Today I reached the first milestone of the Chapter 4 illustration process. I actually went a bit over 20% because I added an extra panel into this milestone to make up for the fact that the chapter title takes up the space of a big panel without causing any extra work.
I'm wearing a Fedora in the illustration above because one of the soundtracks I was constantly listening to on this first milestone was "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". I love this film and especially the soundtrack. Chapter 4 will lead us into the sunken city of Ankal Aasha and I think that this film still has a big influence on the way I envision this place. Not exactly because the locations look similar but in the way the film itself looks and feels. When I think about it I see brown greens and a lot of warm light. Or maybe it's just what the film has tranformed into inside my brain over the decades. If I watch it again it's likely to look totally different.
Anyway, here are two artworks from the first milestone. The first one is a small portion of the large first panel which I won't spoil for you by showing it completely just yet:
In the second one you can see that we meet new characters in Chapter 4. Well, I figure that this isn't big news anyway...
On to the next milestone!
Very nice!
ReplyDeleteI love the light and the colors!
I wish you all the best with this extraordinary piece of art, because I feel a special power behind it, which other online comics don't have. I'm reading and following it of course, inspired by it, I'm working on my own GN at the moment.
A Padawan :)
Very very nice!
ReplyDeleteWoah!! Extraordinary first panel! Feels very epic with all the details and colors. Can't wait to see the rest of the next chapter. :)
ReplyDeleteI always thought Temple Of Doom was the underrated of the Jones movies. I always had a great fondness for that one myself. The dinner scene always sticks out haha :). The drawings look great, you do a good job of keeping a consistency in the art work. Do you keep a basic color pallet open to draw the colors or do you just pick them from your illustrations before hand?
ReplyDeleteSome even say that "Temple of Doom" nearly killed the Indiana Jones franchise. Personally I like it very much. It's setting is much more exotic than those of the other Indy films and the underground temple and mining complex are absolutely iconic. And I don't know ... I think Indy looks best in a jungle. Too much deserts in the other movies (unfortunately the jungle setting wasn't able to save the forth Indy movie though).
DeleteI try to set up the color palette of each location in quick color studies like those in the preceding posting. I then try to match the colors in all panels that show this location. Actually I found out that it is much more important to find the right colors for a location than finding the right set design in order to create the atmosphere that I'm looking for. A cool set piece in a wrong light is much less effective than a simple set piece with the right light cast on it. I'm learning so much by doing all this!
Awesome! This is easily one of the most charming and illustrious pieces of work I've ever come across on the internet and I'm so glad it's ongoing!
ReplyDeleteGreat work Daniel!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to see this new chapter!
Great work. I am always pretty excited, when I see that you have a new post on your blog.
ReplyDeleteYour project is really inspiring.
Hey Daniel,
ReplyDeleteAre we still expecting an August release for the fourth chapter? :) :) Just wondering if your new drafting process has changed the timeline?
Take Care
I've already compensated the hickups of the prelim process with some overtime work last month. So I'm still on schedule and the release of Chapter 4 can still be expected in (late) August.
DeleteThanks for replying Daniel, good luck with the chapter and everything! :) Take Care
DeleteDaniel, What would be your wish with regards to working on WW? 1. Are you willing to accept keeping your head above water (and by default continuing to work on your own terms)but you might not be rich? 2. Only accept a wide profit margin as the standard for success with nothing less? 3. Go back into the industry and work on WW part time? 4. Take a break if it doesn't meet your standards at all? Either way I look forward to your stories.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty aware of the fact that it's a nearly impossible task to generate a yearly income as a full-time comic author. Especially here in Germany. That's why I'm very proud that I've made it this far already and I'm humbled by all the fan support thus far. This first year was also heavily supported by some startup money from the government and advances from the publisher. The app is gaining momentum, too. However, for the rest of the year I'm also going to dip into my savings and I hope to be able to sell the book rights into some more countries on this year's book fair in Frankfurt. I'm also trying to make some fan merchandising available soon.
DeleteNow, to answer your question, I would be perfectly happy with sustaining a modest living through the Wormworld Saga. That would enable me to keep my full-time schedule and to tell the story in a reasonable timeframe. That's all I could hope for at the moment and it's a big task.
In case you wonder, I'm keeping the financial aspect of the Worworld Saga low at the moment because I don't want it to distract me and the fans from the story itself. I guess there might be a lot of support if I just were asking for it prominently and there might come a time for that in the future. Just not now. I'm really happy that I'll be able to publish Chapter 4 and 5 because they will be the jumping point for the rest of the story. After those I'll be able to say "that's what I'm offering you. If you'd like to see how it's going to turn out then let's see what we can all do to make it happen". Just getting the chance to say that is more than I've ever dreamed of when I started this project.
Very good queestions!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work, Daniel. I'd really love to see more and more chapters and i'm curious when the main character will face his nemesis.
Without spoiling anything I can tell you that we're coming a lot closer to that in Chapter 4.
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