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Into A Groove
Posted on 21 January 2011
Old Habits is almost an ironic name for today’s chapter, as I am forcing myself to pick up new habits. I’m starting to find the groove for when to write, when to record, when to do graphics stuff, and when to just chill or work on other projects. Overall, I’m rather happy with how the “craftsman” aspect of this story is unfolding. I’m still keeping a strong lead on the published work, which is giving me better “last-minute-editing-fu” and the like. Now then, onto other things to talk about: The Art!
When I first approached April about doing two illustrations a week for a serialized novel, I was honestly surprised she that she quickly agreed and was on board. Amazingly, she seemed to even understand better than I what she was signing up for, and she has been a charm and a dream to work with on this project thus far. I’ve actually gone back and changed bits of the description because her sketches (and yes, she calls what she is giving me “just sketches”) have captured the image in my mind without me even having to tell her something was there. Case in point is today’s introduction of a character that I don’t really have an official “in story” name for, but I casually call the “Copper Shocky Stick Dude”. Said person is in fact the image for the eBook cover. When April drew him, she gave him that bracer on his left arm, which it so happens I had incorporated after I had given her the initial description (which was slightly different than what appears in the narrative now).
Other such creations actually occur with, well, every character she has thus drawn. She gave a face to Markus that I didn’t even really have yet in my own mind, and it just fits. What she drew for Gavrial wasn’t quite what I had in mind, no, it was better and still fit the prose. And then there is Cook, seen in the closing panel of Chapter Two. I had never meant to even do anything with Cook, and now I have to (in fact there is going to be a “bonus material” centered on her, post-Volume-One).
The other thing about the illustrations that took a bit of ironing out is that I want them to not be of anything I specifically describe in-scene. Such as, I have a rough sketch of Markus grabbing Kira’s hand from Chapter One, but that was in-scene, and I am very happy with what we ended with instead: Kira scoping Markus out as he crosses the bridge, and Markus actually getting the water. In Chapter Two, we had Jaeger climbing up to the airship docks, and Bryon contemplating his next move after everyone had left. Now, this whole “before-after” thing I have going isn’t a hard fast rule, and there will probably be some “scene illustration”, but we are going to try and keep that to a minimum. My goal is for the art to expand the story, not just retell it. I hope that you, the readers, are finding that the case. Anyway, I’ve rambled enough (as my site name gives me license to), so I’ll stop on that note. See you next week, or maybe sooner with a random other non-Tijervyn post. We’ll see.
1 comment to Into A Groove
This is my author, buttering me up. Possibly to crank out more product before deadline. It may possibly work.
Or productivity can continue to be sabotaged by feline terrorism.
Who knows.