Page 11

November 4, 2011

What was it I said about taking a ‘ridiculously long time’ last page? The only excuses I can offer up for the majority of the delay this time are obsessing over trivial details and my typically slow technique. I would have had it done a little sooner but after being struck by another ocular migraine – and foolishly attempting to ignore it – I ended up wasting a day recuperating in the dark. Ack.

Putting pathetic excuses aside though, what of the page? Well, ignoring the obligatory botched panel – I swear there’s always one – I rather like how it turned out.

As you may have noticed the layout and composition is much tighter here than in previous efforts. I tried to use space as efficiently as possible overlapping panels and going right to the edge of the page. This was partially to introduce more variety into my presentation and escape more predictable templates, but also to reflect a shift in tone as the plot begins to gather momentum. With the discovery of Curt’s unexpected cargo a more intense atmosphere takes hold of the story, so I wanted this emphasised by the more claustrophobic arrangement.

I tried to take more risks with shading/colouring than usual too; exaggerating the monitors glow to draw attention to the unsavoury discovery. Not strictly realistic, but hopefully a fitting stylization to help the transition over to the more intense pages which will follow. Also, take note of the slightly more noirish features appearing in the 2nd panel, something else which should hopefully prevent the aforementioned transition from jarring with earlier material.

As is becoming an unavoidable habit, I deviated from the script here again on two major points. For one, I cut away the arrival of Scratch  at the spaceport since it seemed unnecessary and somewhat deflating for her entrance in the next scene (more on that when I’ve drawn it). Secondly, the dialogue between the attendant and guard here became considerably more explicit, which might seem like a silly matter to draw attention to but it struck me as being a great deal more credible. When things go wrong the common man is less likely to spew out carefully considered prose than they are to erupt into swearing.

There are inevitable detractors, with the bottom left drawing being a little sketchy and the backgrounds maybe being a touch too crude for my liking but I feel confident that the tone of the page hits the mark pretty squarely at least. Anyway, with the plot getting more exciting now the next few pages should be a lot of a fun to make :)

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Page 10

October 12, 2011

Late but seemingly satisfactory – here’s page 10!The last two panels honestly could have been better in terms of anatomy and composition but I’m generally pleased with how this one turned out. The last page ended up looking a bit flat so I tried to give the colours/shading greater depth and complexity here, without pushing too far away from the established scheme to maintain continuity.

I’d say more but I really need to crash for a bit. I’ll make sure the next page doesn’t take such a ridiculously long time.

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Page 9

September 15, 2011

Ack, feel like I’m sneaking into class late here…

It goes without saying that this is another embarrassingly late post as for one reason or another I just couldn’t get the page done until now. I suppose this is especially disappointing given that I’d intended to work for weekly updates now I’m posting elsewhere but it ultimately came down to either rushing out something severely dissatisfactory or delivering a more accomplished page at a later date. I could rave on about how I’m justified by the quality over quantity argument, but I’ll stick with a summary: I suck, I’ll try harder.

Unfortunately things will almost certainly be stalled again in the immediate future as my impending Practice in Context deadline means I’ll have to prioritize my essay till the deadline on the 26th. It’s another area that’s been a little neglected lately and a timely reminder not to lose focus on the goals of the MA, I’ll attempt to squeeze in drawing but I think the next page is liable to appear around the end of the month rather than next week. Sorry but consistent releases will have to wait :(

The page itself is a bit of a mixed bag. I’m getting to some of the more interesting story material now as Curt runs into cyborgs for the first time and begins to develop a phobia which plays a prominent role in the ensuing narrative.

I tried to make his growing discomfort with what he’s seeing apparent in the artwork by emphasising the attendant and guard’s grotesque enhancements; the second and third panels reflect composition and posture between Curt and the man on desk drawing attention to their similarities (both being in fairly low-level jobs) while also stressing the startling difference. The last panel meanwhile marks the rising tension with hard lines around the implants, aggravating their unsettling presence and bringing the guard who was formerly in the background to the centre of the reader’s attention.

While these parts turned out as I’d hoped the effect is unfortunately marred by the weaker first and fourth panels  which suffer from unrealistic anatomy and perspective issues – they’re acceptable perhaps but someway off from my best. The colour too could have been much stronger; I’m aiming for a washed out, overexposed sort of look in this setting but the tones feel a little off balance to me. I’ve likely said it before but colouring is something I’m still adjusting to, with the necessary experimentation naturally leaving some casualties along the way – this page is one of them.

Outside of scrutiny on single panels/aspects though there is a stronger sense of flow than earlier pages, with more continuity and less of the disjointed progression formerly criticised by Paul Gravett. It’s a small thing but progression in anything is good news to me, the sense of imbalance is still pervasive but I’m starting to get a foothold on the problems.

Anyhow, I’ll try to get another page out as soon as I can but for now it’s time to hit the books and get writing.

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Page 8

August 23, 2011

A little later than planned here’s page 8!

I drew up the linework on holiday to avoid a complete hiatus, though drawing in the face of strong winds at the beach wasn’t the best of ideas, nor was trying to draw straight lines in a moving car…

Anyway, with this one I wanted to change the atmosphere giving the sense of breathing room after the claustrophobic tunnel and airlock. I was advised to pull back more by Paul Gravett so I’ve done just that with the middle panel, emphasising Alexa’s departure (for now) and the new spaceport setting.

In relation to this I cranked up the brightness of the colours aswell, going for more in the way of  antiseptic whites and light blues while intensifying the characters. This may seem counter logical given the used future setting and noir influence, but I feel this is a good point to visually emphasise the ‘calm before the storm’; the story is destined to head into gloomy murk soon enough and a little contrast seemed like a good idea. Besides this, in reality airports frequently have whitish colour schemes and if anywhere on the station were likely to be well maintained it would be here.

I should also mention I made a notable alteration from the script here with Curt’s reaction. Originally he didn’t say anything after Alexa walks off, but it occurred to me how odd it seems they didn’t introduce themselves at all. As such I felt an acknowledgement in the dialogue might be a good idea, while lending a bit more colour to Curt’s personality in the process. Alexa also developed to be more flirtatious than scripted in drawn form so the suggestive response seems believable enough.

On the negatives: I can’t help feeling I could have done more with the space, especially that middle panel. Maybe a few passers-by or more scenery would have improved it. I dunno, but a bit more care in future compositions wouldn’t go amiss. That and a few instances of dodgy anatomy continue to irritate as usual.

Not a great page then, but at least an adequate one and a reminder of where I need to work harder.

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Page 7 redux

August 13, 2011

It’s not often that I feel genuinely satisfied with any of my art but I’ll admit I wanted much more work done on this page.

After being advised by Paul Gravett to reconsider my progression from page 6 to 7 and pull back giving the setting room to breathe, I set about attempting something a little more ambitious than usual. Yes, the first panel is a modified version of an interior concept – more than laziness I just felt it was worth recycling – but there were challenges in drawing perspective along a curve in panel 2 which caused me more than a few set backs.

Tomorrow I’m going away for a week and discovering the scene colouring to be almost as arduous as the drawing I had to make a decision; postpone the page yet again to achieve the shading detail I desire or settle for something simpler and push ahead. It’s a problem which ties in with the larger issue of speed versus accomplishment, of the two speed being my biggest failing.

I hate rushing things but perhaps this situation is a timely reminder that a line has to be drawn somewhere. I could work on a page’s details and colours near on indefinitely but comics aren’t paintings, they’re meant to please the eye but taking the maximalist approach to the extreme with every page would be ultimately self-defeating.

So it is perhaps for the better that circumstances prevented me wasting another day on the minutiae here. Comparing this with the original page it’s replacing this definitely makes for a stronger introduction to Branch’s interior, hopefully giving a greater sense of scale than some dingy back alley would.

That’s it for now folks! Hope you’re all having a great summer, I’ll be sure to post again when I return.

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