While I’ve been working on several other projects, trying to get this site up and going, trying to get the Etsy shop started, and other “stuff”, I’ve had my in-the-works graphic novel Revery on my mind. A lot. I’m itching to get back to work on it, and maybe, I dunno, finish it. I have more ideas for that world that I want to eventually get to, but I have to finish volume 1 first. I had pretty much figured I was done writing and thumbnailing it, but last night, on our way over to our local mountain for some skiing/snowboarding, my brain unleashed a whole bunch of ideas and little details that I didn’t even know were missing. I’m really excited to get this story together and “out there”. Aside from the normal road blocks of being a stay-at-home dad, being involved in Cub Scouts with the boys, and just all around house and life “stuff”, I’ve been reluctant to really start cranking on this project because I’m never happy with the current state of my artistic skills. I tend to be a bit obsessive and somewhat of a perfectionist with my art, frequently only ever seeing the flaws. Drawing digitally has been a steep learning curve, and I feel my skills have improved noticeably each month. I’m afraid that the end of Revery will look drastically different than the beginning, and I can’t tolerate that! But, if I keep thinking like that, I’ll never get it done. I think I’m comfortable enough, and I am able to tell myself “I can always go back to the earlier pages and tweak them later”, that I’m ready to dive back into Revery (the first 15 or so pages are drawn).
I just need to finish the other projects in my queue.
With all that in mind, I’ve posted two sketchbook pages from Revery for y’all to enjoy over in the gallery, but I’ll add them here, too.
Meet the Gullray-the Cobbliverse’s seagull.
The first sketch is of a critter called the Gullray. They’re essentially a cross between a seagull and a stingray and they fly along the edges of the Dream Wave picking off juvenile squorms (I’ll post those another time). They cling to the sides of Cobbly buildings to sleep with four sharps claws. I have another page of sketches depicting more anatomy and interactions with young, but I chose this one instead.
See, look, he’s got Calvin’s hair (I’m referencing my Bill Watterson post from a few days ago).
This second page is of the c0-main character Adarax. He looks very different then when I first drew him. He used to be a lot uglier, I like this design much better. He has some interesting characteristics that pose some challenges to draw, like where his mouth is, his Calvin hair, and his double pupils. Cobblies in general look more cartoony than the human protagonist in Revery (who just happens to be me, by the way), so I run into some difficulties integrating the cartoony and more realistic designs. Hopefully it all works out and looks cool when I’m done.
If I ever actually finish this, I have visions of a Super Deluxe version that is leather bound and has all kinds of additional content, like some of the concept art and sketches, some early designs, and even a Creatures of the Cobbliverse section/book that’s kind of like a field guide of the flora and fauna as cataloged by me, the main character.
It’s good to have dreams and strive towards them.
Please let me know what you think, it makes my brain happy.