So you’re wondering, why the incomplete comics lately.
Allow me to explain my schedule during ramadan. I wake up at 5am to eat something before the sun raises. Then I go back to sleep for couple more hours and wake up again at 7:30am. Somehow I manage to put some clothes on and head off to work.
After a long day, I come home from work around 6pm or 7pm. By then I’m really exhausted and starving. When the sun sets, my family and I get together at the table with some food. Around 8pm, we head out to the mosque for the evening prayer. After the prayer, we return home and by then it’s pass 11pm. From 11:30pm to around 12 or 1am, I try my best to get any work done. This includes Applegeeks comics, the applegeeks book, freelance work, etc.
Finally, after my body shuts down, I head to bed and do everything all over again.
Now you know.
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 8:46 am and is filed under Rant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
It’s alright. You’re still updating pretty consistently even with being so worn out by life, which is a lot for many webcomics.
Your dedication to your beliefs is really cool to see. I personally don’t mind the incomplete comics. Something is better than nothing for a whole month. ;)
I thnk it’s awesome that you’re even able to get comics out while your life is so exhausting! I would be dead to the world. lol.
I don’t know, I kind of like being able to see the before and after coloring in the comics. Some times it I notice things I probably would have glanced over in the finished comic.
Dude, its your month, take all the time you need. I support you in your faith and have no qualms in you taking a bit of a break. As long as when the month’s over with, you put out some kick-ass comics. Yep.
its fine by me i like your line work to your color work. and we have all had those day, weeks, months, hell even one year for me when we were so boged down from life. just try to take care of your self id hate it if u got sick
And knowing is half the battle!
You rock.
Nuff said.
Honestly, I kinda like it this way. Not that I don’t love the color, but this way I can use it to practice drawing. No, not in the art-stealy way. In the “how’d he draw that???” way.
Personally i enjoy looking at all of the stages of your art, you make good stuff.
Dude, here’s something to make you shudder… imagine ramadan with a new baby. :)
Personally, i know i’d just break. I’d just lay there in a heap for a few weeks and molder. :P
Dude, it’s cool.
God before webcomics, most certainly.
And take some time and SLEEP.
Seconded. Big time.
Motion carried. ;)
Seriously, who the hell keeps nagging on Hawk all the time? Because they clearly have way too much free time. They should do something constructive with their lives, like, say, write a webcomic.
are people nagging? idiots!
hmm…also, doesn’t he mean he goes to the mosque at 8pm…
Will you be colouring these for when they go in a book?
yes i will.
You are like some kind of crazy machine-man.
The preferred nomenclature is “mechano-man”
dude if it was up to me you’d take it easier on the comic during Ramadan.
Take it easy buddy, you’re doing great without the pressure to create, create, create!
How?! How can you function on that little sleep? You’re talking less than seven hours on average. You know what happens to me when I get that little sleep? I turn into Krug from VGcats. The fact that you can do anything, much less turn out the comics you have been, is astounding. Good job, way to go, and know I envy your prowess.
Ditto! Although I tend to be more… goofy/silly/ADD than grumpy. I agree, with the other fans - the line art is pretty cool, and makes the art feel more detailed - though it can be hard at times to distinguish people/objects/backgrounds in busy scenes.
I have a question though - if you’re a Muslim, and a type-1 Diabetic, and therefore MUST eat if you develop hypoglycemia, what do you do if it’s daytime during Ramadan? Do you have to just tolerate it (although I have no idea how you could manage to ignore a low all day w/o killing yourself…. possibly literally….) or is there a medical exception to the fast if absolutely required?
Generally, those who cannot physically fast are not required to do so.
Ain’t no thang.
Hang in there, keep up the good work!
Hawk, you are one of the best web comic artists I follow, and you are by far the most consistent updater. I say, if you want to take all of ramadan off, you’ve more than earned it. I love your comic, but you deserve breaks, too!
I second that
I think it’s cool to get a look into the life of Hawk and also very, very astounding that you keep up as much as you do while still make the comics look so well with all that you have going in your day. I don’t know how you do it, but I think you do a great job! Like others have said, you shouldn’t worry so much about the comic right now with all that going on…and anyone who says otherwise should be smacked.
Honestly, I’d rather you take a break for the month and not do webcomics so you can get your rest. Your faith is more important, so is your body. Your loyal fans will be here after Ramadan. We understand.
So wait. Ramadan moves around because it’s based on the lunar calendar, right? So does that mean that eventually, it’ll move back until it’s in the summer? That would really suck, because then you have even more hours of daylight that you can’t eat during.
It will indeed move back to Summer…. And fasts will be very long ): But it’s only a month and it’s really not as hard as it sounds. It’s just so tiring when you have to fast and you have work, by evening you have no energy.
Yeah, I can only imagine…
The nice thing is that the prayer time adjustment makes it so that you never really fast more than 14 hours in a day.
The definitions set almost 1500 years ago are in such a way that even in Alaska when the sun technically doesn’t set, it still does for Muslims by the way the instructions were given.
Islam was designed to be applicable for all people at all times and this is only one example.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier to adjust to these changes! :D
I think it’d be an ideal thing for us readers to go without AppleGeeks for Ramadan. Kind of a “solidarity” thing.
Caveat: I’m an atheist.
Take it easy there Mr Hawk, personally I think its nice to see some “line work” before it gets coloured, almost kinda holds you in suspense as you wait to see what the coloured version will turn out like!
lawl heres a random idea! XD why don’t you have a colouring competition thing-a-me and the prize is like to have your colouring on the website or something, sorry if it sounds kinda lame was just like a sudden thought
contest or not, it would be fun to see what all the readers come up with for the colors. Over at Mega Tokyo the fans have colored the strips themselves and it’s cool to see how different everyones take is on it.
Move north :)
Today, the sun rises where I live at 07:23 and sets at 19:13. In december it rises at 11:22 and sets at 15:30 :P
Somebody has probably said this already but still.. Why are you pushing out unfinished work when you have such a hectic schedule? Can’t you post some guest comics or just tell us that you are busy? You don’t have to justify your life to me at least.
Rock on, man. I will be here even if you have a mid life crisis and start drawing a comic about pink rhinos in cat suits trying to knit the world largest skirt made of rat hair.
Oooookay, now there’s an odd image.
Yeah. I hope the message got across though.
d00d, u own. i can’t even function without my morning coffee. to read about your very, very hectic life with the lacking of Sleep and Food, makes me feel like a moron for feeling shitty without 7 hours of sleep or nagging to bf about getting me chocolate. thx for teh comics :)
Of course, after Ramadan, there’s the Eid ul-Fitr (in my country just known as ’sugarfest’), which is when Hawk will be so busy stuffing his face with sweets, that there won’t be any comics up then, either… And if he tries, then his sugary fingers will stick to his Wacom goods so that he wont be able to properly ink and color, anyway. Poor Hawk! :p
Dude, take it easy. Today I woke up at 2:30 am without being able to sleep anymore. I’m pretty useless at work now. :)
My suggestion: Sleep first, comic later. Take a break, we all understand that!
Boy.. whoever came up with the idea of Ramadan must have been a masochist.
you need to move up to the artic circle for the month. you’d only have to not eat for like 4 hours right now! :P
Honestly, even with that busy schedule you update pretty frequently… And I’m not one who’s going to bite your head off if you take a week off or so. It’s not like we’re paying you for this :P You’re kind enough to show us your art, and I’m quite satisfied with it. Just make sure you keep yourself rested and happy!
It’s obvious hawk is tired, after all, he’s getting home, eating at 7pm, then going to the mosque at 8AM (note AM, not PM) before returning at about 9pm :P
Hey, Hawk, take care of yourself, man. I understand this is a tough month for you, just give us what you can as you can. I for one appreciate it. :)
Hawk the incomplete comics is fine by me during this period, you want to do all this and since that also has to fit in with everything else you want to do then I’m just happy if you even update at all. Just do what you can man, we will still be here waiting for you.
Hawk you’re a wonderufl fast paced artist even with an insane schedule. Don’t worry about it a bit. Personally I like see the uncolored comics most of the time. They’re neat.
Apple Geeks on hiatus for Ramadan month = less energy spend that in turn could be used for other RL works with bigger priorities.
You *do* know we’ll be waiting for you, right?
Hang in there, Hawk! We still love you anyway! <3
I applaud your devotion to your religion. I think it’s great to see someone with faith in something more than themselves in this day of high-tech hedonism run rampant. That being said, I don’t think any of us would mind you taking a break from AG for Ramadan. Solidarity, man.
Wow. Pretty much sounds like one of my days… It’d be a long story, but I’ve been following a similar regimen for almost two years — Straight. And not by choice. XP I feel ya, man, and can only tell ya to stay strong. The comic can afford to suffer a bit, given what’s going on. Some things take priority.
hang in there, my friend. it’s almost over.
I think your devotion is good. Rest is also good. Take it easy and enjoy your time with family and loved ones as well.
God, i could never do that. your awesome level just skyrocketed :D
Uhm… wouldn’t it be 8pm?
I’m going to go ahead and use this opportunity to say that of course he meant 8 PM, and that it only proves his point about being tired. I think we can move on from this. XD
Please Hawk, take your time,a nd don’t push yourself too hard. We love you and your art. ^_^
Its gonne be Eid in a few days, so enjoy that man!
Don’t worry Hawk, everyone who reads Apple Geeks is patient. And I can partly understand what you are going through, one of the ladies I work with is also currently doing Ramadan, and she is always tired.
Just do what you need to do, and don’t worry about the comic. There are somethings (like Ramadan) that are much more important right now.
I wasn’t wondering. Besides the end is near,just four more days;)! Hold on, lovely.
I’m curious, when you put the comic into a book format are you going to go back and color all the comics that have been left black and white(or other applicable shades) or are they gonna go in as is?
No worries man; you do what you gotta do, we’ll keep reading no matter what.
Showing such devotion to your beliefs and still being able to summon up enough energy to produce your artwork is nothing short of amazing mate. I really like the idea of showing us your work as you progress through it to the final coloured version, it puts the whole process of each page from start to finish in a lot more perspective. Awesome work mate.
Dood! Become a Lutheran! Church = free donuts and coffee! :p
Salaam Alaikum,
Ramadan Kareem Hawk!
Rock on with the fasting bro, I started a new job on the 2nd week of Ramadan and with my two hour commute I’ve got a schedule about as crazy as yours. I couldn’t see myself getting the strip out on time in full color either and I doubt if anyone could.
Bottom line: Nobody’s paying you for the web comic, so you should move at the pace that is best for you while focusing your attention on the things that really matter:
Faith
Family
Food
It’s all good bro.
An early Eid Mubarak to you!
Wassalam..
Hawk, I hear you. Just take it easy and hold on. It’s gonna be Eid in just a few days. Well, not much better myself, but my university’s gone into holiday, so I can sleep all day long. Okay, not exactly making you feel better, but we’re all behind you.
You shouldn’t have to explain yourself man. I understand what that schedule is like. I have a friend who is doing everything you are doing minus the web comic. So it’s cool!
Dude you don’t need to explain it. As another webcomic artist I understand… real life gets in the way. Still though man you do a fantastic job. I look forward to every page…. black and white or color.
Keep up the great work! ^_^
everyone needs to SHUSH!
Otherwise Hawk is gonna be like “I’m too hungry to do a comic. . .eh I’ll skip doing comics this year for Ramadan” and then we won’t get the awesome Ramadan “I’m gonna go get lunch” comics that we all love (which actually inspired me to participate in this years Ramadan which I actually did successfully, go me)
No matter what religion one may personally subscribe to, your dedication to your beliefs is beautiful. Keep it up; our hunger for comics is nothing next to your faith. :)
Not to mention *his* hunger for *food* x-)
…
*hands you a basket full of hugs*
This is not supposed to be an insult. I have no problem with religion what so ever it’s just … I could never believe in something like a god while seeing innocent people die and good children suffer ….
Some people (very few) in my country are fasting too around eastern I think
They eat nothing for days to clease their body and they drink juices to sustain themselves
Many muslim here eat nothing during Ramadan at daytime but engulf everything eatable as soon as the sun sets…..I always thought that makes them hypocrits
You know fasting while god is watching but betraying him as soon as he looks away
I am not Muslim, so my explanation may not be correct. A Muslim friend of mine in law school explained that the fasting during the day is a focus for self-reflection and prayer. It is a time to focus on oneself and one’s faith. The meal after the 4th prayer of the day (I think it is the 4th) isn’t betraying god as soon as he looks away. It is a celebration of what has been achieved by fasting, the time to bring the family and the community together. Both the individual and the family/community are important parts of the religion, so the fasting and then celebrating address both aspects. Both the fasting and the eating after the 4th prayer are acts of faith. It is not that the fasting is an act of faith, and the eating something else. For my Muslim friend, both aspects of Ramadan, as well as going to the mosque for prayer, and reading the Qur’an, were full of religious significance and something she really enjoyed.
Only a couple more days left…
its cool mate! religion can be very important to people. i know mine is to me.
greetings from OZ
Sleep is very important, Hawk. Even more so if you are fasting! Make sure you get enough, even if the comic does not get done:P You do this for free… you can take a break for such a busy and important time. Besides, what would we do if you pushed yourself too much and made yourself sick?! Then you would be gone even longer and I wouldn’t get to see your pretty pictures.