elitetrick

Weekly Update - 51

First off, I want to thank Riley Vinet for upgrading to the Scavenger tier!  Thank you so, so much!  There’s just so much love this month, thank you!

Second, I wanted to restate the announcement that I’m skipping a page post this week, but there’ll be some sketches going up instead on Wednesday and Friday as per usual.  I say “sketches” only because they take me ~4 hours to make instead of ~6 days, but at least one will be about the same quality as last week’s...

Delaying this week

Alright, gonna call it now... definitely not gonna get the next page up this week.  Still got a lot of boxes to pack this weekend and right now Page 95 is a lot farther behind than I'd like.  I'm simply not happy with how many of the panels are looking so far.  I'd rather take the extra time to redo a lot of the sketches from scratch than try to force out some sub-par linework.

I will get some sketches posted on Wednesday and Friday, and hopefully this page will be going ...

She Just Wants to Feel Okay

When we see Riley in Chapter 5, she's feeling okay. She is often okay. A song recently inspired this series of sketches where she's not okay.

Her "gremlins" are a constant source of stress and exhaustion. It feels like she is constantly fighting against her own mind and body, and it's a fight she doesn't always win. It's a fight that may be, ultimately, unwinnable.

But one reason I think I love this character so much is that it isn't about winning. It's about never giving up the...

God Slayers - Page 94

This is an example of what I was saying in that sketch with Riley and the Rubik's cube... the ideas I'm starting to get for using the art to tell a mini side-story while the dialogue is happening.

God Slayers - Page 94 - High Res

It's hard to draw a dark scene.  A lot of what I've been enjoying lately is playing around with lighting, but there's no lighting here in this scene I can really rely upon.  A star-filled sky is basically the only source of light, and their eyes are adapted to low-light environments, so it isn't much of a problem for them...

Actually, huh... I just got an idea for maybe something clever to do on the next page.  >.>

Weekly Update - 50

Well, shit.  I was going to make this a short one, but it's #50, and because I'm somehow wired so that feels like I've reached some kind of important milestone, I feel obligated to make it long as a result.  That's how that works.  >.>

Let's talk business first.  In my ranting about villains last week, I think I forgot to thank Greg for upgrading their Patron tier from Squatter to Scavenger!  It's such a small, simple thing, but that kind gesture speaks vo...

Riley, Cube Master

Sketching out some storyboards last night, and this occurred.
My comic is mostly talking... so... more and more I keep trying to think of ways to make that interesting. Not just to read, but also to draw. So I've been thinking lately about sequences of images and how those can be used to tell a separate story behind what is being said in the dialogue.
I was pretty happy with how these sketches turned out, though I probably won't be using them. Solving a Rubik's cube isn't particularly h...

God Slayers - Page 93

The fun thing about Donno is that he doesn't need to actually hurt anyone to do harm.

Still feels like I'm kinda rushing these out, I dunno.  Does it look okay?  I'm fixated on a myriad different shortcuts I took and mistakes I made that are scattered all over this page.

God Slayers - Page 93 - High Res

The Citadel becomes a little more detailed and a slightly different shape, I think, each time I draw it... >.>

I'll admit, I've never had a very clear idea how to draw... the thing that it is.  :P

Weekly Update - 49

Villains. Many a time have I argued with someone about whether or not there is such a thing as "objective evil."  (I could maybe specify that claiming to know objectivity in general is what I take issue with there, but I digress.)  I could probably fill tomes with nonsensical ramblings on the matter.  Last week, the closest thing we currently have to our story's "villain" may have just entered stage right, so today I just want to talk about villains.

I've heard many an ar...

Kiera - Then and Now

It's fun for me to sometimes draw characters in just kind of neutral poses, side by side with other characters or different versions, for practice and comparison's sake. This time it's young Kiera and adult Kiera.

One downside to planning out my comic so far ahead is that I know certain characters will likely not be appearing in the series for... long, long stretches of time. I need to wrap up Part 1 of Kiva's story in the next 3-4 chapters, and I think I've laid a pretty solid foundat...

God Slayers - Page 92

I got it done!  Finished it this morning, in fact.  >.>  Probably isn't my best work, probably, but taking another week to work on it wouldn't have improved it by much and I really didn't want to sit on this moment.

God Slayers - Page 92 - High Res

It's kind of a weird month when public posts are still in Chapter 5 and Patreon posts are in Chapter 6... idk.

Weekly Update - 48

The next page is... pretty spoilery, so... I don't know that I want to share any parts of it just yet.  It's also not very far along due to a rather unproductive weekend, and I'm not yet sure if I'm going to get it done by Wednesday.  I don't want to delay it though...  The story must go on, despite all the extra work and moving and chores that need doing.  >.>

Anyway, here's a preview of a possible pose for Kiera's full-size poster.  Because I've already ...

Poll Results!

I'm actually sitting here laughing to myself about this.

"Hm, I think I want to draw a really solid, big, wallpaper or poster-sized piece of art, and spend a huge chunk of time on it and make it look really good... but I don't want to draw every character in it because that's a monumental amount of work.  How do I pick one of my characters when I love all of them?  I know!  I'll let people vote on the character they like best!" I thought.

17 votes is actually more t...

And the winner (almost) is...

There's still time to vote, but I think we've gotten about all the votes we're going to get. It's been a pretty close race, and although it might be too early for ME to declare a winner, Kiera is happy to declare HERSELF the winner with three days left.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/45938021

The reward will be a completely colored, full-res wallpaper/pin-up and if it does wind up being of Kiera, she'l...

God Slayers - Page 91

It was really fun to try and draw a page where the art is telling a story on its own, without text.  I get so used to writing dialogue, it's easy to forget just how important it is to leave things unsaid sometimes.

God Slayers - Page 91 - High Res

The faded text on that wanted poster DOES actually say some things.

Moving Update!

So, kinda knew all along that it would go this way, but it's been a whole lot of waiting and suddenly it's like, OMG THE NEW HOUSE IS ALMOST DONE TIME TO GET READY TO MOVE HOLY CRAP.

We have the benefit of not being in a huge rush.  Our move date probably won't be for another month, month and a half, but at some point, a switch has been flipped and it got real all of a sudden.  The first box has been filled, the first cabinet emptied.  Not even a dent in the task ahead, b...

Weekly Update - 47

Here we have some deep groves in an apparently wooden pole.  This was tough to draw, I had... just... NO IDEA what it might look like, and though I've been trying to make use of more references lately, the internet was not much help. (Unless I wanted to fix some scratches on hardwood floors).  So let's see... for this update... Should I talk about drawing a dialogue-free page?  Or where wood comes from in Kuserra?  How about the breakthrough I finally had for Chapter 7 las...

Please vote! (For her!)

Getting Riley to pose for an image where she's begging for votes just... wouldn't happen. So there's this instead!

Vote here! https://www.patreon.com/posts/who-is-your-45938021 (Requires a login but no money or subscription)
I said I'd keep the vote up until February, so I guess that means one more week of vote begging after this one. You *could* vote for Kiva, but he wouldn't want you to. He ...

God Slayers - Page 90

I wonder what's on the other side of that door...

Also, ACK, PAGE 90?!  When did that happen?  Am I supposed to do something fancy in 10 pages?

God Slayers - Page 90 - High Res

You know, if I'd timed this better, this page would go public real close to Valentine's Day.

Weekly Update - 46

I started a folder this morning to help me keep better track of my weekly update discussion topics, because I do enjoy dumping a few paragraphs here and there on whatever the current thought is on my brain.  These things just come to me while I'm drawing, and they bounce around in my brain becoming more complicated and more convoluted until I finally spit them out.  These thoughts are mostly random and raw, but maybe they're interesting?  I don't know!

Been thinking more ...

Please vote! (For him!)

Kiera is currently tied for first place with Riley but she never expected that Max would stoop so low as to beg for votes! How dare he! The NERVE of some people! What a CHEATER!

Vote for your favorite character here!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/who-is-your-45938021

Votes will continue to be gathered up until about the first week of February, after which the winner or winner(s) will re...

God Slayers - Page 89

Rat kabobs.  Or is it kebabs?

God Slayers - Page 89 - High Res

As I was sketching those background characters out the first time, a story came to me about these two siblings, an older brother and his younger sister, bounty-hunters, who want nothing more than to get their tails painted red.  Accompanying them is a friend/rescue, Gus, who, although he might be too dumb to speak words, he contributes to their team by being their tank/muscle, and a damn good cook.

Their story might go untold, because their story isn't for Kiva to tell.  But o...

Weekly Update - 45

Wow!  So, let's first thank two new Patrons, Greg and Rene!  Thank you so much for subscribing and please enjoy your early access!

Page 89 is coming along, should be finished today.  It needs a few more characters colored in and some finishing touches -- like, for example. I forgot to draw Max's arm warmers in this panel.  This preview actually wasn't my favorite panel until after I shaded/colored it.  I still kind of struggle with Max's face at this angle, but ...

Discord Link

It's been brought to my attention that the Discord link on my welcome notes was wrong.  The TEXT was correct, but the actual link was still pointing to an old one that was no longer working.

I have now fixed it!  But for your convenience, the PROPER invite link should be: https://discord.gg/HKZmH3U

It's just a small server for chatting or chilling out or talking about games or whatever.  Come on in!<...

Please vote! (For Her!)

Kiera's begging for votes! Vote here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/who-is-your-45938021

Of course, please vote for your favorite character of the four. I'd never try to skew the results via subtle manipulation -- but Kiera would. Look at her, she's so sad!

The poll is just a way for me to get a little hint of active engagement from readers. For a webcomic, I know that most people just want...