Happy 20th Anniversary, Slightly Damned!
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!
(this message was copied from the one on the main page of sdamned.com)
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Upcoming In-Person Events:
Anthro Weekend Utah
Layton, UT // July 19 - 21
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Online stores:
https://hivemill.com/collections/slightly-damned
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You can find me streaming my artwork on Twitch on Tuesdays & Thursdays. On Sundays I do first playthroughs of JRPGs.
Twitch: http://twitch.tv/hyenachu
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X-Twitter: http://twitter.com/sdamned
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/raizap.com
Patreon: http://patreon.com/raizap
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/chu63425
Art mirrors:
FurAffinity: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/the-chu/
Tumblr: http://hyenafu.tumblr.com
Telegram channel: https://t.me/raizap
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Slightly Damned: http://sdamned.com
The Junk Hyenas Diner (indefinite hiatus): http://junkhyenas.com
Main Website: http://raizap.com
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Hey all, Chu here! In February I'll be working on preparing for the Slightly Damned Book Three Kickstarter! If you drop by my art streams on Twitch during February, then you'll be able to see me work on updating the Book Three cover and redrawing certain pages. Time permitting, I also plan to make the long overdue chapter covers for Book Five: Part Nine and Part Ten.
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The Ursa Major Award nominations are open until February 11!
https://ursamajorawards.org/nominations.htm
It would mean a lot to me if you could write in to nominate Slightly Damned for "Best Graphic Story"! Getting nominated-- and ideally, winning-- helps attract new eyes to the comic, which is essential for its ongoing success. But don't forget that you can nominate up to 5 creations per category, so please be generous and vote for other works that you enjoy as well!
The Ursa Major Awards also have a Fursuit category, and 2022 just happens to be year where I got my very first fursuit! You may have seen it in person at a few conventions or as stretch and hydration alerts on my Twitch streams. It's a really great suit, and it was made by Remi of Wild Dog Works ( https://wilddogworks.com/ ). I think that they definitely deserve the recognition for their professionalism and quality, so please write in to nominate my suit if you agree!
Fursuit nominations must be submitted with a photo. This is one of my favorites: https://www.sdamned.com/uploads/1674873662-FjkQXMBUcAEeo23.jpg The character's name is Chu, just like me, and the photo was taken at Midwest FurFest 2022.
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Upcoming In-Person Events:
Furnal Equinox
Toronto, Ontario // March 17-19, 2023
Anthro Weekend Utah
Layton, Utah // July 14-16, 2023
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Online stores:
https://hivemill.com/collections/slightly-damned
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You can find me streaming my artwork on Twitch on Tuesdays & Thursdays.
On Sundays I do first time playthroughs of JRPGs.
No microphone when I draw. Video game streams are captioned.
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/sdamned
Patreon: http://patreon.com/raizap
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/chu63425
Art mirrors: FurAffinity: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/the-chu & Tumblr: http://hyenafu.tumblr.com
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Slightly Damned (ongoing webcomic): http://sdamned.com
The Junk Hyenas Diner (webcomic on indefinite hiatus): http://junkhyenas.com
Main Website: http://raizap.com
Commission info: http://raizap.com/commissions
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Hey y'all, I'm doing great! Just keeping my info updated so you know how to find me!
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Upcoming In-Person Events:
Midwest FurFest
Chicago, Illinois // December 1-4, 2022
Further Confusion
San Jose, California // January 12-16, 2023
Furnal Equinox
Toronto, Ontario // March 17-19, 2023
Online stores:
https://hivemill.com/collections/slightly-damned
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You can find me streaming my artwork on Twitch on Tuesdays & Thursdays.On Sundays I do blind playthroughs of JRPGs.
Twitch: http://twitch.tv/hyenachu
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/sdamned
Patreon: http://patreon.com/raizap
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/chu63425
Art mirrors:
FurAffinity: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/the-chu/
Tumblr: http://hyenafu.tumblr.com
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Slightly Damned: http://sdamned.com
The Junk Hyenas Diner: http://junkhyenas.com
Main Website: http://raizap.com
2020's Almost Over!
Hey folks! Just wanted to write a new journal to let you all know how I'm doing these days, what's coming next, and update information on where to find me.
The Slightly Damned Kickstarter to print a new and improved version of Book 2 was a smashing success! I just finished drawing nearly all the bonus material for it, and before you know it, it'll be off to the printers.
2020 was a pretty tough year, as I'm sure all of you know. It got even tougher when a friend of mine suddenly passed away in fall. A week later, one of our cats became ill and we had to put him down. I still did my best to hold things together, work on the Kickstarter campaign and work on the book while also keeping up with my normal obligations. And, well, now I'm really tired and I need a break!!
Slightly Damned is fast approaching its 1000th page. Quite a milestone. I have decided that once we reach it, I am going on a short sabbatical. There will be no new pages from the 1000th page's debut on January 2 until the comic's 17th anniversary on March 14. I love working on Slightly Damned and I'm still excited for its future! But I'm burnt out and my arm feels like it's about to fall off. I need to rest.
I'm not sure how I'll spend those two and a half months yet, but I'm keeping my options open. I've got some ideas: giving the Slightly Damned website some much-needed TLC, drawing fanart and gifts for friends, commissions, experimenting with animation in Clip Studio Paint, maybe even Junk Hyenas? I'm not going to promise much since my main priority will be rest. I'll still be around, though-- not like there's anywhere to go, anyway!
Lastly, I just started streaming on Twitch! You can find me at http://twitch.tv/hyenachu I stream art on weekdays and video games on Sundays. I've also revived my old Youtube account to use an archive for my video game streams and speedpaints for my art: http://youtube.com/c/raizap
Your support means a lot to me, so I want to make sure I can keep going for a long time. An important part of that is taking breaks when necessary. Thanks so much for understanding and being patient!
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/sdamned
Twitch: http://twitch.tv/hyenachu
Patreon: http://patreon.com/raizap
Art mirrors: FurAffinity: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/the-chu/ & Tumblr: http://hyenafu.tumblr.com
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Slightly Damned: http://sdamned.com
The Junk Hyenas Diner: http://junkhyenas.com
Main Website: http://raizap.com
The long-awaited Kickstarter campaign to fund Book Two has finally launched!! I've made a ton of new goodies like prints and bookmarks that you can get when you pledge!
Book Two is a HUGE full-color volume that covers the events of Slightly Damned from the trio's time in Riverside City to Buwaro and Kieri's first kiss. Plus it contains a bunch of bonus material that I made exclusively for the book. Please check it out, pledge if you can, and even if you can't, spreading the word would be immensely helpful!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1858050352/slightly-damneds-second-bookification-project
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1858050352/slightly-damneds-second-bookification-project
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1858050352/slightly-damneds-second-bookification-project