So a simple spoiler for the new bio picture and the fact that… he’s got a new hoodie. So yes, on previous covers that featured Zack, he was sporting a blue hoodie. However while I was coloring this and put down the old color scheme, I felt Zack looked pretty dull and monochrome, didn’t really stand out at all. So he got a hoodie makeover.
Storywise I feel this is kinda fitting for the character. Zack’s overall story arch is that he is a complete wimp, who has always needed his sister to bail him out, so he strives to better himself and become a stronger individual. So the red hoodie can symbolize his ascent to a stronger more independent character, or at the very least, show that’s he’s gone from a minor character in the background to stronger character in the future. Anyway, wanted to give an update on that.
So yes, chapter 23 has concluded and currently I’m a bit occupied over on the Green Raptor website finishing up the Amber one shot. So it will be just a little longer till I start working on the official script for chapter 24. But in the meantime I’m here to show you all some behind the scenes sketches and some production stories that go on behind the Kalwa scenes.
We’ll start off with Hideyoshi and Karou Sato (yes I’m saying their names in the western tongue right now). Hideyoshi’s design was kinda decided from the beginning as I wanted a simple stoic and strong looking samurai. I wanted him to have a mustache as it would suggest wisdom and nobility in addition to his strength. In fact his selected name Hideyoshi actually translates to “strong one” in Japan. Mostly when drawing him I was actually thinking of Sango’s father from Inuyasha, except with cleaner hair.
The x shaped scare on Hideyoshi’s face was actually an accident. In reality he was meant to have only a single slash scar, however when it came time to draw him in the comic, I mistook the cheek bone as a second mark and didn’t realize my mistake until about five pages of drawing him (as you can see by the sketch below). So hopefully Ruroni Kenshin fans don’t accuse me of stealing.
Karou’s design was a bit more tricky, as I didn’t really have a specific design in mind for her. I wanted her to look like a well mannered woman who would politely greet guests, but also wanted her to appear fun and witty as she has her own methods of survival which will be seen later in this story arch. My first drawings of her I felt looked too plain, and at the same time I felt she looked a little too old for Hideyoshi. I think I had been looking at Hinata from Naruto when designing her bangs in the final design. The real tricky thing about drawing Karou is that her long hair has to wave in and out in a certain way as it can result in her looking notably different and off model (see second sketch).
One little fact I’d like to bring up is that there is an unused kimono design for Karou. Initially she was supposed have flowers on her kimono, sorta like an older version of her daughter’s kimono. However I missed the sketch at the time I drew her and completely forgot about the design. I’ll probably bring this design in chapter 24 as a clothing change, so be sure to look for than in chapter 24. Anyway, that’s what we got for this entry, more to come.
A bit of an old drawing of Kalwa with her short hair. This was done WAY back before she officially got it cut during the Whitechapel arch. I think I first drew this during chapter 16 or 17. This was before I started using some of the same techniques you see on some of the more modern illustrations. Truth be told, Kalwa’s short hair is symbolic, it’s supposed to show her at a weak point and that she’s still living with the scars she endured from Victor back in chapter 19. Hence the general theme with this drawing.
An early page from chapter 10 which illustrates a bit of tensions between Kalwa and her mother. I should confess that shortly after I moved to my current house shortly around the time this chapter began, though that really has nothing to do with the tension between Kalwa and her mother. Actually the conflict was a little inspired by a few tensions my mother had with her mom. Don’t know if it was as hostel as seen in the comic, but that was a source. This also was kinda a plot I opened up without a real idea of where it was headed, but I can promise that you will see this going in a direction in chapter 23!
Click the page to read the rest of chapter 10 below.
Just a random idea I had a while back if Kalwa dressed as a rather over the top and semi-ridicules kid from the 90s. I think was watching old videos on Retro Junk at the time and just wanted to do something to represent the 90s!
A pretty little project that will hopefully help viewers get their mind off of an election anxiety they may have. I actually came up with the idea to draw this sometime ago, after I stumbled across the 28th ending of Gintama which featured the cast in the wedding outfits. I thought it would be pretty fun to draw Kalwa in such outfit. Plus it’s a happy and pretty sight to help in these rough times. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this.
An adventurous comic book series about a teenage girl and her time traveling cell phone. 