If ever there was a page in the comic which represents my stance on typical comic borders, it’s this one. No borders in sight! Just free-flow sketching on the page, making up the “panels”. When reading The Emby Chronicles, you’re not only reading a comic book, you’re flipping through my personal sketchbook. I’m learning as I go, and so is Emily and her new buddy JC!
Welp, now that JC’s made some recalibrations to the discs, the retractable straps confine Em’s shoe properly, and now she’s poised for new heights! (literally!) Get ready.
Back at the usual meetup! This is the last time JC and Em will be seen in Bunny Brews for a long while, so I wanted this page a little squishy. Apologies, cozy sits, and JC’s coming out of her shell, dare I say showing some sarcasm and even taking a more commanding role? Hmm..
If you couldn’t tell by now, I like to draw speech bubbles with a somewhat transparent appearance. Just for funsies. -L!
If Vol 1 was split into two parts, this would be page 1 of part 2. I haven’t decided on whether part 2 should just be its own issue yet, but I feel like both parts supplement each other, soooo leaning towards one big volume.
Anyhow, here we see JC toiling away in her personal lab when she gets a Link msg from Emily formally apologizing for her reckless antics.
Having established the flat/soft shading style in part 1, we’ll be expanding from there. You’ll notice certain shading techniques representing different times of day, and I’ll probably toy with other methods as we go.
These next few pages really crank up the duo’s adventure, and it only gets crazier from here. I’m excited to bring it all to life. Buckle up, brats!
Same thing on this page as the last. Initial draft had the POV flipped, with JC walking away and waving, sort of like a juxtaposition to the previous panels of Emily doing the same, but I figured it would be more interesting showing both of their faces, sooo you get a “bothered” JC face all up close and personal. Ahh, she’ll come around…
Had lots of fun planning this page out, with the first panel being that weird little window on dumpsters peering out where we can see Em having landed in said dumpster, then JC’s upset response being scrawled on the back of the dumpster’s inner wall. Shading made a world of difference here. Oh, and notice the straps on the footwear enhancement…
My first draft was from Em’s perspective, sneaking up on JC, but ultimately decided her shadow over JC would be more effective by swapping the 2 panel to capture JC as she’s messaging Em. Who knows, maybe I’ll compile a collage of outtakes if enough folks care to check it out down the road.
This spread was SO FUN to create! Parkour plays a big role in the Emby universe, so I had to come up with a way to present that without losing flow. It made the most sense to me to keep the environment static, and each pose of Emily would serve as the next “panel”. Using an old abandoned parking garage allowed me to naturally create the bottom half of the page as the final panel with Em climbing down the side and running back out toward the alley, setting up the next page. I loved the way this turned out so much, you’ll most likely see this technique used often throughout Em’s adventures. 🙂
Breaking up the shading with a little natural lighting by way of blank space. Plus, it makes sense for where Emily’s running (and hopping!). Call it a cop-out? Nah, the details’ are about to ramp up, my lovelies. -L
Not much to say about this page, just continuing from the last panel and going with it. Emily soon discovers that JC’s special footwear discs give her added speed and traction, allowing her to literally run up buildings! Pretty neat stuff. JC’s a nervous wreck because she didn’t fully calibrate them to Emily’s exact specs…
showing 2 pages here, before and after I’ve added digital shading. 😊
Emily is rather impressed with JC’s specialty footwear disc, and gets a little carried away! I’ve always been a fan of drawing lyrics, so a portion of the Emby universe is dedicated to bringing those lyrics to life. Throw on “Gravity Hero” by Rabbit Junk while viewing this page and the next for a teaser of this lyrical idea. More lyrical action to come, in BIG ways!
