Pg. 138 & Remake Previews
Well, page 138 is up, and with it comes a preview of some special unedited, unlettered raw scans of the Descent I and II page remakes that will become exclusive to the print version. The previews, along with a side-by-side comparison, is after the jump.
The remake had scenes from the first two chapters either rearranged, improved or completely cut from the final version. The result is a more consistent storytelling introduction for The Phasmatis Crisis. Let’s start by looking at the prelude pages. The two on the left are the original pages, while the one on the right is the new, more dramatic version.
As you can see, the originals are very bland, unorganized and not very focused. Not to mention, too much emphasis on the pitch-blackness! The new version remedies that and gives you a better idea of where this mysterious (or not-so-mysterious) person is.
This next example on the left is a page from the original Descent II chapter, while the one on the right is the remake. Notice a difference? You should. This big difference is due several reasons: My inexperience when I first started this roughly over a year and a half ago, a distinct lack of proper tools for digitizing my lineart – the scanner I had at the time was a legal-sized scanner part of a 3-in-1 system, and a lack of better fundamental understanding of sequential storytelling with establishing shots, event panels, and so on. All of that has been solved with traditional lineart work at a drawing board, and a Mustek ScanExpress A3 USB Scanner.
And the fun part? I removed some of the less-favorable scenes, such as the one where Maxine and Shino meets Dan on the way to the Machine Shop, and replaced it with a combat scene of Itamurei Shino facing off against a haywire Android. This page is a genuine low-resolution raw scan from my A3 scanner, if you notice the lack of windows and features on the buildings, that’s because those will be done digitally through the free-transform feature in Manga Studio and Photoshop.
This remaking effort for the first two chapters is all geared towards delivering the best experience I possibly can for the print version of the book. However, due to time constraints I regret that this remake will not apply to the ENTIRE book, especially the Assassin’s scene. That, at best, will receive some cosmetic improvements with the backgrounds.
To offset that disappointment, there will be twenty pages of bonus content in the book, with tidbits about the world of Fantasia Arks, its inhabitants, and the various forces of technology and Arcana that are at play in the Realm of Sol.
I hope this has been a worthwhile update for you.
-NK Out!