Selena gunshot temp comp
Whoa… spend almost a day working on a single shot! I started with a pencil sketch, when scan it and repaint digitally a few times. Once I was happy with the look I printed it out on paper and traced the drawing with ballpoint pen and scan it again… can you imagine?!
However the result still wasn’t good and I was really disappointed. The graphic novel look (or, if you prefer, comic look) I was aiming for wasn’t there. It looked like crap actually and I feel quite miserable about it. In the drawing process this is a critical point, you either drop your artwork and admit the defeat or continue the fight. I choose fight and throw heavy artillery…
Current test comp looks like this, although the colors are missing (yeah, it’s gonna be a color novel, so you can imagine the workload!):
Usually Selena doesn’t talk like that, but you can get an idea of her temper and attitude towards humans. And I can’t help myself but it appears as spagetti western instead of fantasy tale!
Your such a tease man, you keep showing little awesome snippets, your like a human suspense movie, grrrr! On the concept side, I’m interested in the direction you are experimenting with. Wow! she has an elitist superiority complex. That automatically makes her personality intriguing, I will definitely keep her under a microscope.
My feeling is mutual, I’m partial to the comic book look, I think you should paint the character in your distinctive rendering method, it’s more at the fine Art level. But I like the Dynamic and perspectives in comic book shots.
Your line quality is amazing man, its obvious but just have to re-enforce that. But I hope you stay far away from the western feel, haha but if you want her to read as eccentric, living in the tropics and all can be cool:)
Keep it up!!!
I know the feeling, stuff not falling in the place I aim for..
But in your case I think it might have something to do with the start you’re making. Until the very first panel of a graphic novel is ready, you’ve made very and very much decisions and compromises, because it will set the tone and style for the whole book. When drawing it you might be checking and checking again if style and technique fits your ideas for what this book of yours exactly must look like.
Anyway, I think when some pages are done things might get easier, style will be sort of settled and you’ll know more and more about how to make things work so that your story can be told.
I like the style youre going for. Good lines!
Just one thing of my personal taste.. I know it is a manga thingy to draw just one eye
Can’t help it but I always found something was missing. I then get a thought popping up; artist chose for ‘one eye manga style’ cause of difficulties getting them right in time. Can’t help that thought 
But to set things strait I don’t think you chose it out of lazyness, looks like you really picked it to get some asian style going on in there, nothing wrong with that ofcourse.
Good Luck!
@T-flux
Thanks man! That’s a great support.
It’s interesting to develop these characters and that’s why I’m doing it although it’s a huge challenge. Well she thinks of us like damn, they are just like kids, never learn their lessons. But I think her attitude would shift as the story progressed.
Considering the visual look I’m thinking of a mix of korean style painting (Fox Spirit) and japanese manga (they got great layout and ‘camera’ angles and stories!), yet I like european BDs.
@DidiKong
Thanks for your thoughts man. This is really great and feels like you’re talking to a good friends. As I’ve commented above, I’m looking for a mixed thing, trying to portray things from both Asian and Western comic cultures.
Considering the eye… hehe I tried to draw it but somehow it doesn’t work good. I found if you go a realistic way (take a look at Druuna for example) you’re limited with facial expressions. You can’t change proportions to exaggerate and so on. The good example I saw was a korean manhwa style. They draw quite realistic yet utilizing some manga characteristics.
Anyway thanks guys, it’s great to chat with you!
@Leo
nice direction, I think I might fall for this chic!;)
Avatar trailer is out, we have to talk about this, http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar