Above Right:
Example of how the pages looked when I scanned them in. This page was cut up and re-arranged by hand, then scanned in and cleaned up on Photoshop. After this I was to effectively organise the first page to look like the new and improved pages I completed after Christmas. This process was necessary because further experiments with layout and story showed me a more professional way of laying out the comic book, including a regimented border, breaks and panel size.
The panels were created using an old system, that involved splitting up an A4 sheet into squares, and using this as a light-box template, drawing around the squares to create different sized boxes in the same vertical and/or horizontal columns. This was the the method that suited my ways of working the best. I enjoy creating things by hand and although I relied on the computer to tidy up edges and adjust levels , my objectives were always to create these comics in the most traditional way possible. The outcome was not as clean something created digitally might have rendered, however, there is something raw and traditional about the finished artworks that appeals to me and resonates with the type of work I admire.
Above Left:
I have neglected character development for the Beast slightly. Aware from the beginning that he was never going to be fully visible (hiding in shadows, behind the Beauty) it adds a slight vulnerability to his character which makes him and the Beauties actions more empathetic and believable. However, I felt a quick sketch showing stature and shape was necessary before I furthered the project. He should be tall and opposing, as the Beauty is small and vulnerable pre dark castle and this will offer up a stark contrast. There are certain things I left up to the imagination (is he a skeleton under his clothes..?) I gave a feint implication to an actual body, his legs are not thin enough for a skeleton, nor his torso; he is simply beast on the outside (a mystery to be uncovered) and this plays on the adult themes of the story; for the Beauty it is a coming of age story, for the Beast it is about acceptance. This should be made evident in the Beasts attire; he still dresses like a aristocrat, despite his being alone (or does this only begin when the Beauty goes to him?).
Creating the comic book rough brought to my attention that there are some compositions that are not easily executed first time and so I came up with a way of ensuring they were well drawn before I put pencil to the expensive paper I was working on. Above is an example of one of the templates; (right) I would create a few sketches and choose the appropriate one to be traced on a light-box. This eliminated any sketched lines beneath the actual artworks, and helped me to avoid the clean-up time. It was not always successful, a few mistakes were made, however, the theory did save a lot of time.
Below: example of how the sketch was used to create a simplified, clean image. The black was a useful took that ensured any mistakes outside the line could be cleaned up with ink, some thing were patched up in Photoshop, or re-drawn and added over the original image in the programme.
