October 5th, 2011

Wow. Silent here for almost two months. Why? Well I was working on SIRN. Issue 002 is done. Both 001 & 002 are for sale at Graphicly.com as of today. The third issue, 049, is also done and expected to be released within the next week or two.

(Quick note. The website's getting an overhaul in the next day or two in order to edit and add content.)

Initially I programmed my own app. Lots of different versions. I quickly realized I couldn't afford to spend all my time programming. There are too many platforms, and I had yet to fully master iOS. I'm still experimenting with programming--just something different and down the road. For now I'm focused on producing the issues.

I looked around for different publishers. I choose Graphicly for several reasons. First, I liked their implentation of software. Graphicly has a nice free market approach. They distribute through all available operating systems and platforms. I also noted a sense of humor within their apps. I decided to try Graphicly first.

So the SIRN issues are now available on Graphicly.com. First two are out, and the third's following shortly. Now all i gotta do is get cracking on the next one.

Pat Garrahy

August 5th, 2011

Okay. I'm near the end of the second issue. The last page will be finished in the next twenty-four hours. This one took too long. Too many nine panel pages.

About a year ago when started to explore how to execute the production process, I knew I had to streamline a workflow. My goal was to create a method by which I would be able to complete a full page, from start to finish, within a single day--two days at most. It doesn't always work out. When a page has fewer panels, pages take less time to complete. More panels equals more time. Render times are an issue as well. Reflections, multiple light sources and atmospherics will dramatically lengthen the time it takes to render an image. SIRN 002 took about eight weeks to complete. Whoops.

My goal is to complete an issue within a monthly schedule. It's possible. Right now I think I'm able to finish an issue realistically within a six-week time frame. If the imagery gets more complex, it takes longer. I'm also running the habit of adding new pages to each issue. At minimum each issue will have 22 pages of artwork. Some issues will have two or three more pages, or four, or five, etc. So my schedule is a bit wonky. I'm shooting for four to six weeks between issues. I imagine if I'm able to at least finish an issue every eight weeks, then I'm publishing bimonthly.

Here's something else to note. My resource images folder for SIRN 002 contains over 1400 rendered image documents. Each panel averages from six to eight different renders. A handful of images don't make the cut. The rest are compiled into Photoshop documents. Each individual Photoshop file can contain between twenty-five to fifty layers. That's a lot of time spent in front of a computer.

In eight weeks I made over 1400 images, hundreds of wireframes were generated, several environments were built, textures were created, and hundreds of additional support files were made. In the last six months I have filled over 500 GB of space on my hard drive with SIRN-related documents. Nutty, isn't it? I just don't sleep much.

I'm still working toward a monthly schedule. Realistically. Really. Maybe…

Pat Garrahy

July 8th, 2011

The SIRN 001 Preview app got an update today. Version 1.1 fixes the issue of the missing cover page. I don't know why it happened, but I fixed it by replacing the original source file.

The fix went in last week and was approved today. I'm still waiting to hear back from Apple on the other two apps.

I also added a Twitter feed to this page. I crumbled against my anti-Tweeting ways.

Cheers!

Pat Garrahy

June 30th, 2011

Late last night I received confirmation emails--the SIRN 001 Preview is in the iTunes store. APPROVED! I thought it would take at least two weeks before I heard. If this is any indication, the full SIRN 001 app and the SIRN 002 Preview app should be approved and in the iTunes store within a day or two! Let the announcements begin...

June 29th, 2011

12:00 PM and after a bit of sleep returned to alter the site a bit. Cleaned up some margins and changed a few graphic elements.

This little editorial section is designed to be implemented a bit like a letters page. Since apps have to be approved by Apple, it's a bit difficult to include letters pages within the SIRN apps.

The Facebook SIRN fan page is designed to be a more open forum where anyone can post. I'll post on the Facebook page occasionally. I anticipate having less control on Facebook, whereas, here I can be more selective on what might be included as editorial content.

If I receive an interesting email from a reader I might post it and a response here. With the email author's permission, of course...

Cheers!

Pat Garrahy

June 29th, 2011

1:30 AM and the website is online. Revisions await. I haven't broken out the Dreamweaver skills in awhile, and found myself to be rusty. SIRN Facebook page is all hooked up, but no content yet. Maybe tomorrow...

June 28th, 2011

New OCPStudios website is nearly complete. Just added the SIRN 002 cover teaser and the Facebook thing on the right. How I hate division tags...

June 24, 2011

SIRN 001, SIRN 001 Preview and SIRN 002 Preview applications were sent off to Apple this morning. Gotta wait two weeks for approval. Knock on wood...