Schlock Works

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Duplicity - Complete

Coloring tip: quick flatting for free

Brock Beauchamp
August 31, 2011

In my opinion, coloring is one of the weaker points of Variables and therefore, I’ve spent more time studying how to improve that element of the comic than anything else. In the first issue, I used a cell shading technique but after a few pages, I felt more was necessary to bring the comic to a more professional level. At SDCC, I attended a panel hosted by Hi-Fi Color, learned a few new tricks, and decided to test them out on issue two. The process was more involved than the cell-shading technique and after coloring the cover and first page... View Article

White leaving with Monroes

Brock Beauchamp
August 30, 2011

And here’s the conclusion of the intro scene! White is leaving with the Monroes, which means we’ll be moving to a new scene next week (here’s a hint: it’s another member of the Monroe family). I’ve been getting a little ahead with my pages lately so expect to see two pages released next week, starting on Tuesday. Speaking of Tuesday, Variables will now update every Tuesday instead of Monday. It’s a test I’m running to see how Internet traffic reacts to different days early in the week. It has nothing to do with ease of production or anything to do... View Article

Preview – White and the Monroes

Brock Beauchamp
August 26, 2011

Now that I’m recently unemployed, progress on the comic is flying along. I may even release an extra page or two in the coming weeks to make sure that I finish the second issue before the end of the year (on a page-per-week schedule, it’s due to finish in early January). I’m already building up a buffer and once that gets to two or three pages, I will start releasing additional pages ahead of schedule so that I don’t get too far ahead of the posted story. You’ll be able to see it on Monday but each page has more... View Article

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.