Blog

Enter, CIA agent Samuel White

Brock Beauchamp
August 22, 2011

It’s White… again! This time, he states his purpose and will be a catalyst for explanation of the Variables universe for the next several pages. I’m still experimenting with various coloring techniques early in this issue and you might notice that I started using a softer blending method for the skin tones. I think it works better than the previous gradient style, which tends to make people look a little plastic-y. I also added a healthy dose of textures on this page, something I didn’t use on the first page at all. It adds to the time needed to complete... View Article

Preview – enter White

Brock Beauchamp
August 19, 2011

And here’s our good friend, mister White. In the upcoming ~10 pages, you will learn a lot more about White, why he’s here, and what is happening to Blake. It feels good to get to explain the foundation of this series, even though most of the big mysteries won’t be revealed for years (if ever). The first issue largely consisted of “Hey, here are people. This is what is happening to them” and because there were so many characters, I didn’t have a lot of time to do much more than that. In this issue, that will change. A big... View Article

The second issue has begun!

Brock Beauchamp
August 15, 2011

Here’s the first page of the second issue. Here, you’ll see how different the new coloring style looks when applied to sequential art. I’m excited to get a few more pages under my belt and learn how to blend the gradients more smoothly. Right now, they still resemble my cell-shading work too much. This week, I should get back on track with the schedule so check back on Wednesday for the blog. As always, jump through the image to the second issue of Variables 1992.

Second issue cover

Brock Beauchamp
August 12, 2011

It seems like it has taken forever but the second issue is in full production and here’s the cover! I originally planned to release the cover, inside cover, and first page on Monday but decided there’s no point in waiting so I’m posting the cover today and page one on Monday. As you can see, my coloring techniques have matured quite a bit since I started the first issue. Once I was a few pages into issue one, I wanted to change to a gradient style of coloring but felt that altering the style so drastically in the middle of... View Article

Conclusion – Chris Volsky story

Brock Beauchamp
August 8, 2011

Here is the final page of the Chris Volsky story! Chris meets a rather unsatisfactory end to his brief run as a “super powered” Tracer but does succeed in leaping a tall building in a single bound. Unfortunately, he didn’t nail the landing. So, that’s it for the latest short story! Check back on Wednesday when I’ll do a short run-through on my new coloring process (it’s looking really good so far) and I’ll show a small preview of the first page of the second issue. If you can’t be bothered to check back *that* soon, be sure to cruise... View Article

New art preview – second issue cover!

Brock Beauchamp
August 5, 2011

I’m finally in production of the second issue after several weeks of scripting, formatting issue one, and con-going. Since the last cover focused on Blake, I felt it was only fair to give Isabel and Candice a little face time for the second issue. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out and I’m excited to try the new coloring technique I’m going to use for the second issue. After a bit of aggravation, I finally got my new large format flatbed scanner working last night and I couldn’t be happier with the results on the cover. It scans lineart... View Article

Old Man’s War

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August 3, 2011

It’s AUGUST! And, it’s WEDNESDAY! In fact, it’s the FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH! And clearly, it’s time for a book blog. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi is my most recent sci-fi book group book – and the first one that I’ve written about BEFORE discussing it with my book group. It was my pick, chosen because it received good reviews and the premise looked promising. In the future, there is space travel and Earth is involved in an all-out offensive against basically all other races for the limited number of habitable planets out there. If you leave Earth you... View Article

Dan DiDio inadvertently summed up mainstream comics’ problem

Brock Beauchamp
July 29, 2011

Most of us have read about Dan DiDio’s recent outburst at San Diego Comic-Con. During a panel about DC’s relaunch, a fan stood up and asked why DC’s creative team had skewed to a jaw-dropping 99% male, 1% female ratio from the previous 88% male, 12% female split the company had employed in earlier years. If you haven’t read it, here’s an excerpt: Fan: “Why did you go from 12% in women [creators] to 1% on your creative teams?” DiDio: “What do those numbers mean to you? What do they mean to you? Who should we be hiring? Tell me... View Article

San Diego Comic Con wrap-up

Brock Beauchamp
July 28, 2011

Next year, I’m wearing a walking counter when I do this blasted con. I probably hoofed it 5+ miles every day because the San Diego Comic Con is no longer held only within the confines of the San Diego Convention Center; now it sprawls out across the entire San Diego Gaslamp quarter. And it’s GREAT. I wasn’t able to do as much as I wanted but that’s the nature of every convention I attend. Next year, I’ll know what I can and cannot do, adjust accordingly, and hopefully have a slightly more productive con. As it is, I met several... View Article

Chris Volsky page three

Brock Beauchamp
July 25, 2011

Whew. Comic-Con is over (I’ll have a write-up later this week) and I’m back at home, entirely unprepared to resume my normal work schedule. Is it a vacation when you’re more burned out and exhausted than you were when you left? Anyway, here is the third page of the Chris story. Click through the image below to jump to the entire short story.

New short story – Chris Volsky

Brock Beauchamp
July 18, 2011

While I’m off at San Diego Comic Con and preparing the second issue, I’ve brought in an artist to help with the next Variables short story. His name is Rey Siasar and he brings a unique style to this story and so far, the pages I’m seeing are great. Also, this is the first short story written by Nick Hemsing, the co-creator of Variables. Jump through the image below to see the first two pages of Chris Volsky’s story.

Preview of the last page

Brock Beauchamp
July 11, 2011

I’m running a bit late with this update but given that it’s summer, I’m not terribly worried about it. The completed page should be posted Wednesday-ish. I learned a valuable lesson while inking this page: do not attempt to ink a page when the room temperature is somewhere in the high 80s. The ink is runnier than usual, the paper sticks to your skin, the sweat from skin will smudge even dry ink, and it’s almost impossible to cleanly ink small details. Normally, a page takes me about 15 minutes to clean up after I scan and ink it; this... View Article

Zoo City rules!

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July 6, 2011

Happy First Wednesday of July! And happy First Wednesday of the Month Book Blog Post!   Today I shall introduce you to Zoo City by Lauren Beukes.  It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2011, and is a fantasy book accidentally chosen (not by me) for my sci-fi book club.  Mostly, I will tell you that Zoo City rules! Zoo City takes place in an alternate today, or possibly tomorrow.  But not long from now – everything about the world is recognizable.  It has a few things going for it right off the bat: – Female protagonist – Not about white... View Article

Breaking and entering

Brock Beauchamp
July 1, 2011

And here we are, the second to last page of the first issue! I started work on drawing the cover back in January and it’s kind of freaking me out to see it nearing completion. Is it any good? Should I fix some of the more blatant screw-ups or do I leave it as-is? I’m sure I will end up adjusting a few things here and there but my ultimate goal is to leave things be and just move on to the next issue, learning from the mistakes I made in this issue. One of the areas I feel I’ve... View Article