Mazzic
Member since: 2007I'm sure REAL comicbook artists don't tackle a comic the way I do...but I like to jump around and work on different pages, depending on my mood. And since this is a fan project, I can afford to take my bloody time!
That being said, this full-page spread of a half-dozen droid Jedi is kicking my butt. Technology has never been my strong suit, and finding interesting, different poses to stick the Jedi in has been a challenge! Especially this full-page.
Because of my misgivings, my approach for Page 2 was a bit different. I roughly sketched the scene as I first saw it in the computer. But I also envisioned the page to be very dramatically lit, and wanted to capture that these heroic Jedi had just broken down a door. I redrew the page, with a significant amount of detail and rough lighting. But the scene still didn't feel dramatic enough.
The next few pages of the story take place in a reception area, so I knew that I would need to design the space ahead of time. I created a rough ground plan (inspired by architect Santiago Calatrava), made a rough foamboard model, and photographed it with proper lighting and camera angles. I then dropped my rough Jedi illustrations into the scene, and moved them around until I found a composition that I liked.
Then I started hacking away at the Jedi. And have been doing so whenever I get a spare chance...and this page has so far taken me about 3 months. Ha!
Anyway, I'll continue to post my works in progress. Let me know what you think so far! So you have some context, here's the page's description from the script:
Int: Kalarban office building. Full-page panel: a group of Jedi bursting through a lightsaber-cut hole into the building’s well-appointed main lobby – this was clearly a place for very important dealings until recently; now, there are huge metal blast shields where the windows would’ve been, and furniture and equipment - droid parts in particular - are lying around randomly.
The intruders consist mostly of a motley collection of battle-scarred Iron Knights, the motley-est of all being Luxum, whose Juggernaut war droid body is draped here and there with bits of the typical Jedi ensemble, and splattered with equal parts oil, lubricant, and blood. The only non-droids in the group are Sey, in full Jedi regalia, and Sage Kelsey, human smuggler-turned-resistance fighter. Kelsey is brandishing a DL-18 and has a pummelstave, taken from a Red Knight sometime earlier, strapped to his back. He looks comparably ragged to Luxum – but far more entertained.
Title: EARLIER
LUXUM
Fan out!
NARRATION
Even for a Jedi, I’ve never liked fighting.
Comments
WHOA that is some crazy awesome pen work! I am freaking loving this!
Boshuda
this is so cool...more please
YES.
A thousand times YES!!
So pumped to see more of this, and more of your creative process... my mind is blown by the effort you're putting in. This is brilliant stuff.
wow, this is really good! Take all the time you want, but keep persisting!
Fantastic composition, and your ink renders are stunningly detailed. Keep it comin'!
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone!
I don't know how much to tease you all with. Like I mentioned, I work on any panel of any page I so feel inspired by. So I might just have a pencil sketch for one page, while another might be completely finished. Is it something I should post in order of the story? Does posting the script pages help? Or, like in page one, would you prefer to just see the images (but what if they're not finished??).
Also....are they still "ink renders" if it's drawn in Photoshop? "Pixel renders" just don't have the same ring to it.....
I think with all the exitement about them...order means nothing here...just keep posting...these are sweet.
Oh...I forgot , please
It's like pulling teeth!
Wow. Okay, so nearly a year later, and I'm getting time to revamp this page. I ended up hating the angle of the Uulshos Justice Droid, so redrew him. I also wanted the scene to be much more dramatic, so I'm throwing in deep shadows where I can. The level of detail doesn't have to be the same throughout the piece...so I'm going to let the background characters recede more into the light, and be mostly in silhouette.
Thoughts on the new edit?
That linework is so phenomenal, it's almost a shame to see it inked in with shadow!
Boshuda
I didn't know Mysterio was in Star Wars...
Dude, awesome!!!
Oh hey! Eliminator 434! Those guys were constant nuisance for my players in my old campaign. Whenever a single bad-ass droid villain was needed as a challenge, an Eliminator 434 is usually not far away.
Oh wait. I see you used the Uulshos Justice Droid variant instead of the E 434 assassin droid. Carry on, Frank-Joseph.