Monday, November 29, 2010

GC#4, page 64 complete!

I worked extra late to get this page 64 out. I wanted to make sure I got a good start to the week. The next few weeks will be quite unpredictable, as end-of-the-year work is racing in. We've only got 7 more pages, and the cover to issue 5 (which I am still undecided on what it will be) to go.

Here is a map of the progress of this issue. I hope I can finish it by December 18, or it will most likely have to wait until the New Year. I will be out of town from Dec 24-Jan 1 on some very serious personal business.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

GC#4, page 63, completed!

It's been a long and hectic week wrought with unexpected deadlines and technical troubles, but I was finally able to get page 63 done before the holiday! More great news is the fact that this page represents the completion of the first half of the issue — 9 of 18 pages done. We're about to pass over the hump, racing downhill towards the finish line! Enjoy the preview! And Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. followers!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

GC#4, page 62 complete — finally.

Whew! Page 62, a multi-panel, heavily detailed page, is finally complete. I mentioned before how the number of panels, including the number of faces, can slow down production due to the exact nature of the details involved. Well, add to that mixture the details of FMG, and I've got a page that took quite a bit of work to complete.

Someone asked in the previous post "How much more detail is there in drawing the muscles compared to a regular girl, BA?" Well, depending on the content of the panel of course, I would say anywhere from 4 to 10+ times as much. Imagine the shading of a "normal" arm is just like shading a couple of ball shapes. You have the highlight, the middle shadows defining the shape and some deeper shadows to give true depth. The typical arm may have 3-4 elongated ball shapes — the shoulder, the soft bicep, and the forearm. Now, look at the last 2 previews, and see the number of "ball" shapes that make up the details of the muscles. Whew!

So, as I move forward, thank you for your patience in waiting for this issue — it is definitely taking a lot more work than usual. In the meantime, enjoy the latest preview!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

GC#4, page 61 complete!

I was really hoping to post page 61 preview yesterday, but I just... couldn't... finish... it... in time. I was so close, though. If I was able to do so, it would have been only 1 day since the last update. However, the next page has a LOT more detail, and my workload is increasing. So, I wouldn't expect page 62 to be completed within 2 days, as the previous ones have been. In the meantime, enjoy the preview!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

GC#4, page 60 complete!

The musculature is coming easier, especially after finishing page 60. While the details are taking noticeably longer per panel, the more I do, the easier it becomes. And, the easier it becomes, the faster the pages will be completed. I must say, it is quite a contrast of stature in the current character line-up. :D Enjoy the preview!

Friday, November 5, 2010

GC#4, page 59 complete!

Yep, page 59 was another one of those pages that I really didn't think I would get done in the day I had hoped, only to surprise myself when, suddenly, I realized I was flattening the Photoshop file into a single image and cropping it for the blog. :D This page, as you can see by the preview, took extra time due to the detail involved in "sculpting" the characters. As part of a "growth sequence", there was more than one image like this. Enjoy!

(5 pages down, 13 to go!)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

GC#4, page 58 complete!

Whew, page 58 was sure a detailed page. Five panels, each with at least 2 people per frame, takes quite a bit of work, especially when you are working with wet hair, drips and sprays, wet clothing, thin clothing, musculature, and other features. I really thought it would take me 3-4 days, but "RL work" was kind to me, and let me finish early.

Monday, November 1, 2010

GC#4, page 57 complete!

I have to say, coming up with the preview to page 57 was a bit of a challenge. I didn't want to show anything too revealing (I hate when all the good parts are shown in a commercial for a movie -- there's nothing to look forward to). However, I also didn't want to show anything too vague (such as nothing but wrinkled fabric). So while this preview is not completely revealing, it shows just enough to hint at some interesting possibilities. ;D Enjoy!