Right now I am on my way back from the Image comics Expo in Oakland, Ca. As you that have been following the Mythica story may know the first issue is complete. I am working on the second issue right now. Over the next couple weeks I will be posting a wide variety of things including preliminary work from issue #1 like we have here today.
This rough looks quite a bit different than the final. That is what doing roughs is all about. First you just get the idea down on paper. Once it’s there in front of you, you can use your skills and knowledge or even advice from editors or friends to make it better. For this particular page I showed the rough draft to a friend of mine who suggested making the demon smaller in the first panel to give a greater sense of depth.
Also, you’ll notice that i changed the angles of the last two panels to make it more dynamic.
I hope this was insightful.
See you all next week with more process stuff from issue 1 and maybe even a peek into issue #2!
Mythica-Behind the curtain
Mythica issue 1 pg 22
Well here it is! The final page of the first issue! So excited to see this whole first issue done. I’m even more excited to be starting issue two! We head to Image Comics Expo in three days to do our best to show off Mythica to anyone and everyone that will look at it. My goal is to have Mythica picked up by a publisher by the end of the year. You can help me, William and everyone else who has worked on this project meet our goal. Yes you!
All you have to do is tell people about it. If each one of you tells just one person about this labor of love that is Mythica then hundreds more will know about it. One of the things I will be showing potential publishers is the statistics of visits and pageviews to this webcomic.
Also, upon my return from Oakland I will be meeting with Graphicly about having Mythica available as a download directly to your smartphone or tablet! I’m very excited about that because for a few reasons. For one I feel that the colors just seem to be so much richer on an electronic device but also i really love how easy it makes it for anyone to check out.
Lastly, now that you have had a chance to read the first issue and get to know some of the characters, I’d like to know what you would like to see more of. First and for most we are staying true to my original vision for Mythica but i really have come to love the interactiveness of posting Mythica as a weekly webcomic. Where else can you as a viewer directly interact with the creators as the story is unfolding. So, we may not use all of your ideas but we will definitely read them all and take them into serious consideration.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Matt
Mythica issue one is finished!!
Mythica issue 1 pg 22 sneak peek
Before i get into the exciting news of Mythica’s debut I wanted to give you a sneak peek at the last page of issue #1. Who’s boots are those do you think? Okay onto the news.
The first issue of Mythica is finished and is at the printers right now. After many, many test prints i think we have finally been able to get a result that looks like the original digital pages you see here on the website.
Through this process i have learned a lot about how many different print results you can get from different printers with the same exact file. I also learned that unless you are doing a MASS quantity of prints (like over 10,000) digital printing that captures all the illustrious colors of RGB just isn’t available at an affordable price. So, that leaves CMYK. As some of you may know there just isn’t the same color range availabe in CMYK as there is in RGB. A highly saturated red in RGB can become pink in CMYK. So when i found out that i needed to convert all of my pages to CMYK you can imagine the frustrations that followed as i watched everything change. However, after a few adjustment and test prints we have it looking good and i am excited to be taking it to the Image Comics Expo in Oakland, Ca next weekend.
Also, I am really excited to start showing you pages from issue #2 but you are going to have to wait for a teeny bit longer. I will post some sneak peeks and concept art but i want to get a few pages ahead before i start posting.
This journey has been really exciting for me. As many of you know, it has been a labor of love a long time coming and it is really cool to finally see it coming to fruition. What is even cooler to me is having so many of you be a part of the process. Having your feedback and input as I post each Monday has really been inspiring and kept things moving. I can’t say thank you enough.
Also, I have to say just how truly blessed I feel I have been. It seems that God has reached down and helped at every turn. Every time I reached a roadblock, someone arrived just in time to help. Each person involved in this project has been a blessing. Whenever I have a brainstorming session with William Tooker I get so damn excited that i am exhausted afterwards. I never imagined that working with another writer on this would work out so well. I mean, when you have a vision and then try and explain it to someone else so THEY can takeover the writing duties you are basically putting your baby in their hands. It was something I was skeptical about to be sure but now i can’t imagine doing this project without him. Thank you Will and thank you McLain, Kimberly and every single person who has supported me and supported Mythica. I look forward to keeping this going until the whole story is told.
Mythica pg 21- Epiphany part 2
Alrighty, the man known as Magnus that Kimberly has been dreaming about has just lived through a bombardment of artillery fire. The rest of his Black Watch crew were not so fortunate. Now, there is this new person being introduced. Kimberly sure has some wild dreams. Who is this guy? Is he good? Is he another demon? Is he a manifestation of someone in Kimberly’s life? As this strange new character says, “All your questions will be answered.”
The next page is the LAST page of the first issue! We are taking the first issue to print this week. After the last page posts i will be taking a few weeks to get ahead on the second issue. Don’t worry i will still be posting some fun stuff pertaining to the Mythica saga, it just won’t be brand new pages. It will be stuff like concept art, bios, and other interesting tidbits. I feel that if i can get ahead a little bit more i can have a buffer in case i get sick or something so the story won’t be interrupted.
Also, if you guys have enjoyed the first issue of Mythica wait until you see the second issue! I am so excited to draw it. Will has really taken the script for the second issue to new heights. I can’t wait to show it to you.
Next week: Finale of issue one!
SPREAD THE WORD!
Do you use StumbleUpon? Are you a fan of Mythica? If so, helping us spread the word about Mythica is as easy as letting your “thumbs up” do the talking and stumbling EACH AND EVERY PAGE of the comic that you read and enjoy.
Mythica pg 20-Epiphany
Kimberly has returned back to her dream of Magnus to find him in agony over the loss of his men. This page was a challenge. After returned from my fun filled and successful trip to New Orleans i found myself sick with a strong head cold the very next day back. It didn’t quite get bad enough to keep me from going to work but it drained my energy enough that when i got home from work i had no energy left to draw. So i drew this page on Sat and colored it on Sunday and made it in just in time. Then after all that, i was tired so i shut my computer down for the night and layed in bed until i realized i hadn’t uploaded the page to the website. So after firing up the computer again it’s here and it’s still on time. Whew.
Next week: Epiphany part 2