Hey, Techwarrior fans!
You’ll be happy to know Techwarrior #7 is soon to be released! Okay, so no date has been set yet, but rendering has finished and after some post production, it’ll be able to join the already large list of books available!
Think about it, there’s 25 books in the Dream Angel series and 6 for Techwarrior already available. That’s 31 books! Not counting the new editions of Dream Angel #1 or any of the collection books. An impressive roster, wouldn’t you agree?
Now, I’ll agree it seems like making these books is so easy they can be made over night, but that’s far from the case. Matter of fact, there’s a very long process involved. Writing being among the hardest parts at times. Sure, almost anyone can write a story, but how good is that story? By good I mean does it keep a reader’s attention?
So, we have writing and editing, both very time consuming alone. When the script is finally settled, figuring out paneling and even layouts can be rough. Now, I’m not affiliated with it at all, but I use ComicLife for layouts. The plus for me is the fact that I can just drag and drop my final renders for each panel into that panel. Since it also has the script in a drag and drop setup for dialogue and narration, I’m able to adjust those to suit the layouts. Again, no images yet!
Well, what about all those awesome renders in the books? Surely, they took hours to draw, right? It would take a far more skilled artist than I am to hand draw those renders! Sure, I’m a skilled artist, but hand art isn’t my strong suit.
Technically, the computer draws the art, but I have to tell it what to draw and how. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Not by a long shot! Just like hand art, telling the computer what to draw in 3D takes a lot of time, study and practice! I’ve been at it about 10 years now and I still haven’t quite gotten all the basics figured out!
How then, do I make these fantastic images? Keep in mind I’m self-taught and this is a very steep learning curve. Add in constant improvements to the programs being released meaning new features need to be studied and learned. Makes it a lot more complicated than a simple pencil and paper. For those willing to take the time to study and practice, it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding, though.
Get the books from the store and you’ll see very quickly where updates to programs or a new skill had a direct impact on the art of the books.