The Dark Red Chronicles

There's always an odd combination of sadness and joy when an issue ends. And a little bit of relief that we managed to get there in the first place. This one did seem to get tricky in places. But that's something to work on next time.

Issue #3 - Behind the Scenes

We hope you've enjoyed it and if you feel nostalgic there's always the Issue #3 Behind the Scenes Gallery. As an added treat there's a kiss goodbye from Bella in there too.

That's about it, we'll keep you posted about how we're doing. You can check The Dark Red Chronicles or subscribe to updates. And now we'll get cracking with the Issue #3 hard copy and writing Issue #4.

-The Dark Red Team

Page 89 - Research Notes

The comment about 'Hidden Truth Magazine' on this page is a reference to The Pure and Hidden Truth webcomic. Also Scott McCloud linked to Dark Red. How cool is that? Here's the link to his blog entry.

Scott McCloud's Blog

It's worth checking his work out if you want to know more about comics as a medium. I've got 'Understanding Comics' myself.

I've been working on the bonus page which I'm putting up next Friday. It's a bit of a problem fitting the 15 panels I wanted in it, so I've pared it down to 11, which is the same as last issue. I'm glad it's done; now I can get on with the hard copy. After that I can start writing the next issue.

We'll be going on hiatus until we get the next comic started. But I'll try to post stuff up now and then. Jo and I sorted the plot last weekend for Issue #4, so we know what we're doing. And the title will be 'Absent Friends', I think. Just need to get it written.

Well, here we are, the last page of Issue #3. Next week is the bonus page, compiled by Jo, and the week after is the behind the scenes page. Which I'm really looking forward to doing.

Page 88 - Hell or High Water

Daniel always was the one for grandiose ideas. If the water gets blessed then Sarah will be able to see it. This was one of the really old pages from the very first draft of the comic. It's great to see it finally. And as far as I know it's one of the webguy's favourite pages. I hope he likes the final version.

This page was filmed at Victoria Pond in Whiteinch. It was a beautiful day and we had loads of fun.

I wish I had the time and energy to do two pages of the comic every week. But I don't. Sometimes I run out of time and sometimes its energy. When it's both we really run into trouble getting a page out at all. Sadly I have to leave the house occasionally, to work full-time, to see family and friends, to help out in people's lives, to do all the things you guys probably do as well. Now and then I find it hard to believe anyone reads the comic anymore or wants to see what happens next. And I suppose that doesn't help. Also I've just realised I've been working on the comic for five years now. Five years!

Page 87 - All Shook Up

In the past I had the flame of motivation, and the fuel of encouragement. I stayed up to all hours working on the comic and got up early sometimes too. I ended up really sick. Not just from that, there was other stuff but I don't think it helped. I can't do that anymore. Usually I'll say why we've skipped and try to give you guys warning. But this time stuff caught me by surprise. And the heat wave was a nuisance.

Sorry about the skipped weeks everyone!

Here we are then. And just to let you know there will be two more pages, then the fun page and then I have to go off and write issue 4 and start filming. So we'll be off for several months. Think of it as the break in between series.

This is something I've never tried before, the one page panel. I thought Iain seeing into people's heads really easily was a good use of it. And it's been something I've been thinking of a lot recently. What if you could read people's minds? See right into their hearts. And not just the surface thoughts. What if you could read the things we don't even know we're thinking and feeling at the time? Scary stuff.

The Hearts of Men

I've got tons to do over the next few days, work nights out, friends visiting and parties. Hopefully I'll get the chance to do some comic stuff too.

Last week I forgot to mention the type of whisky that the Nephilim was drinking. It's called 'Antiquary'. It's a 12 year old deluxe blend from Tomatin Distillery, and I think it's fairly peaty. It would have been nice to have him drinking a single malt like Laphroaig or McClellan but those bottles were really full and I didn't want them to be accidentally dropped at the shoot. The props guy would not have been happy.

Sorry, this page is late. I got about half way through the update last night and fell asleep. Go figure. Anyway, we're back with the Nephilim for a page. Now you know how he survived the flood.

Page 85 - Rainy Days

This was the quickest page to shoot ever. It actually started to rain just as we started. And poor Calum had to jump up and down from the steps about seven times really quickly. When we shoot the Nephilim I need a photo of him and then a photo of the plain background so I can enlarge him and stick him on the background without too much bother. It seems to have worked out okay though.

I'm really looking forward to next week's page. So it's back to work.

I decided to go all out on panel 5. I just kept increasing the brightness. It had to be big. It's the dramatic conclusion after all.

Page 84 - Lending a Hand

Also panel 3 was mad to shoot. I was hanging over the edge of the mezzanine. I couldn't hold on to anything because I needed both hands to keep the camera steady. And I kept thinking I was going to fall over the edge, right on top of the action. But it was totally worth it. You have to take a chance now and then, in life as well as comics.

And we're back with Anders and a lot of chaos. How will our brave heroes stop him? I do love these pages of general madness and running around. They are a hoot to shoot.

Page 83 - Thunderstruck

We've got the best weather just now. So hopefully it's off to the park tomorrow. But I'll have to get some comic stuff done first. I'm also doing a painting for my niece which is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. If it turns out okay I'll post up a picture of it. Maybe even stick it in the gallery.

This cracks me up. And I also thought the engineers are kinda cute. :D

It's been an insanely busy month for both Jo and myself. With all sorts of family commitments, events and an assortment of random stuff dotted about. Added to this I've had a really sore back for most of this week. I was a fool last weekend and actually exercised. This has been an ongoing thing for the last month. Why this should annoy my back this week is beyond me. Anyway I'm completely surprised that we've been managing to fit in the comic around all this. But we have and here's the page for this week.

Page 82 - A Little Knowledge

After I got the page back from Jo, I emailed her to say how impressed I was with her work. It wasn't the easiest of pages to letter. Mostly because one of my panels turned out really crap and I got rid of it. So panel 4 has two panels worth of conversation in it. I don't think a pro could have done a better job and I'm really happy with it. Thanks Jo!

Last night me and my boyfriend watched a truly terrible Steven Seagal film called 'Against the Dark'. It was huge amounts of fun to rip apart and make fun of. Tonight it's a film called 'Blackout', which I'm hoping will be a bit better. I should go now or we'll be up to all hours.

Well, it's been a long wait for the truth about Sarah. And it's been hard not to let things slip. Let's just say that when Sarah lost her sight the way she did, it gave a certain snakey character the chance to get his own way.

Page 81 - Darkest Red

I actually updated the comic yesterday and did all the blogs and gallery stuff today. It's been a busy week.

It's Friday again and that means another update from the Darkest of Reds. There were a couple of things I forgot to say last week. So I thought I'd add them in just now.

Firstly, if you look carefully at the panels from the last two pages you'll notice that the cake was never seen until the very last moment. That was actually quite difficult to do and made the photoshoot really challenging. And secondly, there's the interview you should check out with Brighid the Bright.

I love the photo that goes with that and can't wait to see it in the hard copy. She makes everyone else look very dull and ordinary but I suppose that's what being a faery is all about.

Page 80 - Idle Hands

Today we're back with Iain and Sarah. I adore panel 4 and will be including more of these high up shots soon. Thinking about it there was one last week with Melita and Brighid. To me, there's something extra comic-like about the birds-eye-view approach. And it's the one that's quite hard to do in a photocomic.

Anyway, I've rambled on for long enough.

Have a great weekend,
Lynn

Today was a busy day. Jo's going away for a week so I needed to get a page finished this morning. Up at 7 and got it done for about half 10. Then I went back to bed and slept. A lot.

Then I decided this should be a really lazy day. So after dying my hair I lounged in the bath for a nice long time. The only thing is that I decided to try a new hair colour. I usually go for the boots semi-permanent dark brown. Today I used 'rich mahogany' which was fine for most of my hair but not the white streak.

It's now kinda pink.

Damnit!

[edit: It's not that pink actually, I think the light in my bedroom made it look worse. Glad it's a semi though. ;)]

I really have fond memories of this photoshoot. It was such a girly day: make-up, jewellery, clothes and cake. And bizarrely enough, the pages have turned out all pink and sparkly. Katie, our newest cast member, loved the last page, 'insanely cool' were her words if I remember right. Wonder what she's make of this one? :D

Page 79 - Taking Sides

By the way, those wings are really enormous, as you'll see if you check out the gallery for Issue #3. We used real faery wings with only a little faery-dust sprinkled on top from paintshop. And Brighid's wearing a real tiara, on loan from my sister from her wedding. It was the last thing Katie put on and the first thing to come off afterwards. I was under pain of death to ensure nothing happened to it. Brighid is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters. I hope she appears again in the upcoming issues.

But I am really glad these two pages are over with. They were soo much work. Page 80 is half done already, and I've only been working on it for a day. That's how bad the last two were. They took weeks and weeks.

Sorry about the skipped comic update this week. In the past I would have just ploughed through all the work. But this gave me some serious burnout so I've decided not to do that this year.

I've been helping to look after my niece for the past two weeks. Since my sister and her new husband are off on their honeymoon. Keeping up with a two year old is really exhausting. Luckily both grannies are doing most of the work.

Also these comic pages with Brighid the Bright in them are hugh amounts of work. And it's Jo's birthday this week. So no update. :(

See ya next Friday.

Thought you guys should take a look at this article regarding a new law in the UK. I've signed a petition to protect comic art from it.

It goes: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ensure that the future of the medium of Comic Art is not endangered by The Coroners and Justice Bill or The Criminal and Immigration Act 2008." - Submitted by Shane Chebsey of Smallzone. The deadline to sign is 1st May 2009.

The problem is that it's drafted broadly and could target comic writers, artists and fans. The main example being banded around is, "The Lost Girls" by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie. The government says it isn't meant to target these people but do we trust them? Make up your own mind and maybe sign the petition if you're in the UK.

Page 78 - Queen Brighid the Bright

This page took a hell of a lot of work. But I think it's been worth it. Definitely a page for the girls though. ;) Many thanks to Katie and Abita for helping make Brighid's outfit. Isn't she pretty?

And finally, Dark Red's got a mention here and there on the web.

It's been a hectic week, general chaos, clutter and confusion. But it's finally Friday and we can get to the good stuff. And that also means a long awaited Dark Red update.

I've been really unwell recently. A head cold turned nasty and ended up as bronchitis and a chest infection. It's taken a while to get things back together again. I'm so glad to be feeling better. And it was lovely to get well-wishers popping by and get-well-soon cards. It's nice to be missed.

Page 77 - The Eyes Have It

There was loads of fun to be had with this page. Firstly the photoshoot was a laugh and I really enjoyed doing the special effects on the eyes. Hope you like it too.

I've been feeling a lot better yesterday and today. The bronchitis, chest infection and cold are going now. But I haven't got things together quickly enough to sort a page for this week. *sigh* But we'll be back next week, promise!

My plans for this weekend are to attempt some housework and join a virtual gym (I get a discount through my work). It needs to be done.

Next week I want to do some writing for the comic, and maybe try to organise the last photoshoot for this issue. It's the last page and shouldn't take too long but the location might be a problem.

In the next month I'd like to finish off a couple of creative projects that are hanging around. A painting for my niece and a montage picture for a friend of the comic. As well as getting fitter.

And that's about as far ahead as I want to go with the planning. ;)

I'm now being treated for a chest infection as well as bronchitis so I'll be giving the comic a miss this week. Apologies everyone. Off to bed now.

Page 76 - Over the Edge

I'm not going to say too much. Just enjoy the exciting chain of events in today's page. And I totally love the panel at the bottom. Also, I was worried about trying out this new layout but I think it suits the page. That is all!

Have a great weekend,
Lynn