It's been 10 months since I first started posting my comic Seer here on the Steem blockchain through my @spottyproduction account. In that time I've made some friends, earned some Steem, and received a great deal of encouragement and support from a wonderful community.
My last post wrapped up the first issue, Seer: Round One. I honestly don't know when I'll dive into Round Two. My momentum on Seer was sidelined by nearly a decade of health problems, during which time another idea germinated which has seized my attention and will be receiving the lion's share of my creative energies in 2018. If you follow me you've probably already seen a few columns about that idea, "I Thought It Would Be Zombies..."
With all the earnest enthusiasm I saw for Seer, as well as the amazing possiblities that Steem seems to be bringing closer and closer to being realized each day... I earnestly hope that I will also have the ability to revisit James' nightmare world sooner rather than later.
In the meantime I still have a small collection of additional materials I would love to share, and will find small ways to continue keeping Seer alive as it patiently waits it's turn to be fully realized.
First up is another sequential page. This page was done some time after the completion of Round One, as you can probably see by the change in style. While Seer: Round One was published in black and white, the passage of years made color a viable option for the next iteration - so this is an inked page ready for color to be added.
I feel my draftsmanship had shown improvement over the prior issue, and I'd also begun to experiment with mannequins and 3d models for the visualization and reference of my figures, with some good results. While all the prior pages had been penciled and inked traditionally, this page was the first page that I digitally inked. I've since gone to an all digital workflow.
I created this page as part of a pitch for a comic crowdfunding competition that was running online, in the hopes of getting funding and bringing Seer back to life. James' was doing pretty well in that online slugfest but despite some reputable industry backers... the competition folded before ever awarding a prize.
I structured this story beginning to pick up right where Round One left off, but with the intention that it could also serve as a jumping on point and readers would not have to read Round One to make sense of it. Fans of "Bloody Mary" will be happy to see that she is still around... playing her insidious games.
In the next "Looking at Seer" column, I'll share more unpublished promotional artwork and insights. I hope you enjoy!
Hi, I'l be honest, I haven't read your comic yet but I did follow to read it in the future.
I found you because I wanted to let you know that I have started a group on facebook called Webcomics on Steemit. It's made for creators and readers to get together and chat and hopefully network together. I just strated and am trying to build the group, so if you would like to join or know someone else who would like to join, please check it out:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/938829356299464/
No worries, I bookmark a lot of stuff I need to catch up on! I’ll stop by a bit, but honestly most of my FaceBook Time has shifted entirely to Steem!
The time has flown by. I look forward to your next work
It really has flown. The years to come may be a stunning whirlwind in comparison though!
I really appreciate your posts, even if I wasn't able to follow since the beginning, since I've joined this community only in December. Keep on and I'm waiting for the next work, to start from the beginning!
I love it! Your art and writing compliment each other very well!
"Getting punched in the face is pretty damn Media Res"
drops mic
Ha! Glad you liked it. I modelled James partly off of Jack Dempsey, an early champion who remarked that he always tried to learn one new thing each day. I’d like to develop a character trait of James working in these little factoids... in a rather noir fashion!
Yeah it's a perfect conceit for a noir internal monologue. It let's you say badass things, but is also always weirdly cute and endearing when a character is reading off one of those "daily fact calendars" or what have you
I hope you'll find time to keep pushing this one forward, although we haven't seen enough of I Thought It Would Be Zombies and I hope you keep posting on that one also!
I’m feverishly hoping Steem is so successful it enables me to create full time. That would most assuredly enable a lot more progress! Thanks for following along and all your support.
Wow! You are so creative with your words and passion. Although I haven't followed you from the start, I can see determination and commitment are very strong attributes you hold! Keep up the good work! Here's to 2018
Thanks so much, a happy and productive 2018 to you as well!
I had a friend who refused to watch movies if they had already started. If he joined us watching a movie, he'd insist that we start it over. No In media res for him!
Ha! That’s funny. I feel like a lot of us comic book
fans (especially from the days before digital comics & every storyline being collected into books) are the opposite. I grew up picking up issue #65 of a comic book and diving into a story I knew nothing about. If it was enthralling enough I’d get my hands on whatever issues I could, out of order, gaps in the story, piecing the history together until I had #1 - #65 (and all the issues that had come out since I discovered it!) Comics are a rare medium where you can actually find yourself working backwards and forwards through the plot at the same time.
It honed my skills for jumping into a story and figuring it out “on the fly.”
I like the Seer, I hope to see more of that work soon. When I see your work I want to run and buy a tablet to make digital art but then, I remember it is very expensive :(
Talking about that, what brand and model do you use for your work?
Keep “Steemin’” the way you are and hopefully we can make it a reality! I now use a 12.9” Apple iPad Pro with Apple Pencil. I know that @kommienezuspadt and @vermillionfox do as well, so their work is also a wonderful example of its potential.
Well, @kommienezuspadt also recommended the Ipad but wow it's super expensive ... I have to save a lot ;)
Great work dear friend you are talented