Quick Update (and some art)
almost 6 years ago
– Mon, May 07, 2018 at 06:21:28 PM
Greetings backers!
This is just a quick update to let you know that BackerKit has been officially closed, and all the orders are locked down.
You can still update your shipping address, so there's no need to worry if you have to change that any time soon. Shipping addresses won't lock down until a couple weeks before shipping, and we're still a ways away from that.
The text is still at the editor, and I am making progress on the chapter illustrations. I'm sharing one of those today: the "In the Sky" chapter. This is the chapter that will deal with the heavenly yokai like the tennyo and the celestial guardians. I hope you enjoy it!
Custom Names in the Book
about 6 years ago
– Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 01:12:44 AM
Greetings backers!
If you've seen my previous two books, you'll know that there's a thank you page in the beginning which lists the names of all of the backers of those projects who wanted their names in the book.
I will be doing that again for The Book of the Hakutaku of course. It was brought to my attention that I didn't include an option in the survey for custom names/nicknames to be used in place of the name in your backer information. If you'd like to use a nickname or something other than your backer info, I've added a $0 add-on in BackerKit which will allow you to do that. Just add the "Custom Name in Book" item to your order and it will ask you what name you'd like to use during checkout.
Click here for BackerKit.
So if you'd like to be known as Bobby B instead of Robert Baratheon, or Dominator instead of Jeff Hawthorne, or simply yokaifan42, you can do that now! If you don't want your name to show up in the book, you can simply write "no name." If you don't fill anything out, I'll just use your name from your backer information.
More soon!
- Matt
BackerKit Closing Soon!
about 6 years ago
– Sun, Apr 22, 2018 at 01:38:18 AM
Greetings yokai lovers!
I just wanted to write a quick reminder that at the end of the month, the BackerKit pledge manager will be locking down your orders.
That means that this week is your last chance to make changes to your order, including adding extra books, apparel, postcards, art prints, and so on.
Also, there are still 60 backers who have not filled in your surveys! Please be aware that I can't shit you anything if you haven't filled in your surveys, because I don't have your address or order confirmed! So please please make sure you fill out your BackerKit surveys!
*Please also be aware that the slipcases in BackerKit are a separate item from the books. In other words, if you want the slipcase collector's edition, please make sure that both the slipcase and the hardcover book are in your cart.
Thanks again to all of you who backed me on Kickstarter and pre-ordered on BackerKit! We're getting ever closer to release day! :)
- Matt
April 1st Update (but not an April Fools update!)
about 6 years ago
– Mon, Apr 02, 2018 at 01:26:31 AM
Greetings yokai lovers!
It's been almost a month since the last post, and I wanted to give a brief update on the current status, as well as share an image, and make an important announcement about the BackerKit pledge manager.
First, the BackerKit announcement:
The Kickstarter ended in November, and the BackerKit has remained open since then to allow new people to join, as well as to allow everyone to adjust their pledges, pick additional add-on items, etc. However, it can't remain open forever, and I've decided that I will lock down the BackerKit pledge manager at the end of April.
This means that you should all go into Backerkit, make sure you've filled out the survey, and make sure you're all set; once the items are locked down, the numbers to produce will be set. So it's your last chance to guarantee you can get a slipcase, or a collector's edition, or yokai clothing. (The paperbacks and ebooks will always be available on Amazon, but the other add-ons are just being produced this one time!)
There are still a few people who have not filled in the survey. Please note that since the survey contains your shipping address, I can't send your rewards if you don't fill it out. Please remember to fill out your surveys on BackerKit!
Ok, on to book news:
The text is still at the editor's, and it will be for some time now. So there's not much I can give you on that front. In the meantime, I am continuing to do the chapter-heading illustrations. The one I have to show you today isn't fully painted yet, but I can share the line work:
If you like tiny details that will make your eyes bleed, I hope you enjoy that picture! It's based on a 500-year old samurai house that's located in the mountains not too far from where I live.
That's all for now. Remember if you'd like to keep up to date on new yokai, you can follow my Patreon project here. And don't forget to log in to BackerKit and make sure you are all set with your pledges!
- Matt
March Update
about 6 years ago
– Sun, Mar 04, 2018 at 11:36:54 PM
Greetings yokai lovers!
It's been a while since the last update, and I hate to go so long without much news or art to show.
February was consumed by getting the text of the book in order. The good news is that this past week I finished the text and sent it off to the editor! The layout is all finished, and most of the art is in place, so that's a big relief. It looks like this book will be a few pages longer than Night Parade, but significantly (cost-wise anyway) shorter than Evil Spirits. So that is a relief. The page count of Evil Spirits unfortunately raised the price of the book, so I wanted to make sure that Hakutaku wouldn't have that problem.
It will take some time for the text to go through a few rounds of editing, so there's still a while before the next *major* update on the book. However, in the meantime, I will be painting the remaining landscape scenes, as well as a map to go in the front section of the book. So while updates will still be less frequent than they were while the yokai were being painted, you still have a few nice paintings to look forward to in the coming months. :)
I've decided to leave the BackerKit pledge manager open a little while longer, since the printing is still a fair bit of time away. However, if you haven't entered your pledge in BackerKit yet, I suggest you do so soon! If you're not in there, I won't have your address, and I won't be able to ship your books. Most of you have done so already, but there are still a few people who haven't, so please do complete your BackerKit surveys!
