2DThe Temperance Well test works.

psCargile

The bulk of my artistic endeavors are taken up by the creation of my own story and universe, "The Temperance Well", that explores free will and predeterminism as condition of living in an extended time loop. The story was born in the summer of 2008, and since then I struggled with writing it out. The problem with writing is that I don't tend to draw when I'm writing, unless I'm trying to figure out what something should look like. Of course, I've drawn and modeled for this universe in the pursuit of building it, and I've related art here now and then. But after starts and stops, and rewrites, and brainstorming and rethinking plots and motivations, and streamlining the whole thing to its most essential characters and trying to make what everyone is doing have something to actually do with the story, I decided to do what a friend suggested, draw the damn thing--make a graphic novel. Yikes! And why not? I drew cartoons all through the 90s, so it's not like I haven't done it before. And being an ardent reader of Heavy Metal during the same period, doing a GN was something I thought about doing, but felt I didn't have the skills or patience to actually pull off.

But what the hell, I'll give it a shot. I got the tools (Wacom tablet, Photoshop, and Manga Studio 5) and a plan. The challenge is that I have to everything so this is going to be a real test of my patience. I want it done faster than I can possibly do it.

Here are some preplanning art.

One of the major problems I had with the short stories was introducing what the overall story was about. I had all this activity going on on the planet Mercator that actually had little to do with the end of the story. Though I liked what I had wrote, I knew I had to fix it. Thinking about the story as a GN allowed me to really focus on what I had to do to pull it all together and I found a means of making the beginning have something to do with the end. Below is an excerpt of the current script (which is not written in standard script format) that tells what the Temperance Well actually is: a Tipler cylinder, which has been used by others before.




The introductory part of the script is near completion. I want it hammered out before I start serious drawing. I don't want to waste time drawing things I might decided not to use later.





I don't know if it easier to make a planet in photoshop or gimp, or in blender. Or hand drawn.



With artistic filters. This planet isn't meant to be any that I'm going to use.




Main character done in manga with photoshop with my own designed pencil brushes.



Done in mechanical pencil on printer paper and photographed with smart phone (at work). I was toying with the idea of doing it manga, but that style doesn't come naturally so I'm doing it more realistic.



This elevation view was a trial run. Yeah, most people have to built spacecraft, I have to build a f*cking city. I need to find a good balance of scale for the crater sea and the city that's believable after 200 years of settlement, and manageable to draw. I don't have a size for either pinned down. When I do, I'll redo this illustration, as well as other maps.



Exploring fashion idea in photoshop. The challenge: it rains most of the time on Mercator. Perpetual rainfall will lend to some interesting fashion trends. Including tricorn hats.



The first test run using Manga Studio 5. The original is 300ppi.
Here it is with all the layers turned on. Notice the 3d manikin that comes with the software.



More MS5 stuff.





Hopefully it wont be another year before I post any more.:D