The last two strips were produced using Inkscape only. There are still some issues relating to color management and grayscale gradient rendering but these do not strongly interfere with storytelling so I am forging ahead while working to resolve that in the background.
The next page requires some retrospection so I have moved the process of exporting the old Illustrator artwork to SVG format ahead in the queue. I located a script to do the conversion and an auto key presser to tap ‘enter’ for me when the process hits an occasional confirmation box. It seems to be proceeding as planned.
Next page will go up tonight or tomorrow if things are less than optimal. Thanks for reading!
Title: Something You Did
Aun (pensive) I wish you could talk more like me again!
I’m not sure that I cop you, but you seem to cop some of what I say, so I’ve got to try.
There was something you did for me when you didn’t understand me yet...
Voice: Konmdruls erbizun eple dualder komentdin dervaze adhiz dime, bleezpe bazdiend.
(Aun envisions a strange shape, remote in memory.)
Aun: It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before!
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Export Duties
Inkstantiation
It has crossed The Divide.
The current Botaram working file is now ensconced in Inkscape, with fonts installed and layers separated properly. I can now move forward to the task of accustoming myself to Inkscape’s ways and peculiarities, and all else going well, the next story page should appear by end of day, Tuesday.
There are some remaining font issues, which I can work around for now. As a SVG file is a text file at heart, I may be able to resolve this with a simple search and replace. There will also be the issue of continuing the remastering of the old strips, and their possible arrangement into graphic novel format. I will likely want to use an Illustrator macro to try to export the 600+ old files into SVG format so Inkscape can handle them properly.
That’s an issue for future me to address. On to the next page!
Technically Progressive
As is often my wont, I got sidetracked again.
I’ve mentioned that one goal I need to achieve is to be able to produce the art on a different computer than my aged laptop. At the same time, I want to be independent not only from the Windows platform, but also Adobe and its demands for infinite money.
I figured another way to transfer the Botaram working file into Inkscape (exporting from Illustrator to SVG gives promising results), and decided that the best way to make sure I solved the remaining technical issues was to set a goal to produce the next entry using Inkscape, or at least prove that it wasn’t feasible so I could locate another tool.
I was perhaps a trifle overoptimistic. I did get further but the troubleshooting mindset required wasn’t entirely compatible with a compositional mindset needed to instantiate another story page.
I’m having another go and will look to resume the story one way or the other by the coming Tuesday. Thank you for lending your attention to this strange journey of mine.
Reordering Resistance
A couple of things are happening at present.
First, my partner and I are in a long term medical study. Events are moving somewhat more quickly this month and I have to see to our care in this regard. This is all positive and is an improvement in our health, but it’s currently demanding more of my attention than usual.
Second, I’m having to dig into the archives of my notes and prior story pages to make sure I get the next sequence right. In the process, I am also having to reconstruct some old dialogue that I originally chose to encode in an arbitrary way. This also is taking more time.
I shall try to get it straightened out by this weekend and resume the story pages next Tuesday. Thank you for your patience!
Just a bit longer, please…
Sorry for the delay.
I’m in a position where I think I need to break, or at least acutely bend, one of the rules I set for the comic. I am considering how to best do this in a way that lets me maintain my inner peace while not unduly delaying the story. I hope to have it worked out soon.
Meanwhile, I report that I have made additional progress on the plan to get my Botaram working files off of Illustrator and move them to Inkscape.
Pictured is a section of a Botaram working file rendered in Inkscape. The import is not perfect and much work would need to be done to import all of the production files (over 550) unless I can find a script to do the conversion. But this represents real and meaningful progress.
Back to work I go. Thank you for reading!
Road Trip Continues
My journey of over 2000 miles is nearing the halfway point. I had enough time to complete a story page this weekend, but I will likely need to fall back on more filler art before I make it home again. One way or another, the story and I will continue our travels…
A Jaunt to Old Haunts
I am off tomorrow on a multi-state road trip to visit friends and relations. I will bring my Botaram-creation laptop with me and I plan to continue the story while on the road, but there is a chance that I will have to fall back on filler art here and there. One way or the other, the distant spire draws closer and this strange tale will persist to its end. Thanks for reading!
A Newer Machine
The computer on which I am presently composing Botaram is an Asus laptop that was new circa 2016. It is a great little computer and I have been keeping it running one way or another, but it is starting to show signs of its age. Thus, it’s prudent for me to make sure that I have more than one system with the tools I need to create the artwork.
At the same time, I would like to get off the Windows bus before the descent into 11 begins in earnest. Thus I have secured a gently used desktop PC and am in the process of preparing it for its new role as my daily art computer.
A key issue is whether I can get Illustrator working under Linux Mint. Adobe is a Linux-unfriendly company and does not make it a trivial task for its software to function under a Windows emulator. My attempts to get it running are going slowly.
A more flexible alternative is to switch from Illustrator to Inkscape, an open source vector drawing tool. I explored a move to Inkscape when restarting the story back in 2024, but at the time I was not successful in importing my working files into it and I decided that it was more important to get the story moving again with the tools that I knew.
Recently, I tried again and after fiddling with some artboard settings I was able to see rendered Botaram pages in Inkscape. I still have some distance to go before I can produce new pages and remaster old pages in this tool, but it’s a promising start.
Meanwhile, my old laptop with its older copy of Illustrator lurches onward…
Stomach Bug
Delayed in composing the next page, should have it up today.
