City of Cards C5.2: HERE!

More pages edits from Chapter Two:

I was hoping to get this up earlier but it’s actually taken me awhile to get more edits finished than I’d like. All of these are from Chapter Two and are kind of an interesting batch for me because there are panels here where I’d actually already done an edit before and went back and retouched it, as well as edits that I’m conflicted about and am going to maybe come back to.

As I’ve said in previous posts about this process, editing teaches you a lot about your own work. Early work might be rough and full of technical issues, but that doesn’t always mean that the intent was off. Still, I enjoy this process and hopefully the results will be worth it.

Chapter Five Start

City of Cards Chapter Five: Lysis, Friendship: C5.0-1: START HERE!

OKAY.

Before it begins, I just want to make a quick note letting people know that there’s some stuff in this upcoming chapter that might make people uncomfortable. I debated not saying anything, but I wanted to put it out there. I’ll write more about it later if I need to, and feel free to shoot me any questions you might have.

Basically, this is going to be the chapter that earns this comic its mature rating. That said, I have made the decision to censor certain sensitive pages that will be going up in a few months for those that are viewing my comic normally. I'll be posting the uncensored pages in a couple of locations not on the main site, and when I go to print I'll be printing unedited as well.

I made this decision in part because I didn't want to surprise readers and put anyone in a weird situation. That said, nothing that happens should come as a surprise to those of you that have been reading since the beginning.

Chapter Four End!

City of Cards C.4.44: HERE!

Today's lack of blog write up is brought to you by Pokemon X and Y.

But seriously, there will be a bigger blog entry next week for the intro of Chapter Five because there's a lot I want to say about it before it starts and I need to think of a good way to say it.

City of Cards C.4.42-43: HERE!

Under the weather, but I started doing creepypasta illustrations again for this October:

First up is from the story Arizona, which you can also listen to here thanks to the lovely Mr. Creepy Pasta.

And I finally got some fanart together for Look Straight Ahead by Elaine M. Will:

 I got my printed copy of the book at SPX and having gone through my own rough patches over the years this story will hold a lasting place on my shelf for years to come. It’ll be available in comic book shops soon so keep an eye out and do yourself a service by picking up a copy.

October 2013

City of Cards C4.41: HERE!

Right, so, still trying to figure out my next steps. I made a chart for all the edits I want to do before I'm willing to pursue printing the first book of City of Cards:

That comes out to 551/885 panels to rework over the next however long it takes me. That's actually being pretty generous with myself, but beginnings are always the hard parts.

But hey, Chapter Five is starting soon. Here are a couple of unfinished panels from the upcoming chapter. This one is going to really be all about body language.

Also, non-pro-tips/thoughts: grayscale comics are a lot like black and white films. Black and white films are shot differently with respect to lighting and stage. Obviously everyone’s mileage may differ, but it’s always good to go into the decision between colour and black and white with a thoughtful eye. Both have their merits and strengths, it’s good to play towards those.

Second, don’t let skill level keep you from experimenting, especially with comics. Play around with shapes and design and panels and forms. Keep learning the basics, but perfection shouldn’t keep you from trying out ideas. One of the best things about comics is being able to break the rules in order to get your message across. Keep searching for new rules to break and new ways to break them.