Hello everyone,

This will be a different kind of report than what I usually put out. It covers mostly staff changes as well as my upcoming leave of absence. I’m saving our staff showcase for a later date. Still, I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to spotlight one of our club’s wonderful artists! Make sure to check the spotlight below.

Staff Changes

As some may have noticed, there have been some changes in my staff. First and foremost, I want to take a moment to thank Saal and Socorra for their valuable contributions and the time they devoted to making art for our club. I wish you both the best of luck in your future endeavours!

Now, some may be disappointed that I didn’t open the vacant positions to applications, and I fully understand this. I assure you, my goal is always to give everyone an opportunity. In this case, I have specific goals for these specific people. Fear not, though, there will be more opportunities in the future.

The ever-talented Sivall joined our staff in mid-August, stepping in to fill in the void after Saal’s departure. She serves a special purpose on the staff. In addition to providing our members with graphics of all make, she also serves as the Herald’s artistic liaison between our office and that of the Emissary. In this position, she has the added responsibility to support and provide the Emissary with graphics and templates so that her staff may produce future social media content in a timely manner.

As of today, the indomitable, the incomparable, the stabby-heeled Alaisy returns home to serve as my Praetor. She brings experience and artistic vision to the table. In addition to working as my right hand, confident, and support, helping deal with all aspects of the office, she will also be working with me to create new proprietary art and visuals for the DB’s website. And below, I will lay out her first mission. This one is a doozy.

A Leave of Absence

Now, the less pleasant news. Due to a double whammy of foreseeable and unforeseeable events, our esteemed Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master have given me permission to take a leave of absence from October 8th until December 8th. This past sunday, I had an emergency meeting with my bosses. We are facing a nightmare scenario at work that will see me working a minimum of 60-70 hours per week starting on October 8th. On top of that, this fall, I will be renovating my home, starting with the basement after suffering from a flood a few years ago. I’ve been planning this for over a year now and we finally have the means to see our dream come through. Sadly, it stands to reason that I will have little to no free time, and as a father of two, well, suffice to say that my children will be my priority if I can squeeze some free time. You may still see me pop in and out on discord. I have a phone in my pocket, afterall, so I’ll still keep an eye on things. Alas, my response time will be drastically limited by my RL workload.

This sucks. There’s no two ways about it. But I cannot overstate how grateful I am for Bubba and Atra’s understanding. I have so much I yet want to accomplish for you guys and I feared that I would have to resign. I won’t lie it was a harsh flashback to my last stint as Herald in 2005, when I had to be hospitalized and prematurely resigned. I spent years regretting it. It is such an honor to be your Herald and it would have broken my heart to cut the adventure short due to a temporary RL problem.

This is where Alaisy comes in. To ensure that the office continues to function smoothly and that your requests are met in a timely manner, she will be taking the lead in my absence. If you have any questions, you can reach out to her and feel free to email the herald staff. Alaisy is experienced, highly skilled, and we share very similar views and goals. As such, she has my full support and bears the full weight of my authority.

As for me, I’ll be working my hutt off to get back here and crackin’ as soon as possible. A big, BIG thank you to everyone for your understanding.

New Herald Staff Email

This is a quick point. As of today, the Herald staff has a new group email. The Council roster will be updated in the coming days to reflect this.

The new address will be : [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

The reasons are simple. It is now more in line with other staff emails, and group ownership will be passed from Herald to Herald moving forward.

Discord Stickers Reminder

It’s time for my usual sticker reminder. You may have noticed a series of new stickers recently added to our Discord server. We are still looking to expand the set of emojis and stickers available on our Discord server. Each clan is allowed to submit 7 personalized stickers. These can be inside jokes, sayings, reactions, or expressions unique to your clan culture. These must be in good taste and anything deemed offensive or otherwise problematic will be declined. This is a good opportunity to promote art amongst your members or even run a sticker competition. Clusters of Graphite will be awarded to artists who supply art for these stickers (unless created as a submission to a competition or if they have already seen remuneration for the specific image being used as a sticker.)

Each report, I shine a light on the wonderful work of members of our club.

This artist is known far and wide across the DB. I’m talking about the multitalented Atty, who currently goes by the name of Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir. As some of you may know, I’ve been a massive fan of Atty’s work for years. I’ve always been fascinated by her unparalled ability to convey such intense, raw emotion through her work. Her use of red in black and white images is striking, as is her ability to infuse even the simplest of linework with such character and personality. Here is but an infinitesimal (and PG13 ;)) showcase of her work.

Important Links

• Herald Resources
• Competitions
• Art Rubric 2.0
• Herald Wiki
• Herald Policies
• [Log in to view e-mail addresses]

Thank you for reading my report. If you have any art-related questions, feedback, or concerns, feel free to message me on Discord or send me an [Log in to view e-mail addresses].