On March 14, 2004, I posted the very first page of Slightly Damned online on my personal website. I built the site myself from notepad and updated it manually for years. Every page of the comic was a separate .html file, and it as inefficient as heck! I remember getting emails from folks telling me their internet speeds couldn't handle the high quality JPEGs I initially put up. Those could exceed 500kb EACH! So I decided to replace them with lower quality ones that were under 200kb for a while...
Wait, where was I? Oh, excuse this old fart for reminiscing. With the current state of the modern internet, I can't help but feel wistful for the world wide web as it was when I first started Slightly Damned.
Slightly Damned is 20 years old now! I never imagined I would keep up with it for this long. When I first started, I was just an ambitious teenager with no real thoughts about the future. I didn't even think about collecting the comic into books. I assumed no one would want one.
So much of this comic was made under the belief that I would one day be forced to drop it. That day never came, but it sure tried. I've thought about quitting several times. Through the darkest times, I thought about quitting more than just the comic. But still, despite everything, I pressed on. I loved working on Slightly Damned too much to stop. I gave up a lot and risked a lot to keep going. I closed doors that I still think about to this day. No regrets, though.
Over the years, several kind people have told me that reading Slightly Damned helped them through hard times. That alone makes the effort worthwhile. It's easy for me to get fixated what I haven't achieved and feel frustrated and down on myself. But in the end, it fills me with a great sense of fulfillment knowing that my art can make people happy. Making Slightly Damned helps me through hard times, too.
I think we are past halfway through Slightly Damned's story. I can picture the conclusion, and I want to reach it within my lifetime. But if I fixate on the fact that I have 10-20 more years to go before I can conclude Rhea, Buwaro, and Kieri's tale in a way that satisfies me, I'll be overwhelmed by existential dread.
So I will continue as I always have: I'll take things one step at a time. I will not deliberately stall, but I will also not rush just for the sake of concluding things sooner rather than later. I'm in a position that allows my serialized story to come out at a slow and steady pace; a pace that would make most publishers turn inside out. It's not a privilege I want to take lightly.
I am dedicated to seeing Slightly Damned's story through to its natural conclusion. At this point, it has proven to be my life's work. I love this world and its characters. I'm as passionate as ever to keep heading towards the finish line for the story for as long as I am capable.
Thank you to everyone who ever gave me words of encouragement, supported my business, was patient with me, spread the word about the comic, attended my streams, made fan art, and otherwise lent a hand, even if just for one moment. I can't say it enough: I would not be able to keep being an artist if it wasn't for your help. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
Love,
Chu
P.S. I'm planning to give the Slightly Damned website some love soon, starting this year. The info pages about world history and the different races are long overdue for some new art and new lore. It's going to be a huge undertaking, so I don't know how long it will take. But it's something I've been needing to do for a long, long time. Please look forward to it!
P.P.S.
"But when's the comic going to start updating again?!" Oh, yeah! I am a bit behind schedule because I was sick for a week following my vacation to Japan (which was otherwise fantastic). The anniversary poster also ended up being much more labor intensive than I planned, but I think it was well worth the trouble. New Slightly Damned pages are literally the next thing on my work queue as I write this, so rest assured, they are coming as soon as possible. Thanks for being patient as always!
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Anniversary goodies!
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The poster I designed to celebrate Slightly Damned's 20th anniversary is available as a high-res file! You have two options:
On my Patreon, $2+ patrons can access the file here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/slightly-damneds-100572486
(I am planning to sell this poster as a physical print in the near future. And perhaps a blanket and/or wallscroll, if I can swing it one of these days... I just think it would be cool.)
It is also included with the 15th anniversary poster and over 160 wallpapers in the Slightly Damned 20th anniversary wallpaper pack! This pack collects all the wallpapers I made for my patrons from August 2014 to June 2023, with a few bonuses. https://ko-fi.com/s/0f793eae5e
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I also made a short music video celebrating 20 years of Slightly Damned art, which you can check out on my YouTube channel! I wanted to encourage people to keep going with their own artwork. Improvement can be slow, but it does happen if you just keep trying. A time-lapse of the poster's creation will be uploaded soon.
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Upcoming In-Person Events:
Anthro Weekend Utah
July 19 - 21 // Layton, UT
Support:
Community:
- I stream 3x a week on Twitch! http://twitch.tv/hyenachu
I stream art on Tuesday & Thursday, and video games on Sunday. Come
hang out with me and the regulars; we'd love to meet you!
- There are Slightly Damned communities made and run by fans on both
Discord https://discord.gg/pyVrJz7
and Telegram https://t.me/SlightlyDamned
If you know of any more and would like to share, just let me know via email or DM on social media!
Find me elsewhere:
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