Blog

Another issue complete

Brock Beauchamp
May 1, 2012

This is it! The final page of the issue is done! As you can see, events transpire, cliffs are hung, etc. Now, in my attempt to be as annoying as possible, I’m heading back to finish the 1992 arc so 2002 is going to stay as-is for the next few months. With my first con coming in a few weeks and my workload being a relative unknown at this point, the comic will update once a week for the next three weeks. After that point, expect to see it return to a three pages every two weeks schedule. As always,... View Article

Issue end

Brock Beauchamp
April 30, 2012

Well, I’ve finally finished a second issue of Variables. It’s both weird and frustrating to have two issues in the books. Weird because it feels like I’ve been doing this forever but in reality, it’s only been a little over a year. Frustrating in that “how have I finished only two issues?” At this point, it’s back to the 1992 arc to finish issue two. This shouldn’t take long, as I only have ten pages left in the issue until completion. Over the weekend, I started on the first draft of issue three and if there was a way I... View Article

Chaaaarrrgggee!

Brock Beauchamp
April 26, 2012

Well, Karter starts fighting. There isn’t a lot to say about this page other than that. Karter doesn’t like killing people but in certain situations, he certainly isn’t above the act. The brand of zealotry that he subscribes to overshadows whatever moral compass he may have. As always, click through the image below to jump to the (nearly complete) first issue of Variables 2002.

Guns a-blazin’

Brock Beauchamp
April 25, 2012

I’m. Down. To. Just. Two. More. Pages. And then I’m done with the first issue of 2002! Production has been ramped up lately and given my newfound proclivity for waking up and starting work before 7am, I may be able to keep it up for awhile… which means that for the time being, Variables will be switching to a three every two schedule. The comic will update every Tuesday (as usual) and every other Thursday. I’ve been churning out more than two pages every week for the past three weeks so for starters, I think that schedule is something I... View Article

Somebody’s gonna get shot

Brock Beauchamp
April 24, 2012

Somebody’s gonna take a bullet in the next few pages, that’s for sure. This page was a relief if only because action scenes generally don’t require extensive background drawing. Karter is panicking a bit and does a last ditch move to alert the police to his presence. Why does he want them to know he’s there? You’ll have to wait for the next page to see that… As always, click through the image below to jump to the first issue of Variables 2002.

And… Fight!

Brock Beauchamp
April 23, 2012

I’ve mentioned fight scenes in Variables before but I think some of it is worth talking about again… Fight scenes in movies, television, and comics bother me a lot of the time. The fighters are nearly immortal. They take multiple punches to the face. They fight for ten minutes, then somehow find the strength to get up and do it again. Anyone who has been punched in the face knows that this just isn’t the case. Hell, look at boxing matches. If the fights go for 20+ minutes, the boxers are usually so tired that they’re lobbing junk at one... View Article

Chattering cops

Brock Beauchamp
April 19, 2012

I’ll keep this morning’s update short. Here’s the new page! I’m pretty happy with it and given that I’m already close to halfway done with the next page, expect to see the preview for that on Monday morning and the page itself on Tuesday! That is all! Click through the image below to jump to the first issue of Variables 2002.

Sneaking around

Brock Beauchamp
April 18, 2012

Page layouts have been a real challenge for me lately. I mean, really a challenge. Most of the time, I rough out one or two thumbnail concepts, take the best from each, and start outlining the page. Within half an hour, I’m boxing out the page on a bristol board and a few minutes after that, I’m drawing the page. It hasn’t been happening like that for me lately. At any given point in the comic, I focus on one part of my creation process and push hard to improve it. Right now, it’s my layouts. I feel that my... View Article

Karter’s first kill

Brock Beauchamp
April 17, 2012

Well, you probably knew it was coming. Karter finally shoots somebody. Two police officers were impolite and got in the way of his mission. It’s unlikely that the kill count stops at two, though… Which brings up violence in Variables. You’ll notice that you don’t see the police actually get shot. I won’t use this “turn the camera away” trick every time but I’m not crazy about drawing super-violent scenes. I’m not totally against it when it’s necessary but I’ve always been of the opinion that the imagination is far more vivid than anything a creator can draw, film, or... View Article

Another alley!

Brock Beauchamp
April 16, 2012

Let me tell you, Karter loves his alleyways. How much of this comic has he spent in alleys? 1/2? It’s his preferred method of getting around (well, that and rooftops). In this preview, he’s sneaking into another alley, this time with his MP5 ready for action. Tomorrow when the full page is released, you’ll see why… Over the next few weeks, I’ll be updating often, sometimes twice a week. I have to finish this issue (24 pages) before the end of April, so I can format the issue and print it for SpringCon in May. It takes at least three... View Article

Hey, a new update!

Brock Beauchamp
April 12, 2012

It’s been awhile but I’m happy to say that for the foreseeable future, I’ll be back on track with Variables and updating more than ever. The next page should be ready by Tuesday, just like normal. This page was really hard to draw. My continued efforts to improve my background work are bearing fruit and the multiple perspective angles in the first panel were a challenge to draw correctly, as was getting the correct size on all the objects on the page. It’s really easy to draw the humans out of size perspective versus the cars and street or vice... View Article

It’s been awhile…

Brock Beauchamp
April 11, 2012

Whew. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to update Variables but over the next three weeks, expect to see updates coming fast and furious as I wrap up this issue before my fist convention in late May. My plan is to have the entire 24 page issue completed by the end of the month. I’ve been playing around with a new printer I bought, trying to put together some new prints (you may have seen some of them posted over at my Rocketpig Studio site), and just got back from a great New Orleans trip. I’ve always wanted to... View Article

Comic strip, revised

Brock Beauchamp
March 22, 2012

Instead of the typical page preview today, I’m going to talk about something a little different… One or two of you may remember that quite some time back (probably about a year ago, now), I started work on a comic strip featuring a bunch of talking animals. Why? Well, it’s partially because I love comic strips and, like most artists my age, I absolutely worship at the altar of Bill Watterson. The other reason is that I loathe talking animals. I hate furry comics. I think they’re one of the dumbest ideas pervading every corner of webcomicdom with their unfunny,... View Article

Plastic bullets

Brock Beauchamp
March 20, 2012

I’m really happy with this page, particularly the upper panel. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve been really focusing on making Variables backgrounds better and I think this page shows the payoff for some of that work. It’s still not perfect but it’s getting closer to where I want the book to be visually. This page was written about 20 times, five of them completely differently. Every time I looked at it, I wanted to tear my hair out and start over (so I did). While right now I merely grumble at it, this page has the potential to be ret-conned... View Article