All thumbs

Here are some sneak peaks at the production of Bird. The pages start off as thumbnails which help me to figure out the layout of the page. Then, if I like it I put them to actual size sketches and ink them. Here's what the thumbnail version and the final version of the pages look like compared.

One page, actually page 4 of Chapter Two was actually inked and already had lettering when I decided to drop it and make another.

Version 1

Version 2

Currenntly at page 10, Chapter Two is coming to an end by Christmas, but till then I'm working on more variations of Bird covers. Version romance, action and thriller coming hopefully next week!

And then there were none

It's been a though fifth week, sicne I'm preocupied with other projects with scary deadlines.

This week, I freaked out at Amilova when the number of competing comics dropped from 107 to 96. It's because of the updating two pages a week rule. Luckily I have few pages in advance, so Bird is being regularly updated every Monday and Friday.

I'm kind of puzzled who I'm gonna vote for, though. Because most of the comics I supported (most of them non-manga) were at the end of the line, and half of them already dropped of the comeptition, cause of lack of updates. I really hope the lack of updates aren't due to lack of votes, cause it would be very discouraging for me ( even if they qualified Bird as manga at Amilova).

Are the non-manga comics at Amilova competition (and everywhere) dissappearing due to the predominate manga interest?

This week two of the disqualified comics, were two of my favourites.

Un été à Plouha ( A Summer in Plouha)

I love the looks of this comic. Wonderful charac

ter deformations, this style just stuck out and made an impression on me. I can't comment on the story, since it was just begining, but I must say I like the characters, especially enjoyed the guys meeting.

I really can't explain why this comic was stuck at the bottom (around 90th place), maybe lack of promotion? It shouldn't be like that. It has wonderful qualitites, it looks much more pro than other works I've seen on the site.

I don't know why the author couldn't keep up with the 2 pages rule ( which is a tricky one, if you doesn't have pages in advance), but I really hope it's not because he didn't get much votes or something. That would be so unfair. For what it's worth, I always voted for Un été à Plouha, I hope the author keeps updating.

New Gaïa

At first, it impressed me with the nice colours. Even if I don't like stories about the future or the outer space, I decided to give it a try.

It starts with a bit too much text, but it was needed I guess. I really loved the part when the alarm started beeping. It just dragged me into the action. And then everything went black&white. It was just the blood that was red. I was really impressed by that.

That's why I was really suprised to see this one at number 61 the first week.
Since then, there were very few updates, I'm guessing the author had other business, but still I voted for it, for that great black&white scene.

Few days ago the author of another comic I really enjoyed (La bande des losers et Dieu) said that he's not gonna pressure himself with 2 pages a week, doesn't want to rush trough his work, cause he's not getting enough attention anyway.

I really hope he sticks around though. He'll have my vote, anyway.

In colours vol 2

Had some spare time and tried out some covers in different genres. Tried out some different colouring styles and realised I have a lot to learn about colour. But I'm catching up on that right after I'm done with all the pages of Bird.

Here are my experiments with genre and colour*:

horror

fantasy

comedy

*You can find the black and white versions in the gallery.

Next week or whenev I find time, I'm gonna do another three versions: romance, action and thriller. Stay tuned.

Added banners for Amilova nd the comic Mink, located at the bottom of the page. Also did some Bird banners. How do you find them?

One month has passed since the begining of the Amilova.com competition. "Bird" is at # 53 (of 104) this week, with 93 votes. Thank you very much. 53rd place might look like no big deal, but thinking about the almost 100 persons who like my comic makes me happy. Thank you!

Keep up the high spirit!

In colours

Lately I've been thinking to add some colour to the Bird cover ( you see it on the right ), just to see how it works. I think the b&w version is good as it is, but I gave it a try.

So far, it's the blue one that got the votes, but I'm still not sure. I might as well try a whole new one.

Meanwhile: Added a gallery ( under the header) with some character development pics. To be updated. Also, working on a few banners, to spread the word :)

Mystery bird presents itself...

... as an idea.

For some time I had this very vague story in my mind about a little girl who is desperate to catch a glimpse of a ghostly bird that only appears at night. But there wasn't really anything I could do with this. Lots of things were missing.

Like, where does this bird presents itself?

I almost gave up on that story, thinking about other projects, when suddenly, things came to their places. I had a trip to London, and of course Greenwich was a place I wanted to visit. It was an early spring afternoon, still a bit chilly, but the trees were all green and the air was fresh. Walking trough Greenwich park, all I could think about was my story and that this is a perfect setting for it.

I especially loved the Royal Observatory South building.

So, the minute I found myself in front of a white sheet of paper I began working on my revived project.

Here is the earliest version of the character, based on one of my chatacters from a previous project.