As relieving as it is to get some time freed up to continue work on my “bread and butter” strip, InkTank, it is more than a little disappointing to have tried something and had such high hopes only to see it falter and collapse.

HOWEVER … notice that Emissary is only “on hold” and not cancelled. The story is written and I still feel it is a good one, worthy of telling. In the future, I think I will be looking for an artist to partner up with to bring the Emissary story to life. I have it plotted out to take a year to tell in weekly installments. It likely wouldn’t be a paid position, as the intelectual property is owned by Blizzard, and so the publishing/reselling of the material would be out of the question. But eventually I hope to put the call out, accept submissions and see if Emissary can’t be launched and followed though to it’s conclusion.

I feel, deeply, that the Emissary story will be told. Eventually.

Update: Ahh, much better. This is the second step: more refined, detailed pencils. The work done early on in this stage helps set the stage for the final inks. As you can see, I made changes to panel 3 by focusing more on Tundra and I also changed her sitting position after reviewing some more polar bear photos. In addition, I finalized the lightsource (sunset) and tried to adjust the shadows accordingly. I’m much more pleased with this direction.

I think when this week is over, I’ll archive these particular strips in “how it’s done” section. I realize this is an unusual way to post a comic strip page. Thanks for sticking with me. Hopefully, you’ll just be getting final product after this week though.

I really must apologize to anyone who may be popping by on Monday’s looking for the pages again. I personally do not like late updates, but I think that I might have started this project with not too clear an idea of what making a comic page takes. As I said elsewhere, I think I’m stuck in a four panel, comic strip mode and wrapping my head around layout, dynamic posing and everything that makes up a comic page (including the dreaded backgrounds) it a bit more overwhelming than I thought.

I am devouring books on landscapes and animals and general art knowledge to try to get up to speed on making quality comic pages, but it’s just coming down to … I don’t know what. The pages are in my head, but aren’t coming out quite the way I want. Or at least, they are, but then when I am done, I am dissatisfied. They feel forced and stiff.

Yea, I nailed that tough line weight I was trying for, and I got that tree trunk pretty much spot on. But I am loosing the overall page in the details. The virtual forest for the trees, as it were.

Above I have posted my page thumbnail, a quick sketch of what I am going for on this page. I’ve already scrapped two other layouts and finally decided on this one. Over the week, I’ll be updating the page, in layers as it were, as I work though this process. I hope to not have to do this regularly, but as loathe as I am to miss updates, I am even more loathe to post art that I am unsatisfied with.

So, hopefully you’ll check back during the week, watch the progression of the page and perhaps see something I am missing. Or I might nail it.

Or you will most likely tell me what I’m missing.

Feel free to hit the Stratics forums to discuss the comic so far, critique the page(s) and give me feedback on what works and what doesn’t. As with most things I do, I post my baby steps in a hope to teach others while I myself learn.

Hopefully by the time the story is wrapping up, art will be the least of my worries.

*goes to read up on how to end stories*

UPDATE! The page is (obviously) live! It was a bit of a crunch, but I was able to get it up in a day. Suprisingly, the pressure had me making better decisions that the original page. Plus, I filmed a small section of me using my tablet and inking a portion of the page. I’ll be sure to post it later on the About page.

Whew… time for bed. =)

Sorry folks. I was on a good track to get the page posted tonight, even with getting the full version on Friday (my Alias sketchbook Pro trial ran out last week) BUT the program crashed. That’s bad. It did save the file before crashing. That’s good! But the file saved ALL the layers as one layer (all the separate rough sketch, sketch and inking layers). That’s bad. But I got a free Frogurt. That’s good! The Frogurt was cursed however. That’s bad.

So, unable to separate all the individual layers, and left with a single mess of an image, I will need to start all over again. Going completely digital is a big step for me and I’m sure to hit snags like this as I move through my work process.

So, expect the page to still show up Monday, just more towards the evening than my preferred morning update. I’ll re-do the page when I get home from work and try to get it wrapped up in an evening.

I mean, it should be easy right … I’ve already had a dry run. :/

And the action continues with more struggle and strife as our intrepid hunter does what he does best … communes with nature.

This page was a rather big step for me as I digitally penciled as well as inked the page. Plus I toned down the greytones and stuck with a bit more subtle shading.

In fun news, I hope to see everyone at Blizzcon this year! It will be my first time and I’m totally stoked to see everyone and see all there is to see.

And so it begins, not with a bang but with a … thing … that makes the bang … being jammed into a wolf’s gaping maw.

What is this, you ask? Another World of Warcraft comic? Why yes, it is. But this WoW comic stands out in that it is the first long form comic done by someone who has left the wrap around comfort of his four panel security blanket.

That right folks, Barry T. Smith, of the webcomics InkTank and Angst Technology, is trying his hand at a whole new graphic storytelling venue. From going long form to digital inking and coloring, I’ve decided to go off the deep end.

INTO! Dive into the deep end. Sorry.

I’m pretty nervous about this project because it is such a departure from my four panel safety zone. And I am immensely excited about this project exactly because it is such a departure from my established safety zone. I am expecting a bit of a bumpy ride a first as I learn digital inking and using grayscales, but hopefully I have concocted a story that will entertain and can present it in a graphical style that will explode your eyes with pure awesomeness.

Eventually.

So, feel free to kick back with us every Monday and see what sort of webcomicers brew I’m serving up. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry…

Oh wait, I think that’s going to be me. Who knows what the hell you’ll do. Just be sure to come back each week.

Thanks for reading!