All the Right Notes: Everblue

 Here on "All the Right Notes," I have mostly reviewed TV shows, with an occasional movie and book.  I have wanted, however, to review a webcomic or graphic novel for awhile now.  Webcomics and graphic novels are one of my favorite media to tell stories in because they are a perfect combination of art and writing.  So now seems as good a time as any to shift my focus onto one of my favorite webcomics, Everblue by Michael Sexton.

In any form of storytelling, atmosphere is absolutely essential.  In straight writing, atmosphere is achieved through writing style and word choice.  In movies and TV shows, however, atmosphere can be established through lighting and color palettes that create certain moods for the audience.  Though webcomics can create atmosphere through dialogue or writing, they are more similar to film in that their mood tones rely mostly on colors, lighting, and frame composition (where the camera is positioned in the scene).

Michael Sexton's webcomic Everblue is a beautiful example of the power color and lighting can have on atmosphere in graphic novels.

For a more detailed analysis of Everblue, check out the rest of the review after the break!

Some kids just won't leave the nest: Pippin!

One of my favorite aspects of storytelling is undoubtedly character creation.  From the moment I picked up my first pencil and started doodling, I was creating characters and stories to immerse those characters in (I'm fairly certain that a lot of these old "books" I wrote/drew still exist somewhere in my house, probably under my bed).  My love of character creation really blossomed, however, when I joined Neopets around the age of twelve.  From there, I took up role-playing, and for several happy years my friends and I developed countless fantastic characters and stories.

Though I'm older now and I've mostly retired from role-playing, I still look fondly at the vast spectrum of characters I hold close to my heart.  I've no regrets about my role-playing; thanks to it, I learned a lot about creating well-rounded, believable characters that can truly touch someone.  If you go on my deviantART, you can actually find a link on my Journal that will take you to a Freewebs page that basically lists all my "canon" characters.  Although I do not draw or write about these characters anymore, I still like to remember they exist (which is why I have yet to retire that page from the public eye, I suppose).

There are other characters, however, that refuse to be simply set aside with fondness.  There are some that just somehow take hold of your attention and, no matter what you do, won't leave you alone.

Continue reading after the break!

Spoilers and Stories

As you might know, I am currently writing/drawing a graphic novel entitled Everdusk (which can be read here).   Really quick, here is a short summary of ED: "Everdusk is the story of Sol’aar, a country that has been under the whip of slavery by its southern neighbor, Galena, for nearly two centuries. Now, the pieces of revolution are falling into place. In the face of crushing oppression, four god-blessed heroes must come together in and overcome their individual bitterness order to obtain their country’s independence and learn what it truly means to become an everdusk."

Obviously, Everdusk is a fantasy-adventure genre tale.  I've always been a fan of fantasy, magic, medieval things, etc.  And just as obviously, as I work on Everdusk, I draw the cast of ED a LOT.  This includes drawing the magical characters using their magic.

Now I have struggled with one question constantly as I have drawn these pictures.  Should I post them on my deviantART (or the Internet in general, such as here), or not?  Is it spoilers to post some of these characters using magic?

I think there are kind of two circumstances here.  One is that the character already knows he/she is a magic-user.  In that case, I don't think it would be any problem posting pictures of them using magic.

What about characters that are introduced in the comic who are not initially aware of their powers, however?  In one way, it's almost as much as a surprise for the audience as for the characters when their powers are revealed.  To be honest, though, I think we can all admit that it's usually clear when a character is going to have magical ability of some kind.

Let's look at some pictures in question.  Both the following pictures are of Mai, the main character in Everdusk.

The one on the left was a speedpaint I just completed this evening.  The picture on the right is a commission by Hchan on deviantART (QUICK PLUG she is an awesome artist with her own awesome webcomic, dream*scar, and you should totally check it out!).  Both of these pictures show Mai quite clearly using some kind of magic.

At this point, it's silly to pretend otherwise as to Mai having magical ability.  Although Mai learns this fact early on in Everdusk, it still has yet to be officially "revealed."  (I have to add, though, that I have not yet revealed to anyone the nature of magic in Everdusk, so although you see this sparkly fun, I don't think many of you could accurately guess what it exactly is.)

So, is it a spoiler to post art like this about things like graphic novels you're working on?  Should you keep all this kind of art from the public until it's officially been introduced in whatever you're writing/drawing?  Why or why not?  What d'you think?