tonycliff posts
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Chapter Four Pencils, Stephen Fry's Greek Myths
This week, in order to learn how to put a saddle and a bridle on a horse — and knowing I have a lot of horse drawing in my future — I subscribed to a bunch of Horse Lifestyle YouTube channels. And you know what? I was expecting my Recommended Videos to get weird. They didn't and I'm disappointed.[ As always...
Chapter Four Pencilling: The Mirror Trick
[ As always, don't flip through the image carousel if you don't want spoilers. ]That main image up there is my little mirror trick for checking my drawings.For artists working digitally, an easy way to "check" your work is to flip it horizontally. Left becomes right and right becomes left. Your characte...
Chapter Four Pencils, Anatomy Books, and Cats
Since last week's post, I've managed to pencil thirteen pages! That's good. Now, is some of that because I sent out last week's post early? Shh shh shh, look what I have over here.While looking through my pencils I found myself thinking "nahh, that panel's much too spoilery," or "ohh, I ...
More Chapter Four Pencilling!
Happy International Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day, everyone! The nice lady who runs the preschool gave me a funny look when I made my goodbyes by saying, "aye, and may a fair wind ever blow for thee!"The entirety of Chapter Three is now free online! Though… I am getting the strong impression that most people would r...
Chapter Four Pencils, Hello Bluesky, and Procreate's "Dreams" App.
[ Images contain possible spoilers! Just FYI. ]The exciting thing I have to tell you this week is that drawing is still very hard, but is also — occasionally — very rewarding. I love how that yelly face turned out. And I'm so excited to share pirates with you all, but simultaneously I do not want to spoil them?...
The Path Through The Woods (Thoughts on the appeal of rough drawings)
Pencilling continues apace! Good news: I figured out how to make the pencils sort-of show up in photographs (long time readers will know this is a problem which has, somehow, managed to elude me).As is the nature of work-in-progress, there are spoilers in the images above and below.Have I talked about the great tragedy...
Chapter Four Pencilling
Quick update this week because I don't have a lot of time and I think we would all rather I get back to drawing. I am elbow-deep in pencilling and so far my predominant thought is: why is Alexandra's dad so hard to draw?I do not know. He is the one I have the hardest time getting right.I look at my reference sh...
Chapter Four! Let's Go!
Grant applications are ready-ish. My side project is simmering. I've started reaching out to Canadian book printers for quotes, in case I decide to crowdfund an edition of PDAP. Chapter Three is all done and is going online for civilians. And Chapter Four thumbnails are DONE!IT'S TIME TO DRAW THE THING
How To Get There
Ssshh, don't tell anyone, but here are a few "test images" I've been preparing for a kids-book project. It's about a very, very small dad (Flanagan Spruce) taking his even smaller little child (Selby) on an overnight journey… down the length of a beach.I've been wanting to draw little civiliza...
I Mist, You Mist, We All Mist for Skull Mist
Friends, have I got some terrifying glowing mist-skulls for you.It's the second of the two cover designs you voted on! Back in… let me check…hmmm. January. January? Yes, it was January. :\ (I really thought it was more recent than that.)I think it turned out well; certainly to specification. I like that the sku...
We grow, we bloom
It's the Chapter Three Patron Acknowledgement pages! To tie in with Alexandra's mom's garden scene, I chose a rustic potting shed sort of motif.As I have been saying since I started this campaign back in 2021, thank you to everyone who has supported this project. I will continue to say this as long as it ta...
"They Were Here" (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 39-42)
Last week, while Alexandra was arguing with the miserable Vignelli, a strange green mist drifted into the harbour. The men of The Cordelia watched as it swept over their decks and through their hatches. Then, grappling hooks dug their claws into the railings.(Reminder: all the posts with actual finished pages are sorte...
The Bottomless Pit (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 35-38)
Last week, Alexandra noticed that the lights from Vignelli's ball were shining out to sea (against his own explicit rules demanding darkness after sundown). When confronted, however, Vignelli didn't seem concerned. So Alexandra imagined that perhaps the whole pirate threat was an elaborate fabrication on Vignel...
Pii Pii's Pirate Bones (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 30-34)
Last week, Alexandra was disgusted to find that against the town's best interest — and against the rules; no lights after dark! — Vignelli had been letting the glow of his big ol' party shine out over the water, practically a beacon for unwanted visitors.- - - - -A lot of white space this week, which felt r...
Chinless Creeps (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 26a-29)
Last week, Alexandra hoped to reconnect and reconcile with her mother after dinner, but she couldn't find her. And then the midshipman had the gall to ask Katerina to dance. Who even invited that kid?- - - - -Notes on these pages… Alexandra tells Vignelli, "you should go in." I will probably re-write this...
Let's Celebrate! (DD4 Chapter Three, Pages 23-26)
Last week, it turned out that getting "revenge" on her mother did not bring Alexandra the ecstasy she had anticipated. Meanwhile, at the ball, her mother is overwhelmed by the Provveditore's lavish surroundings and confronts her brother, Nikos — the local "Mayor" — about the contrast in lifestyl...
Extravagant Beyond Comprehension (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 18-22)
Last week, Alexandra dropped the axe on her mother (figuratively speaking), only to discover that the wound it left was real and deep. Now she gets to sit with that feeling as she, her parents, and her uncle attend Vignelli's party. Katerina joins them, a reluctant part-participant in this whole awkward situation.-...
Triumph! (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 13-17)
(There are no pages 11 and 12, if you're keeping count of that sort of thing. The numbers I use here are the numbers on my files, FWIW. Makes it easier.)Last week, Katerina was struggling to teach Alexandra to dance in time for the ball; everything is in place except for our heroine's complete inability to danc...
Good at the Dance (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 6-10)
Last week, Katerina was questioning Alexandra's noble motivations. This week, dance lessons continue, though Katerina might be in over her head.- - - - -Fun fact! That whole business with the French minuet was, in fact, a real practice. It sounds awful — having to dance to put on a show — but I guess everyone j...
A hero, really. (DD4, Chapter Three, Pages 1-5)
It's CHAPTER THREE time!There is a non-trivial number of readers who support this Patreon campaign who are waiting until the end to read it. To you, I say, first of all, "good gracious, thank you." And: I am not sure how to "protect" you from these updates, considering that I must also send them out...
DD4 Chapter Two - Revisions!
I meant to include these with today's earlier post! These two pages have been injected into the start of Chapter Two - you can see them in place over on the website.In the town I grew up in, every July 1st we had the "Salmon Festival." It wasn't quite as colourful as this, but moods were generally high,...
I Met Real Survivors of a Real Pirate Attack?
This week: "getting older" is yet again a recurring theme as I made a guest appearance on a podcast and got my heart melted and shaken at VanCAF. Plus, a quality newsletter recommendation for avid readers.- - - - - - -The Three-Point Perspective Podcast!Recently I joined Jake Parker and Lee White on their Three...
Eisner Nomination! VanCAF! Great Books!
Dear Readers,I am pleased to inform you that PRACTICAL DEFENCE AGAINST PIRACY has been nominated for a Will Eisner award, in the category of "Best Webcomic!"This is very exciting. The judging sounds like a difficult, exhausting process, and it feels like a huge relief that PDAP was able to shine through in such...
Questionable Teamwork, Boat Rescues, and VanCAF!
Flatting continues! Offering exciting new opportunities for The Me Of Today to be mad at The Me Of Yesterday!I mean, not mad mad, only… I shake my fist a little. For example, you see that lattice work in the windows? Those might as well all be solid black lines. The lights inside are bright and the latticework is dar...
Ups and Downs in Story Town
Last week I mentioned I had been doing some work on the story for DD4. What I didn't mention is how overwhelmed and uncertain I was feeling, and that's because I suspected things might turn around, if only I gave it a little time…On Tuesday morning, I had a long chat with a trusted friend about DD4's stor...
It's Patron Acknowledgement Time!
Chapter Three will be done before you know it, so I need to know: how would you (Dear Reader) like to be acknowledged in the chapter's Acknowledgement Pages?If you've done this before, you know how it goes: just take a minute to fill out this form!Part of the deal of supporting this project is that I credit you...
A Closer Look at Flatting
This week: what's the point of "flatting?" Is there a better way to do it? Is it a good use of time? And in which ways, specifically, does it inspire a wish to completely rethink the process of illustrating a comic book? No big deal.[ The assumed audience for this post is the general comic-reading public as...
What Great Feedback Looks Like, and Lessons on Colour
Last week, among the colour keys, I posted the panel below and said I didn't feel like it was working. How could I get it to work? Maybe with a little help from a friend?This week: how to give great feedback, some happy reminiscences about working collaboratively, some realizations about the nature of lighting, and...
CH3 Colour Keys Done, and a New Approach to Flatting
This week: at least one extremely pleasing panel and some very spoilery spoilers, but first: a recommendation.- - - - -PICK UP A BOOK TO PICK YOU UPOver the last while, I've read three books which I think dovetail in interesting ways. The first is Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Gilpin's CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM. The se...
Colour Scripts and Follow-Up (Cover and more…)
This week, some follow-up on last week's post, another video recommendation, and a look at the first batch of Colour Script pages for Chapter Three!^ Last week I posted this cover, and Tealin rightly pointed out the tangent where the sword meets the letter T in the logotype. JOKE'S ON YOU, SARAH, I also noticed...
