rough pages (comic that never happened, part6)

These are two rough pages from the comic book, as well as a few more sketches and layout thumbnails. I like to do a whole pile of generic "fight scene" sketches, and then try to piece them together in a logical order. New images are then created to string everything together and make sure the actions hook up. Alexi

Environment Designs (comic that never happened, part5)

These sketches are rough designs for the various settings of the comic, in particular, the first act. This was most developed area of the story and we got right up to the layout stage. I like to plan out areas with wide, map-like reference drawings to establish size and space relationships. This also helps in the planning of the story and in figuring out where the characters are at a given moment, and what views should be seen in the background.

Character designs (comic that never happened, part4)

More comic stuff, including some costumes and designs from background characters. Alexi

Character designs (comic that never happened, part3)

More sketches from the design stage of the comic. For me, this is the best part. I usually start by looking though national geographic or museum or collections for ancient artifacts. I look for interesting shapes and designs, and look at how certain aesthetics are common in various societies. When I design characters from a specific (and in this case, fictitious) culture I try and repeat graphic and stylistic elements. So, at a glance it is recognizable that they are of the same group. The style and symbols of a culture will depend on values and standing of the society (are they war-like or peaceful, wealthy or poor, isolated or cosmopolitan?) From there I can expand on the design, changing it to suit the individuals and their place in society. I try to reason out what design elements can I incorporate so that it becomes obvious that a character is, for example, a merchant or a soldier or a nobleman. Finally, I adjust the face and body to give the character a distinct and interesting look and personality. I didn’t really get to that stage on these sketches, as they are mostly concerned with costume designs.

Character designs (comic that never happened, part2)

future-past world, where a once great civilization has been lost and the characters exist in a primitive and savage (almost medieval) environment. It was our idea to mix remnants of the advanced cultures and the new primate societies into the character designs and weapons. To further develop the back story, and explain the designs for different species, we imagined that at one point space travel existed before some event in the very distant past caused for the down fall of all civilization and the loss of most technology and knowledge. As a result, many different species where left on the same planet, with only mythology and legend to explain their origins. Anyway, here are some more images. Alexi

Character designs (comic that never happened, part1)

Here are some character designs from a group comic book project that was started but never finished back in my college days. We had the story worked out very loosely, and where developing the costumes and architecture of the various civilzations. Then we finished school, got jobs, moved apart the project died a slow death. These sketches where works in progress, but where very close to being finalized designs. I used the same template for the male and female bodies to save time, and focus more on the details and shapes of the costume, rather then re-drawing the figures for each character. Here are some samples. Alexi