I’m actually pretty happy with how this page turned out, which is unusual at this stage since I generally just want to post it up and forget it exists. Even the binocular effects don’t look that dodgy.

New vote incentive! It’s an unfinished version of that map I promised at some point last week. It’s a bit dark and hard to read and blodgy right now, but you can sort of tell where places are. I’ll post up the finished thing as soon as it’s done. It’s probably worth noting that this isn’t an all-encompassing world map, just a regional map of the (still fairly large) continent that Red Moon Rising takes place in.

I had a small epiphany about painting backgrounds while working on the first and last panels which involves using the opacity brush settings in Photoshop more fully to get some nice cohesive textures going with a minimal amount of effort. It feels a lot closer to using watercolours (one of my favourite media outside of Photoshop) than I would have expected, and I think I’ll be getting a bit more adventurous with background shots, simply because it’ll be quicker and easier to do that. Hooray! I exercised it a bit in the first panel with a slightly more ambitious viewing angle – the perspective’s probably all over the place, but it’s sort of ok whatever.

In completely unrelated news, new Stargate series! Whoo! I am a giant Stargate nerd, and Universe seems like it might not be a giant pile of crap, which I absolutely approve of.

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Page 103
Posted on October 7, 2009 by Rose

0 thoughts on “Page 103”

  1. UtAstrumCado

    I am in love with panel one.

    Hrm…what’s Beard Guy trying to do?

    1. Kyethn

      Cheers! 🙂 And that is the question, really. You’ll see over the next few pages.

      1. Kosake

        My guess is, he’s some kind of coastguard. Maybe some fancy hydrokinesis to get the boat to the shore.

        Nice map by the way. Looks awesome ^^

  2. Lee

    Your depiction of rainy backgrounds is breathtaking. I love it. I think the rainyness may be what originally hooked me on this webcomic (that may sound sad, but I’ve stayed for the interesting story line and other good art). XD

    1. Kyethn

      Haha, I don’t mind, raininess is something that rather appeals to me too, which I’m sure is pretty obvious in the comic.

  3. Tancaliel

    Map! It is pretty. The page is also pretty, and interesting — now I can’t wait for Friday to see what’s going on.

    You should try Artweaver. It’s freeware and has very cool painterly brushes compared to Photoshop. I discovered it just this week. You can find it at http://www.artweaver.de 🙂

    Also, I upgraded to PS CS4 and tried your mini tutorial for doing the rain. Guess what makes my new version of Photoshop crash? Using the Motion Blur filter. Seriously. -.- However, I’ve discovered you can achieve fairly similar results with the Wind filter. Thanks for the tips, anyway 🙂

  4. Tiana

    I think it’s kind of funny how we both have maps as our vote incentives now.

    Like everyone else, I love the rain–even though I know how easy it is to make rain, I still love rainy atmospheres. And I’ve had no chance to paint any for AGES. I’ll make it rain indoors! D:

    The clouds in the last panel do look very watercolory.

  5. intermundi

    Map, yay. Is the west uninhabited?

  6. Nistur

    MAP!!!! WOOOO 😀 I approve *humps leg as promised*
    Great artwork as usual 🙂
    Out of curiosity, the script you keep writing… is it complete or are you just drawing pretty shapes? 😛

  7. Blake

    I recently discovered this comic (horary banners).

    And there are many amazing things going on in this comic.

    Your grasp of the human form seems innate. I bet you’re one of those arts that start with a squiggle and then after 20 minutes have the silhouette of your subject matter.

    Your grasp of tone is equally impressive. All the characters’ hair appear thick, messy, and suffering from horrible styling problems with all the humidity.

    My only issue with the comic is on the banner- which lead me here- stated this comic was Steam-Punk.

    I’ve read over 80 panels and no steam. What gives? !? 🙂

    1. Kyethn

      Thanks, Blake! “Your grasp of the human form seems innate.” struck me as a bit funny since I feel like I often have a lot of problems grasping human anatomy compared to other aspects of drawing (environments, colour theory, etc.), but I guess it can’t be going that badly. 🙂

      As for where the steam is, I’ll admit it, you got me. I’ve actually had this discussion with readers before and come to the conclusion that while Red Moon Rising isn’t technically steampunk (the tech is powered by magic rather than steam) it’s close enough in terms of the level of technology and the feel of the genre – there are plenty of common steampunk tropes scattered throughout, though there’s not really any of the quirky Victoriana which is also generally associated with steampunk.

      Basically it’s as if a low fantasy world started going through an industrial revolution. I wasn’t quite sure where to stick it genre-wise, but I think “steampunk fantasy” is as close to accurate as I can figure. Sorry if you found that misleading, but there are airships, so give me some credit for that. 🙂

  8. Vir7ual

    I hear hurricanes ablowing.
    I know the end is coming soon.
    I fear rivers overflowing.
    I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

    Don’t go around tonight,
    Well, it’s bound to take your life,
    There’s a RED moon on the rise.

    Hope you got your things together.
    Hope you are quite prepared to die.
    Looks like we’re in for nasty weather.
    One eye is taken for an eye.

    Amazing how this song’s lyrics fits the dark rainy atmosphere of your comic. (Well I don’t know yet if anybody is going to die, but still)
    change “Bad” for “Red” and you’ve even got the song’s title fitting ^^
    For those who don’t know it, that song is Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” 😉

    PS: theanks for the opacity brush tip, I need to try that.

  9. Beverage Dispenser ·

    Bushnells binoculars have the best quality when it comes to binocular optics ~

  10. Ilmari

    Egad, reading Rose’s comment, SGU was just coming out when this page hit the net? I actually really liked that serie add, pity it died so quickly… 🙁

    . . .

    Also, first appearance of Rhea! First time I read this, really thought she’d just be a one scene character. Hah.

    1. Ilmari

      Dunno how “series” became “serie add”… I blame typing with a gecko pen… and alcohol. Today has been the sort of day that needs alcohol.
      🙁

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