2022 half-time check-in

By komicer, 27 Jun 2022

It is with a certain amount of satisfaction when I removed the Tracetogether QR code and the handwritten note from the studio door. Can you believe it has been more than two years since we switched to WFH? But now, it feels like we are back. I don’t think we’ll ever go back to a full WFO mode but definitely, a mix of WFH-WFO. Flexi-work arrangements, in corporate terminology.

^{You won’t be missed much}

Looking back, the pandemic has been both a painful and an enriching experience. We certainly made quite a bit of loss during the period. It was through the gahmen’s various grants and sheer tenacity that we survived the last couple of years. There was also a lot of new opportunities for us. Some we managed to grab hold of and others that we made valiant but unsuccessful attempts at.

The convention scene is starting to open up again but by now, it is a hard call for us to dive back into the scene. Just because restrictions eased up doesn’t mean the virus is gone! At this point, we are sitting out of the first few conventions happening now. But most likely, you’ll see our return to the convention halls towards the end of the year when we finally dust off the convention setup. _{No guarantee though!}

Other than the change in the overall situation, there really isn’t much to add. Our team is currently hard at work doing a variety of art. There’s comic book covers, video game concept artworks and colouring book drafts. So much anime artworks to be done and not enough time/hands.

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WaHa is still working on even more Imouri artworks. Poopiepuff has her hands full with an anime colouring book while there’s even more Bullet artworks that Usanekorin need to do.

Usanekorin actually had a whole bunch of new illustrations unveiled in the first half of 2022. He did some really interesting non-commercial anime artworks such as:

^{Pokemon / Heroes of the Storm for Adam Fletcher}

^{PCBA ‘Moe Circuit Board’ 3 for Andrew Zonenberg}

_{Hooters Lucina for Yoostink}

Non-commercial illustrations has been growing as a source of work for us. Sometimes, not having the pressure to draw something super HIGH PROFILE is nice. The other artists have also done some non-commercial work recently. Most prominently, we did a bunch of illustrations for a wedding too!

Back in Jan ’22, we did a bunch of artworks for a newly wedded couple. Glad that it turned out all good! pic.twitter.com/9rcCPwjxvA

— Collateral Damage Studios @ WFH (@collateralds) March 22, 2022

Kemono Singapore is now available for sale at some physical store fronts.

There’s the Comic Embassy that is currently taking place at the basement of Tekka Place. Comic Embassy is organized by Singapore Cartoon Resources and they have kindly allowed us to put some of our stocks over there. The event itself will last for around half a year, till the end of 2022.

^{Photo from Ho See Kum, one of the organizers behind Comic Embassy}

And with special thanks to our clients, Miniature Stories, for making the connection, Kemono Singapore can also be found at the Kinokuniya Main Store! It might not be the first time we had something on sale at Kinokuniya but it still feels like quite an achievement!

Kemono Singapore is now available at Kinokuniya! https://t.co/Oz9ZI3kknT

You can find the book at the F05-02 Gift Ideas among all the other colouring books. pic.twitter.com/6AGvGMTvpH

— Collateral Damage Studios @ WFH (@collateralds) June 17, 2022

_{It is tucked away with all the other colouring books.}

At both locations, the anime colouring book about Singapore’s wildlife will sell for $30. For our foreign friends, you can always buy it online instead!

And that’s pretty much what we can flex at this point of time of the year. Hopefully for the second half of 2022, we will be able to move back into WFO mode and things will get busier for everyone of us!

The team is always looking out for more opportunities to draw and practise our skills. If you are looking for anime or manga illustrators for anything, just get in touch with us via email ohayo@collateralds.com or our Contact Us page. We will be happy to discuss how our team can work with you to produce the artworks you envision!