How I paint comics - The Techno-Templar #27 (+Progress)

page 27 case 2.jpg

Welcome back! Let's take a close look at the 27th page of my 100% watercolor, sci-fi and surreal graphic-novel.

In the previous page, Devlok and his fidel nanomorphic drone, Phtae, realised that they have been duplicated and that they (or shall we say, their digital copies) are hanging in the local network of their host, "Node 32". Phtae is investigating after their bodies by flicking through all the cameras of the system, but ...

Curious about the previous pages? Go to my profile and scroll down!

Like I took the habit now, I prepared you a descriptive of the process. Surprise, we start by the begining, the Story-board page. Can't make it rougher, but the sequence, the panels and the thought bubbles plus an approxiamtive text are there.
script page 7.JPG

After having prepared the paper (watered, tensed on a wood board and dried up) I do the panel outlines with ink. I ink them straight simply to see clearer. Now the pencil, still no much details, just the lines, horizon, expressions and other necessary things.

You might wonder where did I put the vanishing point in those panels for example. Indeed sometimes it has to be very far. Well, sometimes I use my 1 meter ruler but sometimes... I use nothing! :D I just do it with the eye. I guess some experience helps (it also doens't always works good unfortunatelly) but there also tricks, the main one being simply to put an horizon line. It helps a lot.

Ink already started at this point, just outlines, sometimes some hatches for shadow indications but not much.

The first colours, always with very delayed at the begining and more and more dark. I also wrote down colour combinations for certain recurrent objects, like the jackets for example.

Towards the end, more black and retouching with some white, gouache or acrylic. Also white pens (I use Uni-Ball Signo). You can also see that it's when adding the black that all volumes are coming. For instance, this mass in the top right corner. And also the cast shadows, it doesn't matter if they are realistic from an object you don't see.

Yes! For this page, I did cheat over my rule of 100% analog. The last panel is a view from a camera, so I added that "Screen effect" with photoshop. If you don't know it, it's very simple, it's just a texture with a line of white and a line of transparent, you fill up the zone and play with it!