Page 63 finished! Only 1 more to go!

I was lucky enough today to get this page done quickly. We are in the home stretch now, with the finish line in sight! With the completion of page 63, there is only one more page to go! Hang in there! Oh, and enjoy the next to last preview!

Page 62 complete! 2 more to go!

This page continued in the series of pages that have had a lot of lighting effects and details. On top of that, it was a busy page, with 6 panels, each with a lot of headshots (which take more time due to the detail and requirements to get them "just right").

We're getting closer! Only 2 more pages to go. I've already started the process of proofreading and making corrections, so as to get things going a soon as possible when page 64 is done. Hang in there!

Page 61 completed !

The pages are still coming along, a little at a time, but I am making good progress. This page was more detailed, with 5 full panels and lots of components. Chip, chip, chip — and we're nearly done! As hinted in the last 2 previews, this page also had a lot of lighting effects, that took more time to do. This will be the case for the next 2 pages, as well. Don't be surprised if the next few previews are a little more vague than previous ones, since we are coming to the "end". Enjoy the preview!

Whew! Page 60 finally completed!

Well, things are finally starting to warm up, and by the look of the preview, could the light of the tunnel be not far away? It took a while, but I was finally able to finish page 60. "Real life" work has been hammering away at me, but slowly, I was able to do a little bit each day, until this page was complete. Much detail and lighting also caused things to take longer, like previous pages. At times in grOw#2, water effects took extra time, and in this one, light and shadow are the culprits. Enjoy the preview!

Page 59 finished !

This one was a doozy — lots of details and lighting effects (the most so far in the last few pages). Things take a twist in the story here, and the art had to reflect that. Because off all of this, this one took longer. Enjoy the preview!

Page 60 may not be posted before Monday, for a number of reasons: it is another page of detail and lighting; possible heavy workload tomorrow; and later, I have to shovel the 4-5 inches of snow that has fallen before it drops to 5°F tonight. Brrrrrrrr!

Page 58 finally completed !

It's been a while, but another page is now done. Page 58 took this long due to two factors: the increase in my "real life" work with the new year (as I mentioned in my Jan 5th post), and the fact that this was another page that required lots of work on lighting and details. While these type of pages can take a lot of time and effort, the challenge they pose can actually be quite enjoyable. For this page, I've discovered new techniques in order to achieve these results, some of which are using new layer filters in Photoshop CS4 (namely the Photo Filter layer effect).

Enjoy the preview! Hopefully, it won't be so long before the next one!

Page 57 complete !

I wanted to have this done yesterday, but I just couldn't quite finish it. This morning I was able to, and I am glad to have taken a little more time. This was quite a fun page to work on, and I like how the whole thing came together — 3 of the 4 panels are a nice moving sequence. Again, lighting played a strong part in these panels, so that also took some more time. I am not saying why lighting has been so paramount in the last few pages, you'll just have to read the issue when it is released. ;D

We are now in the second half of the issue, having passed the midway "hump". We are now approaching the end of the issue, as well as the end of the series. Hang in there! (See progress map to the right.)

Page 56 completed !

The updates continue into the new year with the completion of page 56 ! More dramatic lighting on this page resulted in a slightly longer production time, but I was able to finish the page in a little more than a day (having started yesterday). Enjoy!

Happy New Year! Page 55 completed!

Happy New Year! Again, I appreciate all of you who have supported my efforts in 2008, and those who will continue to do so in 2009! It is YOUR support that allows me to continue to produce the work I do on the grOw/cOmics and grOw/stOries. The countless hours it takes to produce each issue (at least 100 hours each) would not be possible without your help. Thank you!

Now that the holidays have passed, it's time to pump up the work flow again. Unfortunately, all my other "real life" work will be gearing up as well. So, updates may be a little slow in coming over the next 2 weeks. I am hoping to complete issue 4 before January is done, but that will remain to be seen.

For now, here is the latest update, page 55. This was definitely a page for exploring dramatic lighting, again. It was challenging, but I think the results came out quite nicely. Enjoy the preview!