GC#4, pencils completed!

With a final stroke, the last panel of issue 5 has been completed, in terms of the underlying pencil drawings!

As I was working on this last set of 6 pages since my last blog update, I came across a sequence that I had planned over the course of 2 pages. Upon reviewing them before putting pencil to paper, I decided the layout was just too "tight" to do it justice. Rather than remove panels, I decided to — you guessed it — add yet another page to this upcoming issue. In addition to the 2 extra pages that are already appearing in each issue of this series already, Chapter 5 will now have an additional 2 extra pages for a total of 20 pages. This is partially what took the extra time this week, as I had to re-plan out 3 new pages (whittled down from a total of 8 possibilities). Then, of course, there was drawing the newest additional page.

Also, I was able to find the time to scan in these 20 pages and get them ready for production. Each page is drawn at a 11"x15" size, so it takes 2 scans that must be pieced together for each page. During this time, I also make edits to the drawings — for example, if I feel that certain proportions didn't come out quite right, but the actual line drawing is good. Instead of redrawing it, I will split it up in Photoshop and reconstruct it digitally. Saves a lot of time, and frustration. During this phase, I also make sure the "zoom" of each panel (close-up or wide shot) is enough, and, if need be, digitally zoom in if I feel the subject of the image should have a better focus.

Ink and paint are now in my sights, as we begin the countdown to the release of "All's laid bare in Love and War."