It’s sad… I’d promised my “Codex” beta readers custom mugs featuring their favourite characters, but the company where I normally purchase my mugs is just NOT holding its usual sales. And their standard price for mugs is quite a bit beyond my wallet’s capacity after you factor in things like shipping and handling.

So instead I’ve offered my beta readers an alternative: an original art colour sketch of the favourite character they chose for their mug, either signed and personalized on the back or with a separate signed/personalized card, so they can mount the sketch and the signature side by side in a larger frame. The original art sketch would feature a pencil under-sketch solidified with marker, and enhanced with touches of Prismacolor pencils. Each beta reader could choose the attitude of their character (roaring a challenge, for example, or leaping to the attack, or cowering, or looking round in alarm, etc), and with a bit of coaxing I could even be convinced to add a second character for them to interact with.

The matter of the beta reader rewards has been weighing increasingly heavy on my mind. If this solution proves satisfactory, I should be able to get everybody taken care of within 4-6 weeks, which will be a HUGE relief!