I can't believe it's been almost 2 years since I wrote the first comic update! A lot has happened since then, but things have also settled into a more stable pattern to some degree, and I feel like I've finally nailed down the style (though of course it will continue to evolve, just more subtly now.) I've also written out the story in far greater detail and scope than I had previously imagined, and though I won't get to a lot of those parts until years from now, the advance knowledge of the plot will be very helpful in shaping the more immediate parts of the story.

But let's look at where the comic stands now, in comparison to where it was when I posted that first update!

As of early January 2017, Avania has gone from:

• 21 finished comic pages to 40 (and updated the previously completed pages to the new standard, as well as fixed details for consistency.) The panel density of pages has also increased, as has the level of polish!
• 1 Cover to 2 completed front covers (including replacing the original cover) plus one new back cover!
• 1 Credits Page to 2 credits pages (including replacing the original page.)
• 2 brand new inside front covers, and 2 new inside back covers! ~ 30 written and sketched out pages to 230 (Which is a little over 60% of the 1st "season" or major arc.)
• Loose planning for another 100 pages, to complete planning of S1, and a solid framework of S2, and beyond.
• Filled in background and characterization for most of the main cast... I thought I had this then, but it's a lot more now... and I've since added many more characters. The current roster has over 60 named characters!

• Detailed a lot more of the mundane aspects of the world, from locations, to culture, to technology.

• Drew another dozen or so finished pinups.

• And literally hundreds of rough sketches, which are now being posted daily on tristikovart tumblr http://tristikovart.tumblr.com

• Rebuilt http://worldofavania.com more than once! I think it is finally ready for the web comic, one that is ready to start publishing, anyway. In the meantime, it hosts all those sketches I've been generating!

• Took a break from all the drawing, and modeled a new character for Unreal Tournament 3, Viktoria Lanius Complete with 1st person arms and custom anims. I'm also looking forward to updating all my models for use in UT4 when that is ready! http://www.moddb.com/games/unreal-tournament-3/addons/viktoria-ut3-character-model

• And perhaps coolest of all, was print a first and second draft of the 1st issue in floppy format! https://www.weasyl.com/submission/1304947/avania-comic-no-1-first-color-proof

This has been a long and slow journey, and it will continue to be a bit of a slog, but I'm more excited than ever to finally release the work I have been done for these past years. If you're interested in Avania, or any of this stuff catches your eye, drop me a message and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your feedback.

If you're on tumblr (or even if you aren't!), I've also set up an ask page on the rebuilt Avania site: http://worldofavania.com/mail where you can do the whole "ask a character and get the answer in the form of a sketch/comic" thing!

With the start of the new year, I'm really looking forward to making some major progress, so let's get to it!