Tag / Blurred Lines

by sixlakesstudios

Q&A For 21!

TODAY’S MY 21ST BIRTHDAY! WOOOOOO!

What is your favorite comic to draw?

Probably Parker and Luca right now. Parker, Luca, and their friends are into earrings, tattoos, and hair dyes. So it’s just fun to play around with the specifics like that. And it’s nice to create stories for the gay, autistic Parker, who I loosely based on myself (emphasis on loosely).

What program do you use to draw your comics?

Microsoft Paint. It’s what I’m most familiar with, I’ve been using it since I was a toddler, and my parents still had a computer with a bulky monitor. I’ve tried other products, but Paint, despite its quirks, is easy for a novice. Besides, Paint makes good-quality images for a simple platform.

Do you draw your comics on paper before drawing them digitally?

Nope. As a kid, I almost always drew on paper (and my mom saved them so I could show those old drawings off in the future). However, when I started Six Lakes Comics off with the flagship series, The Vikings of Vancouver, in 2021, I decided to draw the strips digitally. I didn’t want to waste paper on drafts that didn’t make the cut.

Are you going to get someone else to draw the graphic novels?

Yes. I am not confident enough in my drawing ability to create an entire GN by myself. I’ll start looking as soon as I can afford to hire a cartoonist. I will continue drawing the comic strips myself for now.

Are you going to resume your non-comic writing?

The Waterfall and Voldensfjordian Murders? Yes. 

Blue City Mysteries? Soon. 

Blurred Lines? I hate to say it, but I’m scrapping Blurred Lines for the foreseeable future. I procrastinated and tried to write it without drafting, I couldn’t figure out where the story was going, and I needed to try to cut down on the SLS workload. I’d rather have quality over “posting for the sake of posting.”

Aviary?!

I’m working on it! The best estimate for publication? Later this decade (apologies for being vague, but that’s really the best answer I can give you).

How’s school?

Great. I’m a teacher’s assistant in the Geoscience Department now! Woot! Things may get busy, but I will do my best to update the comics.

Will we see any new written stories?

I have this one new idea… but other than that, no. Again, I’m trimming down the SLS workload to keep up with school work and my part-time jobs without sacrificing the quality of my work.

More questions to be answered later!

by sixlakesstudios

Absence Apology

Hello, everyone.

I want to apologize for my absence over the last few weeks. The Winter quarter was tough, and I needed to focus on finishing that quarter. Now that Winter Quarter and Spring Break are over, I am currently in Spring Quarter, and so far (trying not to jinx this), the next few months should be smooth.

For readers of Voldensfjordian Murders and The Waterfall, I will make sure you see updates before the end of the month. Also, I apologize to Blurred Lines’ readers; I need to plan the story more, and unfortunately, I decided to place it on indefinite hiatus.

As for the comics, I haven’t updated those in a while and missed some significant events. So:

  • The Vikings of Vancouver: Marcus and Mary were supposed to be featured in a strip about their visit to a monster truck rally. It’s probably too late to post that now, but I assure you, they had a good time.
  • Parker and Luca: I missed a few birthdays, including Luca’s 35th. Luca, don’t worry. Maybe I’ll try to work in a flashback about that.

I will resume work shortly on the projects mentioned above and others.

As for now, thank you for reading, and have a wonderful week!

  • Matt
by sixlakesstudios

Illustration Poll

Pro: You’ll get to see my illustrations of scenes from The Waterfall, Tales of Human Nature, Blurred Lines, Voldensfjordian Murders (text version), Max Fields, and other non-comic works. It’ll also help me improve my drawing skills, and I can post these on Webtoon, not just Tapas and Wattpad.

Con: More time will be needed between updates. I have college and work, and those are always tied for first place on my list of priorities, leaving only so much time for work on stories and comics.

However, I am seriously considering this. What do you think? Poll ends February 1st, 2022.

P.S.: The Aviary of Henry Weston and Blue City Mysteries are going to be illustrated regardless of the outcome of this poll, but not by me.

by sixlakesstudios

First Anniversary!!!!!

November 17th-18th, 2020: Gay, Autistic college student Matt Slater starts up the Cascades Stories website, with the first post, “Introduction,” Being posted at 9:59 PM on the 17th. HOWEVER, the website is officially registered on the 18th.

December 9th-11th, 2020: The Social Media Pages for Cascades Stories are created on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

December 24th, 2020: Matt submits “The Aviary of Henry Weston,” a short story, to the Reedsy weekly Prompts contest.

January 3rd, 2021: “The Aviary of Henry Weston” is the first original story posted on Cascades Stories.

January 3rd, 2021: “The Aviary of Henry Weston” also marks the beginning of the Wattpad/Tapas collection “Short Stories by Matt Slater,” featuring short stories and poems from SLS too small for their own book. After a few months of being unposted during the judging for the Writer’s Digest Short Story Competition, “The Aviary of Henry Weston” has been re-added to the collection.

February 2nd, 2021: “The Friend Lock,” also a Reedsy story, is posted on CS.

March 28th, 2021: “Carousel, Carousel” is posted. This is the first poem posted on CS, as well as the first writing by Matt Slater to not have come out of a prompt.

July 11th, 2021: “The Curious Store (AKA Tracing Patterns)” is posted on CS. While originally written for a Creative Writing assignment at Matt’s college, there was no prompt for this story, either. Rather, Matt wanted to write a story from the perspective of a gay, autistic man, and better explain what “stimming” is.

July 13th, 2021: Cascades Stories becomes Six Lakes Studios, as a tribute to his hometown, Lakewood, Washington (neither he nor his family live there anymore), and to his grandmother.

July 30th, 2021: Matt mistakenly publishes the first chapter of The Waterfall two days early. He later unpublished the post, and rescheduled it for the planned premiere on August 1st, 2021.

August 1st, 2021: Matt’s first multi-part story, The Waterfall, gets its first chapter published here, on Wattpad, and on Tapas. However, further chapters are only posted on Tapas and Wattpad.

September 20th, 2021: Matt turns 20 years old.

September 20th, 2021: The Vikings of Vancouver, Matt’s first comic, premieres here, on Webtoon, and on Tapas.

September 18th-24th, 2021: @impromptuwriters features Matt’s haikus about the Greek Muses. Matt later posts these on SLS. Thanks, Gage! 🙂

September 10th and 25th, 2021: Turning into darker works, Matt writes “The Runaways” for the Reedsy Weekly Prompts Contest for September 10th, 2021. Posted on SLS on the 25th of the same month, the Runaways did not win that contest, similar to the other stories submitted to past contests. However, “The Runaways,” as of November 18th, 2021, turned out to be Matt‘s most popular story on Reedsy, with 13 likes. “The Aviary of Henry Weston” is in second place, at nine likes, while “The Friend Lock” has five, and the original version of “The Waterfall,” which was disqualified, has one.

October 25th, 2021: The First Chapter of Blurred Lines #1: The Choir is published, and, sticking to his personal rule, Matt only published the first chapter here, while further chapters will arrive on Wattpad and Tapas.

November 18th, 2021: Six Lakes Studios turns one!!!!

November 18th, 2021: Matt Slater posts SLS’s anniversary video, thanking everyone who has supported SLS in its growth. This is the first video from SLS.

December 2021: Mason and Eric, the 2021 Christmas Special, will premiere. [Postponed, but not canceled]

December 31st, 2021: After this day, The Vikings of Vancouver, will only update on Tapas and Webtoon.

January 1st, 2022: Parker and Luca, Matt’s second comic, will premiere.

January 1st, 2022: “Formerly Cascades Stories” will be dropped from the site title.

February 14th, 2022: Matt, Matt’s third comic, will premiere.

February 2022: Max Fields #1 will premire.

April 15th, 2022: After this day, Parker and Luca will only update on Webtoon and Tapas.

May 2022: Tales of human Nature: Serial Killer will premiere.

May 31st, 2022: After this day, Matt will only update on Webtoon and Tapas.

October 2022: The Nightman of Bellingham Bay will premiere.

2022: SLS will be on Patreon!

2022: Matt will begin drafting the full-length version of “The Aviary of Henry Weston.”

2022: Matt will begin drafting the full-length Graphic Novel (yup, Graphic!) adaption of “The Runaways.” He will not illustrate it, however.

2022: Blue City Mysteries will premiere.

by sixlakesstudios

Update 11/12/21

Personal: Eric Horsted, sitcom writer and producer, came to speak at my college about a month ago! I was pretty stoked because it was pretty cool to hear about his work in the industry, how he got started, and the challenges of being a screenwriter. It was also very cool to meet a gay man who had worked his way up in the industry to earn a resume that includes shows like Futurama, the Simpsons, and Reba. After taking this picture, he said “I hope to see your name on the screen someday.” This was amazing. I am now even more inspired to pursue my writing and screenwriting goals. Of course, I will stay in college as a Geoscience major, but I am keeping my Screenwriting minor, and will take his advice of finding time every day to just sit down and write. Thank you for coming, Eric!

The Runaways: Stay tuned for more information regarding an expansion of this story. Hint: It will be a novel, but not the kind of novel you might be thinking of… 😉

The Aviary of Henry Weston: The novelization will be commencing over winter break, and I’m setting a goal to have the first draft ready by next year’s winter break.

Unfortunately, the short story didn’t make it past judging at the Writer’s Digest Contest, but don’t worry, I’ll be reposting it on Tapas and Wattpad. I’ll also be writing something for the upcoming contest. 🙂

Comics: TVOV, Parker and Luca, and Matt are being drawn, but some delays are expected with the rest of fall quarter coming up.

Also, I just got the new Windows 11 upgrade, and Paint got the biggest update it’s gotten in years! It finally doesn’t look like it’s stuck in the mid-aughties! So, I may have a smoother time drawing, but I have yet to try it, so let’s see how it goes.

There is also a fourth comic in the works, but more information on that later.

Oh! And make sure you follow TVOV on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Blurred Lines: Updates will be slow. Forgive me.

Other Projects: More work is underway, but the biggest project right now:

The First Anniversary!

Thank you all so much for viewing my work over the past year. Since SLS’s debut (as “Cascades Stories”) on November 12th, 2020, I have started a comic and a few books, gotten my poems shared by Impromptu Writers, and worked up the nerve to submit to the WD contest.

So, please, keep an eye out for the SLS First Anniversary Video, premiering Thursday, November 18th, 2021 on YouTube!

Thanks for reading!

-Matt

by sixlakesstudios

Update 10/31/2021 (Halloween!)

ARRRRRRGH, MATEYS!!!!! I be Four-Eyes the Fabulous, and this be my color-changing pumpkin friend, Jack O’Lantern! We be takin’ over this here website!

Just kidding! It’s me, Matt! Happy Halloween, readers!

If I’m being honest, I didn’t used to like Halloween (sensory overload), but I’ve grown to it. I just have to avoid anything that would cause me to freak out, shut down, or have nightmares. But I’m getting better! In fact, I am even watching the 1978 John Carpenter classic slasher: “Halloween!”

Now, onto the news:

The Vikings of Vancouver: More TVOV coming underway! I will only post a few more comics on WordPress, before shifting distribution exclusively to Webtoon and Tapas. Most likely, I will stop posting TVOV on here after the New Year.

Parker and Luca: I am getting started on Parker and Luca comics right now. I will try to create a character sheet for them as well.

Matt (Comic): I will be starting work on this comic soon.

Mason and Eric: I am one of those people who tries not to get all “Christmassy” (or “Winter Holiday-y” overall) until the Saturday after American Thanksgiving, but what the heck! I’ll announce this year’s Christmas Special! The 2021 Christmas Special is: “Mason and Eric!” More information to be coming next week. [Postponed, not canceled]

The Waterfall: Don’t worry! I haven’t forgotten about The Waterfall. Updates will resume sometime in December.

Tales of Human Nature Serial Killer: Coming May 2022!

Blurred Lines: Well, the story is coming along now, and will be updated as much as I can through November.

Max Fields #1: Coming February 2022!

Blue City Mysteries: I am in the process of writing stories for the series right now, but I’m still trying to figure out the characters, plotlines, and each individual story. I have some of my fictional version of Lakewood, Washington built up right now, but it’s not complete yet.

Also, I am not trying to put Lakewood in a negative light. I just wanted to set the series somewhere that is a) A diverse, medium-sized suburbia in the Pacific Northwest and b) close and near to my heart. I love that city. I lived there for a few years as a young kid, I have family and friends there, and I have a lot of memories there.

Voldensfjordian Murders: If you follow my work on “Chapters” I am so sorry I haven’t updated “A Voldensfjordian Murder” or its sequels and spin-off in a while! I am trying to get back on track, but it’ll be easier when I’m out of school for Winter Break.

If you haven’t seen them, please be sure to check them out!

Other Works: I have so many ideas in my mind, I can’t keep track of them! But I will be sure to keep you updated, and whenever I start truly working on a new project, you, dear readers, will be the first to know!

Personal: I am doing well in the Geosciences Major, and can’t wait for my winter quarter Screenwriting Class. I am also doing better, mentally, now that I am doing in-person classes. I am excited for what comes next for me in college, on this website, and in life! Also, my brother turned 15 years old TODAY! A Halloween birthday, how about that?!

P.S. Yes, those are real earrings. My Ears have been pierced since February of 2019, and earrings are one of my weird, random interests. The strange part, though? I’m not a fan of piercings elsewhere. Just ears. Not sure why.

Bone-us: Here’s a picture of my dog, Pizza, in 2019, dressed in his Halloween Costume.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2021!

BE SAFE, EAT CANDY AND HAVE SOME FUN!

(Hey, that rhymes!)

by sixlakesstudios

Halloween Special Poll 2021

I have two ideas for the 2021 Six Lakes Halloween Special. I am having trouble deciding between the two.

So I am doing a poll: which idea sounds better? Please read through the descriptions, and then take the poll below.

Blurred Lines #1 (“The Choir”): I’ve actually had the idea for a ghost-themed procedural for years.

Angela Blurry works at her family’s hotel in Gig Harbor, Washington, but also part-time as a civilian consultant for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. The unit she works with is the Supernatural Investigation Unit, whoch oversees murders and other crimes in the county related to the supernatural: in this universe’s case, ghosts, demons, angels, curses, possessed mortals, haunted locations, and half-ghosts.

What is a half-ghost, you ask? A half-ghost is born to a living parent and a ghost parent. While there are of course problems with this state of existence (which the story will go into) there are also advantages, such as being able to sswitch between ghost form and human form. That means one minute, a half-ghost can walk through walls, and the next minute, they can eat solid food. Half-ghosts are pretty rare, but thy exist. Just ask Angela and her brother David. Their mother is a mortal, and their father is a ghost.

The Nightman of Bellingham Bay: This idea is newer, but I’d like to see what I can do with it.

In 1956, Vampire Alvin Skinner was abandoned by the vampire who sired him. In 1969, after being released without charges from a New York holding cell following the Stonewall Riots, he finds out through a fellow vampire that the one who abandoned him is living in Bellingham, Washington. Alvin immediately heads there to seek vengence.

Upon arrival, he attracts attention from his neighbor with his mannerisms and appearance, drawing suspision that he has a rather dark reason for his presence in their city (He does, but he’s not telling). Alvin also becomes subject to rumors when he develops a fascination with high school drama teacher Ernest Zullo.

The poll will end a week from Saturday. But fear not! Both ideas will be created. However, only the one you vote for will be written this year. Let me know what you think!

This poll is now closed.