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About a month or so ago, I began working on Benthic full time. I've started a blog for everything specific to the process, which I very much hope you'll follow at Benthic - Below the Surface. I'll continue posting my life drawing and work from my other illustration projects here, but (for the time being at least) some of my work that is both sketchbook and Benthic related, I'll simply cross post.
In any case, one of the inbetween stages of the graphic novel process that doesn't fit neatly into any categorized step is designing each of the settings. Not only important to catch the mood of both the scene and the setting itself, but also important to know exactly where everyone is standing, where they are moving to and from, and what parts of the room we need and maybe don't need to see. I usually do this after I thumbnail, and as I pencil. I try to work out the settings a scene or two ahead of where I am; far enough ahead not to slow me down when I get to pencil I page in a place I haven't designed, but close enough that the place is still fresh in my mind for drawing the entire scene.
Attached is one of the concept pages for the hub on the Methuselah, which is basically the equivalent to a bridge or CIC. I made a couple changes on the fly while drawing this current issue but all the major ideas are there from both a mood perspective and from an overhead layout of where everything is.
The new cover of Benthic -Book 1, in ink. I haven't decided how I'm coloring this yet...
I don't do very much with Benthic in color, so even for me its a treat to see characters in color. I gave the bamboo drawings the Photoshop treatment. Issa looks hot and Karda looks like a total crazy person, so I must be doing something right.
I've been really bad about updating over the past month or so, cause scanning is never at the top of my list of fun things to do. BUT. There's plenty of work to show, so I'm getting back on the horse.I've been broadening my inking techniques lately, trying to find a sweet spot between sketchy and clean that I like. The first couple tests I did were of Karda and Issa, and I figured I'd go ahead and share. Lots of bamboo pen and bamboo brush with drybrushing, in addition to the usual suspects.
My friend Chris had said he wanted to see that city panel from Page 7, so here you are. See panels like this is why this project can, at times, drag on. I am looking forward to see this panel after tone though...
Once again, a peek inside the crazy place where all my work happens. The first half of the next issue of Benthic in nearly inked, laying out the second half this week.
Did I really have 11 posts in December and only 1 in January? Ugh, last month was crazy. I'll run the score back up this month. Working on stuff I have no business working on for fun, but I do hope you enjoy.
You want a montage! Montage! Even Rocky had a montage! Montage!
I don't know about you, but I'm excited.
About a month or so ago, I began working on Benthic full time. I've started a blog for everything specific to the process, which I very much hope you'll follow at Benthic - Below the Surface. I'll continue posting my life drawing and work from my other illustration projects here, but (for the time being at least) some of my work that is both sketchbook and Benthic related, I'll simply cross post.
