When I created that scene in Breakfast in Tacspace, I threw a few spotlights in and it just kinda worked - I remember blogging about it at the time and someone was like "Hey amazing chiaroscuro!" - and I'd never
heard the word so googled it and discovered it was a real thing! Yay!
So wanting some of that harsh/atmospheric lighting back, the title of #18: Shadows and Dust just kinda fitted with what I wanted the comic to be; Luce being a shadowy character who used stealth to get onboard the ship, and because (1) there were lots of shadows generally (corridors, the galley, main ops room all shadows), and (2) the pivotal use of the hyperdrive as a weapon was to shunt rock around the galaxy. ie dust.
Also Gladiator is a great film and having just watched it (and randomly given my PB Google account the name Marcus Aurelius Bellerophon for shits and giggles), having a reference to that film sorta fitted. In an obscure film reference kinda way, even though the universe of Gladiator and that of STFW are literally lightyears apart.
AAAaaaaaaanyway, in the above page from the upcoming comic (don't hold your breath; it'll be about a month yet), Xho is clearly looking for Ix. Just thought I'd blog it up because I liked the lighting; looks super scifi having such strong contrast and reflective surfaces. I quite like the way Tacspace fits nicely with Stonemason's scifi corridor prop - again an amazing scene from that guy, which with a bit of light play can look super atmospheric.
Note the subtle x-wing in the corner of tacspace - that's the only hint we ever see of it in this comic, just chucked it in there for consistency with the previous comics, though I figured Xho's had time to clear all his tools and junk away since his work on the hyperdrive.
Yes I think about this stuff too much. No there isn't really any reason because nobody but me would likely spot those details. Yes plenty of readers would skip all these pages anyway because there's no boobs on them. No I don't care.
I'm just gonna keep doing what I do :)
15 comments:
So that's what Chiaroscuro is, looks great, like the reflection off the floor on the last panel. Bit moist down there...
munkjack
About a month?!?!? How can you do this to me?!?!? -.- (But otherwise it wouldn't be as great as your previous works..... okay changed my mind. Take your time!!) :D
Do do that voodoo that you do so well, to snurch a phrase from Cole Porter. Dramatic lighting is good. Chiaroscuro is even better, because it starts with 'Chia'.
Xho must find it hard (...) to focus on much else with Ix about (and on his mind). Ix may be surprised at the progress Xho has made on his projects; sure he had time, but she may be puzzled how (not to mention why) he managed with that joystick in the way. hehe
STFW and Ancient Rome, quite the brain-jar. Hm:
Outcast Tomericus & Bexia run off to far-flung lands, survive a sacking of a distant ancient city by sheer luck and take over a sacked and abandoned temple with nothing but unwitting luck, innocent chutzpah and the insanity of society. Therein, their newly invented cult does a booming business despite its inept founders, dedicating lots of ah, certain acts and the odd orgy to some suitably incestuous pair of greek gods...
...plus, Bexia is seriously popular as a model for maiden, priestess and goddess sculpture, for some reason...
...Our busily devoted couple are eventually joined by Lucretia, a pat tribal orphan babe who doesn't cut it for long and 'adopt' two strange (if inhumanly hot) young urchins of mysterious origins with the awshucks hots for each other, Apex & Xhon... Until Maximus 'Fabulosio' Glutinous, an utterly dickish prefect, comes along to darken their porticos...
...At which point a Senator, Pious Vanitious Minimus and His Legions come marching through to some campaign. Pious' enslaved, blue-painted soothsaying mystic babe (Xannia) helps the temple cult prove its efficacy (and thereby legitimacy) by entering a trance / communion with the gods and revealing the urchins as lost wayward children of gods (Pious eyeing Apex: "Any wise man can see this ero- er exotic creature can be no mere mortal!" Tomericus: "Crikeyus! I just thought, you know, they were foreigners, from those foreign places." Bexia: /facepalm) whom the temple has brought to a happy union...
...This, claims Xannia, pleases the gods and will bring prosperity, bountiful crops, an age of Pax Romana, successful aqueducts (which genius Xhon happens to have plans for, if anyone's interested...) and more excuses for the popular new local variety of Bacchanals. And ensure the Senators' victory (via Ix scheme, with help from Griffia, a notorious, shadowy, half-naked, tattooed, border-mercenary-warrioress formerly known as Lucretia). If the Senator will phooey the nay-saying prefect off to the hinterlands, free her and leave rich offerings to the temple...
Anyway, there's a sword-and-sandals version for us. Which, if nothing else, goes to show how lucky we are to have the sci-fi milieu. ;)
Haha amazing work! Think that counts as another work of fan fic, to add to the Wild West scenarios etc :D
I've never seen so many correct jargon references in so few paragraphs, and from someone who hails from the colonies to know so much about what I thought of as Euro ancient history is pretty impressive! I guess it's history of civilization, so is equally interesting to people around the world; classical education more universal than my naive assumption of it being an English thing.
Perhaps there should be a few spin-off series where our crew get trapped in Tacspace/planetary scenarios and (like the intrepid group in the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon) spend their time trying to get the heck out of dodge, as well as porking their way through whoever they meet / each other / anything with a pulse. That way they could do the Quantum Leap move between Wild West / ancient Greece / Rome / 70s Roller Disco / Renaissance France etc and at the end of each comic you'd have a lovely "Oh boy!" moment :D
If you have time, I have started my story on Deviant Art.
I am really looking forward to 19 now. Your little hints are driving me crazy. A hot looking board, and a brother looking for his sister. Interesting, very interesting.
Oh the STFW lot and approach would be fun in a wide variety of settings, no doubt. :) Their personalities seem well suited to "rolling with it," come what may (and they may...).
Granted Ancient Rome is known more widely through the lenses of 'Hollywood' and certain religions than formal mainstream education over here, but it seems there's a certain degree of commonality. 'Course, it helps to have an interest in history, as I confess I do! Esp. some of the early civs, ancient Egypt, Rome of course, but also the Minoans (and speak of, seems there was at least one style of Minoan bodice that Bex, Ix & Zan would rock to historic degrees of rockness).
But, '70's Roller Disco?! (Possibly featured in Ix's new musical, 'Xho I Do'). Zan having a balancing advantage in skating... :)
Yeah the Rollerdisco thing was because I've always thought if I made a proper movie of the STFW gang, it would start with Zan dance/rollerskating through the corridors with headphones on. Naked, of course - the camera would start behind the slowly dancing skates, then pan up those long blue legs (etc etc), then she'd slowly remove her headphones, turn to the camera as the music fades to the sounds of shouting and phasers - ship breach! - which would lead nicely to some action and all the wonderfulness that would follow. Will never get round to it, but it's nice to dream :)
I'll check it out sometime :)
& it'll be worth the wait, I promise :)
Your comics are hilarious and your artwork is awesome, keep up the great work!
Hi Old 'Un here. I was just browsing through ehentai (as one does) well, actually i was looking for an artist called vger, as i have seen a couple of works by him, about twins, (always a topic to play with) and i found some but they didn't have the same appeal as the one's i saw. Anyway i digress, whilst perusing said works i found a strip (ooh) and i thought Whoa, that was IX! now with the word plagiarism, running through my head (and having a word like that running around, anywhere unchecked, is painful i girded myself up for a bout of on-line fisticuffs with the bounder, but there on the opening page is a word of thanx to you for the privilege of using your character. Damn i thought, in-between dodging that bloody word that was still running about in me head, no blood will be shed on the net today, in the furtherance of honour and art. Oh, well. Can't wait for the next issue. More power to your elbow (If elbows are used in your profession. they are in mine, but that's to stop me squashing who's underneath!) Cheers and Take Care.
Hey no way! That's cool, would like to see the strip (have you got a link pls?). I guess I did give away some character body shapes and instructions on texturing, so there's bound to be some stuff out there I can't control, more power to art I guess :)
Unless it's rubbish / really abusive in which case boo! But heck, we all know there's only one true Ix anyway haha :D
Thank you so much!
(I'm not sure they're quite hilarious, but I'm happy to provoke the occasional giggle)
Hah I found it, no need to link. Good to see people crediting the artist / source :)
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