I’ve made some good progress on Sunshine since my last post. I’ve finished the sketches for all twelve pages, inked them and am now halfway through the digital colours. I’ve also re-drew a panel and a page because they weren’t up to scratch.
A recap, in pictures.
A snapshot of a couple of sketched pages
All twelve pages sketched out and ready for inking.
Detail of the inked lineart
A moment from page three
A challenging fork. That fork was so difficult to draw. All the angles and things. Not for the faint of heart.
Finished pencils/inks for page two! One of my favourite pages to work on.
After I scanned in all the pages and was preparing them for colour, there was one page in particular that stood out as being screeds crappier than the others. Page Seven, the turning point in the story. It should be a strong example of good storytelling, as the mood changes here and things begin to get darker. I was getting absolutely none of those feelings from this page. I decided to re-draw it entirely with the help of my good friend, Creative Commons.
Page Seven. In all its uninspired glory. In my initial thumbnails this was stretched over two pages, but I felt that condensing it to one improved the flow of the story. I neglected to adjust the composition effectively to match, so it ended up feeling cramped and rushed. The top illustration is also the only outdoor one not drawn from reference, so it doesn’t match the illustration style of the rest of the comic.
New Page Seven. With improved design and a picture drawn from reference. All the other Wellington locations have been referenced from photos I have taken. I knew the shot I wanted for this illustration for quite some time, but I haven’t had the time to get the photo myself. I used a photo by Virginia McMillan as reference. Yay, Creative Commons!
Sunshine will be licensed CC-BY-SA when it’s finished, just like the rest of my illustration work is.
I’ve given myself a deadline of three weeks to have Sunshine finished and ready to share with the internet. I’ve got the colours, lettering, and design of the final web layout still to do. Three weeks should work out fine. Yep.
The story looks amazing and so many delicious frames. I am so looking forward to however it is to be told and released.