The covers are done. Release soon!

I just finished the 2 covers for grOw/cOmic#3, "An Inconvenient Growth" -- the cover for issue 1, and for issue 2 (which will be shown as a sneak peak at the end of issue 1). No previews today -- I will show the cover for issue 1 when it is released. Right now, I am in production — proofreading, store updates & graphics, etc. I am hoping for an October 1st release. Watch this spot for news!

Page 16 complete! Almost there!

The final page of issue 1 of the new grOw/cOmic: "An Inconvenient Growth", has been completed! Now, all that's left, is the cover to issue 1, the cover to issue 2 (to be shown as a sneak peak at the end of this chapter), and the standard proofreading and PDF produciton. Hang in there! Enjoy the preview!

Page 15 completed! 1 more to go!

Chip, chip, chip... I just finished page 15. This one took a couple of extra "chips", as it was a detailed page, with 7 panels. Things are starting to really heat up, as we approach the last 2 pages of issue 1. I am now beginning page 16, which is the final page of Chapter 1. Then, I will work on the cover for both issues 1 and 2. As in grOw/cOmic#2, I like to have a preview of the next issue's cover at the end of each installment. Enjoy the preview!

Page 14 complete of grOw/cOmic#3 !

Slow, but steady — I've been getting swamped with "real life" work over the past week, keeping me from working on the issue as much as I want to. Today, however, I was able to crank out a page. I had to work late to do so, but it was accomplished. Too tired to write any more. :) Enjoy the preview! Only 2 more pages and the cover to go!

Page 13 complete! 3 more to go!

Well, this one took a little while longer — for various reasons. But finally, page 13 has arrived to the "completed pile". I've really been using lots of Photoshop layer style and effects to enhance the look of the comic and decrease production time. Many of the layer effects are used subtly, but the slight difference they add is greater than the sum of their parts. For example, using "Outer Glow" to make the characters pop off the background. Now, of course, I don't make them actually "glow". Instead, I reverse the "standard" function of the style, changing the color from yellow to a dark bluish-gray, and then the blending from Screen to Multiply, and dropping the strength down to 20-30%. This give the effect of a Shadow, but unlike "Drop Shadow", it appears all around the item, not in one direction. Then, I do the same for "Inner Shadow" — reversing it and making it more of a "light" function, rather than a "shadow" function. This gives me a easy "edge light" that really makes the character pop. Of course, I paint in my own edge lighting, but this adds to it, and gives me an even line around a character in a couple of clicks (saving me time, and getting a page done faster). Check out the example below (taken from grOw/cOmic#2):


Enjoy the preview of page 13, above!

Page 12 on the 12th !

Yep, I was able to do it — three days in a row where the date matched the page number. Today, I completed page 12 of grOw/cOmic#3, "An Inconvenient Growth". As you can see, another character has been introduced recently. Our heroine is also looking a little pensive, don't you think? I wonder why?

Hang in there! Only 4 more pages to go plus the cover! Enjoy the preview!

Page 11 completed!

The 11th page of grOw/cOmic#3 has been finished. Page 10 was completed on Sept 10, and page 11 on Sept 11. Hope this pace keeps up (though the weekend is coming up, when I usually do not get to make updates). Enjoy the preview! Only 5 more pages and the cover to go!

page 10 completed!

Boy, my "real life" work load is really weighing down on me — thus, updates have been a little slower. I had hoped to have this up yesterday, but at 12:45am, I had to go to sleep before finishing this page. So I completed it, instead, this morning.

The good news is that, all-in-all, the speed at which the pages are being produced is quite good, relative to the details and amount of artwork. I think my pace has definitely increased as compared to grOw#1 and grOw#2. The is in part due to a general skill increase (due to a lot of practice -- 144 pages between the 2 cOmics and about 117 full-page images for the 9 grOw/stOries) and revising my work technique to save time, but not in a way that loses quality.

Well, enjoy the preview! 10 pages done, 6 pages to go!

Just before Hanna arrives, page 9 complete!

With the first rains of tropical storm Hanna starting to tap against my windows, I have completed page 9 of grOw/cOmic#3: "An Inconvenient Growth". I've been making some good progress, so far. Depending on the weather, I may get halfway through the next page today. But that also depends on if the power stays on when the winds come into town. Being only 2-3 miles from the ocean, we are rather exposed to the winds here. With 9 pages done, the issue is 53% finished, with only 7 more pages and the cover to go! Enjoy the preview!

Page 8 of grOw/cOmic#3 completed!

I stayed up a little later, just so I could finish this page. I was very close when I normally would have ended my session for the night -- so I just had to continue. Little did I know that it would be 2 hours later that I would save the final file. But then again, I can be stickler for things at times -- I enhanced the "style" of the word balloons and narration boxes to make them "pop" more. So, of course, I had to go back to all the other pages and update those as well. Thank god for Photoshop "layer styles"!

Enjoy the preview! Not counting the cover (which still needs to be done), this page represents the half way point for issue 1 -- 8 down, and 8 to go!

grOw/cOmic#3: page 7 completed!

And here we have page 7, another with plenty of effects and Photoshop filters. I think I am going to have to make the next cOmic take place in a white room, with no liquids, glowing rays, or zooming objects so that I don't go crazy (ha ha). But then again, am I already crazy by drawing a huge 64-page comic about growing breasts? (.... pondering ....) Nahhhhh!

Enjoy the preview! 9 more to go!

grOw/cOmic#3: page 6 complete!

I actually meant to post this before the Labor Day weekend, but I was unable to. Page 6 has been completed, which was another detailed and technical page (although, one without as many panels as page 5 -- see below).

All-in-all, the cOmic is coming along nicely! I recently downloaded the trial versions of Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Illustrator CS3 (I am using CS2 right now). I really like them, and the number of updates have really helped increase my productivity (although one changed feature has been altered to the point that I have to use a work-around to the way I am used to -- bummer). I plan to upgrade before my 30-day-trial is up.

Only 10 more pages to go before issue 1 is complete. Enjoy the preview!