Hunter listed here?
http://www.ago.net/andrew-hunter
I’d say its unlikely, as our Mr. Hunter has said he lives in Texas, and this fellow would almost certainly have to live in Ontario in order to manage his gallery.
Interesting, but that Andrew Hunter appears far classier than me.
*e-hugs* it is definitely a summer thing I can hardly stand to look at my knitting this time of year
Thanks! Summer is mainly a time for lying in front of fans and thinking of all the awesome stuff you’d be doing if it wasn’t so hot.
And gathering inspiration.