V3 Sneak Peek #5

I'm working with Mace and company again, which really feels fantastic - it's been a long time since I drew them for the graphic novels! I find that I have to be cautious on their proportions, since I'm so used to drawing their childhood Prelude versions. Namah's got longer hair and horns, Lilith is taller and has styled hair, and Mace... Well, he didn't really grow all that much. But he is in a different outfit, so that's something. And, of course, Whip's got a much deeper voice in the graphic novels. Big, booming bass squeaks. All important considerations for me to bear in mind as an artist.

The scene returns virtually where it left off, in the foothills of the Starfall Mountains. Finally, after 2 books worth of lurking at the back of the narrative, Bast is coming into play. I've been looking forward to his entry into the story. It's a lot of fun from a writing standpoint, because the earlier group of 4 characters (Mace, Whip, Lilith, Namah) had a very stable and cohesive dynamic going for it. Bast's entry into the equation changes things, and creates the opening for interpersonal conflicts to come into play as another layer to the narrative.

A few more pages of pencils, and half the drawings for this chapter will be finished. Half the drawings of one chapter, for a 3 chapter book, which will be in color, may not necessarily be a harbinger of imminent completion... But powering through a marathon of work, I need those psychologically boosting milestones.