Zatswan: Multiversal Guardian

[Neil Allen]

Originally Posted by GeeBeezy1

I see you're using the crowquill and ink. Cool. I used to use it back in the day but switched to the tech pens.

I find that I have a use for various types of inking utensils. Since they yield such different results for me, I don't stick to just one type. There's a time for a dip pen, a brush, and a technical pen. At least for me.

For example. I am working on a logo (the logo I've been using thus far has always been a place holder). This one won't be used because my pen stroke on the "S" was sloppy, so I'll trace it again. But I use technical pens for this type of work.



I am using this one for color testing, though!



That said, if I had to pick, I think I'm partial to dip pens. I really like the lines I get from them. I think I'm able to achieve a nuance that I can't get nearly as well from technical pens. And I find them to be much better suited for hatching and fine detail than brushes.

Tech pins aren't always good for the way I often do things. I color directly on the page, and when you do that, it can dull out some of your black ink, because you're layering pigment on top of it. This can create a cool effect, but you don't always want that. So, what I will do, is I will ink over the pigment to bring out whatever blacks got dulled that I want to bring out boldly. A technical pen...is not good for this, because the pigment will quite possibly ruin the nib and make it so the pen doesn't work. Technical pens can ink over marker just fine...and watercolor...yeah, I guess. But they can't deal with stuff like wax, oil, or soft pastel well at all. You'll probably ruin the pen inking over that. Dip pens can ink over that stuff just fine, though. The nibs are way more durable than the flimsy little things in tech pins. And you can clean them.

[Neil Allen]

Brand new Zatswan logo!

[Neil Allen]

Work in progress art for Zatswan: My Stardust Lover!



You can read the comic for free at http://zatswan.com

[Neil Allen]

I redid the cover of Chapter 2. I will likely do some other redraws:

[Neil Allen]

Uh oh. The last post I made was an accident. I posted the wrong version of that image. The real one is different. The first one had wonky railing in the background. I guess it will be somewhat interesting to compare:



EDIT:
To give this post a bit more substance, here is another work in progress page. This is a redraw of a page in chapter 1. There are things about my previous effort that bug me, so it's getting redone:



Just for fun, here's the previous version. I suppose to give you some insight into my psychology, I can go over it and explain why the page is being redrawn.

I don't like my haphazard panel borders. A.C. Cooper's tricep area could be done better. I feel I was very lazy about establishing my setting. It might not be terrible, and it's clear that I establish the setting, which is much better than a lot of other people, but I know I can do a much better job than that, and drawing cool settings is very important to me. The old page was also done on cheaper paper, which wasn't terrible, but not as good as what I use now (Strathmore 500 series Vellum), and I've grown to appreciate more that paper is the most important aspect of art supplies, especially if you're coloring on it. The old one also just lacks a polish and cleanliness that I do much more these days, but I do think the page is certainly presentable:

[Neil Allen]

A redone page. The comic series recognized as a complete masterpiece and the greatest comic today by the toughest crowds of 8chan becomes even more masterful.

It might look exactly like the above image for you because this new image overwrote the old one and is using the same URL that the old version of this page was using.

[Neil Allen]

A work in progress image for Zatswan, Space-Time Soldier! A redraw of the comic's first cover.

[Neil Allen]

Completed updated image for Zatswan: Multiversal Guardian!

[Neil Allen]

A work in progress image for a new page of Zatswan: Multiversal Guardian:

[Neil Allen]

Another work in progress page. You can see finished pages at http://zatswan.com

[Neil Allen]

I picked up a new pack of crayons today and felt like giving them a quick try.

[Neil Allen]

A more planned and complete picture than the one above:



I've always wanted to eventually spin Zatwan off into something more overtly for girls, and Pretty Dimension Princess: Allecka Xona is likely what I will do that with.

[Neil Allen]

There will be a background added to this picture, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a version with a white background, too.

[Neil Allen]

[Neil Allen]