Merry Christmas!!!

Hello everyone! Welcome back! And Merry Christmas Everyone!

Over the past week I've been doing various pictures over on my DA page - admittedly not overly much to do with Dreamwalkeres, but doing digital versions of some OC characters that are used on a Roleplay forum that I am part of. One of which was also sort of a gift/present for one of the other Roleplayers,

If you're interested in seeing some of those, have a look on my DA page at:

http://chosha-kurenai.deviantart.com/

As well as creating a Christmas avatar, I had also created a mascot character called Luphin, a character that would be used during Pandora. It actually began as a joke during the last MCM I went to with Nadia, where I bought an odd looking cat plushy that I would jokingly call a 'Marshmallow cat' due to its shape. I jokingly thought that, because of its stubby legs, it wouldn't be able to walk, and would only be able to walk around saying 'La la la la'.

This ended up being an on running joke and the start of the invention of the character Luphin, I mentioned it before as an idea for a business card, so I had made a base design in colour of the Luphin.

I had drawn a sketch before, but this is the full coloured version that the business cards would be based on.

As a Christmas reference, I decided to also do a Christmas Luphin as well! While I tell the silly stories behind that on my DA page, I can show you the Christmas Luphin.

One last thing is to do with the logo for Tanra studios. After it was looked into by John Charles, we discovered that our previous logo was a bit off, at least on a graphics stand point. As such, we have, with the help of an external source who has a graphics stand point, created a new logo for Tanra Studios, though it still has the fox and wolf motif from the previous one.

This is now our current logo that we are using:

We were thinking of a similar manner that Dark Horse's logo works, that on a light background it would be dark, with reverse colours on a dark background. The title of the studio was done in a font that would be easier to read no matter what background we have or what colour we choose, something that couldn't really be chosen with our previous logo.

What do you guys think? If you have any thoughts on our new logo, please let us know.

I'm also starting work on the competition entry I mentioned earlier on in the month as well. So far I only have the base sketch, but I'm hoping to have it all done before I return to Uni. I hope it goes well!

Until next time, have a Merry Christmas!

Tara

Pre-Christmas Target Met!

Hello everyone! Welcome back!

Sorry about not posting over the last couple of days. Thursday I was making sure that all my work was ready for my deadline on Friday, Friday, as well as hand in, I was working with Nadia a little more on some timeline aspects of Pandora etc. So....sorry for being a little later than normal.

But anyway, for Dreamwalkers, I had a goal that I wanted to hit before Christmas break, both as part of my course and as I hope to continue Dreamwalkers fully. My goal was that I would have between 16-24 finished pages, a front cover and any prelude work towards it, as well as continuing a blog with once weekly posts on the Dreamwalkers side of things, as well as work with Nadia towards Pandora.

Yesterday, I handed in 16 complete pages, one page of line art, three pages of line art with colour but sound effects and words needed, a front cover, my sketchbook and page sketches up to page 25 and a script for the entire first chapter of Dreamwalkers. Obviously I've been posting up here once a week as well, and have done work towards Pandora, which I have also been speaking about on here.

Speaking of Pandora, there is an update there! We've actually found someone willing to do the music for the Pandora comic trailer that we are hoping to have up and running for May MCM. The trailer, once finished, should be available on Youtube as well, and I'll link to it here once its done, for those of you who are unable to see us at MCM next year

Another update is that Myself and Nadia will be attending the True Believers convention in February and we have a table booked. I will be posting a map of where we will be located a little bit closer to the time. In the meantime, however, they asked us to fulfill a short questionnaire that everyone can read to see what to expect from us. If you're interested, please check us out here:

http://oktruebelievers.com/hauntednerd/2015/10/29/the-5-question-interview-37-with-tanra-studios

Our work is not yet over, however, though we are now off for Christmas. I'll be doing a few non-Dreamwalkers related pics over Christmas, such as my entry for the Bubblegum and Marzipan competition I entered (the deadline being January 30th) as well as working on a few hoped for pictures I've been hoping to do for a while.

It is also my hope to get started on a true portfolio website, rather than just using DA as I currently do. While I will still update DA, I do hope that people will check out my portfolio page once it's finished. I will, of course, be adding a link to it here.

I will be continuing my once a week posts over the Christmas holidays to keep you updated.

So, until next time!

Tara

Character Talk: Somnus

Hello Everyone! Welcome back!

Today, we'll be talking about the second of the main characters for Dreamwalkers, and one of those that really gets Rem involved in the story, the mysterious Somnus!

Now, Somnus is fairly difficult to talk about in comparison to Rem, mainly because a lot of information about him would spoil some of the story, but Somnus is the leader of an organization known as S.O.S, sort for Somnus Oneirology Specialists. Unlike Rem, who is the normal character with whom e see through his eyes and learn as he does, Somnus is rather the mentor character who helps to guide Rem until he is ready to stand on his own two feet. He also is the calm to Rem's irritable sarcasm, acting as something of a foil for Rem, despite the mentor-student relationship.

Much like Rem, Somnus was created around the same time as the original concept, though unlike Rem, his name was set almost from the get go. As with Rem and Dreamwalkers in general, Somnus also had some inspiration from songs to help me to create his character. Along with Byssan Lull, the song I mentioned in the last Character Talk, Somnus was also inspired by Prelude 12/21 by AFI, which, if you haven't heard it before, is linked below:

With Somnus' design, I wanted to create a character that seems to stand out, even in more ordinary settings and to give off a feeling of either oddness or other-worldliness. After all, this is the character who, I suppose you could say, is the equivalent of Alice's White Rabbit or Neo's Morpheus, taking Rem out of his ordinary life and into something out of his comprehension. So I looked for colours that weren't as natural as Rem's, going for purples, greys and blacks as his colour schemes, along with a out-of-the-ordinary outfit, with slight differences in features to give reason for Rem to be initially uneasy, or at the very least pay attention to him because of his differences.

Personality wise, I wanted him to give off the feeling he knows more that he seems, to be the kind of character you can't be truly sure you can entirely trust or his motives, yet still seem wise enough to act as both mentor and leader, even if you're not sure who, or what Somnus really is.

He is fun to draw, though, if only because he seems so smug about everything. At least early on. It should be interesting to truly explore the depths of his personality and expressions, however.

Comic wise, I am almost at the amount of work that I will be handing in to be marked, though the story is by no means finished. This means I have 16 pages in line art, all of which are flat coloured. 13 of the 16 are finished with just the word balloons and sound effects to be added, with three to be toned and have sound added. I also have two extra pages done for later on in the comic, with sound effects to be added.

I feel rather proud of myself!

I also have other things to mention. Or rather a couple of people to thank.

I would like to thank both Jade Sarson from Tea Hermit Comics, and Jon Lock from Big Punch Studios. Both of them have helped me a lot with information on business start ups within the comic industry, which will be a big help for Nadia and I in the formation of Tanra Studios. So thank you so much! You guys are awesome!

Also, though my hand in for my work is next Friday, I am going to be continuing to work on Dreamwalkers and continue to aid Nadia with Pandora, as well as hopefully start to create an online portfolio as well, so I hope you continue to to join me over Christmas and into the new year.

Hope to see you then!

Until next time!

Tara

Panic Time! Deadlines and More

Hi Everyone! Welcome back!

December already - time really has been flying, but considering before Christmas can come up, deadlines are getting closer, it's really time to get a rush on. Thankfully, if I keep going as I am, I should reach the 16 pages that I thought I'd be able to get to, though admittedly they aren't in a set order just yet. I can reveal that currently I have 12 pages completed, one page with line art completed and ready for colour and base sketches done to page 25

I thought I would show another page, just to give you an idea of what might be to come. No words or sound effects, of course - we dont want spoilers after all - but I hope that you enjoy!

Its not much to go on for plot, but it at least gives an example of the art again.

Though in terms of content, next week I'll be talking about one of the other main characters for Dreamwalkers - Somnus!

On another note, I've been up to a few other things - we were asked to create a CV and apply for a fake job in order to get used to applying for work in the comic industry. While it might not be fully applicable, since Nadia and I are hoping to take Tanra Studios professionally, it was still an interesting experience - plus it let me update my CV, which I haven't in a while. We are supposed to create a creative CV as well, but considering setting up a business, we don';t think this will be applicable to us. We are, however, in the process of setting up a website and are still working on the sprites for it. I'm also intending to set up an online portfolio over Christmas, which I feel would work out better than the CV in a creative sense. I might do a creative CV if I have time (for experience if nothing else), but Since there is a plan in place along with the deadlines, its not the highest priority.

Not a masive amount to report at the moment because all I've really done other than that was knuckle down to do my work and trying not to worry about deadlines. lol

Still, I hope to get lots more done and that you'll look forwards to my character talk on Somnus next week.

Until then!

Tara

Pages and Progression

Hi everyone! Welcome back!

Well, after spending a lot of time on my report last time, I've started to get back in the swing of working on Dreamwalkers again, despite the fact that the computer has done its upmost to stop me by crashing. I've got a counter measure, though - Save every five minutes! It gets irritating, but not as irritating as losing all that work! A bit of advice for everyone there!

As for pages, I have managed to get almost 9 pages ready for type to be added. If the computer behaves itself, hopefully I'll be on target.

Though if you're interested, I have a page that I can show. Its not spoiling everything for you guys, so I don't mind showing a little of my work in progress.

Sorry its not the most interesting of pages, but if nothing else, it might show a bit on the kind of work I'm doing - So, that is the base sketches, then the line art and the colour as well. All I need to do now is add any sound effects and any speech to this page.

Still, got a lot of work to go, since I have a total of 25 pages sketched right now. So I'll be doing my best!

I'm also contemplating what my business card will be like. I made a business bookmark last year, but people didn't seem to realise it was a business card at the convention. So I'll be looking to make a more standard business card. I have a few ideas, but nothing solid yet.

Though a character I'm considering putting on it is a mascot character made for Pandora that I created, inspired from a silly conversation I had with Nadia.

A sketch of the character is this:

Well, with a silly face. lol! I'm thinking of doing several with different expressions etc.

Its one that I've been enjoying drawing if nothing else, out of the ideas I've made, along with a cartoony picture of myself, but then again, I might use both.

I've done some external work as well! I was asked to design a tattoo. My client asked me to make a Libra symbol, with the words that are usually linked to that star sign inside it, looking as if it was carved or scratched or burned into the skin. This was what I came up with:

My client was really pleased with it as well! He's intending to have it done in December and is happy to have me photograph it once it's done, so I'll be posting that up once the tattoo is finished.

So yes, somewhat busy week this week. I hope to get a lot more done as well.

Until next time!

Tara

Tanra Studios and Competition Entries

Hi everyone! Welcome back!

This weeks has been a little slow for me in terms of the comic itself, mainly as I had a deadline in for the report I'm currently beginning to compile, with a minimum of 2000 words needed for the initial hand in (with a maximum of 4000 words total for the full report). While this seemingly has little to do with Dreamwalkers, it has a lot to do with Tanra Studios, which is the house name that Nadia and I are producing our comics under.

We were allowed to chose our own topic of report. Considering that Nadioa and I are hoping to become a professional comic publishing house, we thought that we should tie our reports into our business ventures. So recently I've been doing a lot of research around business start ups, publishing and comic publishing houses, and spent most of the week working on putting together the research into a logical order.

Honestly, there was so much information that we've been finding out that I'm actually worried that 4000 words wont be enough, since I've pretty much hit almost 3500 words before I even got to the interviews that we're supposed to conduct! I suppose that means that I will need to go over it again to cut down a bit, but I'll be keeping the research either way, as it might come in useful at a later date.

I've also been doing some other things. Similar to last week I've done another base sketch for one of the icons for Tanra Studio's webpage, this time being the image of Mizuki:

It actually took me a lot longer than it did when I drew Huxian. Its a little odd - in terms of design, Mizuki isn't actually the mos complicated of the main characters, but for some reason she can be rather difficult to draw at times. Still, I'm rather happy how this came out. I'm sure it'll look even better once it's scanned up and had a digital touch to it. 

We're also currently thinking about changing our logo for Tanra Studios. The first is a little on the akward side - we somewhat rushed it so we had a logo, but talks with John Charles made us realise it wasn't a particually good one. So, we're beginning to come up with some new ideas. I'll keep you posted on that, once we've made some good progress on that front.

There is something else I'll be doing as well as myself, rather than as part of Tanra Studios - I've entered a competition over on Deviant Art:

http://www.deviantart.com/journal/Bubblegum-and-Marzipan-Contest-572720763

My Deviant Art name is Chosha-Kurenai, so keep an eye out on this contest, as I'll be placing an entry there. If anyone else is interested in taking part, you might want to check it out as well. Either way, fingers crossed for me!

Of course, I'll be doing more with Dreamwalkers again, and I hope to be a bit more productive on that front now that the first half of my report is done (for now), so hopefully next week I'll have a lot more to report for Dreamwalkers.

Until next time!

Tara

Progress!

Hi everyone, welcome back!

I'm really happy! Last time I updated I said that I had made a little goal for myself to have my base sketches to the point I had got to in thumbnails. I managed that and more!

Obviously I couldn't show the pages properly without spoiling everything, but all my sketches are in there. As you can see, its a heck of a lot of paper! I ended up drawing all of the thumbnails and a few more pages as well. And even if I don't end up completing all the pages into colour, I would still have hit my target for hand in. I do hope, however, if things go well that I can reach the end of the first volume completely. If I manage that then by MCM next May, I should have two volumes of Dreamwalkers out rather than the one I was originally planning on, which I'm really happy about!

For a bit of an update, I now have the first version of my front cover, four pages finished and awaiting sound effects/words to be added to them, and three almost finished pages. Here's hoping that progress continues as well as it seems to be doing.

On the front where Pandora is concerned, I've also been doing a little bit of work there as well, mainly helping create the website's 'sprites'. While the majority of the work towards Pandora is still in Nadia's hands, I have provided a base sketch for Huxian:

Nadia will be doing the inking and adding colour to him, however. I also need to do one for Mizuki, the other character I created for Pandora. However, for all that her design is simple, Mizuki has been a bit difficult for me. At least I have the base sketches for several posters done, but unfortunately, they wouldn't quite fit what is needed as the 'sprites' for the website, so I have to keep working on it.

Mizuki, please behave and let me draw you!

Poster wise, I currently only have one done for Huxian, which can be found on my DA account, but I have sketches done for Mizuki, Rodessa, Violet and a character who is something of a spoiler. 

So I think this past week has made quite a lot of progress!

I've also been doing a bit of research recently as well into webcomics. Originally, I was just intending to sell printed copies of Dreamwalkers at conventions and such, but webcomics seem like a viable way of distribution as well. I'm currently looking at different sites that might be good for this, though I've not made any plans into these yet. I'm just making a list of some sites and will be looking at the pros and cons of using them. 

Oh, something else to mention is that Dan Painter had appeared at the Studio, and after giving a talk on storyboarding, did give some really good advice. 

Something we are hoping to do for Pandora is make a trailer to have playing while at MCM. He seemed to like the idea and had some really good tips. Makes me wonder if I should do something for Dreamwalkers. Part of me wants to try to make a semi-animated one, or maybe an animatic in a way I did in one of my early modules at uni, though I'm unsure when I would do that...Possibly after I've finished a couple of volumes? Its a thought either way. Its something to keep in mind. 

We have a meeting later on next week with a potential musician for the instrumental that should be going along with the Pandora trailer. I'm actually really looking forwards to this! 

Still, as much as I'm progressing, there's still a lot to do! Back to work I go!

Until next time!

Tara