Pin, Pledge Manager, Denizens Reborn
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Jul 20, 2023 at 06:07:46 AM
Dawners,
We're getting close to finalizing everything before we move into production.
I was hoping to have an update out last week announcing that we were opening Backerkit, but we still need to cross off a few items before the pledge manager can go live.
The main issue has been the production of our pin. I'm just not happy with the detail even at the increased 1.5" size and the gemstone options didn't match what I was looking for. I've been back and forth with the manufacturer and correspondence has been slower than I would have liked. I requested quotes from a few new manufacturers and should have them early next week.
I want to have the pins in hand before we open the BackerKit so we can finalize shipping. Ideally, the pin slips into the same mailers we are using for the book, but I am a little paranoid that the book gets damaged if other packages get stacked on it during shipping. I don't anticipate it being a problem, but just want to make sure before we pull the trigger.
We have the BackerKit pretty much finished and ready to go. Once we have the item inventory and weights plugged in we can launch the pledge manager. This is where we will be able to start taking pre-orders from late backers. It's also where you'll complete a survey to confirm or upgrade your pledge, add any additional items, and pay for shipping. Shipping is a big hurdle for any Kickstarter and we want to make sure our shipping costs are fair and accurate. For all our local friends that backed near Austin, we'll have a pick-up option available as well.
The book is basically finished and ready to go to print. If you backed at the Print Edition tier or above, your name will be appearing in the book. We'll be collecting how you want your name to appear in the Backer Credits in the pledge manager. This is one of the final things I'll need to do for the layout, but it shouldn't take very long. Once we have the backer names the book will go to print.
We've been testing the art and layout for Denizens Reborn. Here's a sneak peek at the madrir and kei-ehri. Once the layout progresses and gets a little more refined, I'll be sure to share the progress on that as well.
Thanks for your continued patience and support. Updates will start to be a bit more frequent as we begin to finalize everything and open up the pledge manager.
Until then, -V
March(-ish) Update: Bookplates, Sketches, and Annotations
about 3 years ago
– Sat, Apr 01, 2023 at 08:30:52 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
January Update: Pin, Backer Kit, and Denizens Reborn
about 3 years ago
– Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 08:24:11 PM
Dawners,
We hope everyone had a great New Year! Work continues on Violet Dawn.
We recently received the second proof for our custom pin. It's looking like we may need to up the size to 1.5" as the Daegir is so intricate we might lose detail if we stick to the planned 1" size. We also opted to enhance the pin with a gemstone. Currently, we are using a white opal, but considering a pearl to better match the original art. The factory has been closed due to the Chinese New Year, so we are waiting on them to see what other options are available.
The BackerKit survey is a little behind schedule. It's a bit more involved than I initially thought, and I want to make sure we don't have any errors when it finally goes out. We hope to have it completed in another week or two.
We're doing some final coloring adjustments on the new Kaszek pinup. Louis has been exploring a new style so he can color his own pencils and it's taking a little longer to find something we are all happy with.
We have not started work on Denizens Reborn. There has been quite a media storm concerning Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, and the status of the Open Game License (OGL). The OGL is what allows third-party publishers to produce content compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. While Wizards of the Coast did recently agree to not revoke OGL 1.0a and release the Systems Reference Document 5.1 (essentially all the rules for the game) under Creative Commons after a ton of pressure from the D&D community, we are holding off until the dust clearly settles. As the role-playing bundle is all digital, this will not cause any delays.
Are you still interested in Denizens of Avadnu conversions for D&D 5e? Should we switch over to Pathfinder 2e or one of the new D&D 5e compatible systems that are in development instead? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
That's it for this month. We should have a more substantial update next time.
Until then, -V
December Update: Digital Edition and Happy Holidays!
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 08:37:47 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
A Thank You, and Next Steps
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Nov 26, 2022 at 12:01:15 AM
Hi, everyone. This is Alexander Freed, taking over update duties this time around.
As of 7 PM Eastern, the campaign for Violet Dawn: Exile officially ended. 167 backers pledged $8,927 to make the project real, and I truly can't adequately express my gratitude. Many of you were here from day one, while others came in in the final few hours. (We had one pledge come in within the final fifteen minutes!) Whatever your reasons for backing us, I hope you understand how much your support has touched all of us involved--every pledge represented a leap of faith, an act of friendship, or just a dogged wish to see a Kickstarter project succeed. We recognize that you gave us time and money and a vote of confidence. Thank you.
Violet Dawn: Exile has been in development a long time. For me, it's a chance to deliver a story whose emotional and dramatic beats are expressed almost entirely through visuals. It filters Louis Sollune's extraordinary craft and imagination through my (hopefully adequate!) narrative framework, building on the foundation of Jeffrey Visgaitis's worldbuilding and fine-tuned through his able art direction, lettering, and production experience. It is something only the three of us could have built. It is our shared project and shared vision, for better or worse.
We take the responsibility to live up to your trust seriously. We hope you'll enjoy the graphic novel when you receive it. We'll do our best to keep you updated regularly through production, to keep shipping costs as low as we can, and to give you a finished product you can be proud to own.
A couple of brief notes before we all take a long rest. (You'll hear more from us soon, but it's been a long final day! We could use a weekend...)
- Digital rewards will be the first to be delivered, but we have no exact ETAs yet. Additional information to come.
- We'll be setting up a Pledge Manager to help you give us your personal information (mailing address, name you want listed on the supporter page, etc.), deal with shipping costs, and tackle other aspects of campaign management. Expect more information on this soon, too.
- Although backers are normally charged immediately, Kickstarter can take up to three weeks to deliver us the funds. We'll be working diligently during that time, of course, but production of physical products won't start in earnest until then.
- We didn't quite meet our $9,000 stretch goal (a free Violet Dawn bookmark with every physical edition). But we came shockingly close, and bookmarks are fun, so our current plan is to throw them in anyway.
You're more than welcome to contact us with any specific questions you may have--we'll endeavor to give as swift and thorough responses as possible.
Once again, and with all my heart: thank you all for helping make this book a reality.
