23. Unlimited Life Code
23. Unlimited Life Code
The ongoing newsletter for THE PHANTOM PLEASURE Comic
Check the The Phantom Pleasure Instruction Manual for more info on 404EVER.
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Welcome back, everyone! I’ve been on a wild hell ride lately with my schedule, it feels so good to be back here; to be sharing more art and story from the 404EVER world.
I was staring at one of my cherished Amano books while I was drawing the above piece. You can tell, right?
I tried not to outright copy his style, but I was (as ever) captivated by his work. His pieces are so busy with wild colors, ornate filigrees, complex background designs; and yet your eyes are effortlessly pulled to (and by) the most simple elements. Maybe it’s just me, but every time I look at his portraits, I can’t help but first focus on the faces and the emotions they express or hide. Then, without control, those facial features explode outward into all the beautiful details of the full piece; like a halo or aura expanding.
It really is something special, it seems to procedurally generate itself like a dream. I didn’t go that far with my portrait of Echo, of course. Maybe one day!
For those who care to know, the book I was looking at is this one:
The official title is ‘Yoshitaka Amano: Illustrations’, and it’s in English.
It has a fantastic interview/conversation with Amano and Aquirax (Akira Uno). I kept getting distracted by it! These two titans have so much wisdom, and they dispense it so casually. If you’re not familiar with Aquirax, here are some samples of his work:
I’ve been doing some free-form anatomy studies and getting more familiar with the watercolor/ink wash style look that I’m going with for the 404EVER graphic novel. While the brush style is similar, this sketch of Halo and Echo scrolling and creeping is blurrier/rougher than what the finished comic page art will be:
I’m doing what I can to make the 404EVER art unique and marketable, but I don’t want to mindlessly follow what’s popular to increase engagement. I fully admit that this might be a stupid move. And, though it sounds like madness since I’m the one creating this thing, but I feel like there are rules I have to follow to truthfully convey the story; mysterious as those rules may be sometimes.
You all, the paying subscribers, have made it possible for me to take the time to create and explore this story fully. I can’t say thank you enough, and frankly, you all keep me sane. There’s so much more going on with the 404EVER story than what I’ve shown at the moment, but I will tell it all fully; book by book.
Even though she doesn’t appear too much early on, Suze-An is a very important character. Ostensibly, she’s the Prime Moderator of the Gogg Republic and Colin Atari’s overbearing boss. Narratively, she is a device to turn up the pressure from the background, and add stakes via threats and time limits.
But truthfully, as the story goes on, she’s almost one of the protagonists. Suze-An is the only spawned being to ever escape from the subterranean city. She knows more than almost anyone else in Geo-City One, and her hunt for the BIOSpear sets off the events that begin the whole 404EVER story. From the 404EVER Instruction Manual:
BIOSpear: An ancient memory card containing the original Geo-City One save file. This Polycom device would allow an approved user to format, edit, and reload the world to their specifications. Suze-An, the Tellus Forum, Colin Atari and others are desperately trying to get their hands on this relic before the Year Zero Error resets and potentially destroys Geo-City One.
Long ago, Suze-An and (her lover) D:Arc’s escape from the Gogg Republic and Geo-City One ended with them discovering the inactive Tellus Forum, where they still reside to this day:
Tellus Forum: A private discussion forum hosted by The Seven Templates, located in a temple on the exterior surface of the Gogg Republic. While the 7 members of this secret forum have very little control over Geo-City One, they do possess ancient, occulted knowledge which gives them an advantage over users and People. Suze-An (Prime Moderator of the Gogg Republic) became the 8th member of the Tellus Forum when she inadvertently reactivated it; also restoring life support functions to The Seven Templates. The Tellus Forum is primarily concerned with obtaining the BIOSpear Memory Card.
Orphic Throne: Empty, egg-like chamber surrounded by The Seven Templates at the center of the Tellus Forum. Was used by Suze-An to restore her dying lover, D:Arc to health when he was injured in the escape from the Gogg Republic. This unknown revival process also restored life support functions to The Seven Templates, the ancient founding members of the Tellus Forum. An empty memory card slot is built into the base of the Orphic Throne, awaiting the return of the BIOSpear. FURTHER INFO ON THIS TOPIC IS CURRENTLY RESTRICTED.
I’m sure you all know, but I’m obsessed with the early age of the internet and the wider BBS/phreaker/hacker/IRC culture in general.
The idea behind Suze-An and the Tellus forum is to convey what it would feel like if you broke into a mysterious room and, while feeling around for a light, you reach out and boot up an old computer. A dusty modem lets out a 28.8bps scream and you stagger backwards. The CRT monitor blinks, the stares at you with its glowing eye; revealing the cluttered space in sickly green light. It’s some dead greybeard’s bedroom. From the corner desk, the humming monitor soothes you. It brings your attention to the fully functioning, forgotten Bulletin Board System chat scrolling down its face. You watch as ancient members begin logging back in, greeting each other; regaining awareness. They start sending messages to each other. Then they start chatting to you… Their newest member…
This is a small piece I’ve been working on in between commissioned jobs, to get more comfortable with the digital brushes more than anything else. More info on Instant Death Drops from the 404EVER Instruction Manual:
Instant Death Drops: Large breaks in the environment can easily be found all throughout Geo-City One. Many despondent and clumsy doom scrollers discover these self-deletion pits on a regular basis. Most users assume they’ll fall for thousands of kiloblocks before splattering against a lower level surface, however this is not the case. Out of view, far below the surface of Geo-City One, there are tentacle-like Polycoms that suck up falling bodies, so that Materializers can collect nearly 100% of a user’s biological content and deliver it to a nearby Spawn Point.
I’ve also been working on a new exterior illustration of Geo-City One, this is very, very, very, very early, so don’t look too closely!
I suppose that’s it for now. I’m working on more art and terms for the Instruction Manual, and thanks for the nice feedback to those who’ve read through it. It should provide more context to the 404EVER world before the first episode is released. There are some things in there that would be considered spoilers, but nothing that would ruin the story.
Next time I’ll show off the 404EVER shirt design I’m currently working on. It’s too early to share, but I’ll probably post the art on Instagram next week to get feedback from you all. The design might be too ero for a shirt, but maybe that’s just me. I’ll see what you all think about it soon.
Until next time! Be good out there, be safe.
With love,
Lordess
