1.29

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!

94 Comments

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

    • Thanks very much! Glad you liked the cropping :)

  • whatwith

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

  • marinated_fish

    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.

    • 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.

  • Yara

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

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

  • 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?

    • Amber

      I don’t think he can mother children, unfortunately, hehehe.

      • *Facepalm*

        Damn it… then again, I’m a girl, so it makes no sense…

        Uhhh…. can he be the father of my children then?

        • Your original comment actually now makes –so little sense– that it fell off the other side and now makes complete sense instead.

  • I really like where this is goin’!

  • Lee

    Getting sooo gooood

  • Sky

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

  • Titus

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

    • 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

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

        • Filipe

          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

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

  • 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)

  • Sir Reginaldo

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

  • Gearfish

    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.

    • Haha, thanks! I’m pretty fond of him too XD

  • heyyoitsmj

    Dagre!!! D:

    The brothers have the same eyes: nice touch.

  • Hchano

    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 :<

    • Nah, he was a big guy back in the first version too! Just not as interesting to look at in pencil :)

  • Hchano

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

  • Steve C

    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!

    • 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

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

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

  • Laurens

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

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

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

  • Luzerne

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

  • Fantastic. Really stunning visuals.

  • Haley

    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*

    • 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!

  • whooomeek

    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?

    • 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…

  • Isabel

    Gorgeous!

  • Ark

    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 (:

  • 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!

    • 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

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

  • (yey memories) OOOOooh, the Dragre! :DDD Awesomeness!

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

    And I wanna know that long story ;_;

  • 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!)

  • 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.

  • Maggle

    Is Grandfather’s brother the Electric Tiger?

    • Nah, that art was an unrelated tiger! Although the brother is tigerish.

  • Jessica

    Oh wow this comic just keeps getting cooler and cooler

  • gargoyle-lauren

    ok so grandfathers a tree spirit

  • 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

  • sweet_gardenia

    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

    • 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)

  • Plaid-ipus

    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!

  • candeldandel

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

    • Haha, okay then I’ll put one up as the incentive today! I’m running out of non-spoilery things to put up as incentives.

      • candeldandel

        Many <3s, m’dear!

  • Dreggor Gade

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

    • 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…

  • Koia

    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!

  • Korilian

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

  • Basil

    *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.

    • 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!

  • 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 :)

  • Tammy Lee

    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!

  • 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.

  • 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*

  • Treyos

    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. ;)

    • 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

        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).

  • august

    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.

  • 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!

  • He looks kinda like a Texas Cave Salamander.

    • Bwee

      Axolotllllllllll….
      Or cave salamander.
      Or both.

  • redgirl

    “The story is long, the time- short”
    Great line!!!

  • He reminds me of the forest spirit in Princess Mononoke, though in just that respect of what he might symbolize, though they are completely different in design and such. XD

  • I’m glad it’s a while since I read the sketch-comic, makes it more fun to read this, since I can’t remember everything. :) This page is my favourite so far I think, I can’t stop looking at it! I envy your skills both in art and story telling.

    Poor grandfather!

  • yim-yam

    omg i love salamanders!!!!! ever since i watched matilda i’ve loved them

  • dave

    very nice job. Color is great. Backgrounds are pretty. Any pride you have for this comic is well-earned.

  • Here’s to a fellow biologist making web comics. There should be a club or something.

  • Lunalover009

    wait so now she has a great uncle who’s a hairy monster thingy and a grandfather who’s a bleeding muddy monster thingy, now I’m sure shes not human!!

  • Kuching

    Well so thats what the tiger thing in the site banner is. Thats such a cool style to make him, all smiley and salavating xD

  • Sen

    Ha…this page is beautiful, in every way.

  • You know if you did not mention things like this does not match or I did not put the tent in the right place 90% of us would not pay attention. Its beautiful work.

  • Jester

    OHhhhhhhhhhHHHhHHHHH…I Geddit now! The newt’s bro is the Dagre tiger which represents the Luca’s Pasori people and the giant salamander-thingie is the other race of (blonde) people.

    • mmm, not quite, but good guess!

  • foxlets

    Wait… If The new’t brother is Dagre and Dagres brother Is Luca thosent that meen Luca and Angora are somehow realated? Or something?

  • sooo…her grand pa is a giant salamander………cooool!

  • Twigs

    Holy crap … I won’t say who his brother is because it’s a spoiler, but I just recognised him and now my mind is blown 0___0

  • Niki

    O.o
    Grandfather is a mud puppy…

  • OMG UNEXPECTED.

    my mind = blown.

  • Still one of my favourite pages from this comic… so much emotion.

  • GingerGryphon

    Why is her hair blonde… But now it’s green?!

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