I’m afraid I have to announce the next scene update needs to be pushed back. Before Otakon I managed to injure my drawing hand and wrist due to some bad ergonomics and repetitive stress. Frankly, I’ve been writing and drawing a TON lately, but doing it on the couch with a cheap pen is a bad way to go about it.
Those of you who caught me at Otakon may have noticed I had a hand brace on. I’ve been unable to hold and use a pen this week, but I’ve spent the past couple of days trying to rest it and now appear to be on the mend. However, I lost several days and there is no way I’m going to have the next scene ready in time for August 6th without risking my hand. So, I’m going to push back the update one week to August 13th.
I hate to do this, because I’m gung-ho to get back to drawing, but it’s not worth risking the long-term health of my drawing hand. I’m going to take the weekend to finish recovering and see how things go on Monday. I’ll tell you if anything else changes.
Feel better! Don’t push yourself too hard.
Hope your hand gets better, as much as I dislike waiting for the next scene, they’re always good enough to wait for.
I feel terrible about it. I’ve been working very hard to make sure I can meet my deadlines, and then this happens. But, since I depend ob my hand for my livelihood, it would be foolish to push on for a short term goal.
Ice and Ibuprofin. More ice.
Yup. That’s exactly it. And rest. It’s maddening because I use that hand to do just about everything. I feel like a complete invalid. I’m already paying for even using it a little bit yesterday to help make these blog posts. Back to left-handed typing for me.
Your health concerns should always overide your desire to meet any self-imposed deadlines! Like haiiro_okami says, we can wait. I’ve had friends with carpal tunnel syndrome it’s not fun, so avoid it like the plague. I do, however, wish you a speedy and complete recovery and look forward to the next installment. Liked your pictures from the con too!
Get well soon, but take all the time you need
Healing is the first thing! We’re patient – we’ll wait!
Please take your hand health very seriously. My wife and I had to almost stop using our hands for five years (playing music, typing and mousing, driving, chopping veggies, hand-writing) due to repetitive stress injuries. It can be crazy-making.
We partially credit Alexander Technique for our long-term recovery (we are fully functioning now). We’ve also heard good things about Active Release Techniques. Different things work/don’t work for different people, and some recover rapidly. Best of luck and hang in there!
I am. Very much so. Over the weekend I literally had my career flash before my eyes. The good news it’s not carpal tunnel. It’s actually a nerve in my arm that’s being pinched from bad work posture. I need physical therapy to fix it.
You definitely need professional help, but do not take any one practitioner’s word as necessarily the truth. We were given a lot of wrong information (“You’ll never be able to type again,” etc.). Get the best information you can, and then use your best judgment. This is one of those medical conditions that there’s no wide consensus about. Best of luck.