Hello everyone!

I know it’s been a while since I last posted. Whoops, sorry about that!

I’ve been so busy working on a new project I didn’t realise until today that although I’ve mentioned it in a few places, I’ve never actually written a proper public post to update you all on what I’ve been doing. So here is a proper all-in-one post to inform you of everything that’s going on over on this side:

The big news is… I’m making a graphic novel with Li Chen!

You may recognize her from the Detective Beans books and Exocomics (and occasionally appearing in the background of some of my Twitch streams). The book (title still to come) will be a whopping 208 pages (over 1000 panels!), in full colour, and with all new characters and story! It will be available next year through Penguin Random House for New Zealand and Australia, and Andrews McMeel worldwide. This is by far the biggest project I’ve ever taken on and I’m very excited about it!

It comes as a huge relief too, because over the years I had been dealing with increasing feelings of burnout and stagnation. I didn’t know how to progress and I worried that maybe I was just done with comics. But now with this new project in the works, it feels like my brain just chewed some 5 gum and took a huge breath of fresh air.

The graphic novel is currently my top priority and there is still a LOT of work to do before my January deadline. Unfortunately, this means I won’t be making anything else until it’s done. Well, other than the occasional behind-the-scenes update and Twitch stream, anyway.

So consider Loading Artist officially on hiatus… for now.

Thank you everyone for all the love and support you’ve shown me. I really appreciate it, but do not feel obligated to remain a patron (unless you want to keep up with the behind-the-scenes book updates). Or maybe consider dropping to the free member tier! That way you’ll still be informed when I post something publicly.

Thank you for reading and I can’t wait to tell you more about my book in the near future!

🧡 Gregor

This post is way overdue.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve just been finding it really hard to be creative lately.

The short version is I got hit with burnout again. It’s been a bad one. I felt depressed, lost, and I basically ran off into a metaphorical forest to hide for a while.

I started questioning everything. Do I still enjoy drawing comics? Do I still enjoy anything? Do I even have hobbies outside of all this? What’s my goal here?

Eventually, I started making new Plucked Up comics for patrons again. That seems to be my post-burnout ritual at this point. They’re a longer format than my usual Loading Artist comics, and I think that shift in structure makes the wall I’m banging my head against feel a little softer. Maybe doing something different is part of the answer?

While all this was happening, I was also lucky enough to watch Li Chen’s Detective Beans graphic novel series come to life. Helping with edits and seeing the whole thing take shape was incredibly inspiring. It pushed me to start developing my own graphic novel ideas, which I’m starting to get excited about (something I haven’t felt in a long time). But that reveal is still a long way off.

As for Loading Artist comics, I want to return to them. Right now my brain just refuses to hand over any ideas, and forcing it only makes everything worse. So instead I’m putting my energy into other projects, like the graphic novel. I’m hoping that giving my brain something different to work on will eventually loosen whatever is blocking the Loading Artist part of my mind.

On the plus side, I’ve started getting back into streaming on Twitch again. And I’ll get back to posting on social media too, before they close my accounts due to inactivity, lol.

Thanks for understanding. See you again soon, hopefully!

If you’ve ever thought about grabbing some Loading Artist merch, now’s the time. Why? BECAUSE I SAID SO Because we’ve never done a 20% off sale before!

And judging by the numbers coming in, I’m starting to remember why: turns out 20% off is… basically my entire profit margin on some of this stuff. Whoops!

Anyway! You get a great deal, I get to learn a valuable math lesson. Everybody wins!

🎉 Sale ends May 31st! Don’t miss it.

Oh yeah, here’s your super-secret coupon code to get 20% off: TWENTY

Character Creator 2.0 is out!

Featuring a brand new, optimized interface for desktop and mobile, new export options, and a bunch of new character items!

Try it out here ➡ loadingartist.com/character

New interface!

The character no longer overlaps all the buttons on smaller screens! And speaking of buttons, they’re now nicely spaced out — so there’s a 97% lower chance of accidentally randomizing your whole character when you meant to just COPY an item. (You’re welcome.)

Export your character!

One of the biggest additions: Export options!
You can now download your character as a PNG!

It’s a bit funky on mobile (the colours are always green), but you can still press COPY ALL and paste that text at the end of the URL to load your character in a desktop browser.
Like this!

New items!

🎩 Hats

• amogus (fixed)
• angel
• astro
• bob
• combatcap_pony_hb
• construction_hb
• devil
• wintercap_hair1_hb
• wintercap_hb

🧍‍♂️ Bodies

• beans
• catpat_f
• generic
• guitar
• megaphone
• popcorn

👀 Eyes

• 3d
• eyeliner
• groucho
• monocle
• robber
• terminator
• veiny

👄 Mouths

• bubble
• drool
• spikey

Have fun!

Tag me if you post your character on social media! If you want to, that is. This isn’t one of those “use my hashtag to unlock the power of engagement” things. I’d just genuinely love to see what you make.

And if you run into any issues, feel free to email me at:
gregor@loadingartist.com

Custom VIP Characters

Got something more specific in mind? I draw custom characters for patrons at the VIP tier on Patreon!

VIP characters get a reserved seat beneath every comic they support — and they even show up during Twitch streams!

👉 Become a VIP

New designs in the shop!

There’s NiceCat which is based on the Catastrophic Morning comic, and with how the year is going so far, I’ve also made two new twists on the classic Super Depressed design!

Other new additions!

I’ve also added a few new things to Code Cat (refined the design, new black mug, new holographic sticker) and Free Spirit (new mirror sticker)!

Oh yeah, SALE!

I nearly forgot to mention: Get 15% OFF everything!!! (at checkout)