Release Week for Dream the Deep
about 1 month ago
– Sun, Jul 05, 2026 at 09:45:38 AM
Hey everyone, Chris here with a quick update.
This past week, Dream the Deep released for sale at all retailers. We're still waiting on the audio distribution to Audible/Amazon (those can take a bit longer) but we expect the audiobooks show up there any day now.
If you are in the United States and receiving physical books, all rewards (other than Dream the Light) have gone out to everyone who has completed their survey. If you have not received your book(s) or tracking, please let me know! A reminder to those outside of the U.S., we will be shipping everything together when Dream the Light is finished to help keep International shipping costs down; please let me know if you need your rewards sooner and I'll see what we can do.
Launching Next Month: Woodlands by Ulla Thynell
Our next Kickstarter campaign launches in less than a month, featuring an expanded hardcover edition of Woodlands by artist Ulla Thynell as well as the upcoming 2027 Ulla Thynell Calendar. Please check it out and click "Notify me on Launch" to be notified when we go live. The project preview page already has some really neat updates from Ulla.
That's all for now. Take care!
Chris
Surveys Going Out!
3 months ago
– Tue, May 26, 2026 at 04:41:51 PM
Just a quick update to let everyone know that the BackerKit surveys are starting to go out. Please check your spam and let us know if you haven't received an invite to your survey in the next 24 hours.
All of the digital rewards except for Dream the Light are finished! After completing your survey, you will first receive a confirmation email, followed by a second email when your digital rewards are available to download -- which should happen within 48 hours of completing the survey. Please drop a comment here or shoot us a Kickstarter message if you don't get these emails or need help with your survey.
Thanks!!
Chris
Yay!!! Next steps...
4 months ago
– Wed, Apr 29, 2026 at 11:50:42 AM
Thank you all yet again for your amazing support to Clara, Sam, Matt, and independent art!
It will take about 2 weeks for all of the pledges to process. Once that is done, we will be sending out post-campaign surveys (think of it as your final checkout to confirm shipping and download the digital rewards). We are using the BackerKit pledge manger for this campaign. You will receive an email link to your survey when it is ready.
Time to get working on those enamel pins!
Chris
First Stretch Goal Achieved! What's next? (peeking tentacles... )
4 months ago
– Mon, Apr 27, 2026 at 01:11:43 PM
Thanks to your support, the first stretch goal is achieved! We'll now be able to print the Kickstarter paperback copies using our local go-to printer for high quality paperbacks. And all backers will receive a digital coloring page from Matthew Spencer.
Next Stretch Goal: Enamel Pins!
We already announced that for the second stretch goal, we're producing cute little cephalopod enamel pins. These pins will be offered as add-ons after the campaign (when you fill out your post-campaign survey on BackerKit). But for a final stretch goal: if we reach $4800, all backers at the $32 level (2 paperbacks) and higher will receive a pin as part of their reward.
Matt and Clara are already busy working on the design for these. The idea is going to be a little creature that is peaking out from behind whatever you stick them above.
Something like this (rough mockup/may change, and likely will be a little smaller than shown):
Let's see if we can reach this in the final 24 hours!
Chris
Sneak Peek at Dream the Light from Matthew Spencer! (and stretch goal #2 announcement)
4 months ago
– Fri, Apr 24, 2026 at 02:04:08 PM
[Quick update from Chris: Did you notice that the second stretch goal is now revealed on the main page? I hope to have an update with a sample drawing of this new stretch goal soon ;)]
Hey there, Matt again!
Here’s another small look at my process, with the Dream the Light cover as it currently stands! This time, since I outlined most of the steps in my previous art post, I’m going to pretty much let the images speak for themselves!
The Thumbnails!
The elements I was working with gave me a pretty clear picture, so I mostly was just playing around with the scale of the ring portal and the orientation of the structure above in these sketches.
The Color Studies!
With a title like Dream the Light, we knew we wanted this one to be the brightest of the three covers, but it still has to feel like it belongs. We ended up with a compromise between #2 and #3.
The Rough Drawing!
Getting more specific with shapes- of the rocky landscape, the coral that lives in it, and the creatures that call this reef home.
The Final Pencil Drawing!
The last drawing before I re-draw in inks and move on to getting specific with color!
Thanks for being here, all. While I may not finish this cover before the Kickstarter campaign ends, I’m sure that the good folks at Atthis Arts will share it with you here as soon as possible once it is done!
Update:
I have flat colors in! (The beams of light and the text are just roughed in right now. Colors too- exact hues aren't final!) I'm hoping to get the textures in and have everything finalized sometime later next week.
