After the long, unplanned, hiatus of Lil Char and my online presence in general, it’s wonderful to get back up and running again making art and webcomics. Burn out is no joke, and it can really mess with you!

The success of the comic pre-2021 was out of the blue for me. I wrote/drew something and all of y’all laughing and sharing and supporting happened organically, something rare and to be cherished. Social media was never my strong suit, nor being a business manager, so putting my artwork out there into the world for you guys to find, having the success I had with both the webcomic and the Sharkpup plush have been, always will be, mindblowing to me. I never sought to advertise my stuff, just enjoyed it all as it came, partially because I didn’t need to before, it was a fun (if a little time consuming) hobby while I did my day job and I never really considered myself a ‘real’ comic artist, despite the work and love I put in. But the impact this silly little thing has had is real enough. The stories you’ve sent me all through the years, of sharing comics and in-jokes with friends, family, partners; the memories you thank me for, the stickers you cherish, the tattoos! It’s heartwarming and humbling that I’ve made even a tiny impact through this connection through our screens, and all your appreciation over these years has made it’s impact too.

I’m in animation by trade, and if you’re familiar with the industry at all you know we’re going through a hard time. As we enter summer 2024 it’s going to be a struggle for me to support my family and continue working on my art and growing the community, especially with social media being what it is these days, it’s a whole job on it’s own! I’m at the point of looking for work outside the industry, which will ultimately take me away from my drawing tools – since a lot of Lil Char was drawn on my lunch breaks for the past many years, being away from my computer will definitely slow me back down.

I would love Lil Char to go on forever. It exists in that nebulous state where it’s ultimately a fancomic of an existing property, so it’s always been firmly A Hobby, No Monetizing, never been something I even considered to rely on to support me.

But I also have the Sharkpups! now as an existing original project that I would love to expand into more merchandise, more plush and keychains and stickers. I have original stories I would love to tell as well, while I’m working on bringing Char and the Gang to you week after week. I would love to branch into animated shorts, have the opportunity to keep pitching original stories. It’s completely possible that with your help I can be able to do this – commissions, donations and subscriptions can help give me a baseline of income and merch production can get the ball rolling into building Sharkpups into a full fledged thing. If enough of you even just pledge $1/month, it could be enough.

If you’d like to help support me and keep my comics going, and see where we can grow, please visit either my Ko-Fi or my Patreon. I will be working hard this month on both of them as well as the comic to earn your support and truly show my appreciation.

It’s been 7 years since Bulbasaur ate that chess piece, leading to all this. It’s been a wild and crazy ride and I’m looking forward to seeing where it leads us to next.

Buh Buh,
Nekoama.