Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Now for the fun stuff!

I've just began the tonal pass on our graphic novel, starting with page one of the prologue. These quick tonal passes set the mood overall for the final imagery. There is still room for improvisation and details for the final artwork. In doing this first pass, I suddenly have had some clarity as to how I might finish this. It will be a combination of tone and drawing...mixing it up here and here, saving details for the focal point. These tonal comps are very low rez and do not indicate the final resolution or texture. Storywise, I made some minor changes with the layout from the initial concepts posted earlier in this blog. I really love the idea of starting with a super tight shot of the boys shoes as he and his dog run splishing and splashing through a creekside in the forrest. It's instant action on frame one page one...different from the previous setup where I started with the panel just below...a wide expositional shot. Reversing it, I found it way more interesting. Also notice how I spaced out the dialog...the boy say earlier..."come on boy!"...next panel...boy with dog...and the dog barks. This gave the panels themselves more life...as each one is responding to the other. This is a better way to guide the reader through the panels than having all that in one panel. I think it also helps with the pace...where timing has been introduced now. It is far more interesting than before. The prologue is so VASTLY different than the rest of the story that follows...but that is the point. We intend to show contrast...the peacefulness and serenity of the forrest...and then the "blank" of the rest of the story. It's going to be quite exciting. If you have read this far...thanks! More to come!

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