Refining the style

I haven’t had a ton of time to work on comics lately but every other night or so, I try to spend some time working out the style I want to use for Aurorae. It’s been a challenge, as I’ve kind of stuck myself in a rut over the past few years working almost exclusively on Variables, going for a much more detailed and realistic style than what I want to do with the new project. While I don’t expect to release any pages of Aurorae for several months (I still haven’t nailed down even the outline, much less the actual script), I need to be prepared to go into full production mode when the writing comes around to a point that satisfies me.

To get more of a feel for this style, I’m starting to ink the pieces as well. Not only does it help get me back into the flow of inking drawings, but it forces me to execute every line instead of sluffing off and saying “good enough”. To get a consistent look for the project, I need to make sure that everything I do is repeatable… Which, at this point, it absolutely is not.

Below, you’ll see the Demetri character, who will play a significant role throughout the book. This is the Aurorae style done right. His physique is completely exaggerated, he has the appropriately boxy look that I want for the character, and overall, I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. I need to shorten his torso a bit but overall, I’m happy with the drawing.

He has the look of smug satisfaction and supreme arrogance that I want for the character. Overall, this is a nice step forward.

Next up is Demetri’s “partner”, for lack of a better term. This, uh, didn’t turn out as well. Once again, I have reverted back to a style far too similar to Variables for my liking. She’s not exaggerated enough. Her proportions, while reasonable, don’t have a light feeling to them. Overall, the drawing is decent but it shows just how far I need to go before I’m comfortable drawing sequential art for Aurorae. This drawing could have been ripped right out of a page of Variables and nobody would be the wiser. A mistake drawing all around.

But I’m really enjoying the hell out of drawing these retro clothes. I’ll admit that much.

So, that’s it for this week. I hope to post an update once a week until the comic itself launches. When will that be? I honestly have no idea. It could be February, it could be July. I’m debating whether to finish a large chunk of the book before posting anything at all and then posting a bunch of pages at once so that readers actually have something significant (and interesting) to read right off the bat. In the coming month, I’ll be posting more of my thoughts regarding the online comic process and where I want to go with this story.

Thanks for reading!

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