In record time, the next Timeslip comic strip is live! I managed to crank this one out in under two weeks, which is lightning fast for me! This one came out fairly well, all things considered. I used a lot of reference images on this strip, particularly to update the appearance of the Carnotaurus to something more scientifically accurate than what I've been drawing from my head. Dino nerds will still notice that the arms are waaaay too big for a Carnotaurus sastrei, but I didn't want to adjust the design so drastically from what I've been drawing previously. I'm justifying this by just assuming that the Carnotaurus in the comic is just a representative of a more basal, currently undiscovered species that is evolving its way toward the tiny arms that we know from C. sastrei.
I also used new reference images for Dimitri the Dimetrodon, though, at least in his case, I was already pretty close to accuracy with his design from the beginning. Dimitri is meant to be a Dimetrodon grandis, one of the larger known Dimetrodon species. Depictions of this species don't vary too much, though the positioning of the limbs ranges from a lizard-like sprawl toward a more mammal-like erect posture. I've been preferring a more erect posture, as it points to Dimetrodon's stem-mammal phylogenetic placement, and also, for the sake of narrative, makes Dimitri's long-range sprinting speed a bit more plausible.. The only real design updates in this strip is that I filled out his torso a bit, and made some slight adjustments to his should anatomy. Of course, once I plunked him in the grass, these changes became pretty much invisible anyway!
I'm still working on the best effects to represent the time portals and the entry of objects into it. I'm not yet completely satisfied with how it's being depicted at the moment, so expect the portals to evolve over time. I haven't yet really investigated Photoshop techniques that could generate something closer to what I have in my head for the portals, and that is likely to be the big focus of the next strip.
Speaking of the next strip, I can't say for certain when that will be entering production. I have a major final project coming up for one of my Web Dev classes that I need to double down on now, so I likely won't return to Timeslip until sometime in late-November. I already have in mind what it will look like, and will at least get a preliminary sketch down on paper before I dig into the final project, but otherwise will be taking some time away from the strip for the next few weeks. So until then, thanks for reading!
Another month, another comic strip! In what amounts to lightning fast turn-around on my end, I've managed to complete another strip within a month, from conception to illustration to coloring. I actually consider this quite an accomplishment considering that the majority of my time is currently devoted to classwork, which this project is not a part of this semester, plus the various other personal projects I have on my plate. (For more on those, check out joshleisenring.com.) Anyway, I won't bore you with the various reasons/excuses for why it takes me so long to post a new strip, but rest assured that, while progress is slow, it is at least consistent.
I am particularly proud of this latest strip, if I don't say so myself. I feel that this strip is another step up in production quality on my part. I've been using Photoshop for decades, but I still learn something new every time I use it to produce one of these strips. This strip in particular made us of a lot of layer masks, as well as utilization of various layer properties to produce lighting and overlay effects that I've only touched on in previous strips. I still have a lot to learn, and a lot that I'd like to improve on, but I am happy with my progress thus far.
I am also rather pleased with my recent use of models for the illustrations. The deuce-and-a-half truck model in particular is a game-changer for me here, allowing me to produce accurate and consistent illustrations of the gang's time machine from panel to panel, and now from strip to strip. If you look back through the previous strips, you'll notice several inconsistencies between older version of the truck and the current version. In previous strips before the model, I used a variety of reference photos via Google Images to cobble together an amalgamated illustration. The model that I am using now, however, is different in several ways from the original illustrations, most notably the way the canvas bed cover is secured, and the grill and headlight housings. There are also several minor differences, but moving forward, the current design will remain the same.
Anyway, the next strip is not yet started, but I hope to have it produced by this time next month, if not sooner. Until then, Thanks for reading!
Comic #20 is finally live! This took way too long to produce, but, in fairness, I've been pretty busy this Summer. We bought and moved into our new home here in West Asheville back in June, which ate into some productivity just with the moving and settling in. I've also been working for the Summer to earn a little cash between semesters. I took a job with Living Roofs, Inc., which is a greenroofing company based out of Asheville. I basically spent the Summer helping with installations and green roof maintenance throughout North Carolina, which was great, but pretty much kept me out of town and away from Mission Control during the weeks, and left me fairly exhausted on the weekends. Not to mention the out-of-town nature of the job also meant having to cram all of the typical household and adulting tasks into the weekend, ultimately leaving me with little extra time for personal projects.
All that to say that, while the strip is late, it's finally here! I also maybe make these things a little more complicated than they have to be. I spend a lot of time on texture overlays and shading/highlighting that ultimately either gets covered by word bubbles, or doesn't really add much to the image once it has been resized for the Web. This is the first strip that I used a scale model for the deuce-and-a-half truck, as well as figured for the humanoid characters. I think the results came out well, but I'm still tweaking the techniques. My characters tend to get locked into the same positions when I draw them from my head, despite my best efforts, so I'm hoping the figures will help me break out of that a little bit, and add some dynamism to them.
I've not yet started drawing the next strip, but it is outlined and I'm ready to begin production. I've got some of my time and energy back now that the class semester has started back up, so I'll be working on the next strip shortly. Also, please check out my personal blog at joshleisenring.com to see what else I'm up to! Thanks for reading!
A new strip is ready! I was really hoping to get this done sooner, but end-of-semester projects and exams moved directly into my Summer job, which has taken me out of town and away from my workstation for the past two weeks, leaving few opportunities to finish up this next comic. I suspect my productivity won't be super high this Summer, as I will be doing a lot of traveling for the job, but I will at least do my best to remain consistently engaged with the comic strips as I have the time. We will be moving into our new house in a couple weeks, which will also eat into my time, and I'll have to break down old Mission Control for the move.
This is the first strip done almost exclusively with my Huion tablet monitor. I'm pleased with the results overall; there's not a major noticeable difference in the final project, but I will say the actual time I've needed to produce the comic is significantly reduced. For the final lineart, I used the Pen tool rather than the Brush to see what that would look like. I'm a little on the fence as to which technique is better, but I'm reasonably satisfied with the outcome for this strip, at least.
Anyway, I'm not entirely certain when the next strip will be coming along. I'll be out of town this coming week, and prepping for the move when I get back, so it may not be until we've settled that I'll get a chance to sit down and work it. I'll try to post on the various social media outlets that I participate in with any updates. Until then, though, thanks for reading!
Another week, another comic! For better or worse, Corona-time has at least given me the chance to get back on the horse with the comic strip. This strip in another one that has been sitting in the incomplete file for a few years, and needed a good deal of work to be presentable. The artwork is still a little wonky to my eyes now, but not too bad. The lineart was complete, and needed colorizing, texturing, and background work. The next strip so far only has the panels laid out, so I'll pretty much be drawing it from scratch, which I'm actually excited about.
That excitement has a lot to do with the new Huion Kamvas Pro 16 that I added to my workstation over the weekend. It's a pretty decent tablet monitor for the price, and I've really enjoyed using it this week to complete this latest strip. It took a little bit of configuring to get it to work properly on my system, but once I got the technical stuff ironed out, it has been a pleasure to use. I'm not sure how it compares to a Wacom of similar size, but I'm happy with it so far. Of course, the real test will be when I start using it for actual illustration, and not just the selection-painting that this current strip needed. I'll have some more in-depth thoughts on the tablet posted on my Wordpress site. Thanks for reading!
In an unprecedented display of productivity, I've actually finished the next comic strip just a couple days after uploading the reformatted Timeslip site! This strip has been kicking around unfinished for literal years, so it's nice to have it up for display, even if the artwork is a little embarrassing compared to how I'd illustrate it now. For the sake of just getting it done, I didn't take the time to map out the skin and fabric texture overlays to the object contours in the last panel.
I've got two more comic strips in the works sitting here in the incomplete folder, and hopefully quarantine time will allow me to get these up here before long as well. In the meantime, stay safe everyone, and wash your filthy hands!
After a considerably-too-long hiatus, Timeslip is finally making its way back online with a fresh coat of paint over the website, and eventually some new content! I've got a couple more Timeslip strips that have been in stasis for a while that I'm hoping to pick back up shortly. Updates to follow as comic production resumes!
Holy crap! It's been a long time and a lot has happened since I last put a strip up here, but here it finally is! I don't have too much to say right now, but I do have the next strip started. Hope to see you here again soon!
Holy crap! I managed to get another strip up in under a month since the last one! I know, miracles can happen, right?! I've actually had some time to work on the comic lately, though I've got a lot coming up, mostly at work. I'm also in the middle of jury duty, so I've got that happening right now, too.
The current strip came out okay. I'm still liking the photographic backgrounds, though having to cut out the tops of a bed of cattails from a photo can get tedious. The splashing water in the last panel came out better than I thought it would, though it does look rather different than I had pictured it in my head. And in case it's not clear, the "AAAAAAA..." in the middle panel is Josh yelling from the back of the truck. Until next time!
