2008-04-26
Saturday, April 26th, 2008We will be changing Ethereal page updates to Saturdays. I need the time to try and enjoy the process… Thanks a lot…
We will be changing Ethereal page updates to Saturdays. I need the time to try and enjoy the process… Thanks a lot…
April 26th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Looking good
April 26th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Nice page, well colored I think, and the spell effect where Bianca is getting healed looks sweet.
Also, something that hasn’t been much of a topic lately, but the facial expressions, body language, use of posture, etc. is much improved over the earliest several comics
Also, the use of subtle nudity, or partial nudity makes everyone sexier, rather than ‘in your face’ nude.
Ken C.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Gatan looks great, splendid inking and colouring here, especially in the first panel. I can agree with Ken here, but improvement is to be expected after such a longrunning comic. Great fun comparing old to new. The faces and postures are the most notable differences I think.
April 28th, 2008 at 4:26 am
very nice
April 28th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Sweet coloring effects this week with Gatan’s eyes and that healing spell. Jonice looks wicked in that 4th cell too by the way.
I have to agree with Ken about how perfectly you display nudity/partial nudity (cleavage) Kris. It’s been said numerous people have noted it previously, but you just flat out know what’s sexy and not trashy when it comes to nudity.
Well that and who doesn’t love sheer, even if they are completely nude underneath. Is it just me or does adding sheer to something give it that finishing touch to make it a little more arsty/risque and while still tasteful? Other online comics could learn from you, as they just borderline on porn to be frank…
Keep up the great comic bud. I love reading/seeing the new page on my Saturday nights!
Later,
Degs
April 28th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
MRJ,
I read your post, it made absolutely no sense.
Then I sat down and drank about 14 beers trying to make a stupid friend seem worthy of spending the evening with. Now I come back and everything seems to make more sense.
Ken C.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Hey Ken, I see that you now have the equation for understanding Michael, lol. 12 Beers = understanding Michael’s sinister, complex mind. He he he.
Hey Degs, you have always been a big supporter of my talent, me as a designer and the comic. That’s why Sharlise became a very important character in the comic. That is also why I used his sheer lace design across the costume design for the ethereal elves. See, putting up with me and Michael’s insanity can pay off! Thanks everyone for the support and feedback!
I am finished with the portal art and will add the lettering tonight. I hope to have our first “Gatan Explains All” page up tonight.
I am working hard on trying to schedule my time much better so that Michael and I can do more than a page a week. We want to start posting pages of concept art and story as much as possible throughout the week as well as a comic page on SATURDAYS, going forward.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Hell if i ever learn to draw (i pessemistic about this but trying) ill put up a filer page now and then^^
And i hope you all like my inking
April 29th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I would love that Muad!
April 29th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Yeah… thats gonna take a while until i can make anything nice
April 29th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
LOL, yeah MRJ’s post was pretty crazy and a little cryptic. That must mean that MRJ understood what he wrote the most, Degs understood it more than most of the other readers (having inside info on Sharlise), and Kris understood his post more than Degs and less than MRJ. Knowing this information now, can you deduce who was the third shooter on the grassy knoll? Sorry I’m just brain fried from work and being goofy ;).
Thanks for the post MRJ. So Sharlise’s name is going to be changing to Schade? Is it pronounced like, “Shade” then? Sounds pretty cool. As I’ve always said to Kris, he now understands Sharlise’s character, look, and personality so well now that it blows me away. It’s his character to do whatever he wishes with now :). I just wrote her story, but he brought her to reality in a physical (inked) form if you will.
Kris you know how much I love your work; I always have. I was a fan the first day I saw one of your sketches on your desk back in early 04′; when I started at Destineer.
LOL me putting up with your insanity? No, it’s more like you putting up with how insanely picky I was when you were just starting to draw Sharlise for me way back haha! What was that process…? 2 years of drawing her before I stopped bugging you about little details? Talk about patience and perseverance on your part hehe :p.
The last thing that I have to say is just keep up the AWESOME work you guys. Promise me that you won’t kill yourselves trying to do too much ;).
Miss ya guys,
Degs
April 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Man Degs, what have YOU been drinking?
Jonice is the one getting her name changed, Sharlise remains nomenclaturally intact. And actually I understood what I was TRYING to say perfectly well! It just sorta came out martini-ized.
What I was getting at (and tonight I only had ONE martini so this should be twice as coherent) had to do with process - I feel like Kris is getting the main load of work dumped on him (he is) and I am just grateful for what I can do to help with one of the parts he seems to like least - writing dialog. I love writing stories, and here it’s really just taking the world Kris and others have already envisioned and fleshing it out (or as too many people at Destineer seem to like to say, “flushing” it out, though that sounds more like cleaning a supporating wound).
I do think it’s important to create consistent and appropriate voices for each character, just like Kris creates consistent and appropriate (and sexy!) images for them. That’s why I am maintaining the Lexicon Etherealis, a sort of combination dictionary and thesaurus of all things Ethereal, and some brief story line rough-ins, plus something I call the Cosmology (which you MAY get a view of sometime soon - MAYBE) that describes briefly how the whole universe came into being. I love to write, and the Ethereal world is way cool to write ABOUT, and it just needs Kris to keep me on a leash so I don’t go overboard.
Example (and this is fairly typical of getting a page together): Kris has pages and pages and PAGES of pictures, plus I am sure somewhere is a treasure trove of documents with things like character sheets, maps and the like, from the original game world. Kris starts to outline what from all that stuff should be in the next part of the comic. Kris and I chat, either on the phone, via email, IM, and (until the rat-bastard took a good-paying job on the west coast and left me here JUST when I had lots of free time - from being unemployed) in person. Actually the in-person chats were the best thing to happen in this universe, because now that electronic communications are our only media, those hours-long brainstorming sessions allow me to actually picture parts of what is floating around Kris’ head and turn it into words (OK, parts of what’s floating around in there, the rest - ick!)
Kris sends me a sketch, I email and get rough confirmation of what it looks like is going on and what direction dialog should be heading (i.e. if there’s something critical not to be left out) and find out if there are any pieces not yet in the rough (or things he wants to delete), I write a first pass and email it, he reads and makes comments, I make corrections if needed, I send him the “final version”, then he tries to fit it into not-too-huge speech balloons. Usually, in the steps where he does comment/edit, he has to reduce my originals by at least half, sometimes almost 90%. I like to write - sue me (can you tell based on how long this post is already?).
So, my original post (starting my second martini, better finish up soon here) was basically just supposed to be a formula
80% Kris et al ideas and images, 15% my dialog, 5% edit and polish. If there is any question about where credit is due, remember that formula.
So, next time you want to question my incoherent booze-addled ramblings, remember - it’s not always a good idea to imply that I need to clarify!
MRJ
May 1st, 2008 at 9:23 am
*shakes his head* You certainly haven’t lost your touch MRJ ;p. I’m happy to see that, because I’d be bummed out remembering all of our marathon chats about…well anything really haha. You have to admit that you definitely mixed messages a little talking about coming up with a name that wasn’t too close to Sharlise (which Schade is pretty different). It made it sound like that was her new name LOL :D.
I think I finally figured you out after all of these years. Where some people have comfort food for stress, you swap that with comfort typing/talking in order to compliment the martinis ;). If you want a second one you just say, “Ehh, I GUESS I could type more *grin*.”
*laughs* Anyways thanks for the post clarification AND for explaining what most people don’t know about the process. I’ve seen it first hand multiple times, so I just laugh when I hear further talk about it. That’s why I love Kris, he’s a perfectionist after my own heart.
The final countdown to Saturday has begun *grins*. This guy? Yeah he’s amped for the next page to come out!
Take care you two.
Degs
P.S. Oh and I’ve seen what’s in Kris’s head before. It’s kind of cluttered with incredible (unexplored) ideas, but by no means should you be scared of the dark side of his brain. He keeps those naughty, scantily clad divas chained up pretty good. Oh and don’t worry, they don’t draw too much blood when they bite ;p.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:54 pm
So, Degs, you’re saying when I want to write something, I need to drink first? I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re saying. So, it looks like I am already three ounces, er, sentences, behind, so I better start right away…
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:01 am
Hehe, something like that ;p. So hmm…does anyone else wonder if MRJ is Irish or Scottish in heritage? Just maybe?
Degs
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 am
Scots-Irish actually - neither side wanted to totally claim us, or maybe both did. Lets me have the best of both worlds - Scotch whiskey, Irish beer, bagpipe music (but no kilts). As some of my Irish friends like to say - the Irish came up with bagpipes and kilts before the Scots adopted them; the Scots just haven’t gotten the joke yet :p
Oh and another interesting tidbit, did you know that the bagpipes are technically classified as an instrument (pun intended) of war?
MRJ