V4 Sneak Peek #8- Pencils DONE!

Good morning, sir!

Or madam.  As you prefer.

I have an update- the reports are true.  Volume 4 pencils are done!  Every story page in the book is penciled, and merely awaits color, your eminence.

Chapter  10 is blocked, and nearly all of Chapter 11.  Chapter 12 is in the works.  So I ought to be able to bulldoze in and start shading up a storm.  I'm hoping I can KO about a Chapter's worth of shading every month.

To hit that stride, I'll have to take a break here and build a Prelude pad, KO a few commissions, try to get caught up on e-mails and... egads, when is the last time I replied to someone in the art accounts?

Bad, bad David.

I'm being stingy with samples from Volume 4 here because I want to avoid spoilers.  But have some random art advice:

One of our freelancers was interested in how to draw fabric- what makes it look natural, that sort of thing.  I doodled this up.   The most helpful analogy we discovered was to think of fabric not as a disconnected thing- but as another organic part of your character.  Like a second layer of skin.  That helps make the placement of folds and creases a little more intuitive, when your mind is seeing it as one whole.
As an aside, I'd encourage creators to use a range of fabrics with their characters.  Thin wispy drapery, thick plush folds, crinkly crisp uniforms, wet clingy cloth, dry, tight, baggy...  What would your cast be wearing and why?  Taking some time to think it through adds a pleasing, tactile dimension to your art.  At a subconscious level, the reader will not only see how your art looks, but understand how it would feel- and that adds a lot.


And this wouldn't be a Sneak Peek without at least some Volume 4 art- so here are a few glimpses that fall more into the 'teaser' category:


First, the official title of Volume 4- Descent to the Archives.

Kalei will be in it- and you'll find out a little more about what the hell might have happened with her and Jeneviv.

Vi is going to be in it and we are giving her a gun.  I'll let you do the math.

Randy has an epiphany and / or explosive flatulence.

Tinsel finds a shirt- and wears it.

I cannot overstate how excited I am with the way Volume 4 is shaping up.  I feel like Volumes 1-3 laid the groundwork, and the story is really launching forward with this edition.  We've been trailing breadcrumbs throughout- but this book drops some bread slices.

I can hardly wait to finish it and show you.

In the meanwhile- you may have heard that Volume 3 is updating for free on the DK site.  We're hoping to build up as many readers as we can for the V4 Kickstarter- thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word.  If you know anyone who would enjoy our work, please point them our way.

Thanks again to everyone for your generosity and goodwill- we've got some fun things in the works!