What we've been up to
An Enzo side quest, some Kelljin sketches, an inking process vid, and a sneak peek at page 8...
It’s getting a little springy out here in the bay. Magnolia’s are blooming, I see a few early buds on the climbing jasmine, and the tax man is dusting off his pitchfork.
While we’re putting the finishing touches of color on page 7 of Skingirl, I thought we’d share a sneak peek at the black and white version of page 8 and clue y’all in on exactly what we’ve been up to over this long winter hiatus.
Kelljin’s brush pens…
In Kelljin’s spare time, when she’s not expertly applying pigment to our little indie comic here, she’s been testing out her brush pen technique. Here are a couple recent drawings I’m quite fond of:
Chris Winter’s process vids…
Chris, in the meantime, has made some process videos for us. I’ll be posting these here bit by bit. In this one, he’s beginning to ink page 12:
#OddlySatisfying. Stay tuned for more process vids in a series I’m thinking of calling “Thinking on Inking,” or maybe “Winter Inks Winter”….I’ll keep brainstorming…
There is a lot to learn here. When I first saw this page, my mind was blown. Chris saw an opportunity in the script that hadn’t occurred to me. This sort of cyberpunk, neon Tokyo-meets-Vegas skyline opens up some very interesting ideas for issue 2.
Enzo’s side quest
Yours truly has been working on a little side quest for our friend Enzo. For your reading pleasure, here’s the first rough paragraphs:
“The Garden of Reason”
There weren't many places in Hell Enzo hadn't been. In his seemingly interminable existence, he'd visited all five corners, seen all modes of suffering and torment, but he'd never bothered visiting the place commonly known as The Garden. Never really been curious. More formally known as The Garden of Reason, or simply Reason, thes anathema sat at the very bottom of a deep, smoke-filled valley. It is said to be a place of shame, for Satan and demon alike. What sort of shame exactly had been long forgotten, it being in shame's nature to grow new and more putrid roots as time stretches beyond its singular, inaugural grain. Things grew in shameful Reason. Things unnamed and unseen. Things festered, and Enzo had no interest in festering things. His senses were as dulled as his curiosity. He had known all sorts of of depravity and wisdom. All of it bored him. He saw nothing, he heard nothing, he felt nothing that he'd not experienced a million times before. Boredom was a pet to him, a lapdog he was resentful of but had grown accustomed to. Feeding it, stroking it absent-mindedly. Picking at its scabs. Such was his curse. For if there was one thing Enzo knew for sure, it was that he was cursed. The curse of disinterest. Apathy. Ennui. Whatever he called it, it didn't matter. It was as useless and unending as the words he might call on to contain it. No, Reason had nothing for Enzo. And yet, today it called to him. There were many excuses a demon might use before taking the long walk to the Garden of Reason. None of which were good. It was an embarrassing thing to admit -- that one was off "to seek the Garden." A demon might not show up to her scheduled poker night or weekly session at the skinning factory, and gossip would begin to circulate..."I hear she ran off to find Reason," or "such and such scourge has gone for a walk in the garden." Most of the time, it was simply an expression, a way to explain away a suspicious absence or a spell of daydreaming (which was not unusual among the younger and less seasoned demons). Other times, it wasn't. The Garden was very real, and once in a while a demon would leave and never be heard from again. Enzo never put much thought into what happened to these poor devils. Didn't care much, really. He had his own bones to grind, fingernails to extract. Work always remained to be done, and a good worker Enzo was. He had always been a very diligent and motivated punisher, as his yearly performance reviews would attest. But times had changed....
And before I bid adieu, here’s a reminder that we’ve still got some UNSKIND stickers for any new subscribers! Get ‘em while their hot!
Stay frosty, D.M. Sayres
Sneaky sneaky…page 8 in glorious black and white awaits beyond this paywall…
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