Okay folks -
It's a little late, but here is the art process from last week's pages.
First, we have Alana's script -
Page 7
One long panel, but divided (maybe six times?), so that Daiyu's progress is the only thing that changes in each panel. This is basically to show her action (and stealth!) as we set the scene in one "splash" page for what is going on.
The splash is similar to the art on the inset on page 5ââ¬âthe aliens coming down the ship. This is the moment we're flashing back to. So, Daiyu is approaching from behind the Washington Monument, which is to the far left (?) of the shot. She then slips near the ship, moving around it as the panel progresses, until we get to the ramp on the far right, where Grant, Elias Hill, and Zeke are shaking hands with their new team members. Anthony, if you're up to an even bigger challenge, I'd love to see the right side of the panel be *closer* (in perspective) so we can see the characters. Daiyu should be pretty darn hidden in the last panel, but close to our heroes.
Zeke is shaking hands with our still-unnamed traitor. (So far we've got Kai and Heem as shape shifters; any thoughts on a one syllable name? I'd like it to have a diphthong.)
ZEKE: Howdy.
DIPHTHONG TRAITOR: I was impressed to hear of your exploits against the Dar.
Page 7.5
Three panels, two short, one long. (Inverse of page 6.5.)
Panel 1
Close up on Zeke with the traitor. Hill is in the corner of the picture.
ZEKE: Well, I can't so much take credit. It was really the cavalry that did the fair share.
HILL: Cavalry?
ZEKE: Apache cavalry. Flew right in, arrows blazing.
Panel 2
A non shapeshifting alien claps Zeke's shoulder and shakes his hand, pushing the traitor out of the way. A look of blind hatred shows on the shapeshifter's face, but behind Zeke's head, so no one else sees it.
OTHER ALIEN: Your modesty does you credit, Zeke-Jackson. I hope you will regale us with your experiences when President-Grant and General-Elias-Hill allow for time.
ZEKE: Always happy to tell a story.
Panel 3
The traitor stalks angrily away toward where Daiyu is hidden, passing her. She is fumbling with a device in her earââ¬âmuch like a modern cell phone! (One of those blue-tooth things that make people look like cyborgs? Let's do something that evokes that. *g*) She begins to speak, quietly, but as we see her, she cuts off, because the alien is passing.
DAIYU (in Chinese, if you want to play with that, Gene):
Which Anthony looks over and works up into a rough layout.
In this case, Anthony didn't quite nail the first half of the page. And while there was nothing wrong with how he laid it out originally, I thought Alana had a very cool idea and decided to push him a bit on it…
The next stage, naturally, is the actual drawing, but, we went ahead and jumped straight to color this time, so…glorious color!
And last, but certainly not least (what would a comic be without lettering?), Gene works his mojo on the letters…
There you have it - another art process! Do you all have any specific questions or want to see something in particular? If we know ahead of time, it's easier to document the steps. Let me know!
Thanks!