1.29

1.29

May 23rd, 2009

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Another page! The rain doesn’t quite match with the last page, do’h. I’ll fix it later, like I always do XD Speaking of which, I took some kind suggestions from the last few pages and updated Kiz with a bruised eye and fixed Grandfather’s foot on the last page, which was totally backwards. My bad!

I’m very glad to be nearing page 30, I thought it would never come… it is probably the most important page in terms of plot, and also marks the 2/3 point of the chapter (it is 45 pages). Thanks so much again for all the comments and nice words and of course the crits and nitpicks, you guys are awesome.

Last thing, if you want to see some hideously hideous early Meek art, the site Artbloom was kind enough to invite me to share some of my early work and newer work for your viewing pleasure. It is a really fun new site, so go check it out! They also did a feature of Emmy C.’s work, and you probably already know she is brilliant.

Thanks again, and see you on Wednesday!

85 comments to “1.29”
  1. Nhaar says:

    Ah, that third panel is lovely! Wonderful crop and color shift. Can’t wait for page 30!!

  2. whatwith says:

    This is fantastic. You know this is fantastic, right?

  3. marinated_fish says:

    wha, coloured… monsters, you know what I mean!
    Oh, how I’m getting excited about this.
    I also appreciate the epic, epic dialogue (or rather, monologue)!
    “…to destroy your people forever…”
    whaaaaa no! I’m all in awe for the exciting storytelling.

    • alexds1 says:

      XD I made sure I put enough info in the revised monologue this time, the original version was lacking a lot of important points that I hadn’t worked out yet.

  4. Yara says:

    Whoa, love it! That brother of his looks mighty unfriendly, wonder what his deal is.

  5. Caitlin says:

    Wow, these panels are amazing! I especially love the one of Dagre running. With those lips and those eyes. He’s so creepy.

  6. PunkAvatard says:

    Your epicness has arrived to a whole new level. the coloring, the rain, and even the freaking marks in the mud on the second to last pannel. I… I love it.

    … Will you be the mother of my children?

  7. DoctorWhyly says:

    I really like where this is goin’!

  8. Lee says:

    Getting sooo gooood

  9. Sky says:

    Im lovin his evil brother! Go brother rivalry !
    Can’t wait for more pages! Soooo curious I be!

  10. Titus says:

    Why does it describe you as a ‘he’ on ArtBloom? X_X

    • Eugene says:

      This totally confused me as well. Were they just making bold assumptions about the gendering of the name “Der-Shing”, or did a miss a memo? :O

      • brad says:

        I think Der-Shing prefers to let people be uncertain of his/her gender.

        • Filipe says:

          I thought that in the page in shingworks, in the about me section, the person in the picture was the author.

          Apparently Der-Shing is an «experienced field biologist, with emphasis on reptiles and amphibians.» That explains the salamander-like thingies we’ve seen so far. Oh boy, the strip was already great but a few more herps can only improve it.

    • Thea says:

      Because Der-shing’s deviantART profile refers to him/her as “male.” :)

  11. general-blue says:

    Woot! This is getting sooooo amazing!! I just love this comic, and I cannot tell you how happy I am when it’s updated!! The art is so beautiful and unique! ^^ Definitely can’t wait for more. :)

    Thanks for the link to the website. It was really cool to see how much you have improved your art over time. It gives me hope. XD (Though they accidentally referred to you as a ‘he’… :D )

  12. Sir Reginaldo says:

    It appears that this family of mixed creatures has very troubled relations :3
    Maybe that is why Angora is there to help :0

  13. Gearfish says:

    That tiger monster (the Dagre I think it is called in your gallery?) is INTENSE. I think it is my favourite part of the comic so far, it is so creepy and evil-looking. I can’t wait until we get to see the rest of it.

    Also: Giant axolotl with tree gills: AMAZINGLY COOL.

  14. heyyoitsmj says:

    Dagre!!! D:

    The brothers have the same eyes: nice touch.

  15. Hchano says:

    oh man, this is so much better than those old pencil doodles you did XD wasn’t he just a little salamander back then? this is so much more epic…and…somehow also adorable :<

  16. Hchano says:

    also that art bloom thing slayed me. xD i sometimes look back at my old art and giggle xD

  17. Steve C says:

    I can appreciate occasional self-derogatory humor and all, but you just gotta stop bashing your own art! You’re supposed to _secretly_ hate it, you know. :P

    After reading the new page, I’ll often see a comment about your unhappiness with the saturation or something, which seems out of place. I would have thought it was intentional, if anything (I’m not an artist, I don’t look for flaws). Just my two cents!

    • alexds1 says:

      A lot of stuff I don’t see until I’m uploading it (of course) because I tend to rush on the coloring. The way I procrastinate I start around 2 or 3 in the morning and finish up right before I have to go to work… then go back and fix up the mistakes later. I could probably avoid this by just spacing out the work over a few days but that would be too easy

  18. wow! plot thickens!… I’m really enjoying this comic. It’s the first webcomic I’ve really gotten into. Keep up the good work ;)

  19. Sanionka says:

    Omg.
    I love you.
    And this comic.
    *u*

  20. Laurens says:

    Anyone who thought the story progressed too slow and stopped reading should catch up right now. I bet everyone will be wanting MOOOOOOOOOOOORE!

  21. I’m wondering why Brother is so hairy and Grampa is not.

    But then, I am able to wait for the story to unfold. ;)

  22. Luzerne says:

    You need to draw Mocheril more often! He is so adorable.

  23. Super87 says:

    Fantastic. Really stunning visuals.

  24. Haley says:

    Ah my god~

    Was the Dagre included in the rough/sketched version? I totally didn’t remember it if it was.
    grahgfdkjvoj;dl looking forward to the next pages and in the (seemingly near) future, Luca!

    your art continues to awe me *w*

    • alexds1 says:

      No he wasn’t XD I decided to put a glimpse of him here to make give the jump between the chapters a bit more transition… won’t be entirely unfamiliar territory now!

  25. whooomeek says:

    man i was already curious from the start, and now i’m like GIMME GIMME MORE GIMME MORE GIMME GIMME MORE. (repeat)
    seriously though, what a twst!

    i love how you’re able to dictate the emotions in each panel/page with your use of colours… you really know how to use them. just an idea with rgds to panel three – maybe use a bubble without the tail since that’s grandfather speaking and not his brother?

    • alexds1 says:

      Yeah, I thought I could leave the tail in cuz hes in the top panel (thats where the tail is pointing) but I like it better without… I’ll update that at some point…

  26. Isabel says:

    Gorgeous!

  27. Ark says:

    The third panel is a wonderful contrast in colour to the other panels. I enjoy your story, keep it up and good luck, it is amazing (:

  28. pSyche says:

    I was so suprised to read that you are a self-taugh artist. I always find that so impressive because I’m not really the sort of person who has had lots of self-motivation, haha. I’ve been in love with Meek since I first laid my eyes upon it and I’m eager to see how the storyline progresses now that it’s gotten rolling, because hey, I know the art is good! Keep it up, you’re an inspiration!

    • alexds1 says:

      Haha, it does take a lot of motivation to teach yourself anything, I guess… I just always found drawing to be a lot more fun than the real work I had to do! So here I am with a hobby that takes up all my time XD

  29. Quiscalus says:

    WAAAHH! Awesome. :D :D :D I just realized that I really want to see The Meek animated. O3O

  30. coNs says:

    (yey memories) OOOOooh, the Dragre! :D DD Awesomeness!

    (I’ve decided to follow the comic on the official site XD)

    And I wanna know that long story ;_;

  31. hito-w says:

    This looks like something that came out a Hayao Miyasaki movie.
    In other words, a master piece!
    Even though I don’t understand why her grandfather’s a white, stylish forest spirit, I think that you’ve made something very original out of it, really. Congrats! =D
    (I know I’m no one to judge, by the way, but I guess happy supporting’s always welcome, haha!)

  32. Brie says:

    this page and the last one remind me of Princess Mononoke a little bit.

    The story is so awesome!! I can’t wait for another update.

  33. Maggle says:

    Is Grandfather’s brother the Electric Tiger?

  34. Jessica says:

    Oh wow this comic just keeps getting cooler and cooler

  35. gargoyle-lauren says:

    ok so grandfathers a tree spirit

  36. Chel says:

    I think the salamander-ish…creatures? ( o_O ) are absolutely amazing. I’m completely addicted to this comic and always look forward to the updates. Keep up the awesome work! :D

  37. sweet_gardenia says:

    oh snap, this page just makes me PONDER so much! hm-hm must wallow in the gorgeousness of the art *wallow*

    I will say it is very cool your concept of divine beings that fight, quarrel, can be hurt or even killed. I think it ties in so much better with the feel of this unique mythology you’re developing rather than the old chesnut of ” gods = flawless, beneficial and always even-tempered ” that seem to be the case in many a webcomic. it just makes it feel so much more ancient and genuine folklorish, consistent with the idea of gods that can die and create worlds from bits of their body or gods that are just vengeful, selfish bastards

    THANKS FOR BEING DIFFERENT. AND YET AT THE SAME TIME, TRADITIONAL :3

    • alexds1 says:

      Haha. Yes, don’t we all love fallible gods? Or representatives thereof… Zeus was always my favorite for being such a sleazy bastard half the time (well more like 70% of the time)

  38. Plaid-ipus says:

    oh oh love your scale of just how big G-pa is! I’ve been following this comic for a little while and just love it and your amazing coloring, I love your color schemes they are what I’m trying to emulate in my own comic though I work all in all traditional mediums aka gouache and colored pencil cuz I’m nuts. anyway keep up the good work!

    PS Is G-pa a giant Mud-puppy salamander cuz if he is and those ARE bushy gills on his head then that is just awesome!

  39. candeldandel says:

    Oooh, her hair and the rain in the last panel is divine. I wish I could see a closer shot!

  40. Dreggor Gade says:

    Great muted colors for the thematically dark rain scene. How did you enjoy illustrating and coloring, depicting, the weather?

    • alexds1 says:

      Thanks a bunch. Drawing the weather in this scene was awesome, cuz its so easy… no lines + blurring on the bg to emphasize the haziness, and a variety of white vertical lines for the rain. Much easier than picking away at the interior of a tent, thats for sure…

  41. Koia says:

    im visiting this comic since afew days ago and i’m allready inlove with it. Very nice artwork,i cant wait to see how the story continues :)
    Im so jealous of your talent!

  42. Korilian says:

    The color scheme you’re using is really adding something. Nice. And the twist, that THAT’s her grandfather was awesome!

  43. Basil says:

    *Heaps praise*

    You are a GLORIOUS artist.

    Panel 3 with the cropping and sudden, yet wholly appropriate, colour and mood change?
    Subtly emphasizing grampa’s size by having him fill up two panels?
    Angora’s wet hair?
    Gorgeous. Utterly gorgeous.

    You, sir and/or madam, put other webcomics to shame. SHAME I SAY.

    • alexds1 says:

      Thank you! I’m stoked that you noticed all those things. I love laying out the panels and wondering if anyone will notice what I’m doing technically, aside from the storytelling…. thanks for your nice words!

  44. Elviella says:

    Oh my god, this is FANTASTIC. I love it. The framing is excellent and the dialogue/monologue is amazing! This is probably one of the most atmospheric pages in the comic so far :)

  45. Tammy Lee says:

    Uhnn sexy sexy Dagre in the third panel. So hawt.
    It is such a joy to see the pages being finished up SO WELL!
    Amazing!

  46. Anise says:

    The flashback was a bit expected, I’m almost sad that you did it because I was expecting it at this point, especially to drive the plot. Luckily, you’ve written the dialogue decently, and it flows nicely. I can accept the plot maneuvering if it’s well written, that’s for sure!

    I also love the paneling in this page, simple, yet effective.

  47. Karrey says:

    Have been away and busy for some days and I was really excited to see the new pages. Darn, you rock so much! These last 3 pages are sooo beautiful and so effectful in storytelling. I am so impressed! (Oh, and I missed voting for some days too. Sorry. : ( … missed the letters as well, I think? *lol*)
    Keep up the awesome work! It was also really fun to see how you drew back in 1998. I drew something really similar to that. XD ((but far more unexperienced! I drew about the same thing all the time.))

    *thumbs up for you*

  48. Treyos says:

    I looked at your old art and… is that old version of The Meek even the same story? It seems completely different!

    Oh and you’ve come a long, long way. ;)

    • alexds1 says:

      Haha, its not really the same except for Pinter and Angora go on an adventure against an evil force. That girl the guy (its hard to tell who is who) is talking to is supposed to be somewhat Angora-ish, but its so terribly drawn, ugh.

      • ZeeColdwater says:

        So Pinter and Angora have been the story constants this whole time?

        Don’t you love how that happens? The story crumbles to pieces but a couple of stubborn sods just stick around in your head and take up all the good real estate (in this case I’m glad they did).

  49. august says:

    Ah! Grandfather’s brother is in the banner behind Angora! Connections, haha.

    This a fantastic series. Every page blows me away. I can’t wait for more.

  50. Mukki says:

    OMG. This webcomic is SO EPIC. The expressions, coloring, dialogue, story, EVERYTHING! Everything is executed to make such a great webcomic! I can’t wait for the next pages to come!

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