Okay, let’s see how many of these pages I can get uploaded today! Very minor spoilers… They’re not really spoilers, I’m just not going to dodge around talking about character traits, even if they’re not entirely established yet. It takes to long to talk in riddles.
Page 10 new bottom panel.
Intro, Page 10: Inked panel 1, gonna pass that off to Dannika for coloring. Last third of the page switched from two panels, to just one. I suddenly realized the chief can’t go gesturing with that hand, because he’s holding a knife. Also, I don’t care what he thinks about this line. I only care that Kaya is completely nonplussed. Joining the panels keeps the tension up, even though she’s not reacting. The smoke is a better metaphor for how she’s coping than… than nothing. Also switched out the line to be more… imaginative. “I could shoot you” is a logical next step, but “I could bring your body to work” puts shooting her as a forgone conclusion. And is just that much cockier.
Intro, Page 11: Similarly, joined the first two panels. Partly because I can save time only drawing the guy once, partly because this is an important line for theme, and for Kaya as a character. Added bonus, another shot of the missing knife, for audience members with sharp eyes. Did the last panel, to check the expression. May or may not stick with that one. I might switch out that line, and just have her immediately call him a liar.
Intro, Page 12: Basic line and color on the first three panels. Whole page is still really rough.
Intro, Page 17: Completed panel two. Because I had a sudden inspiration on how to handle Kaya’s nonchalant “fuck you” face. The thing about Kaya’s expressions, is that 1. She doesn’t feel very strongly about most things, so her expressions are generally low-key 2. What she does feel, she’s not good at identifying, so her expressions aren’t very presentational–that is, she’s not making them for anyone else’s benefit, they just happen. Or they don’t. (In the rare occasion that she attempts to force expressions… you can always tell.) Anyways, I think I found the right balance, and I’m proud of the expression I got.
The face you make when your job interview started with the interviewer calling you “cute”, and ended with murder.
Page 20: exposed 3d model. How embarrassing…
Intro, Page 20 is in a particularly funny state right now. The 3d model is hanging out in panel two. The wires are showing like crazy. Panel two used to be a technical shot of some footwork… which far less interesting than showing how delighted Kaya is to cut someone, so I switched it out for a more dynamic shot.
Scene 1, Page 9: Went from just a scribbled out description to a sketch-and-color, minimum viable product. It’s not the prettiest page out there, but it does the job for now.
Scene 1, Page 10: Went from just description to a pretty clear sketch and a little color.
Scene 1, Page 11: Changed the first line from “Then we’ll just have to send someone to clean up” to “That’d be fine. We’d just send someone else to clean up.” It’s more matter of fact. And selfish. She’s asking if there’s a penalty to backing out, and he’s answering as if she asked if her backing out would be a problem for him. The JD man is very mission focused like that.
Jesse’s mugshot is now complete.
Scene 1, Page 12: Oh man, this is my favorite edit. I finally made Jesse his t-shirt of his favorite show. It took like… six hours to design the characters and stuff… but it was so worth it. He looks so… I don’t even know. It was so worth it.
Just gotta finish that wall of conspiracy now.
Little Jesse, now with 80% less lazy eye and 100% more face muscles.
Scene 2, Page 10: Subtle fixes to Jesse’s face. His jaw was just… The lines were fine, but the brain in my wrist took over and shaded it too narrow and far forward.
Scene 2, Scene 12: I can’t believe this page isn’t done yet. Middle panel is maybe done. Wireframed panel five. Jesse still doesn’t have hands. Whatever.
Scene 3, Page 10: Fixed ugly face. Sorta. This page kinda bugs me. But it’s functional, so I need to stop picking at it.
Scene 4, All of it: All of scene four, the introduction to the third party member is in minimum viable product quality. The lettering is done. I’ve taken to doing lettering first, actually. It helps me test page flow early, and I can build my images accentuate, rather than fight with whatever text I need. And it does me no good to have test readers stumbling over bad handwriting.
Scene 5, Pages 1 through 3. This is the third party member getting loaded onto an army plane, where she encounters Jesse. The panels where she meets him are finished, because it was just too exciting to finally have the two of them in the same place. I’ve been in exposition land for so long, I just want to go outside and play.
PHEW. Big update.
Gonna keep plugging away at the missing pages in Scene 1, that random sketch page in Scene 3, and then I’ve got twelve more pages that aren’t quite legible enough to be worth posting. They’re close. This is a good enough update for now.
Cheers y’all. <3