Dev Journal

[Jameslong]

October 12 09

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Happy Turkeyday everyone. I will also celebrate US thanksgiving next month... twice the pumpkin pie.

I didn't get an update done today mainly because I've been slacking for the last week. Right now I've got the page 33 layout and writing all done, which sometimes can be the trickiest part of the whole thing. So what's left is the drawing and coloring, which is usually the most time-consuming part.

I'm sorry for missing a couple updates in the last month or so. When I started the Forsaken I wasn't working and could dedicate a whole gob of time to drawing. I have a full time job now, and a wife that likes to use our Macintosh as much as I do, so I can't always spend all the time I'd like drawing. That said, I may push 33 out to next monday, or I may post it in the middle of the week. I'm excited to get all this dialog out of the way and into some action, so maybe that'll motivate me.

Thanks for stopping in... thanks for reading.

[Jameslong]

E-FREAKING GAD.

So remind me to never do a 9-panel page again... I'm on the linework for panel 8 and I'm utterly tired of looking at the page. There's really no way to get around it because as I mentioned previously, I want to get the story rolling now that the basic plot's been laid out... but there's a few things that need to happen first and I feel I really need to give everyone a good feel for some of the less-used characters (namely Arc, Dorothy, and Cleo. Oh, and Zero).

About Zero... I know I've dedicated all of 2 panels to him, but trust me, he's got one of the most complex backstories of all the Styxers. Oh... and he doesn't talk... so it's not like I'm keeping him quiet by accident.

So... linework on 2 more panels, one of which is an action shot which for some reason always takes me twice as long while looking only half as good as the static shots. Then it's coloring, shading, highlights, etc. So yeah... Not sure it'll be done before Saturday. No, I'm not burning out... I've just got this situation where we only have 1 nice computer in the house and both of us like to use it. So... maybe this means i should go get a new laptop...

Oh, one other thing.... I can see I've only had 8 people view this thread so far, so I know folks are beating down the door or anything, but I figured I'd throw this out there anyway: Does anyone have an opinion on a Facebook page for the Forsaken? It might help me get the word out there and anybody that is a 'fan' would be able to see when I update without having to worry about checking the site. Not that that's a big deal to anyone with a browser that supports bookmarks... I think the main benefit would be publicity. I don't have the hugest of social networks... but the social networks of all my social networks... that could be a considerable audience...

k... i'm out for now. I'll aim to at least get 33's linework done come tomorrow.

[Jameslong]

Been a rough week for me.

Not anything weird or strange happening... just missing home, tired of not being close to my friends or family... that ol' chestnut.

finished page 33 today. It took a long time, mainly because it's got 9 panels. Yeah, remind me never to do that to myself again. I'd like to top out at 5, from here on out.

But it's got a little more action in it, at least. Not a gob. Hopefully that will be changing in the next page or two. Regardless... sometimes I get discouraged because there's SO much story I could be telling but I don't know that I want to be working on this project 3 years from now... at 1 page a week, i'm looking at 100 pages in two years... more or less. That's not a lot of progress. Sigh. Maybe i'll get quicker at it.

Blah.

Hopefully this slump has run it's course. I hate being stuck in this... every panel I draw feels like a struggle.


That's all for now.

[Jameslong]

...Blink...

feel like all i've been doing lately is drawing, working, sleeping, and eating on occasion... Say hello to another indoor-exclusive winnipeg winter. Yes... it is already winter here. Has been for the last week. But enough complaining.

I did spend a little time researching webcomic review sites and guess what? Just about every one I stumbled across have been abandoned pretty much. I can't hold it against anyone... *cough*cough*2-year hiatus*cough!!* Still... I'm struggling for ideas on how to promote the Forsaken. The only folks coming here seem to stumble upon it by accident, or if I tell them about it in person. I appreciate the readership I get, but judging by the interest of the few folks that do stop by, I have this feeling that it could have a pretty decent audience.

That's not to say I'm happy with where it is. My art is all over the place. I've always focused on the human form when drawing, so without reference I really can't do things like cars, buildings...or grandfather clocks apparently. So! From here on out, I'm going to try to use stock images for reference when I'm drawing something I'm not terribly versed with. I think I may even try using model stock for my character drawing too... when it's possible anyways. I've tried with a few panels of 34 and it seems to make things look a lot better when I can draw from a source. For a long time I always felt like that was 'cheating' but then I read about how Frank Miller actually bought toy cars to learn how to draw them for Sin City. What a fantastic idea... makes so much sense... so there I am.

If I could wish for anything art-related (aside from a 12" wireless cintiq, mind you) it would be a 3d model program where I could position a character however I want to. Remember those old wooden dolls some artists use? Why not bring it to the computer screen with added functionality?? Control the weight, age, appearance, emotion, body type, gender, etc etc. And clothes... jeez... talk about one of the biggest challenges I have drawing without reference. Then i could get the exact 'camera' angle I wanted. Okay, i'll stop blabbering on.

all this to say i'm a ways out on 34. I hope to have it done for Monday, but I still need to pencil 4 frames and color it all. This is probably my most art-heavy page to date simply because... there's like 7 characters all in the same room. I gotta have a decent 'team shot'.

okay, that's what I got... now I need to stop procrastinating and take the garbage out.

[Jameslong]

just got done spending like 3 hours doing linework for 2 panels. sigh. i dunno... i suppose I can tell the difference when i take all that time, but i don't know if anybody else ever will.

I'd saved a jpeg of dorothy going apeshit on a grandfather clock... somehow it got over written so sorry... no treats for the investigative readers today... I had good intentions and fat fingers I guess... hope you're all having a great weekend. I'm thinking this page won't be done before tomorrow afternoon. but i'm definitly not skpping another update. absotively posolutely.

[Jameslong]

So I spent a bunch of time this week getting the whole facebook thing going and now I'm starting to wonder why I bothered. I suppose it's my own fault. I posted the question and didn't hear anything from anyone; could have taken it as a sign.

So here's the dealio. I'm done posting a journal on the message boards. I'm migrating it over to Facebook. It's just easier to work with and prettier to look at. If there's anyone out there that actually reads these posts and would prefer it stay here, let me know and I'll dual-post in both places. I think some day I may escape the clutches of Comicgenesis, and as such, I'd prefer to not have to rely on their message board. Also, there's the that old axiom "don't put all your eggs in one basket." To put it plainly: you never know when a free hosting provider is going to implode... so I'm thinking it would be good to have a non-comicgenesis rally-point.

Signed,
the author/penciler/artist/colorist/webmaster/HR Manager/CEO/President/Viceroy/stablemucker/liontamer/etc.

[Arcnaver]

Putting this on Facebook makes it more tangible for me anyways. I always forget about this board here and do not think to check it. Facebook puts the updates at my fingertips as soon as they are posted. Koodo's to you Jimmy! Compelling story and unique world.

[Jameslong]

thanks adam. makes sense to me, too... but still doesn't look like I've had a gob of takers on the whole fan thing. Anywho... I'm still working on page 35. It's a pretty action-intensive page, so i'm really taking my time with it. I just have two more panels to color and it'll be ready, but I've already spent about four hours coloring 4 panels... The hard stuff's out of the way.

I was thinking about possibly documenting the process from page start to page finish and posting it either here or on facebook (prolly facebook). But part of me just feels like that's me procrastinating! Hey. you try staring at the same page for 8 hours and see how you do!

[Arcnaver]

Or a 474 page book you need to rewrite... lol I know what you mean brother!

[Jameslong]

...s'been awhile so I probably should post something.

I'm currently putting together a workflow series of images while working through 36. If you're interested at all in how I use photoshop, check it out. Ultimately I'd also like to add some tutorials on there too, maybe on colouring, inking, etc. Too bad I don't know how to ink...

I'm a bit heartbroken tonight. My wacom tablet has something of a score in it, right where I draw most. It's barely noticable to look at, but my pen catches on it constantly and it's irritating like a mesquito that keeps buzzing in your ear all night. The other thing is the scratch will only get larger as I continue to draw on it. I think I can get a replacement pad/cover from Wacom, but that will take time, money, and effort, and I seem to lack too much of the latter.


Sorry, i'm rambling now. I'm tired and bored... tends to happen.

[Jameslong]

i've been in a strange place lately... not sure where it came from or where it's going. it's like some odd sort of clarity just sorta bashed me in the face and made me realize a few important things about myself and life.

Nothing's changing as far as the Forsaken goes. Drawing is taking forever, but I'm still having fun with it and am excited to see how it gets where it's going. Page 37 is far from done unfortunately. Sorry for being so erratic with the updates. I swear it's not from lack of effort.

I started a standard page production walkthrough and posted it on both Facebook and Deviantart. More will come, there, when I get time. This week I'm flying to the Oregon coast to celebrate US thanksgiving with my family, so 37's just going to take that much longer. I'm using the time to get away from everything digital and that includes the Forsaken. I'll only be gone a total of 4 days... back to the old grind come Sunday. I'm looking forward to sharing page 37 with ya'll. More action! And a definite "wtf?" moment is in store!