Digital Starboundiness - A Comic

Discussion in 'Fan Art' started by Vurrunna, Apr 24, 2019.

  1. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    A long time ago, I attempted to make a comic here, which only got a single entry followed by a series of character sketches before being unceremoniously abandoned. Recently, though, I started playing Starbound again, and remembered how much I adore this game. So! More comics for you lovely people--my deepest condolences.

    Starboundiness 001.png

    How marvelous.

    I'll allow the story behind all this unfold on its own (you can get a rough idea of my original idea in the link above, though I've changed some things). One of the big reasons I'm making this comic is for practice, so I'm gonna be keeping notes on how I feel about my progress and results and such.

    So halfway through this, I tried a new brush, and it turned out marvelously. It's harder to tell now that I've added color to all the panels (originally the first three were just black-and-white), but there was a rather decent transition of line quality as I got to the lower panels.

    I'm not a huge fan of my line-shading, but it's easier than finding colors to shade with, so it'll do for now. Also, the later panels have greater line thickness, which lead to much cleaner results. Note to self: Don't draw with a thin brush. It friggin' stinks.

    Not sure how I feel about the color palette. I like the colors, but they're all so vibrant--it feels like there's no time to rest your eyes. Colors have never been my strong suit, but here it's especially noticeable.

    The poses here feel rather... Tame. I preferred in my years-old sketch when Niteni spat directly into the 'camera' rather than spitting downward (it made him feel more 3D), and it made more sense when he turned to his right rather than his left.

    Of course, I've improved in overall quality--the characters' designs feel more concrete, and there's actually been some thought put into the background.

    That said, I'm still not sure about this character style. I preferred how Rosepetal used to have a very young, innocent-ish appearance, whereas now he seems too mature (his leaves are longer, his flower is larger, and his eyes just don't feel right--eyes have always been trouble for me).


    I look forward to continue this comic--I have ideas! Robots! Romance! Trade disputes! The likes we haven't seen since the Prequels!

    Best Wishes,
    --Vurrunna
     
  2. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Bonus: Did a quick sketch of Rosepetal to figure out how to do his darn face.
    Rosepetal Sketch 1.png
    That's more like it--now he actually looks like the adorable murder flower he is.

    Come and Gone Again,
    --Vurrunna
     
  3. Captain Karo

    Captain Karo Cosmic Narwhal

    Hopefully I don’t get hit over the head with a coffee mug this time! Welcome back!
     
  4. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Starboundiness 002.png
    Niteni doesn't usually mind letters and paperwork, but he can never forgive anyone that interrupts his morning tea time. Except Rosepetal, of course.

    Niteni Sketch 1.png
    Quick sketches of Niteni. I think I have him mostly down (better than Rosepetal), but this last update I had some trouble getting his chin right.


    Hold that thought there.

    And glad to be back! I need the practice, and I'd always wanted to make a Starbound comic. Fortunately I'm now consistent enough with my style to make something half-decent.

    Good luck with not dying to you all,
    --Vurrunna
     
  5. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    A new challenger approaches:
    Starboundiness 004.png
    Mei's having a rough week. Hopefully Niteni doesn't act like a butthead and toss her out. Hopefully.

    Man I really do not like coloring Hylotl eyes--there's too much color! I need the white space in the eyes to alleviate the saturation of the face! AHH!!

    Also, I really like the typeface I used here. That's a really graphic-designer thing to say, but man, I like it. Now if only I can figure out how to do speech bubbles.


    Expect the layout and such of the comic to shift a bit as time goes on, and my methods of coloring and the like. Also, expect me to jump around between characters and plot points fairly rapidly--my plan is to just draw whatever interests me rather than locking myself into a specific story that gets tiresome after a few strips.

    Something something exploding parrots,
    --Vurrunna
     
  6. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Starboundiness 005.png
    Sarai is definitely a lot friendlier than ol' Gyle there.

    These two are, of course, McKlanks, a family that's been living in Cogview Valley for generations. Then Niteni showed up with that weird Floran of his, with all these claims of "legal purchase through the local authorities" and "establishing a government-subsidized outpost" and other such nonsense, and had the cheek to take the very best hill in the valley for his stupid house. Gyle has never forgiven him.

    For this one I switched to my old style of drawing, bringing out my Wacom tablet and making really fiddly lines. To be honest, it has a familiar charm for me, being the way I used to do all my drawings, but it's not very fitting to my current style. I'mma be fiddling with techniques a bit more 'til I find something more fitting.


    Shoot for the stars,
    --Vurrunna
     
  7. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Why didn't I see these earlier? These are quite great. Good job!

    I have another reason to hangout in the comunity.
     
    Vurrunna likes this.
  8. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Starboundiness 006.png
    Aris sometimes has trouble distinguishing between "politely asking for pay after a job" and "mugging." That's usually Samuel's job, though at the moment he's dealing with an unfortunately sized parakeet.

    EDIT: Also, I'm 98% certain that's low-key Shaggy getting saved. Apparently he didn't feel like unleashing a half percent of his power today.

    Here we take a brief side-track to introduce the Alkaline twins Samuel and Aris. I can't wait for their shenanigans to begin in full.

    I'm really pleased with how this one turned out! I feel like the dynamic posing could use work, but it's certainly good practice. Also, I didn't put background in this one, but I feel like it's fitting since this is like a pseudo-advertisement (in which Samuel is mauled by a bird and Aris mugs their client, so you know you're getting good service).


    I'm glad you like it! I know the community 'round these parts isn't nearly as fleshed out as it was back in the day (lost a lot of good folks over the years), but there's still enough folks hanging about to make it worth kicking around a bit longer. I'm just happy to finally be back to making art here again--I started posting here in high school, taking my first formative steps into becoming an artist, and the people I met along the way have always been nothing but kind and supportive. I've always felt attached to these forums, and even if most the people I used to know have gone their separate ways (or at least faded to distant corners of the forums), I imagine I'll be kicking around these parts a while longer.

    Anywho, that's enough sentimentality out of me. Bottom line is: I'm happy to be making this comic! For once I feel like I'm well enough equipped to actually make something decent with it.

    Best wishes to you all,
    --Vurrunna
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2019
  9. Daikon Ocelot

    Daikon Ocelot Spaceman Spiff

    Hey, don't worry. At least there are still a bunch of people here who appreciate and admire art like this.
     
    Vurrunna likes this.
  10. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Starboundiness 006.5.png
    Niteni's never gonna finish that tea of his.

    Mei and Niteni finally meet! Just one more strip of introductions, I'm thinking, then I can start throwing in whatever interests me.

    EDIT: Tiny typo I can't be bothered to correct (I had to make like seven last-minute corrections, I'm sick of looking at this one's file)--Niteni's brother is named Natlani, not Natani. They're supposed to have similar names, but not that similar.

    Have yourselves a dandy day,
    --Vurrunna
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2019
  11. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Starboundiness 006.75.png
    Niteni may be erratic at times, but he's a good guy at heart, and is more than willing to help someone in need.

    Decided against including any sort of punchline, mostly 'cause any ideas I had would have just dragged it all on needlessly. Plus, it's nice to make a comic that isn't 100% high-octane humor at all times. Gotta remind myself that's okay sometimes.

    Related: I started up Starbound again, and decided to recreate my first character, Natlani (that'll be Niteni's brother for anyone paying attention). It's been reminding me of when I first got into Starbound, and of all the adventures Natlani used to go on. As such, I'm thinking of doing some "flashback" strips to cover his history--a bit of an about-face from the current arc, but the sort of thing that I expect to hold my interest a bit more.

    Gobble gobble,
    --Vurrunna
     
  12. Catherine Franz

    Catherine Franz Spaceman Spiff

    Show me no more...A FRICKIN MASTERPIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

    "Legend says that she's still screaming it til this day..."
     
  13. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    And now for something completely different.
    Starboundiness 007.png
    Despite being now recognized as one of the greatest members of the Protectorate, Natlani's career started a bit... Hectically.

    Natlani was the first character I created in Starbound, and has forever remained my favorite. His personality's evolved a lot over the years, though he's always had a very comedic tilt, and been a very positive and helpful character. As I mentioned, I started thinking about him again after taking a brief go at recreating him in Starbound, and it came to my attention that I've never actually worked on his background or developed his character in any way. He was initially gonna be a recurring secondary character, but I've decided that this lovely boy deserves some of his own time in the limelight; as such, we'll be going over his first trip as a Protector, and how he came to meet his lifelong companion and friend, Aza.

    I might put in intermittent bits for the other characters; we'll see depending on what takes my fancy.

    Also, I tried something new this time, and went with a muted background. I've been watching a lot of tutorials recently, and one mistake someone brought up was putting too much color and details in the background of a comic, to the point that it starts to overshadow the main focus (namely, the characters). It's one of those things that ya never really think about, but which makes a huge difference when put into effect (a lot of the big-time comics I read use over-simplified color schemes in the backgrounds, and I never even noticed!).

    Anywho, that's probably enough rambling from me. Tune in next time to learn about Natlani's first day on the job! And all the things that went horribly wrong!

    Toodles!
    --Vurrunna
     
    Zevatronic, Zevatronic\, Tyle and 3 others like this.
  14. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Bonus Drawing! Blech!
    Magenta Drawing.png
    Way back in days of yore, I started a horrible little comic called Light starring Magenta, a violent amnesiac (please don't read it, it's bad). Despite its terribly immature and poorly conceived writing, Light has always stuck with me in equal parts due to its unique main character (a Phobe, suggested by the user @Tatterdemalion) and the community that built around it (each reader was a voice in Magenta's head, and quickly adopted unique personalities that often fought one another).

    Anywho, I'll try not to reminisce too much (I get terribly obtuse when I do). Long story short, Magenta is a timid Phobe, the first of her kind to make it into the Protectorate; however, she carries a dark secret, and a strange power that will someday reveal itself, whether she likes it or not. Happy fun times all around.

    Not gonna lie, I haven't done much of anything for the next comic entry. I do have the general plot for Natlani's mini-story already prepared, but I still need to get started on it. Regardless, I'm kinda brain dead from drinking too much sweet tea this morning (I have a problem, send help), so Imma spew some nonsense and get goin' to make something.

    Blarghalargha-larghablargha,
    --Vurrunna
     
  15. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Though progress is slow, I'm still working on Starboundiness. Here's a sneak peak of the next entry:
    Sneak Peak Starboundiness 008.png
    Nate, you goober, what've you done now?

    Next update should (hopefully) be finished soon. Expect a change in format, and anticipate a lack of color (we'll see what mood I'm in).

    'Til then,
    --Vurrunna
     
    Zevatronic, Zevatronic\, Tyle and 3 others like this.
  16. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    Starboundiness 008.png
    Things might turn out a bit more exciting than Natlani expects...

    Hoo boy, took me a while to actually finish this one. I used a more cinematic 16x9 ration for the panels. On the one hand they're very pretty, but on the other hand I felt compelled to put a lot more detail in the background, which took way longer. We'll see if I stick with this size or go back to the old, smaller size (or somewhere inbetween, who knows). Also decided to use some color to help the key features stand out.

    Also, here we get out first glimpse of Aza! I'm sure she has very friendly things in store for Nate.

    That should be all for now. Next update will probably take some time to get around to. I'll also be posting a bonus drawing on my DeviantArt of Aza, in case you feel like spoiling yourself (shameless self plug there).

    Merry tidings,
    --Vurrunna
     

    Attached Files:

  17. Vurrunna

    Vurrunna Giant Laser Beams

    I live! And I have art!

    The Alkalines.png

    It's the Alkalines! Jack and Elizabeth Alkaline, with their children Samuel and Aris. Jack was once a traveling gunslinger, hunting down bounties and bandits on the frontiers, until he came across a wrecked Novakid caravan. Helping the folks sill alive, he met Elizabeth, and through a series of wacky adventures the two fell in love and married. Now they run a courier service, and instead of bandits they have to contend with their children--Samuel, who fancies himself a genius (he isn't), and Aris, a girl even more bullheaded than her father. When they were young, Jack and Elizabeth bought some human Old West films for the kids, a choice they've come to severely regret--the kids are now obsessed with the idea of cowboys, and have even convinced themselves their father is a senile old man (despite him being a spry 120 years old, quite young for a Novakid). The family can hardly pull into port without the kids running off in search of some contrived adventure, usually involving them harassing the local populace and getting a stern talking to (which they always forget).

    Jack is a trained professional, able to keep his cool in a firefight and outwit even the most wily of opponents. When it comes to parenting, however, he finds himself constantly baffled by his children's antics, and is often at his wits end (especially when his children repeatedly try to have him interred in a retirement home). He's a very determined man, but would much rather shoot at bandits than try and keep his daughter from doing what she wants.

    Elizabeth is an experienced mechanic, with some training in medicine, astro-navigation, and basic horticulture. She's definitely the emotional foundation of her family, soothing her husband and trying to keep her children on the straight and narrow. She's the calmest member of the family, as well as the most openly amiable--however, when she gets angry, she proves she's the most intimidating member of the family by far.

    Samuel and Aris are like peas in a pod, always going off on hair-brained schemes together in the pursuit of wealth and adventure. Samuel fancies himself the brains of their operations, serving as the duo's charismatic face and brilliant strategist, while Aris considers herself the brave hero, beating up evil and bringing good to the frontier. Trouble is, Samuel's an idiot who nonchalantly insults everyone around himself and comes up with the most convoluted and completely irrational plots, while Aris is a borderline-thug that'll punch you for so much as looking at her funny and who has an unfortunate habit of mugging people right after she helps them (or, as she puts it, "Collecting our reward"). Aris is the only member of the family without a gun (because she'd no doubt kill some poor innocent person), while Samuel is the only person who doesn't want a gun (he finds them loud, brutish, and--secretly--kinda scary).

    Had a lot of fun drawing these hooligans, and hope to get more comics of them made soon.

    Adios Amigos,
    -- Vurrunna
     

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