This is a short one, but I think I’m going to start making little art vlogs while I work on things sometimes. I’ve gotten back to work on updating and editing Follower pages for the eventual Volume One we have planned. This past year has been super difficult for me with my ongoing health issues, but I really want to make this book, so I’m doing what I can to get there!
You can also help support me while I’m working on the book by joining the Chio Club via Patreon or Ko-Fi. There are even special tiers where you can be in the comic by creating a custom Chio character or receive a copy of the book on completion!
Now that we’re a few more pages into the newest Follower updates, I think I can show off some of the process that goes into making a page. Folks who support us on Patreon get early looks at much more of this kind of material, so if you like what you see, please chip in a buck or two to help us keep the comics flowing and get rewards like this!
This is what the very beginnings of a page look like. As you can see here, each page starts out with a very rough “pencil” sketch. (I work digitally, so not a true pencil, but who’s counting?)
You’ll note that I’ve added in the dialogue text even though there’s no bubble for it to sit in just yet. That step is up next, but in the meantime it helps me make sure that nothing important will be blocked by the text.
After the pencil sketch is done (and this one is just barely a sketch – it’s just enough to lay out where things need to go) then I’ll go in with an inking brush and make refined outlines.
You might also notice some colored guidelines around the edges of the page. These are removed in the end, but these lines let me know where things will be trimmed off when the comic is eventually printed. I designed Follower from the beginning with the intent of printing books, so I use this template for every new page! I’ll talk about making books in a future post.
Parts of the background are left in as pencil sketches due to the method I’ve been using lately. I like being a little more “painterly” and vague sometimes, especially if the stuff is in the distance or is otherwise not part of the main focus. It lets the primary parts of the image pop out clearly – like Leah and her mom in the top panel.
There are a few steps between this initial ink stage and the completed page, but that’ll be a future Work in Progress post. Or, you can join us on Patreon and take a peek at some pages that haven’t even been posted yet!
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