17. Echo in the Dark Painting and Process
Ongoing Newsletter for THE PHANTOM PLEASURE
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Hi, everyone! I’m working on a Story, Location, and Character page for The Phantom Pleasure comic. The link to it will be attached to each new episode or newsletter update, so newer readers (or lapsed readers) can quickly check it to see who the main characters and get background info on the setting and story. As the comic continues, I’ll keep adding the new characters and locations to the info page. Hopefully, this will make things easier and more fun for the reader.
Above is the painting of Echo I plan on using for the Info Page, here is some art process for those of you who’re interested:
This one didn’t change too much from the (very) loose sketch to the finished art. After I got the general idea down, I used a single cyan/jade mix color as the base layer. I usually just paint with the sketch on a semi-transparent layer above, to keep me from losing track:
Never too exciting at first, right? Slowly, slowly in comes to life:
This is with 3 new layers: One lighter shade of green, one darker shade of green, and a faded black layer to add heavy shadows/eyeshadow/facial details. I used the light and dark layers to sculpt the wrinkles and details of the Synth Suit, as well as the texture of the linkway walls.
I could have left it like this, and part of me still prefers this simpler version. This is with another lighter green layer to really make the shine pop (especially noticeable on the hair, shoulders, and front leg), and another darker green layer to really sculpt the wall and suit details. Like I said, I could have left it like this, but I always feel like the Bio-Mechanolith structures (and suits) of GEO-CITY ONE should have a wet, metallic finish:
Now, the suit really looks like something from the 404EVER world. This is just a deep blue paint layer over top, set to invert tones within a certain range. The color balance of the darkest shadows shifts into a yellow tone, the middle tones shift blue, and when the two mix, you get a semi-chrome light bending effect. You can especially see the effect on the legs and chest. I then added one final layer of bright white shine to really give it that metallic sheen.
For the linkway walls, I wanted them to have an ancient, oxidized coral texture. Technology, functional or otherwise, slowly grows like mold on everything in GEO-CITY ONE. This is a process that happens (in?)organically, and no user has control over it. Maybe the mythical ‘System Administrator’ users once had control, or maybe they never existed at all…
You can see the fetal stages of new technology growing in the walls:
I used the same darker and lighter green layers that I used to detail Echo, except I used a very scratchy dry brush. I set it to have very little paint on it, so I had to really press to apply color. This helped to create the rough mezzotint effect. Just as a note, the color of the environment comes from the bio-mechanical lights that grow out of the ceilings. I modeled the color after ‘smart phone screen glow’ blue, mixed with ‘early monochromatic CRT monitor’ green. Without those lights, the walls would have a slimy, reflective black finish.
I went layer by layer, adding rusty pops of shine, getting brighter towards the ceiling:
In other news, I’ve had some kind people reach out, expressing an interest in a Phantom Pleasure poster. So, I’ve begun working on one! Here is the early stage, I hope you like the poses:
The poster will be 18 x 24! I’ll also add a sort of vertical bar to the left, with old school video game packaging details, icons and secrets from the 404EVER world. Similar to this older illustration I did:
I’ll be back soon with some new art and story! Sorry for the delay on the new panels, they will be worth the wait.
Much love,
Lordess