GOD Finally
Sorry about this. I’ve had a ton of work stuff on my plate recently in addition to some personal/ family issues, so it’s been rough finding the time to work on comic. Not to mention that this page naturally took 3x longer to do than a regular page because I had to learn how to use my new tablet to paint and also how to paint strong lighting… and not to mention how to draw everything horses :C It is my secret shame that I know nothing about horses, they are like crazy aliens to me. Now I’m better though… I have had an education on horse anatomy, morphs, saddles, reins, etc etc and man I am like the king of horses right now. Much gratitude to the library and to my friend Cheddar’s invaluable horse tutorial, which gave me a ton of excellent practical advice. The fact that she pointed out every error I usually make (can we say human legs) was probably the strongest selling point XD Of course, the horse is like the least noticeable part of this page, later it’ll be around more.
Anyways, I’m not quite done with my worktrain yet, but I should be back on track next week for sure. See you then.
Don’t worry about how long it takes to do the comic, as long as it looks nice, I don’t care how long it takes. And don’t worry, I hate horses too.
Mmm, update. <3 Don't feel bad, we understand if RL gets in the way sometimes! You break your back over every page for us; it still amazes me how you can get this kind of page quality out every week. c:
Horses are freakish things to draw, but indeed you are rocking them. 8)
I love how vastly different each of your settings is. *-* And none any less beautiful than the last. <3
And I love how I keep thinking, "What are these Carissi fools doing? gtfo!" A testament to how well you wrote Luca's racism?? Still, Soli is so prettyyyy (to me at least), especially in that close-up panel. Something about the shape of her eyes is just… that expression is so wonderful and deep. Love, love. <3
And happy birthday again! Hope you had a good one. :D
Horses really are just about the hardest animals to draw, but that tutorial looks awesome! Thanks for linking it. And the page looks great, I definitely get that dusty, deserty feeling. I find it interesting Alamand doesn’t recognize the radio tower too. Curious!
Look great! I like how the settings in each new chapter vary so much. First jungle, then inside a palace and now in badlands/desert. We really get to see the extent of your abilities :)
Haha, I love how Alamand is all over the place in his panels — peeking out from behind the wall, standing on the horse, and then sitting on the saddle XD. It really shows how animated this kid is. That’s something that was definitely present in the sketches, but it’s really coming across well here :]
Gaaaah teeeeeth
And both their eye colors are so beautiful in the daylight, it’s very close to the color of her tattoo.
ANYWAY THOUGH
It is also your birthday! And you’re a mere two months older than me right down to the day! Somehow I feel like we have a vague, barely definable connection that way. <3
Happy birthday. I guess this page was your birthday present to us. I will treasure it all year.
What Sarah said WITH EMPHASIS! Thanks for finding the time for this, RL does tend to get in the way of things…often.
i literally squealed in utter joy when i saw this page.
Alamand is so adorable xD
Hooray! Hmm, with the shadows, I can see what you mean. I think they probably need to be crisper in shots like the top panel, such that they have a well-defined edge. My lighting teacher told me that sometimes shadows can tell you more about the form of something than seeing the thing alone.
Yeah, but for the top panel the angle of the lighting didn’t throw the shadow forward, so it’s sort of under him : I didn’t feel like rearranging the cosmos so sadly the sun will have to throw a wimpy shadow for panel 1 XD
Pfft, you worry too much. These pages are worth the wait even if you decide to be a jerk and take a year off ;D
Something about the horse’s front legs feels off, but aside from that I think you’re definitely doing well, considering your prior lack of familiarity with them.
Yeah, I shaded the knee too prominently XC The problem is figuring out how matte my horse is supposed to be… part of me wants to make it shiny like all those horses in my ref pics but my brain is telling me that those horses have been like oiled or something.
You’re right, I think most horses aren’t that shiny. They do have a sheen of sorts even with very basic grooming, but it takes a lot of care to make them as shiny as some of those photos… I’m sure the specific breed also makes a difference, since the hair types are different. I think making it shiny would bring too much focus to it though, so matte probably works better from a design point of view.
As long as the depiction of the horse doesn’t shout out “FAKE!” from the page, consider it a battle won. And I know from drawing bad horsies.
There are no bad horses. Just misunderstood horses. ;)
The only bad horse is the horse that wasn’t asked.
…wait…
What about Bad Horse, the Thoroughbred of Sin?
[/cheesydrhorriblereference]
hope everythings okay with the home life now!
Well, its still incredibly dramatic but it’s getting better (knock on wood). Thanks :)
hopefully things get even better for you soon
Holy crap it’s your birthday happy birthday!
Also holy crap they invented radio already?
holy golly, happy birthday!
and i hope all the rl and personal issues are sorted out soon man. :C
loving this page.
especially how Soli is pretty much a grown woman, but has such adorably child-like reasoning.
BECAUSE I’M THE BOSS.
Alamand is also ridiculously cute. is his hair all tied up in these panels? AWW MAN CAN YOU GET ANY MORE HILARIOUSLY CUTE.
Soli is the boss.
I see that Alamand is surprised to learn that there’s a radio tower in this world too :p
I also really like the way he’s in a different pose in each panel. It really does show that he’s an energetic kid without being super-obvious about it. The gun fascination continues, and it still has me worried that something terrible and gun-related is coming down the pike for young Alamand. That third panel seems to imply that Soli unloaded the weapons before she let him play with them, but that’s not certain. He also looks better with his hair down, IMO. That bun/topknot isn’t a good look for him.
Soli, on the other hand, is rocking the desert garb. I also love the way the bright colors really bring out their eyes. Beautiful, as always.
Hope your RL issues are cleared up, and a Happy Birthday to you!
Why do I keep thinking of the “Like a BOSS” song when I see this page now? XD And I’m loving the slightly-too-exposed desert colors as well!
Great, as soon as I see Soli covering her face I can’t help but think, ” This is Snake. Otacon, what happened to your teeth. . . and your hair?”
Apparently you are to be wished to a Happy Birthday, and keep up the good work.
Is that … a radio tower? Odd …
Thanks for the link to the wonderful tutorial! Horses have to be one of the hardest animals to draw, hands down. Since you shared your nice tutorial, please allow me to share some of my personal favorite horse tutorials, by Droemar:
part one (mainly anatomy): http://droemar.deviantart.com/gallery/#/dtqgh9
part two (mainly gaits, making horsey movements believable): http://droemar.deviantart.com/gallery/#/dts0vn
and, finally, the riding tutorial (making riders look natural): http://droemar.deviantart.com/art/Riding-Tutorial-111524894
Hope those help at least some. :D
“I have had an education on horse anatomy”
The only way to convey that message is to walk into a room stumbling, eyes wide with terror, and then collapse in a heap.
Sally and Soli, hee hee hee. And you are right, horses are shiny if they have been groomed within an inch of their life. Normal horses are very dusty. Horses in the desert moreso.
I love the scenery. I must concede that in looking at this page, I got the feeling of two dry rocks hitting each other – a sound I once saw represented as “kopp” and can’t associate with any other word. It’s the way the landscape seems eroded that screams “not sand but crunchy gravel,” the size of the rocks and the shape of the cliffside…I have so many sounds that are associated with that particular terrain, and you managed to capture it so perfectly that I can’t think of anything else now.
Those are some intense guy wires.
I love the discreet Keep Out! sign on the bottom panel! This is so exciting! I want a tattoo like hers ahaha
Oh man, Soli just exudes danger
Amazing how much feeling you can get into a handful of panels.
I really love panel 4 for some reason – Soli just looks really feminine in it or something. I love her body structure and the way she carries herself.
Wow, I never knew there were so many different kinds of lighting. Each of your chapters are so unique, it’s really cool to see how they even have different lighting for their setting. First chapter= dappled sunlight with green tones through the trees. Second= Mostly indoor lighting, and now strong sunlight. You really get across the idea that these settings are as different as they can be.
This isn’t really a good comment, but I’ve never really cared/noticed the usefulness of lighting until now.
I glad you’re doing your horse research. As an avid horsewoman, I notice the discrepancies immediately and I get pulled out of the story. Keep up the good work!
I obivously dont notice my typing discrepancies…though.
Haha, thank you. If you see me messing up on lack-of-riding-experience stuff, please don’t hesitate to correct me!
Hey, welcome to September, everyone!
Just a reminder, there is a voting link at TWC for The Meek here: http://topwebcomics.com/vote/11383/default.aspx
This is totally voluntary and unofficial; this was listed on TWC by some “Mysterious Third Party”, so our beloved author/artist won’t be posting any incentives there, and probably won’t get any direct benefit from the voting (unless we can vote it high enough to start getting attention and drawing additional traffic to the site).
But if you want to do just one more small thing to show your support for The Meek, follow the link and go vote. It won’t take long …
:mrgreen:
Alamand’s face is precious! Wow, look at those teeth. Horses, booo! They are my bane.
You continue to amaze. This page could fascinate me for days.
Yeah…better be REALLY careful. You’re a little kid and you just got sent out on your own unarmed D:
Thank you for even attempting to learn equine anatomy and associated equipment function! Too many people don’t even bother. It may be random, but if you ever need a ref for an equine pose(that you can’t find), I’ve got plenty of photos! :)
Soli got freckles doesn’t she?
This chapter is just awesome! Soli is awesome! The dynamics between her and Alamand is awesome! Everything is awesome!
Awesome!
Also, like everyone and their mom, I love the Soli closeup panel. And I got a feeling (hinted by that radio tower) I´m gonna love what you do with this desert setting.
Such a great costume! You draw this so well, your skills allow Soli to be really inside it, wearing it, and making me feel fuzzy by just looking at it. I mean, you don´t draw clothes as if these are all made of latex or glued on people.
Five pages in, and I think Soli is already my favourite webcomic character ever. That´s some fast characteristics-of-awesomeness building, dear author. And we have her whole chapter ahead of us! Woohoo!
Really, thanks for making this webcomic, can´t believe it´s real. O.o
This should help you with your horse problem:
http://aviary.com/blog/posts/how-to-draw-anything-in-1-step
Otherwise, I can’t wait to learn more about these new characters! Especially Alamand. I love his messed up teeth, really makes him look young and mischievous!
Awesome.
Brainpower sapped from school, can’t say much more.
Agh I’ve just fallen in love with the expressions this kid makes. You just capture them so perfectly.
Also, spelling error on panel two: whistle. No one else has mentioned it yet, soo..
I see others have posted their resources, so I’ll give you mine.
“Jack Hamm” has a good book about drawing animals. There’s a section devoted to horses, and I discovered the book has been uploaded here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24324116/Drawing-Jack-Hamm-How-to-Draw-Animals
It’s also one of the cheaper books to buy from any bookstore :)
I’m seeing a sort of mother-son bond in this page and the last. Interesting.
The hard work you put into this page really shows, the lighting in this adds a lot of contrast to predominantly bright-colored panels.
Also Happy Birthday if I’m not too late.
Your work is always worth waiting for. Thank you very much!
I think out of all the characters I love Alamand the most. He’s so cute, and every single one of his expressions make me love him just a little bit more.
Are Soli and Alamand related, or are they from the same region? Since they have the same hair and eye color. Again, wonderful work on this page. Love the close up on Soli’s eyes!
lol, i was about to say the same exact thing. They DO look like they’re related though.
somebody’s fixin’ to get roughed up…Or made a sammich I dunno
smirk I love how you characterize Alamand. Child Sidekicks are hard to pull off elegantly in a story and so many writers default to the “omg so sweet and innocent ” or the ” adorably obnoxious ” trope out of laziness. They ought to read Lord of the Flies sometime XD You portray Al honestly and it makes me love the little bugger even more. My hat to you *bow*
You know, I can’t stop imagining how Soli would look were she to re-feminize (or feminize for the first time?). I am seeing supermodel. Seriously. Thence, it irritates me that she chopped her hair into a rattail like that. Is it a kind of “screw you” to the old bf/mark? Is it pragmatic (man traveling with boy = safer than woman traveling with boy)? Or was she always like that? And what did the ex-boyfriend do to deserve death?
I AM SO SAD I NEVER READ THE JOURNAL COMIC!!!
Yaha, Soli looks like Peter O’Toole! *blink*
Thanks for sharing this most excellent comic with the world for free. I’ve been enjoying it so much and for some reason I haven’t commented, so…I’m commenting! Yay. lD Keep up the good work.
(probably a stupid question but…) Are all the different characters related (or going to relate) somehow? I’m kind of confused because they change every chapter. XD
I still love it though, I get sucked in more every time you post a new page!
Yes they will :) There are three story arcs right now, so in the next Chapter we’ll be back with Angora and Pinter.
That thing he is carrying on his shoulder looks like a pair of pants *snort*
I can’t believe it took me so long to find this! So Good!
Soli really confused me though, I was like “Hey! This guy’s hot! Wait…”
I love how Alamand is standing on the horse in the second panel, it makes me laugh every time I see it. I just keep thinking “OH MY GOD, THAT POOR HORSE!” and admiring it’s patience. She’s climbing all over it crazily, and it’s just chilling, eating it’s grass, not even caring… xD
Keep on truckin’! I don’t mind coming back to check every day — patience is easy when the quality is so fine.
P.S. shana tova, everyone!
Is Horse Pepsi okay?
Nay.
I really wanna know how he got that tattoo under his eye!
Like a boss.
sali kinda looks like a man.
I feel you. Horses are damn hard to draw. Like, their knees are on backwards, and their necks are almost the same length as their backs? What the hell??
I’ve ridden horses and stared at pictures of them for hours and I still can’t draw them properly.
Hey, you missed the I in “whistle”!
Love your work, dude, keep on scribblin’ and scrawlin’.
i have tried reading this next chapter, but im afraid that the death of the queen has was also the death of my desire to follow this story, i understand that it was a something you planned from the beginning, and im sure a lot of people are ok with it, but for me, in this particular universe/story its just to much, i no longer feel that i want to follow this story, sorry.
Haha, do whatever makes you happy! Her death is a major plot point, if you can’t stomach it then you probably won’t care for the remainder of the story either.
While I do totally understand where your coming from, you do need to remember that that happened in chapter two, the story and universe was still actively being created, infact that event was PART of the creation of the story. Its not like there was a major plot twist you don’t agree with, theres scarcely a plot to twist at this point. ( <- not meaning that as a fault of the artist or story, i love it so far!)
Then again, I only just found the comic today so Im seeing it as just a short bit of reading when it probably took months to get those two chapters up, I can understand a reader who's been fallowing sense the beginning not liking a new story arch, just try to remember that it IS new and still getting on its feet
Actually the world and story are fully developed/ finished. As in, the whole plot from beginning to end was already in place when I started, it’s just a matter of drawing it and posting it (haha, “just”). So Phe’s death was planned from the start… it’s too bad that commenter up there isn’t willing to see the rest of the story continue, since it is going to develop quite far from where we are right now.
I ment that the story is still being developed *for us* as we read, not that your still writing it. Perhaps i should of sayd ‘introduced’ instead of ‘created’ ^^
Oh good XD The last thing I want is for people to think I’m just doing this and killing characters off without purpose…
No way, you can totally tell you know exactly where your going with this comic, its one of the things that makes it so alluring :D
Is Sally the horse?
Yep!
M’kay.