Flashback!!
Getting the coloring on this sequence took a lot of trial and error. I wanted it to have that washed out, muted sepia, glowy look to it like you’d see in a lot of other flashbacks. I have to say I’m really happy with how it turned out.
In the bottom panel, I had to completely re-draw the buildings. In the original pass, they were much more sci-fi, with more plating and grates and panels. But they just looked wrong. It didn’t make sense to me that these farmers out in the middle of some large expanse would be building huts and stables with large chunks of tech. It seemed like they should be more low tech, with the architecture being of the earth. So I redesigned the buildings to be more reminiscent of adobe huts and clay-tile roofs. It’s not terribly sci-fi in design, but more believable to me. I figure the weird crops and alien animals would give it that sci-fi flair anyway.
I love those buildings. They have a kind of Mos Eisley meets Tuscany feel to them. And sci-fi designs for normal houses and rural buildings I think should be muted, you can only do so much to a shelter.
I like the buildings too.
[The human postures aren’t that believable though; either they are carrying cotton or the weight is another human body weight by volume. The trick is to “read” with your eyes, not your brain.]
The coloring looks great, and I love that kind of transition from current to past. Keep up the great work!
I like how the buildings have gotten their own look, yet they don’t seem out of place when compared to the buildings you’ve done previously.
The buildings are quite good, but I’m fixated on the fact that Bocce had the energy arm while he was living a simple, rural life. I really want to know how he got it now, and wonder if it wouldn’t have been ridiculously expensive. All sorts of questions abound!
I’m with Sean K. on the arm thing. Great job on the coloring. Did you overlay the “flashback” look or just shade it where you would normally use color?
Eeee, Bocce background! Awesome!
My parents never offered me these choices, and I can see why….
Yeah, it’s sort of pointless. From Bones: “Children are sociopaths.”
[Actually it isn’t, because responsibility and assuming adult behavior both educate. But it can be hard on the parent. :-D]
Yay! Bocce flashback! Originally, his backstory wasn’t going to be a part of this story arc, but with him being left back at the ship, I realized I didn’t have much story to tell for him this arc. And it seemed to fit pretty naturally given the earlier scene with Roka and Ril alluding to his past.
As for the coloring, I colored the flashbacks as I would have any regular panels. Afterwards, I ran several Photoshop filters and effects to make the panels more sepia toned and to add some glow to give them that washed out look.
I like how you take Bocce’s separation from the group and use it to explore his past rather than just ignoring him or only cutting back for a bit of comedy.
Yeah, I forget where I heard or read it, but I remember some filmmaker or writer talking about making each scene do more than just one thing. So I thought Bocce should be left behind because of his leg injury, but that would be a good chance to also start to explore his backstory, by tying that into his experience waiting back on the ship.