Aviv
It feels very strange to finish something I’ve been working on for seven years. Crystal Heart has definitely been the longest project I’ve ever worked on, and the fact that we brought it to an actual end instead of just letting it fizzle out when we’ve lost interest is not to be sniffed at. It’s hats off to both Eran and me as individual creators, sure, but I think it’s mostly a testament to our teamwork. It’s much easier to lose interest in a creative project when you’re the only one behind the wheel; but when you share the joy and the responsibilities of creativity with another person, when you have someone to brainstorm with and complain to, when you can trust your partner to move things along if you’re feeling stuck and vice versa – it makes it much easier to drive the creative process forward. And to have a blast doing it. I’ve always loved working with Eran, ever since the first project we’ve done together (which was also a webcomic!), and I trust we’ll find something new to team up on before too long. We just can’t help it.
Pictured: photographic reference, an artist’s best friend
On a personal artistic note, it is so cool to look back at seven years of work and see how and where I’ve improved. When you do something every day it’s very hard to notice change, but a long ongoing project gives an awesome vantage point. I think the first pages of Crystal Heart are still really good actually! But compare them to chapter 7 and it’s clear I’ve achieved some stuff as a comic artist in that time, and that feels really nice to know.
And lastly, I want to take this festive opportunity to thank all of you, loyal readers – especially those of you who took time to comment under each page, to share our Monday updates on social media, to discuss your theories on our Discord channel, and in general let us know how you feel about this comic. Crystal Heart has been free to read since its beginning, and while we do get some income from our Patreon page (HUGE thanks to everyone who has ever supported us there!) and our Savage Worlds setting products on DrivethruRPG, it’s not quite enough to cover the many hours of work a webcomic like Crystal Heart demands every week. It takes passion to keep working on a personal project like that, and a major thing that has kept my passion fueled is reading people’s reactions to every new page and knowing that my work is being seen and enjoyed, and that it has an impact. THANK YOU.
Here’s to the next exciting project, but before that – to a currently-indefinite, well-deserved break. 
Eran
Here’s my feeling, realizing this is the last Monday I’ll be doing this. That this is it.
What’s next?
If you were waiting for an opportunity to read all 316 pages in one sitting, go ahead! This is also a perfect time to share your thoughts of the webcomic in your socials.
We intend to collect all of Crystal Heart in a single printed volume – sign up to get notified when that happens.
We’re pausing our Patreon, of course.
And beyond that, we don’t yet know. When we do, we’ll tell you – here, in our Discord, on our Bluesky, and on our Facebook (maybe even twitter, if it still exists and if we haven’t closed our account there by then).
Thank you everyone, and in the immortal words of my friend Ben Shalom, recorded during a D&D 4e combat many years ago: “I’ve been great, now it’s your turn”.
