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VanHeist — Panel Dump: Lost Girl
Published: 2011-02-08 16:25:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 13936; Favourites: 144; Downloads: 466
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Description
if this looks like a confusing jumble of non-sequitur images to your eye, then congratulations! you are correct.Actually these here are an assortment of panels from my upcoming comic "The Lost Girl", which should oughta be available in print around, oh, spring or summer. (It's not exclusively "my" comic, which is to say it was written by another talented fellow name of Michael Mongillo, but I'm so totally doing the heavy lifting on this for now so as far as YOU know, sonny jim, it's MINE!)
I wanted to post some stuff from the book as i've been relatively invisible in my gallery here for some time while i've been doing the most drawing in my life, and felt i should share at least some of it. You'll have to forgive the lack of full pages or cohesion as I'd rather you get to see each page in full-color lettered glory, and after all why give too much away anyhow? So treat this like a sloppy preview of sorts
But I can tell you that the story centers around a beautiful young woman named Joy (whose experiences are anything but joyful) and a fine young carnivore named Rurik. I've been told to describe the story as "Twilight, but not as shitty." Having never seen Twilight or read the books, I can't say of a certainty that this is true, but what the hell. I like this story and I like the characters, and hopefully that much will shine through in the end.
This story has been a huge milestone for me personally. It's my first time working long-term on a proper "script", for example. This is a pretty crucial thing. Normally I work from prose-style scripts or a very loose playwright-style description. I think it's a very good experience to work under someone who has specifics in mind, as it forces you to encounter tons of new challenges you might otherwise try to sidestep or avoid.
The biggest thing? Backgrounds. They are still a major weakness for me, but in doing this story I've been forced to reckon with them and my work has improved. The script also calls for other specifics in terms of angles, objects, and arrangements that requires a more significant investment of time and effort, but that's also brought better quality. My inherent cartoonyness is still apparent, but i feel like i'm getting a better sense of dimension and structure as I go on, and that's a good feeling.
Jeez this is WAY too long for a description. Hope you like it and I'll have more soon!
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Comments: 69
What,the!?
The stuff you did before was much Better,Just saying....Because Gogo is totally CRASHING MY F'N Wind Pipe, Because not done any of her or her clone-thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ho Please God Help Me, Just Draw, Oh Gad Not my balls again Gogo!!
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wow. These look PHENOMENAL, and are such a leap up from the last work on this project I saw from you.
Working with writers really pushes you as an artist - being forced to draw things you'd normally avoid like the plague (like bloody architecture) because they're essential to the script pushes you not only as a creator but as a person - you get a hell of a lot more stoic at 2am in the morning, staring into the flatcolours like an abyss. Scripts make you THINK about panelling - are you getting everything in, are you varying the angles, are you telling as much of the story as you can with visuals alone. A trick I use is turning off the script as I pencil, using only my thumbnails - that way, you can see if the story you're telling is compelling visually enough as a whole page, rather than thinking merely panel by panel. Mind you, I'm currently ink-smeared from a six hour session at the board and borderline delirious with exhaustion, so maybe taking my advice isn't an idea.
BACKGROUNDS ARE SATAN. I sympathise with you a LOT here, but DAMN, from what I can see, you've really levelled up. Also, excellent work at mastering the art of thick-foreground-versus-thin-background on these. You've invested in some delicious noir, and damn, it looks GOOD. The time and effort put into these is really showing - it's definitely your best work yet, and I can't wait to hold a copy in my hands.
In short, bloody amazing. I love it. I cannot wait to see more. I should also email you some handy helpy stuff I picked up over the course of this project, although considering you just outran me at inking talents and bee-gees, I should be asking YOU for advice.
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So glad you dig...and you're very right about working with writers, although in this case Mike has granted me a pretty free hand. But the script does provide a lot of opportunity to break out of comfort zones and attempt more than you might otherwise. Sometimes it's torturous, other times it's invigorating. The biggest challenge is finding that balance between being pragmatic and efficient and overthinking a layout. Sometimes it's best to shoot from the hip, sometimes you'd better get your reference tools out.
It's also a good way to stretch, character-wise. In drawing my own stuff, i tend to gravitate towards pretty consistent facial structures and builds. I still see a lot of Gogo in the women of this comic (hard to avoid) but I've snapped out of a few tendencies, especially having to draw MEN (capitalized for emphasis!) Also, action poses. Almost as bad as backgrounds when you're not used to doing them. I need to draw bodies in motion more, but this comic has been a hell of a start.
I'm lollygagging here enough as it is...thanks a ton, comrade. Now back to work!
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I've been working with two writers - they both present challenges in a different manner, which is great, because it keeps me well and truly on my toes. Sometimes, it IS an exciting challenge - other times it's terrifying. But they wouldn't ask it of us if they didn't think we could do it
Overthinking a layout IS a big risk - I'm often tempted to go for a showy angle to show off, and just end up smacking my head against perspective issues for four panels. But it's a learning thing.
I've noticed the emerging variance in your character bodies and styles - Joy is noticeably different from Gogo AND Didi, in her face and build as well as more obvious features. Rurik is glorious - you've mastered the hulking beefmuscle artcakes, so well done. I applaud.
My challenge for this project was giving every character a very different face and body type. It was HARD, but in a lineup they should be all pickable by their sihlouettes. I hope.
Get thee hence back to work, and I shall do the same - best of luck!
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do you work with other story writers often?
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more and more, but it's still not quite second nature to me.
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do you feel up to a new challenge? (I don't know if this panel dump means your still working on it or showing you're done)
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I can just imagine the scene cutting back and forth between the dude with the beard and the squirrel.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
eeeeee-
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I can just imagine the scene cutting back and forth between the dude with the beard and the squirrel.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
eeeeee-
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it looks really good though I will admit when I saw her holding the snow glob thing the word "rosebud" came to mind haha! unless... you don't get it
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Is there a list of your accomplishments anywhere? Like, what works of yours have ended up on store shelves?
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Woah, fut the wuck? Well, I'd be interested in buying this, if you sell over the interwebz as opposed to cons or a local store. (If I get the money into an internet appropriate service)
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I'm probably going to come off as an idiot by asking this, but...is he a werewolf or a vampire? I know that might sound like a very stupid question and it probably is as every indication points to the obviousness of him being a werewolf. The reason I was asking is that Rurik has buckets of blood scattered about, and werewolves don't drink blood, they eat meat, though I'm sure they ingest a good bit of blood while feasting it isn't really something they outright store or seek, just the meat. I'm refering to the panel where Joy is looking around at cages, bear traps, animal corpses, woodcutter's axe in tree stump, etc. I guess he intends to bury the blood?
I should kinda warn you and Mr. Mongillo, werewolf and vampire stuff is sort of at a crossroads right now at best, and at a low at worst. There haven't been any good vamp/wolf media things for a while, most stuff lately is poorly executed straight to DVD B-movies. For those that are not ravenous fan-girls, Twilight has left a sour taste in the mouths of many people. I hope the best for you two in this endeavor though. I could be 100% wrong afterall, and even if I'm not this story could still do really well. It does look realistic in execution and not corny from what I can tell so far. All I'm saying is that regardless of how good it is, people may just not buy it because of the lack of publicity and interest lately in good fiction of this kind.
Personally I'd rather buy Bomango and Elkchild stuff 
I'll tell you this though, as much as I love Bomango, if you ever publish Elkchild I have this feeling it will sell way better than The Lost Girl, Bomango, and anything else you come up with combined. I could be wrong about that too, it is just a hunch after all.
Something else I wanted to ask, do you and Mr. Mongillo both cooperate with story ideas and talk about how each of you would like the scene drawn by you, or is it just singular task work with you doing the artwork of scenes and him putting forth the story?
I have written you yet ANOTHER book report...where were these skills when I was in school.
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Well, one good book report deserves a thoughtful answer
Even though vampires, werewolves, and the undead have been a fixture of fiction for a very long time, there's definitely a sense that the market has been saturated to the tipping point. I don't think there'll ever be a time when people roundly just say "ENOUGH", because frankly there's a reason these tropes have hung around as long as they have. There's a timeless appeal that never quite goes away. Even so, I can attest to the fact that whenever something "new" about these things comes out, there's an eye-roll and a sigh and a sense of "here we go again".
That said, I've begun to come around to the realization that there's nothing truly "new" under the sun. Most, if not all, of the possible stories to tell have been told, and what really matters is simply doing the best you can to entertain. I don't think there are many ways to repackage or stylistically re-introduce such time-worn things as vampires and werewolves in a manner that hasn't already been done. But by way of example, there have been countless iterations of cowboy or samurai sagas, and even though i'm not a ravenous fanboy i still eat up the good ones. Hell, how many ways can you tell a story of revenge? Those are STILL satisfying after thousands of years, not to mention the fact that even though I roll my eyes at every insipid new romance story, they'll still perform well as a discipline, if not the individual effort.
As for "The Lost Girl", I'll not make a fool of myself by saying "Hold on to your mukluks, because this is a non-stop thrill ride that will turn your whole perception of monster outsiders on ITS GODDAMNED EARS!" It's a hybridized werewolf-vampire story in a sense; the creatures here are Neuri, whose metamorphosis is pretty subtle by comparison. They're xenophobic but ostensibly human by day, and by night they're dark-skinned, powerful, sharply toothed and clawed hunters. Joy, the eponymous Lost Girl, gets shoved into the middle of an ideological fight between Rurik and his "pack". Neuri can subsist on any flesh and blood, but devouring humans grants greater power and longer life in a very addictive way. Rurik is convinced that this cycle is screwing him and his people over by keeping them forever apart from humanity as a whole, and has lived a year in a self-imposed sort of detox (hence the copious amounts of trapped animals and blood), living in isolation and studying human culture through books, magazines, and not eating people 
Is it a whole new kind of story with amazing, never-before-imagined revelations? FACK NO, DIDI! 
How's THAT for a book report? Hehe
Oops, almost forgot to answer your last question...Michael originally put forth the story as a screenplay, and adapted it for a comic format, plus or minus a few revisions. After the first 22 pages or so, which were essentially a prototype for the publisher, he really just turned me loose to draw it however i wished. I've adhered mostly to the script, only making a few adjustments here and there, but for the most part it's simply his story, my art. Which is fine. I think I get enough input on the story simply by drawing characters and expressions as I interpret them, so it's pretty nonrestrictive.
I'd love people to buy Bomango and Elkchild stuff. If there's one thing working on two all-consuming projects has made me hungry for, it's to act on the numerous ideas i haven't had time to implement and work on...brain overload...
Thanks for the thoughtful input, and apologies for what's really turned into a bore of a screed
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I'm mad that you think your backgrounds are weak. Your backgrounds kick my backgrounds' ass.
This is starting to look very, very cool.
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So brilliant. Your style reminds me of Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise or Echo). Also hugely appreciating the backgrounds. It adds so much depth and sets the scene so professionally. Love it all, dude!
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Good to see you back with some amazing quality work. M'always blown away by your stuff and congratulations you got me again.
Shame I may never get to see the finished thing.
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SQUIRREL! EAT MY NUTS WILL YOU?!?! *CHOMP*
So, is he a werewolf? Or a weretroll or something?
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Honestly i say keep the style the way you have it now because the sense of a mixture between cartoonish and Realism will help set it in a different style of Comic and will probably help add to the drama and suspense horror and comedy that we can only gain from your works Rob. But thats just my opinion also if this is gonna be a mostly woods oriented comic wouldn't a Colt45. 1911 be a little..cliche as a weapon choice for this comic? Just as a suggestion but stick to something like a..12 gauge shotgun/sawed off shotgun, 45. Smith and Wesson revolver,..Or the Bor 7.62x51 Bolt action sniper rifle, just seems to have a more..Forest/Small town weapons feel to it. Just saying..Im not trying to troll or criticize im just trying to be helpful to you as always.
Best Wishes Brandon.
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I look at this page of random (awesome) images. First thing I see?
Squirrel. The squirrel is SHOUTING at me.
Make it stop... ?
In any case, I love it. Glorious work, especially the 2nd column from the left.
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glad i read the description, i almost thought that was Gogo in the bottom left corner X) sure her expression isn't very Gogo-ish, but thinking back to post Gogo drawings and sketches, ex when she's in the hospital or with that one guy, she did show such vulnerability. but alas alack sigh, tis not Gogo. still looks awesome 
1. have a plot, a decent one, without plot holes that you could drive a bus through
2. characters are not just mary sues or the male equivalence.
seriously... thats it X)
also backgrounds kickass... and the guy kinda looks like Mordecai from fire emblem :3
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I saw Gogo wandering around aimlessly, a few random panels, and then found a huge slaughterhouse-type thing. Then she fainted. When she woke up, I thought the guy turned INTO a squirrel. Then Gogo ran away, and more random scenes ensued. Yeah...
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Have you ever thought about sending some of your comic art to one of the big companies? You could have a real future in the comic industry.
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oh it's a preview, I thought the guy had a fight with the squirrel and lost.
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Because of what you just said sir, I now have this scenario endlessly playing out in my head....
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Jumbled and confusing or not, it still looks like a kick ass read.
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It won't be available in Germany so easy, will it? :/
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Maybe it can be made available online (or at the very least available for being ordered and shipped reasonably). Which would be good because i think a fair amount of people who visit this gallery are overseas...
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someone should tell him not to waste food that way *shakes head*
will this be available on internet? I suspect this would be the only way I'll be able to buy it... because if I wait for it to reach my beloved banana Republic otherwise known as Italy, I'll be OLD and most probably DEAD.
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Jumbled though they are! The intensity of some of those panels is really remarkable. You certainly know how to pull off expressions well. I can definitely see how you say that your stuff is improving.
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I'm looking forward to the finished product with great patience in mind.
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fresh and...furry. yeesh.
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I spy badassery. 80
This certainly seems to be well on its way to better than Twilight. (For the record, Twilight's success comes largely from the heavily self-insert-style of the writing that essentially lets the readers mentally place themselves in the main character Bella's shoes, thus allowing the (predominantly female) readers to fantasize that two supernatural hunks are both vying for their affections. I find it laughable now, but admittedly if I'd stumbled across the series five or six years ago I probably would have enjoyed it. >_> )
That aside, from what I've read about this in your comments - specifically "the beast-boys in this comic spend less time trying to look pretty and more time eating torsos" - I like it already.
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Very valid point about "Twilight", and it's important to approach it on those terms. For that reason maybe this story is not a good comparison, thematically at least.
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Probably a good point. Also, it's my theory as to why many Twilight fans can get so vicious when defending the series. Since it's so strongly self-insert, I think that when someone says something bad about the book, the fans take it very personally, almost as an insult to themselves.
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Those three panels with the wide open mouths looks like the man and the squirrel are taking turns shouting something at each other. "Show me the money!"
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