STS-58: Of Stars and Swords Process - Color Comparison

We recently went through the wonderful experience of Caroline's HDD dying. For obvious reasons, this slowed down our usual one page a week update schedule for Of Stars and Swords. The page (Page 14 of Issue 5) we put up that week wasn't entirely finished, and we figured you might like a side-by-side look at the unfinished page next to the now-finished page.

On the left is the unfinished one. Specifically, what's missing is shading on the figures. The backgrounds are actually done, but the figures are still just the flat colors. You can see how Caroline chose to shade them on the right.

In a lot of ways, the left page LOOKS done. We could probably put out comic pages that look like that and they'd be perfectly fine, overall. But when you see it next to the final page, you can really see what Caroline does when she's coloring, and that it is absolutely worth it!

Enjoy, and as always, click the image to get a better look!

STS-57: Of Stars and Swords Preview - Kieran and Maeira v2

Back in 2011, as we were gearing up to launch Of Stars and Swords, we showed off a pair of character concepts. It's been five full issues of the comic, and we're close to halfway through the sixth, and final for the first story arc, and said characters never showed up! Well, not in the comic. The pair have more recently shown up in the comic's prose side story!

Well, here are Kieran and Maeira again, with a much more finalized design! Finalized for what, though? Details to come. For now, here they are!

STS-56: More Scifi Sketches

I promise this will have a name beyond "scifi comic" eventually, but for now, that's all it is. Most of what you see are my (Graham) sketches and designs, since I'm doing the pencils on this project, but every so often Caroline does a sketch of her own, and that's what we're showing today. A couple of sketches Caroline did of one of the main characters of the comic, one in pencil and the other just in pen.



No updates yet on when, exactly, you'll get to see the comic pages, but I promise you they're coming! Until then, as always, our webcomic Of Stars and Swords continues to update weekly and is nearing the end of Issue 4 of the story! And you can catch up there on the website or on Comixology!

STS-55: Summer Seren

Summer's almost over, but we've got a summer sketch for you! Caroline decided she just had to draw Seren enjoying the summer. So here it is, done in crayon! Enjoy Seren in her usual cheerful form.




Speaking of Seren, Of Stars and Swords Issue 0 and 1 are available for sale on Comixology now! There are also DRM-free versions available in our store on the sidebar to the left, as well as a newly compiled version of The End with new lettering!

STS-54: Scifi Character Design Update

We've been focused on Of Stars and Swords here on the art blog lately, but I'm still quietly working on a scifi comic. An 8-page short is nearly completely penciled, along with multiple scripts written, so things are coming. For now, though, here's a look at some character designs as they've evolved in the working.

You can see the original headshots of the main cast here and then a full lineup of the cast here.

First up is a color test on that previous lineup. Everything here is still in various states of flux, even in how some of the characters are designed on the whole. So certain characters might look completely different when the comic itself is out! Click to see a larger version!

Next up are a couple of sketches that Caroline did. These are her takes on the four main characters, with a fairly heavy redesign attempt to one of them. It is very possible I might be adapting some of her ideas into the final character designs...

STS-53: Demon Designs

What would a fantasy story be without monsters? Of Stars and Swords has been a slow burn in that direction, but now we've got demons! There's not much to see in the comic pages just yet, so how about a look at Caroline's design sketches?

In other Of Stars and Swords news, you can now buy Issue 0 on Comixology! The other issues are coming, as well! Speaking of that, Issue 4 begins on June 26!

STS-52: Winter Wear

This is in reaction to this page, where Marguerite updates her wardrobe to something more appropriate for snow and Chloe calls foul.  Graham and I were joking about it one night and I had some free time at work the next day...

So here's a crayon and ballpoint pen doodle of Chloe, if Marguerite had given in and decided to help her out.

Yes, that is a bow.