Sneak Peek #21: Swatches Galore

Volume 3 is back in action!

It seems as though trivial matters have delayed us at every turn this year - finishing a commercial here, a few jaunts to the hospital there. At one point I had to chase down a squirrel. (He was too lazy - he needed a lesson in survival! Liz and I cornered the hapless creature on a doorstep, thus proving humanity’s superiority to squirrel-kind. Feel free to share in my pride.)

But with all of that behind us, production on Volume 3 is now proceeding at a healthy clip. I’ve been knocking out pencils for the last few weeks, and I’m approaching the halfway point of Chapter 8‘s linework. But you know what’s more fun than hearing me prattle on?

Pictures.

Here are some warm up sketches I did when getting into the latest scene, getting a feel for some poses, props, and cameo characters.

The preliminary blue-sketches for one of the panels on the page.

We asked Namah if she wanted to be in Volume 3 or not, and she had this to say.

This is probably smashed down in size here in our blog - we’ve got a larger version up in our DeviantArt, FurAffinity, and Inkbunny accounts.

Some of the background characters will be recurring in future scenes and even future books, so it was necessary to do a lineup of swatches. We’re considering having these characters acting the part of a community charity outreach staff. I think they look the part.

As you can tell by the panel above, there’s a lot of work involved in this book - though production is in full swing, it still isn’t going to be done soon. But ratcheting Prelude down to half-speed is really helping, I must admit I’m noticing a big difference in how much book work I’m able to fit into a week now. So keep an eye on our blog or twitter for the occasional sneak peek, and you’ll have a front row seat as we get ever closer to a release date.

15-Second Commercial!

First, the best news I could hope to share - Liz has recovered and is back home from the hospital! Thank you again to everyone for the support and goodwill we've received - words are inadequate to encapsulate my gratitude.

I asked the doctors to cast a charm on us warding off evil and guaranteeing eternal vitality, but it turns out that's not specifically covered in medical school. They couldn't even give us any health potions. So though adversity may not be eternally banished, we've generally got the hang of working around it and getting things done regardless.

And speaking of getting things done, slightly-less-but-still-exciting-and-skippy-good-news: Our 15-second commercial animation is finished!

For a brief blast of animation, click thus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SXkC4vyTao

It's a relief to have it completed. Especially in light of my old articles http://vividstuff.blogspot.com/2009/04/article-6-action-road-to-new-market.html

exhorting the importance of effective marketing, I now feel less like a hypocritical loud-mouth. I'm just your every-day average loudmouth.

Admittedly this commercial took way longer to produce than I originally estimated... Partially due to 'Fun-Tyme With Life Events!' but also largely because I was too optimistic in calculating the workload.

I have to offer profuse thanks to the Association of Seven for their help on the production - without them, I'd still be coloring frame after frame, thinking to myself, "I wish I had a bunch of badass art ninjas to do my dirty work for me." But instead, I'm back to something that really puts a gleam in my eye -

- penciling Volume 3.

I just finished the second scene of Chapter 8, and with no more distracting commercials or commissions, we're rolling on the rest of the book non-stop until it's done. Though we had originally planned to open Pre-Orders this summer, we have decided to hold off until more of the book is completed - we’ll be sure to announce when that time approaches!

Not that it will be terribly soon - we've still got the rest of Ch. 8 to pencil, all of it to color & shade, and all of Chapter 9 to tackle, which is over 40 pages in and of itself. But production will at least proceed unfettered from here on out. Keep an eye on our twitter, we'll announce the next Sneak Peek of production progress there.

Meanwhile, it's time to plaster this commercial all over creation.