grOw/stOry#12: BEaver Lake Summer Camp

It's been a long and busy week. However, for once when I say "busy week", I am not going to say that I got little done on the newest release. On the contrary, I just finished the 12th of 16 illustrations for the next-to-be-released grOw/stOry, #12 "BEaver Lake Summer Camp."

Not only are there 3 more illustrations than average, but there are two 2-page spread illustrations in this release! As I mentioned in an earlier post, the story written by Mr. B is the longest story to date. How long? It is twice as long as the average grOw/stOry, 50% longer than his last (#11 The B.E. InsTITute), and even 22% longer than the longest stOry to date (#4 Breast Wishes). And, unlike other reworkings of the stOries, where I had the story only enhanced or polished, Mr. B has completely overhauled and freshly written this story from the ground up! About all that is the same are 2 character names, a camp setting, and a campfire story. So when released, there will be 2 distinct BE stories in the PDF!

So just how big will this release be? Check out the attached graph, showing comparable story lengths, number of illustrations (including sizes) and, and inclusion of original story versions. You will see, this will be, by far, the largest grOw/stOry release yet!!

Enjoy the preview!

Chip, chip, chip. grOw/stOry#12 continues to take shape.

More work was completed yesterday and today. Mr. B. and I are making a few subtle text changes to help illustrations line up properly, and to... ahem... flesh out the story. Another illustration has been completed, bringing the total to 8 of 16. Also, 3 more illustrations were drawn in the pencil stage, leaving only 1 more to be drawn before going to color. A lot of progress is being made on this HUGE new release.

grOw/stOry#12, 7 of 16 illustrations done!

I just finished the 7th of the 16 illustrations that will appear in the newest grOw/stOry. I am very happy on how these are turning out so far — its some of my best work yet.

Oh, you may be wondering why I keep referring to this release by its number (12). That's because Mr. B. and I haven't decided on the title yet. ;D

I'm making good progress! Hang in there. Enjoy the preview for now.

grOw/stOry#12: Good things abound!

I just finished the 4th of 16 illustrations for the the next grOw/stOry! Again, that's 3 more than usual. Also, Mr. B. has just about wrapped up the rewrite, and I have to say, it is a good one! Not only that, but it is a good 50% longer than most stOries, and nearly twice as long as some of the shortest!

Another good thing is that today, I finished a huuuuge "real life work" project that has been going on for the last 6 months! Though I still have other projects in the works, now that this particular one is out of the way, I should have more time to devote to getting this stOry, and the next grOw/cOmic, out the door!

Enjoy the preview! You will notice it is the colored version of the pencil preview I posted back on October 23.

grOw/stOry#12: coloring progresses!

As usually done for other grOw/stOries, I will not post a preview of each page completed, since, unlike the grOw/cOmics, there is only one illustration per page (where a cOmic could have 4, 5 or even 6 panels). Showing enough of a grOw/stOry page for a preview would reveal too much. Showing just a little would be useless (Hey! It's an eye!). So, I will post every so often, showing one preview for every 4 (approximately) pages. I may even post that "another page is complete!" but not show a preview, just to keep you abreast of things.

With that in mind, here is the first preview. I wanted to say that the first 3 of 16 illustrations were complete by today, but this has been a killer week. Currently, this one, and about 75% of the second, are done.

Enjoy the preview! And Happy Halloween!

grOw/stOry#12: work progresses

Mr. B and I have made major headway into the reworking of the next grOw/stOry, formerly known from the E.L. Publications Tremendous Tit Tales as "BOOOoob Camp." Our email powwow sessions have been sculpting and refining this new BE story into its final stages. Mr. B's writing has breathed new life into an old story — so much so, that compared to other rewritten stOries where I've said "its like getting 2 stories in 1," this time it IS getting 2 stories in 1.

Also, now that we've gotten to this stage, I've begun the artwork. So far, I have completed 13 of the planned 16 pencil drawings, ready for coloring. Yes, on average, this stOry will have 3 more illustrations than the standard 13.

Once released, this stOry will also round out the fourth grOw/stOry Collection, covering stOries #10-12. Then, it's off to the next grOw/cOmic series.

Enjoy the pencil preview.

Update: What's Coming Down the Pike?

As I was reminded in a reply to a previous post, it's been a month since my last update to the Blog. I usually post when concrete updates have been completed, but that's not to say nothing has been worked on since the release of grOw/stOry "The B.E. InsTITute." Usually within a week of a new release, I'm on the next project. It has gone slower that usual for 2 reasons: a) heavy workload coming out of the summer slowdowns (a good thing), and b) the two new projects I am working on are in the early development stage.

Wait... did I say two new projects? Yes. I am concurrently working on the next grOw/stOry and the next grOw/cOmic series.

For the grOw/stOry, I am working with Mister B, who is writing from the ground up a whole new rendition of the former E.L. Publications release, "Booooob Camp." After each one of our online powwows of ideas and plot planning, Mister B heads back to his craft and sculpts his prose. And I, not wanting to seem idle, start gathering references for the stOry's illustrations.

In addition, I have been outlining and writing the next grOw/cOmic series. So far, I have written (about 50% rough, 50% concrete), 5 out of the 6 issues that will comprise the next series, titled "grOwing Desires". As done for all the other cOmic series, I want to make sure the entire story line for all issues is planned out before pencil hits the paper so that I do not paint myself into a corner story-wise. Already, I have gone back a few times, from, say issue 4, to rewrite or add something in issue 1.

So which will come first? The plan is to have the new grOw/stOry be released first. This will also round out the 3-stOry release schedule I like to keep. At that time, the stOry Collection (#10-12) will be released as well. Then, it is on to "grOwing Desires".

Even if concrete updates have not yet been completed, I will try to do my best to update more often! Thanks, everyone, for your interest here!