Before I begin, allow me to explain that nearly all of these panels will have background, if they do not already, will be inked, and will have a polished, finished appearance. They will also be scaled down. They were drawn full sized for later reductions, in typical manga fashion (even though this is printed left to right and I do not think of it as a manga).
This is the face of the god Kadmon. I don't want to give anything about him away, so this is all I will say.
This is the page that will be used as the table of contents, with the chapters listed down the left side. Aside from that list being given, this page is finished.
Here Kadmon is reaching into the chest of the protagonist Vivek to retrieve a rib. Who here catches the religious allegory? This novel should be full of those.
With the first page of the novel, I wanted to put the reader directly into the action (or at least interesting and intriguing parts. I sometimes worry that I may be too much ahead of myself, because their are massive spoilers for the insightful here, but it is one hell of a hook, if you ask me. By the way, Vivek is not that ripped. Those lines are just for the fluid flow and shading.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/KuraiBlack/3A.jpgI hope you'll excuse the link, but it was a little graphic and I didn't want to take any chances. Warning; this scene has some blood.
A bit violent, yes, but I felt that it was needed. See the text for the explanation of why this doesn't kill him.
I'm not entirely comfortable with the way this blood spray looks, yet. It will probably be altered but the idea of searching for photo reference makes me a little squeamish. Also, the hand will probably be made larger, since I'm not pleased with the proportioning.
Beside Kadmon is a favorite antagonistic primary character...But that is all I shall say, for now.
Vivek's pose look familiar to anyone? I certainly hope so. Vivek's left arm needs help.
Though this does have a skeleton and maggots, the body is being CREATED, not decomposing, so this shouldn't be a problem.
The text isn't adding, but once it is, it will explain how the skeleton was released by Kadmon and fell slowly to the ground, which then turned into a pool of maggots that were blood red and bone white. They attached themselves to the skeleton and slowly fuse into the tendons, sinew, and ligaments. Here the maggots will be shown latching on the the skeletal hand.
Here we (should) see the body of the woman that Vivek is having ressurected reforming, and due to the graphic nature, the grim and horrified faces of the adventuring party that was with him also appear. At the end of the panel/page that this concludes on, Vivek will then think back to how it all began, allowing the transition to the begining of the story.
Wow, this was a really lousy scan, but I'm not even going to bother fixing it because I knew when I drew it that I didn't like it. This was drawn before the one before it. Its more of a place-holder for the other page (or two, perhaps three) that will replace it.
This is the introduction page for chapter 1, the above being the prologue. Above/below/somewhere will appear the text "The Adventure Begins," or something (hopefully less contrived) of that nature.
By the way, this is a cracking holy symbol. I appear to make this more clear before and during the inking process.
This page was drawn before I decided that I was doing the text directly on the panel and I realized later that there was too much going on to allow the text that I intended. This will be split up,m probably into two pages, but possibly more. I know it seems like I'm half-assing this and going in without any direction, but in all fairness this is the very first time I have made any real, full attempt at a graphic novel and am learning as I go.
The text will explain how Vivek left the monestary in which he was brought up to seek a holy relic. As he traveled to the nearest town he began to realize that this was just his polite way of being dismissed so that he no longer took up the resources that could be used to feed, clothe, and shelter other orphans (which is where Vivek found his beginnings). By the time he reached the primarily Elven city of Lacridale, he had fully realized this but desired to prove himself as an adventurer and holy man all the same.
The first person he sees within the city gates is a charming little gnomish bard in the racially mixed neighborhood where performers, writers, and artists of all stripes come to associate and earn their silver. A conversation begins.
Poor, holier-than-thou, self-righteous Vivek. All he wants is directions to where he might find honorable, stuck up like minds to associate with, but this dirty little scoundrel seems to have other ideas...The very nerve!
Here Vivek explains why this simply will not do. (Its okay; you aren't SUPPOSED to like him at first. He changes over time...Alot.) Zook contests that his party will lack variety and tells him just what he needs.
Here we have the first, and thus far only entirely complete page. All of them should be of about this quality when I am finished.
Here a good natured stab is taken at fantasy archetypes, all of them done through Zook.
And that is the story so far. Well? What do you think? Believe that I can I make it in the fast-paced world of professional comicing, now that you've seen my material?
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