Lets continue right from where we left off yesterday.
Step 3: Editing
Once the artists posts up his sketch, we enter a stage of discussion and editing, where everyone contributes ideas. Here’s a good example from Seba:
In the panel where we show that Jane traced the route to the tower I thought I could draw several arrows with a percentage number next to it. in a much lighter tone.
Maybe I’m getting a lot into Dan’s area here, but If Jane’s core were a quantum computer she would be able to determine every possible route at the same time and then pick one.
She can of course do the same with just a futuristic version of the current computers, but ( I guess ) having a Quantum CPU in a battlefield is like being able to see the future in real time.
He accompanied this comment with the featured image at the top of the post. This sort of thought and input from Seba is another of the many reasons we are excited to have him aboard.
Step 4: Inks
After several more similar comments and ideas, the artist takes them and incorporates them into the inks. For him to do that, I first have to post a dialogue adapted from my original text.
Dialogue:
Panel 1:
Tenzin: Jane, did you catch any video of whatever that was?
Jane: Yes. I’m analyzing it now. I only caught 1.3 seconds of video, but based on approximate size and height it was likely a man. It appears he was wearing a burnoose, so it was likely a citizen of Arkjut.
Panel 2:
Tenzin: Can you…
Jane: I’m already extrapolating his route. You’re so predictable, Tenzin.
Panel 3:
Tenzin: Not now, Jane, this is serious.
Jane: You’re never any fun on a mission.
Tenzin: It looks like he was headed for the com tower. If we hurry, maybe we can catch up to him.
Bottom-most panel: I like what you have with the bubbles, but unable to read them. Maybe use tiny font.
Marcus: So me and some of the other new recruits were wondering…
Jane (blocky, like just computer voice or something): Amplifying.
Marcus: What’s with the Captain and his suit’s AI? He talks to it like it was a person.
The artist can then make the speech bubbles and work them into his inks.
You can see by looking between the two that several edits have taken place, and Seba has nailed down most of the detail on the page. If any one on the production team has any more comments or corrections (like text fixes or spelling errors or something) they make them here.
Step 4: Final edits and color
The artist takes all those suggestions and edits and includes them into the inks. This can happen a couple of times until we get it right. Once it’s perfect, he moves on to coloring the page. I’ll have to ask him to post about what programs and tools he uses later, because I don’t really know. To me, it’s like magic that he can do this.
As you can see, the final product is quite awesome. Sometimes a few minor edits are still needed at this step, but then it is ready to be uploaded to the website.
I hope you enjoyed this trip down the creative process. Check back tomorrow for some discussion on character and world design.