Page 2 – Where Is That Child?
Once again, I thought I’d alert you to the fact that every day this week, there will be a new incentive over on topwebcomics.com when you vote for 6-Commando. Pages from my sketchbook, early concept sketches, or other cool things to gawk at for a few seconds in exchange for the vote! So shuffle on over and help get this one into the high end, arright? Thanks!
Well. There’s not a whole lot to be said here. Not that wouldn’t totally spoil the story for you, anyway. And since it’s late (as it often is when I post these little updates) I’ll keep it brief, and say only that I warned you early on that this chapter would raise a lot more questions than it answered. But I think the scene speaks for itself, and will read properly in context as we go.
This is the most technically complex page I’ve done so far. I really like the look of the pure pencil, and I’m certain that, had I had to ink this, I would never have been done on schedule. The coloring was a bit of a problem for me, I’ll admit – I’m still fiddling with the adjustments on my color flatting technique (if you don’t know what flatting is, I recommend Jason Brubaker’s primer on the subject). But suffice it to say I’m pretty happy with this page overall and I’m just moving right along here.
By the way, as I’ve often criticized the inclusion of cats in comic stories, I’ll justify their inclusion here by saying that they are just cats. They are not psychic, they do not talk, they are not secretly gods or goddesses – they’re just cats. I thought they added a touch of domesticity to the scene, in addition to making it seem very “alive,” in contrast to the rather denuded jungle environments I’ve been drawing so far (and subsequently setting on fire with atomic blasts).
Anyway, it was an extremely long week for me, this last one. Overtime out the wazoo to get this project done at the proverbial “office.” And there’s another one coming right up so for now, I better make my bed and go to it. However, I will say thanks for all the votes, and the constant support! This week I’ll be doing another little vote drive, with special updates every day – so vote early and often, as they say! The system has just reset for voting so now’s the time to push 6-Commando up in the rankings a bit.
And to all the commenters, thanks for the notes! It’s been very helpful, and I appreciate all the support! Be well, and see you all next week!
Hu, looks like a serious hit on the head there……. Or is she seeing the light on the end of ‘THAT’ tunnel?
Yeah, she got a pretty good one, huh? I was really glad that his page seemed to read properly. As always, I tend to second guess myself when it comes to whether or not my pages are “gettable.”
–M
Well done! This is the best art I’ve seen from this comic so far.
Sarah’s eye in panel 2 is wonderfully detailed and the background in panel 3 is top notch. I even like the cats!
Keep up the good work.
Thanks! A lot of this has to do with the pencil I’m using now instead of ink. I has a lot more subtle variations to it that are a lot more satisfying than the technical markers I’d been using. Add to that a busy week that kind of jumpstarted my imagination, as seems to happen. I’m really aiming to step up my game on this chapter, now that I have a good rhythm going, and an intelligent audience!
–M
I do think the art here is really fantastic, too. The contrast is excellent, not just with the abstract denuded jungle but with the peace and domesticity of the scene as well.
I must say, Sarah definitely has a very military family, considering that they dressed her in flight suits even as a child. ;-P
I appreciate the compliment a lot! At the very least, you can see now what I was getting at with the hair in the previous page. I’m aiming to push the quality of the artwork up as far as I can in this chapter, and I was really happy with this page, with the limited palette and such. I’m glad it’s going over well!
–M
I suppose its fair to point out that I thought there was another reason that her hair was acting like that. A much more sinister reason, mind you.
I’m quite glad that you decided to go this route, instead. Character development will be nice, too, especially for an important but currently flat character like Sarah.
Just normal cats… 🙂 Well, frankly “Imperial cats” were my first idea when I saw the page… After all the layout (“waking up” in a dream with cats after being knoked out by an explosion) really associates with them. 🙂 But normal cats are just fine. Even more – if there’d been some overpowered mystical cats here it would hurt the comic IMO.
Also I’d join up with previous comments – the art here look great! And I am really actious to know what is next.
Imperial Cats. Or a Secret Magic Psychic Cat Empire. THEN people would know this is a comic, RIGHT?
But, no. Just cats. And I should probably qualify my objections to cats in comics by saying that what I don’t like is when the ubiquitous Talking Cat Character is just layered on top of an already-established story, just because it has to be there. Like fantasy stories that just have to have elves or dragons in them, or science fiction that has to have some kind of an Intergalactic Empire, just because that’s what fantasy and science fiction have, and the writer didn’t feel like thinking it through any more deeply than that. So it’s not the cats per se, it’s the fact that they get added so thoughtlessly, as a pre-formed comics/anime cliché.
–M
Started reading the comic a few weeks ago, love it. The art, format and storyline are all fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it all the way through.
I’m really glad you’re following it! Webcomics are a dime a dozen these days, so I’ve really been trying to push this, artistically, as far as I can make it go. And it helps me a lot to know that people are reading it, and hopefully getting something out of it, as well! So thanks!
–M
I love the way the red flows, like water or in this case fire/blood. Very well done on the details, don’t give yourself carpel tunnel for it though, you have a fan base already haha. But it is a nice “treat” to see that every so often.
I have suggestions, just suggestions you don’t follow them if you don’t want to, how about a flash back for the major characters, a different on every two or three chapters, base them on different “elements”, such as fire, this one scene you have now, “water, earth and air”. Just a thought that came to me as I was looking at the work you did, like the suggestions from your fans to do something fun, like page 448 was done. Still one of my favs by the way.
Really great detail, just don’t kill the “muse” in you doing it too often ya know. 🙂
Great page M!
I love that the hair is a making the transition between reality and dream visual, also love that only Sarah is in color and all the rest in grey tones.
I’m curious what this will reveal about her past!
Great page keep ‘m coming!
I’m glad you noticed! To be honest, the grey background was originally a matter of expedience – I tried to draw the background in full color but it was overpowering and lacked effect, and I was running out of time to work on it on Sunday. It was only when I reduced it to greyscale that it “read” properly. Pencil has been a real step forward for me – it’s let me keep the lines a lot more lively. With modern computers you can kind of get the best of both worlds that way.
–M