Eliyana Comics

Trashy sketches A HOY!!

It’s been almost three years since we began this project *cough* and I’m only just now getting to the thumb nailing part of the process.

The great news is that we’re gaining headway since Eli was the peachiest peach on the tree and did such great work on the scripts so far. I had to edit it somewhat to update on the change in Phidil’s role but otherwise nothing too complicated! 

First is a tree that will be significant for a few panels. I just wanted to get an idea of the look I want. Something storybook-ish, reminiscent of my childhood memories of cartoon trees in magical forests promising adventure and whimsy.

Next are the thumbnails themselves. These are far more tedious to make then you’d think. I’m not keen on the size format I have them in now because it’s exceedingly difficult to organize images on them like that and I’m concerned readers will just get confused with where their eyes should go next. I may end up going to a regular format :(

And then various sketches of the bunch. I love drawing Blath and Uldin having buff-offs. Piarus, Aikan, Lupyn and Phidil make some appearances in there!

OUR BOYSSSS~

In order: Piarus the dwarf, Uldin the Mos Man and Aikan the Elf.

Uldin's 'tattoo' is a traditional temporary tattoo that's pretty much like henna but with a different cultural significance pertaining to the Mos Clan.

I've been dabbling a lot in their armor/outfits for some time now. But I'm feeling good about them thus far -u-

(also uldin's page has a sneaky portrait piece of Phidil in there. Lettin ya'll know)

I really like drawing Blathy's face due to the amount of angles comprising it. Tis a lot of fun :D

It's funny how much we add a lot of elements that seem to contrast a lot in our characters: She's this immensely strong (physically and mentally) gatherer for her people as well as motherly and easy to buddy up. Her style is getting close with other people and having full on contact in physical displays of affection. (Hugs hugs for erryone)

For future reference, if I ever say "I'm totally settled on the way Phidil looks", don't believe a single word from my indecisive mouth.

Although now I do feel pretty settled on Phidil's look.

We decided that her previous role was already taken by Aikan and was thus unnecessary to fulfill with her. To keep up the dynamic of the group, we made her younger, more sprightly and much more bubbly enthusiasm.

As Yana explained, she quit her job to donate more time to her art (and, by extension, this project). I wish I could say that I had a job to quit to sound as epic... but I don't. So yeah. You guys won't be getting a cool life story from me.

However, currently, I am writing a script to introduce our main lady: Lupyn! Yana and I met up last week to chat about how this should be done, and we decided that it would be best if she had her own little segment before the plot kinda got rolling.

I obviously don't want to spoil it, but because I am working on this webcomic in tandem with my year-long final project in my English major and doing an REU in Electrical Engineering, there are a lot of things in those disciplines that are going to help write this script. Mainly, the literary techniques that we are working on in that thesis class, but some of that research might pop up in there. Aggressive hint.

Anyways, it's gonna really rock with Yana's super art! You guys should be excited.

-Eli

PS: Because I cannot actually post pictures of this script, as that would be cheating, here is a picture of my cat. Her name is Sally, and you should pay homage to her because she will roll around like a dog if you do. :P

Getting back on track after a rather busy yet inactive summer for this blog!

Allow me to share some dramatic news: I QUIT MY JOB!

"So what"? You may ask yourselves? Well, for a very long time I've had to work full-time often while going to school in order to keep myself financially sound. This semester however has placed me in a unique situation where I finally have the option to allow myself dedication and time into this project while having some savings to keep me living.

Will comics and art be a career choice for me? Who knows. I only prayed for the opportunity to prove to myself that I'm capable of creating worthwhile accomplishments through what is possibly my most prominent talent. My greatest hope is that starting today, my life leads to where I'm destined to be. I just need to start working harder on what matters the most to me.

We'll be posting and working more often during this time. Here's to a great semester!

Yana has been so good about posting stuff on this blog, and I feel like such a lazy butt over here in England, but here it goes:

When coming up with names for some of these characters, Yana and I sat on Skype and went to Google translate. For quite some time, we typed in what we thought would be good indications of our characters and then went crazy with looking at the different language equivalents. Sometimes we got goofy (of course), but some real gems came out of the process. Our best sources of help were actually the websites that went over Nordic, Celtic, and other rather "ancient" sounding languages--for a lack of a better way to describe them. Names like Blathnat, Piarus, Uldon, Phidil, and Aiken all have roots in that initial search. For the girls, Lupyn and Anise, we thought of flowers as the best option.

However, Sadik's name was one that sprouted from Google translate. This one came when I was griping to myself about how to put names of characters into the scripts. Sometimes they were just Wizard1 and Wizard2 until names could come along. (Wizard1 is still a work in progress. Names are rather difficult; they often define the character or their destiny in some subtle way.) Sadik was rather special in that I had a vision of him as a faithful servant of an eviler source. This naturally developed into something more complicated, but the idea of faithfulness stuck:

He would be the dog lapping at the feet of an indifferent, sometimes violent master. No matter what types of abuse he received, the love and loyalty would not be dampened easily. Not to say that it doesn't change him, or warp him into someone who cannot withstand the tides of nature. Like any being, he is vulnerable to mistake, to fault. However, when it comes to the disappointment of Wizard1, it cuts him to the very marrow.

That's only one example of naming. I'm sure Yana would love to help fill you in on the funnier moments of our naming game. Trying to name Wizard1 was quite the funny hour. :)

The group comes across a wizard of great scornful power at one point, whose name is Sadik.

It is a constant battle of restraint to post EVERYTHING I've done for these guys. I have to exercise it though in order to tame my enthusiasm...

Possibly the most elusive of the main cast, here is the final main character of our roster. Meet Phidil!

When designing characters, it’s like having an initial conversation with them. Some were easier to “listen” to, who were more open and knew who they were. Designing Phidil was like having that one co-worker who’s painfully awkward and frustrating to talk to because they evade interaction so much.

So I realized that is WHO Phidil is. She is shy, bookish and keeps to herself fiercely. She’s great with professional business relationships since those require an arm’s length between partners, something she’s well-experienced in. But getting personal is very tough with this girl.

We apologize for the quiet activity on this blog. School continues to kick our butts and I've been relaxing through other artistic ventures. Enjoy some Lupyn's I've made myself color up some. I really can't wait to put her to action!

Felt like doing a sketch 1/2 of Lupyn's possible armor. I apologize to followers who are armor experts and cringe at my basic understanding of practical/plausible armor design. It's mostly based on my memory of how it works <:D

Quickie bust of Uldin! This ear has six different earrings while the other only has three.