Oren's Forge PG 347
New page out next Monday!
2025-06-23 21:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
teagangavet posts
Oren's Forge PG 346
New page out next Monday!
Little side note, I don't think Ramble has a word in his lexicon for "blue."
Hey, Luckyclaw has a great comment below that goes way more into depth about this in the ancient world! I got it wrong, fell into the misinfo pit that is the Internet!
(Patreon, I know, it's a niche one, by I wish formatting had a strikethrough option. Maybe it does, I don't know.)
Anyway, I do think that Ramble's pack has a very different understanding of "blue" than the Zenith pack and I fumbled the context explaining why it might be that way. It's obvious though: in Ramble's world, blue to him is the color of a puppies eyes and it's significance probably ends there. It's a baby color for babies. The color might be more important to the Zenith, we'll see!
Inked Originals and Tutorial
I am home again after three long weeks on the road and the comic will resume as normal next Monday as scheduled. I am absolutely beat, so the next week is for sleeping and playing catchup on some stuff.
In the meanwhile, here’s the original art I did for Volume Two’s Kickstarter! These were all done earlier this year, the character requested by the KS backer. They're done in a mix of pens, ink and pencil.
At the bottom, I have a breakdown of how I did these, supply list, tips of the trade, etc (and how you can try it out too, if you want!)
I did 10 in total, and in no particular order:
=== WIP BREAKDOWN ===
I really hope this breakdown inspires someone to pick up some pens or ink. I’ve got some art school methodology to drop on you that will hopefully cut out some of the nebulous parts of the process and maybe open it up for you to try. No matter your perceived art skill, making stuff is fun (and it really can be cathartic in trying times.)
Supplies-
I use Arches Hot Press paper (more on that in a second.) For pens, I’ve grown really fond of Molotow Blackliner technical pens, for paint brushes I get the cheap synthetic boys from my local art shop (just don’t buy ones with janky tips and you’re golden.) For “painting” ink, I have a huge bottle of Speedball.
I also used graphite transfer sheets and blue painter's tape. Those are kind of ubiquitous and any brand works-- transfer sheets you can buy in packs like this or just a single large sheet loose from art stores. (They can be reused a lot and if you're paying more than $12 a pack in 2025, you might be getting the wrong thing.)
Arches Water Color Paper
Hot Press = smoothest paper with a little “tooth”
Rough/Cold Press = more “toothy” or rough paper, which holds more paint.
For ink/pens, I use Hot Press, but certainly experiment.
Full disclosure, Arches blocks are pricey. (They also come from France, so tariff pricing hasn’t done us any favors here in the US.) However, I would argue it’s worth it for the paper. I don’t think you need the best of everything to make great art (certainly not as someone playing around or learning) but paper is among one of the pieces that makes a huge difference in the final product.
Arches paper is sold buy the sheet, but it also comes on the block. That’s important for one reason— it’s pre-stretched paper. So, if you leave that top sheet on the block and get it wet with paint, water, whatever— when it dries, it will still dry flat, so long as it’s on the block. When you are done painting, you cut it off the block and boom, you have a (almost mostly) flat watercolor/acrylic/ink painting (rather than one that dried all wibbly.) If you’ve ever worked on paper with a wet medium, you know what I mean.
I would love to have shown you a picture of one of my Arches blocks, but my dog has developed an insatiable desire to eat (blank) Arches paper. Which, isn’t surprising, because Arches is made from rabbit hide, so uh…keep it away from dogs, etc.
STEP ZERO: MAKE A SKETCH
Okay, I didn't document this. I do my sketches digitally, then prepare the file to print onto thin copy paper. I use that plus graphite paper to trace it onto the Arches block. So, you can do the same and sketch something digitally then print it, or just use a regular sketch from a sketchbook (though I still recommend making a copy of that, since your sketch will probably get messed up during the transfer process.)
[If you really just want to try inking but are struggling for an idea or where to start-- grab some old public domain image of an animal or a flower. Obviously don't claim the drawing as your own, but there's a reason adult coloring books took off. Sometimes you just want to color or ink or try a technique to see if you like it without getting bogged down in "I need a good idea". It's okay to just get to the bit you want to do because the process is enjoyable. It's not like people who like puzzles first go out there take a photo, mount it to cardboard, then cut them up before starting.]
Anyway, let's assume you have a sketch ready to get onto that Arches block.
STEP ONE: TRANSFERING TO THE BLOCK
Using a mechanical pencil, I trace the lines of the printed out sketch, which presses through the graphite paper, and transfers the graphite onto the Arches block below. I find this part very tedious and it's my least favorite part of the process, hah. And a heads up-- what you use to trace matters. I started with a finer point pen and it pressed the graphite way too hard into the Arches, making it impossible to erase later. The blunt head of the mechanical pencil applied less pressure.
Here is is all traced, double checking for spots I missed. Once I take off the painters tape and remove the sketch, I will never be able to line it up correctly again, so it's best to be sure. (In the top, you can see how much more fine and hard-pressed that one stick is-- that's where I started tracing with a pen before switching to the blunt mechanical pencil.)
Erasing the excess pencil/graphite marks from the transfer paper. (I use kneaded erasers.) I like to get it as faint as possible so it the graphite lines don't show as much in the final. I also use a blank/clean sheet of paper under my hand to decrease the chance of smudging into the areas I want to be white. Graphite is, as you can imagine, very smudge-prone.
Erased as much as I could (graphite transfer paper doesn't erase quite like a regular pencil mark) and wow you can really see how much more graphite the pen pressed through the transfer paper into the Arches on that one stick in the top left. That's after thoroughly trying to erase the lines.
STEP TWO: INKING
I use the Molotow Blackliner technical pens (I used mostly .05 - .5mm) to draw in the thin lines and smaller details that I'll have a hard time getting with a paintbrush: faces, hangs, little spots of white, etc.
Oh, and you know what-- don't make things harder than they need to be. I am constantly referencing the digital version I mocked up on my screen. Using reference makes things so, so much easier to learn. Instead of your brain focusing on reinventing the wheel or desperately trying to remember how something should look, you can focus instead on technique.
Here's everything inked with the pens. My aim was to have sharp lines or corners and I just didn't want to leave much to chance with my brush work.
I feel like artists portrayed in popular culture always go on and on about the freeing nature of just "letting go" with wild abandon when making art (often said while wearing paint-smeared overalls) and yes, that's definitely part of the experience sometimes. But... you can also be in total control of the process, too. You can find/learn/create all kinds of methodologies, whether technical in nature or more about "happy accidents." Art scratches both sides of your brain. Whatever works for you then and in the moment.
If I'm doing work specifically for someone, sometimes I get stressed out and start to feel art paralysis (ie, imposter syndrome). It helps a lot to have a clear, precise guide to follow for myself (here, the digital sketch and mock up.) There's less room for me to "fail" and the anxiety lifts and I can actually get stuff done and enjoy the process.
Anyway, it's Speedball time!
PART THREE: MORE INK
I just use a small flat brush and a small round, and Speedball straight out of the bottle (in a little paint tray, I'm not insane). If you want to do ink washes or greyscale, you can absolutely mix it with water. (Just make sure whatever pens you might have used are going to act how you want them to when wet.)
(Flat paintbrush for filling big spaces.)
(Round brush for details or really fine points.)
(Touch ups with pens for precision lines.)
All done!
Thoroughly wash out brushes with warm water and a little teeny bit of hand soap. Any india/permanent ink like Speedball will stain paint brushes black so don't sweat it too much. Good rule of thumb is to just have a couple brushes you only use with speedball/ink.
STEP FOUR: REMOVING IT FROM THE BLOCK
Once it's fully dry, use a razor blade (or a thin, sharp knife or whatever) to carefully cut the piece of Arches paper off the block.
Ta-dah! See how flat it still is, even though I used a lot of ink? You can even do a full watercolor and it'll come out almost completely flat once dried on the block. (That tip alone is about a semesters worth of art school.)
Anyway, that's the power of Arches blocks.
If anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask here in the comments or drop me a message!
Couple bonus WIPS of inking:
WIP PG 341
(Regular comic pages on Monday will resume June 16th!)
From sketch to flat colors:
Pretty typical process for me, working from the background forwards. This helps establish separation between elements/characters. The foreground will always have more contrast, while will gradually the background fade into the sky color, depending on how far away it is.
Inking basket weaves is now among my new-least-favorite thing to ink, right up there with ropes or chain link.
Oren's Forge PG 345
Next page will be out June 16th!
(I'm travelling this week, plus need to sort/move out a storage unit, which I suspect will take a good chunk of time and energy. In the meanwhile, I've got some WIPs/etc to post!)
Oren's Forge PG 342
New page out next Monday!
Random aside: When I decided on the name "Rake," I was thinking of the licentious/immoral/rambler noun definition of the word. But, I recently learned "rake" is also a verb for a hunting dog that keeps its nose to the ground rather than the wind, so that's fun.
2025-05-05 21:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
PG 336 WIPs and...
The page this week is going to be a little delayed. I should have it up Wednesday, Thursday at the latest (and the delay shouldn’t effect the next page for April 7th.)
I was out of town helping my mom and brought back a very persistent and obnoxious cold. Nine days later and it’s still lingering, and everything is just going ten times slower than it should.
Anyhow, I’m sorry about that! This stupid mortal coil, what can you do.
Here’s some WIPs from the previous page though!
Oren's Forge PG 335
Scene break here, so next page will be out Monday the 24th (taking a week off since there's five Monday's this month.)
2025-03-10 21:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Incursion: Prologue/Wolf Family Tree
This is the prologue/wolf family tree I put together for the printed version of Volume Two: Incursion. I wanted to do something that matched the first volume's 'Prologue' (which I added below, just so no one has to hunt around for it if you wanted a refresher.)
The wolf family tree also gives Seral's parents some canonical names, as well as Swift's mother.
The Prologue image for Volume One:
Oren's Forge PG 327
SWIFT: “…You already had your chance to try and kill me.”
Happy New Year, everyone!
This year in comics, I want to be more bold with sound effects. I love big, boisterous sound effects in comics but I’ve always felt really timid about it when it comes to my own panels. I’m going take some more big swings and we’ll see how it goes!
So, I was planning on taking a week off at the end of the month, but I have been absolutely swamped. I’m not sure I can finish the next page in time, so I’m going to switch my schedule a little and take off next week. That’s not my ideal as far as story flow, but I think it’s the only way I’m going to catch up and get back on to my regular weekly updates.
So, next page will be on the 20th, and after that, every Monday!
2025-01-06 22:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostWIPs PG 325 & 326
Quick breakdown of a couple panels!
First, here's a pair from page 325...
Swift from page 326!
My normal process-- sketch then line art, flat colors and working from the background forward.
Oren's Forge PG 326
Next comic page will be out on January 6th and next week, I've got some WIPs to post!
(Also, in the previous page, I adjusted the speech bubble color to help indicate that Swift doesn't understand what Oren and Rask are talking about.)
2024-12-16 22:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Oren's Forge PG 324
We’re diving right back in!
I’m going to hold off on the title reveal for Volume Three for now, so please enjoy the mild suspense until then.
As far as the posting schedule, I plan to stick to a new page on Mondays, and I’ll be taking a week off during months that happen to have five Mondays (lookin’ at you, March).
December and January will be a tad slower though, with three pages in December and three in January. I’m going to be really busy between holiday travel and shipping out KickStarter stuff, and I don’t want to risk burnout right at the beginning. I’ll post some WIPs to fill the void, though.
Anyhow, new page will be out next Monday!
2024-12-02 22:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostRUN PG 9 (END)
That’s the end of RUN! I hope you enjoyed it!
If you missed it, I’ll be resuming the main storyline on December 2nd, picking up where we left off!
Wrap-up about RUN
I spend a lot of time with figures in the comic, just by the nature of the time it takes to make it. I have days, sometimes weeks, thinking about seemingly inconsequential side characters while I’m illustrating them on the page. It gives me time to fill in the blanks and consider their motivations. Originally, both the wolves and the bison were in the comic just to help set the stakes for readers— animals eat each other, this is the fate Rask and Quannaq are running from.
The wolves’ motivations are clear— they’re hungry. The bison though, I had to wonder why he was there, alone. In my head, I gave him a back story of needing to leave his herd to go into the forest to find something you can’t easily get in the grassland. Medicinal mushrooms were an obvious choice, which meant he was doing it for someone. It added a tragic gravitas to him that only I knew but I liked knowing that about him. That was the extent of the development up until I started plotting out Volume Two and the focus on Swift and her pack.
The bison’s small story fit into the larger narrative well. In the end, his failures will have consequences felt by other characters in the story’s orbit. Our lives are often interconnected by small, invisible ways we never see because we don’t have a narrative voice guiding our existence. It’s fun, however, as an author, being able to pull those strings and tie bits together. I hope it’s fun to read them, too.
==
As for the story itself, it reads two ways for me. There is the surface of it; Clay the bison is a tragic hero on a doomed mission. His cause is noble and I whole heartedly agree with his motivations— we should fight every inch for the causes we care about and to protect the vulnerable people in our lives. He isn’t entirely altruistic, though— he’s afraid of change and acts impulsively, even selfishly, to stop it. He’d rather risk death than the symbolic death of change. Is that the action of a hero, or a coward?
It puts me in mind of Don Quixote, or the image of someone trying to turn back the ocean’s tide with a gun. Some battles are impossible and some events entirely out of your control. That’s life, though. All you can do in the end is put up a fight.
2024-11-11 22:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post