The Sleeper's Den

"There was a time when the birds of the air had a contest to see who could fly the highest. All the birds competed except the Wren, and none could fly as high as the Eagle. So the birds made him King.
'He must be King,' they said. 'He's the biggest and strongest of us all. Not one of us can fly as high as the Eagle.'
'I can,' said the Wren.
'You!' laughed the Hawk. 'Why the Eagle wouldn't waste time competing with a bird as small as you!'"
- The Folk Tales of Scotland, retold by Norah and William Montgomerie (1975)



Great! I've been away for five days and while I'm gone, persons unknown break LJ, or what? >:-( I seem to have to refresh every page at least once to see what I want. Muh. Well, you know if you can't get to the new pages here, you can always read them at my Blogspot, so you don't need to miss out on anything.

Edinburgh was wonderful, by the way. Of course it's a little bit magical for me in any case because it is the site of the capital of the Gododdin, and the capital of Lothian - it's Lot Country and Gawain was born there! I rolled my eyes a bit at the shameless commercial exploitation of what is after all Highland dress in the capital of the Lowlands; I was bemused by the existence of vegetarian haggis and Scottish/Mexican fusion cooking yielding quesadillas with haggis; I wandered through the expanse of Holyrood Park pretending not to know that Arthur's Seat doesn't really have anything to do with Arthur; and of course I also drooled over the Celtic exhibits in the National Museum. I also learnt that quite a few members of the Scottish ruling class in the Middle Ages were of Flemish descent, which certainly explains some of the more absurd aspects of life in Scotland ;-).

Naturally I brought back a lot of books, one of which yielded today's quote. I also (finally) got a copy of the Mabinogion, a small booklet about Pictish fortresses, a history of the Pictish people and a copy of The Last of the Celts, Marcus Tanner's exploration of what is left of the Celtic-speaking world. It makes for gloomy reading. Tanner estimates that one generation from now, all Celtic languages will be extinct. Some of them have been killed off by aggressive governments (Breton in France, Gaelic in the UK), others are just spoken by people who aren't proud of their language and its heritage (Gaelic in Ireland). All of them have been dealt with in a bad way - measures to preserve the languages have either come too late or have had adverse effects. These things make a Celtophile despair :(.

Well, I'm trying to keep Celtic culture alive in my own modest way. New pages are below; I hope you enjoy them. Concrit is welcome, as always!


What went before
Lot and Morgana have a problem. They each have their own high hopes for Gawain, but none of their plans are going to come to anything if the boy cannot hold his own in a fight. Gawain is small and not particularly strong. To overcome these weaknesses, he will need the help of an expert - preferably of the female variety. Fortunately, Morgana knows just such a person...


Sunrise Chapter 1: Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30,Brothers and Sisters 31-33, Brothers and Sisters 34-36, Brothers and Sisters 37-39, Brothers and Sisters 40-42, Brothers and Sisters 43-45, Brothers and Sisters 46-48, Brothers and Sisters 49-51, Brothers and Sisters 52-54, Brothers and Sisters 55-57, Brothers and Sisters 58-60, Brothers and Sisters 61-63, Brothers and Sisters 64-66, Brothers and Sisters 67-69, Brothers and Sisters 70-72


( In which Morgana's expert is not what Lot had expected )

"'You certainly are no warrior,' my father said finally. 'Oh well. Take that harp from Orlamh and play something, something pleasant. I'm tired of his weary plunking.'"
- Gillian Bradshaw, Hawk of May (1981)



This week I've painted something! Yay! It was a long overdue birthday present for bettyboop_comic. Here's to hoping he likes it.

As for the comic, I get the feeling that there really is a lot of talk in it. But - well, people talking is rather my thing. There'll be some action soonish, though :P. (I think I've been making the same promise a few weeks ago. Er.)

Well, if you think it's too talk-y, leave a comment below with your complaints ;-).

On with the story!


What went before
The meeting of the kings has not really been a success. Lot tells Morgana of his worries. There is one in particular...


Sunrise Chapter 1: Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30,Brothers and Sisters 31-33, Brothers and Sisters 34-36, Brothers and Sisters 37-39, Brothers and Sisters 40-42, Brothers and Sisters 43-45, Brothers and Sisters 46-48, Brothers and Sisters 49-51, Brothers and Sisters 52-54, Brothers and Sisters 55-57, Brothers and Sisters 58-60, Brothers and Sisters 61-63, Brothers and Sisters 64-66


( In which a boy seems to be playing truant... )

"While Taliesin sang a great storm of wind arose, and the castle shook with the force of it. Then the King bade Elphin be brought in before him, and when he came, at the music of Taliesin's voice and harp the chains fell open from themselves and he was free."
- T. W. Rolleston, Celtic Myths and Legends (1911)



I have filled another Moleskine journal (number four). Time to start a fresh one!


What went before
If you bring the Kings of Britain together for a debate about who is supposed to be the new High King, you can bet that some nasty fighting will ensue. And so it does. Two little boys are watching as their fathers roll across the floor of the great hall...


Sunrise Chapter 1: Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30,Brothers and Sisters 31-33, Brothers and Sisters 34-36, Brothers and Sisters 37-39, Brothers and Sisters 40-42, Brothers and Sisters 43-45, Brothers and Sisters 46-48, Brothers and Sisters 49-51, Brothers and Sisters 52-54, Brothers and Sisters 55-57

( In which we catch a glimpse of a bard's special talent )

"Ulaid, from whom comes the name Ulster, a dynastic group who ruled, from their capital at Emain Macha, a confederation of kingdoms once stretching as far south as the Boyne, and whose conflicts with the Connachta form the background to Táin Bó Cuailnge. About the mid-fifth century they were ousted from Emain by the Uí Néill or the Airgialla, being confined thereafter to the area east of the Bann."
- Oxford Companion to Irish History, ed. by S. J. Connoly (2007)



Look, I'm quoting an encyclopedia! I'll confess that I'm doing that because I don't want those of you who have read Gillian Bradshaw's Hawk of May to think that I stole the idea of Gawain's Irish ancestry from her. If I recall correctly, I came by it through the story of Cú Chulainn and his beheading of the wizard Cu Roí, which is really the same tale as that of Gawain and the Green Knight. I was fourteen or fifteen when I read that (and thirty when I read Hawk of May) and I thought it would be neat if Gawain were related to Cú Chulainn. Then I stumbled on a passage in Celtic Britain where it said that in the fifth century, the O'Neill sacked Emain Macha - and I had my story of Lot leaving Ireland to start a new kingdom in Alba (Scotland).

Historically speaking, that's not quite correct, because the Irish who settled in Scotland established the kingdom of Dál Riata, which is in the west of Scotland, and Lothian is of course in the east. But it's not impossible, and Lot is the legendary founder of Lothian, not the historical one, so I have no qualms about this at all.

On to the new pages. Concrit is welcome, as always!

What went before
The Kings of Britain are meeting in Lothian and the feast is about to start. Queen Morgause has just broken up a fight between her two eldest sons, and Agravain expresses his irritation at the fact that Gawain seems to be treated differently from his brothers. As they go to their quarters to get changed for the feast, the boys walk in on a discussion their father and uncle are having...

Sunrise Chapter 1: Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30,Brothers and Sisters 31-33, Brothers and Sisters 34-36, Brothers and Sisters 37-39, Brothers and Sisters 40-42



( In which Lot negotiates between his roles as an ambitious king and a father of four )

"Her voice was low, soft and beautiful. She was herself beautiful: very tall, dark where Lot was fair; her eyes were darker than the sea at midnight. She left breathless anyone who only looked at her, and drew eyes as a whirlpool draws water."
- Gillian Bradshaw, Hawk of May (1981)



Can I say again how much I enjoy sketching these pages? I know they have mistakes, and though I try to avoid making any, I'm not too bothered when they do appear, because I know these are just sketches. So I just move on and draw new pages and simply enjoy telling my story.

Whenever I sit down to draw one of the definitive pages, things get kind of stressful. Well, no, not really - drawing those pages is fun, too. But I don't often feel like sitting down to start drawing them in the first place because the pressure is so high. Those pages have to be correct. So when I've drawn one, and it's not entirely correct, I put it aside to iron out the mistakes. But seeing how slow I am to begin with, I never get round to finishing the thing. Because I'm scared of it. At the moment, I tell myself I'm laying out the rest of the story, so I'm doing something productive. But I really do need to find a way to bring the process of the final pages closer to that of the sketch pages. I need to find a way to make myself comfortable. I think I also need to eliminate one of the stages (maybe do the pencils directly on watercolour paper?). I'll produce pages that are far from being perfect, but I'll be producing pages.

Thoughts?

Now story:

What went before
Owain, son of Uriens and Morgana, is visiting Lot's stronghold together with his father because the kings of Britain are having a meeting. Having met Owain in the woods, Gawain has guided him back to the house, where the two boys are met by Gawain's tyrannical brother Agravain. And Gawain doesn't need much in order to start fighting...

Sunrise Chapter 1: Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30,Brothers and Sisters 31-33, Brothers and Sisters 34-36


( In which Morgause finally makes a reappearance )

Today is a lovely day, so I have been lazy. I have worked pretty hard last week, so I intend to be lazy all weekend. Mwuahahaha! If I say "lazy", I mean that I hope to get some Gawain-related stuff done. I was so tired last week due to lack of sleep that I didn't have the energy to draw new layouts on the train; that means I'm behind. Need to remedy. I have also bought an A4-sized watercolour Moleskine that I intend specifically for character designs. If all goes well, I'll fix Uther's design for SoK on Sunday. Then maybe I can finally get a move on with my SoK pages. *rolls eyes at self*

Well, on to the new pages. You will be meeting Gawain's entire family in the next few instalments, simply because it's important that you know them :-). But don't worry, I'll be getting to the point. Eeventually ;P.

Concrit = welcome, as always.

What went before
The kings of Britain are meeting in King Lot's stronghold. Uriens of Gorre is one of them, and he has brought a little boy with him in whom Morgana shows an interest...

Sunrise Chapter 1: Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30

( Pages 31-33 )

And ther by ordenaunce of the quene ther was set a quest of ladyes on Syr Gauayn. And they iuged hym foreuer whyle he lyved to be with all ladyes, and to fyghte for her quarels, and that euer he shold be curteys, and neuer to refuse mercy to hym that asketh mercy.
- Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur (1485)

Part I: The Darkest Hour

One woman and two men. This is where our story starts.

The Darkest Hour
The Darkest Hour 1-3, The Darkest Hour 4-6, The Darkest Hour 7-9, The Darkest Hour 10-12, The Darkest Hour 13-15, The Darkest Hour 16-18, The Darkest Hour 19-21, The Darkest Hour 22-24, The Darkest Hour 25-27, The Darkest Hour 28-31, The Darkest Hour 32-35, The Darkest Hour 36-40, The Darkest Hour 41-44, The Darkest Hour 45-47, The Darkest Hour 48-50, The Darkest Hour 51-53, The Darkest Hour 54-57, The Darkest Hour 58-60, The Darkest Hour 61-64, The Darkest Hour 65-66, The Darkest Hour 67-69, The Darkest Hour 70-73, The Darkest Hour 74-75, The Darkest Hour 76-81, The Darkest Hour 82-84, The Darkest Hour 85-87, The Darkest Hour 88-90, The Darkest Hour 91-92, The Darkest Hour 93-97, The Darkest Hour 98-101, The Darkest Hour 102-103, The Darkest Hour 104-108, The Darkest Hour 109-111, The Darkest Hour 112-114, The Darkest Hour 115-119

The Sword of Kings
The Sword of Kings 1-4, The Sword of Kings 5-11


Part II: Sunrise

Family history catches up with a little red-haired boy.

Brothers and Sisters
Brothers and Sisters 1-3, Brothers and Sisters 4-6, Brothers and Sisters 7-9, Brothers and Sisters 10-12, Brothers and Sisters 13-15, Brothers and Sisters 16-18, Brothers and Sisters 19-21, Brothers and Sisters 22-24, Brothers and Sisters 25-27, Brothers and Sisters 28-30,Brothers and Sisters 31-33, Brothers and Sisters 34-36, Brothers and Sisters 37-39, Brothers and Sisters 40-42, Brothers and Sisters 43-45, Brothers and Sisters 46-48, Brothers and Sisters 49-51, Brothers and Sisters 52-54, Brothers and Sisters 55-57, Brothers and Sisters 58-60, Brothers and Sisters 61-63, Brothers and Sisters 64-66, Brothers and Sisters 67-69, Brothers and Sisters 70-72, Brothers and Sisters 73-75, 76-78, 79-81, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86
(currently continuing in weekly updates)

Okay. So, the most commonly-heard 'complaint', if you can call it that, about my digital lettering experiment is that the font is an ordinary one. I have to confess that I like it myself because it reminds me of Jeff Smith's lettering in Bone, one of my favourite fonts in my entire comics library :). I also like it because it is not even close to Comic Sans ;).

Anyway - on my Blogspot a friend suggested that I try Ale & Wenches, a very pretty, medieval-like font. I'm posting the page with Ale & Wenches next to the previous version. My own inclination would be to use this font for captions and stick to Red State, Blue State for the speech bubbles. Oh, and any dragons can of course speak in Dragon Bones ;).

Please let me know what you think!

♥

( Alternative lettering )

I am trying to figure out how best to go about drawing the comic. The questions are many: colour or monochrome? Pencil or ink? A4 or A3? It is important to get everything right, so that I don’t run into trouble at some point in the future.

I had more or less decided on inks and monochrome, because black and white is what I think I do best. Colour still gives me trouble. I adore watercolour, but I am not good enough at it to paint a comic. I have seen digital colours that I like, but I don’t have the Photoshop skills to achieve them myself. Nevertheless, in a comic in which the colour of the hero’s hair and, occasionally, the colour of his enemies plays a part in the story, it would be kind of nice to have colours.

Now – one way of colouring that I do feel up to is with colour pencils. I like what I can do with pencils on the pages of my Moleskine notebook, so I sought loose sheets on which I could more or less reproduce that effect. The paper that I think comes closest to Moleskine is Bristol board. So I had a try with that.

The image in the middle is the original: graphite + colour pencils on Bristol. The real thing is very crisp and rather lovely. Some of the subtle skin tones got lost in the scan, as did the blue of her eyes. But all in all I don't think the scan is so bad.

On the left is a greyscale version. If I want to see the story printed, I have to take into account that colour printing is much more expensive than black and white. If I have to finance a print run... So I thought it might be good to see what this coloured work looks like in b/w.

On the right you get an idea of what pencilled art might look like with some texture Photoshopped in. Better or worse?


Colour test by *Sigune on deviantART
(Click and go to dA for a full view)

Do you think it would be nice to have a completely pencilled comic? How about colour versus greyscale? Or do you think inking is preferable? How do you think pencilled art will reproduce/print?

Opinions and advice are very, very welcome. Please do let me know what you think!

I'll try to do a complete page using this technique soon, as a test..

"Herr, es heißt hier
auf der plaine und im forêt
und überall, wo Klingsor herrscht:
>Heute traurig, morgen froh<.
Weder Feigheit noch Courage
können daran etwas ändern...
Vielleicht ist Euch das unbekannt:
ein reines Wunder ist dies Land!"

- Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival (ca. 1200-1216)



It's the ennnnnnnnnnnnddd!

Well, the end of the first story arc. In the next, my hero actually has a part. He'll be born and everything - heck, he even walks and talks and meets Morgana! Long-time readers have already seen that part. I'll pick up again from there. But I'll post a master list first :).

I'm a bit worn out so I'll keep these notes short.

Please, please let me know what you think now that you have made it to the end of The Darkest Hour. Constructive criticism is welcome, as always, especially because the next step for this story is to write and draw the definitive version.


What went before
Lots of awful things have happened to Ygraine, all at the hands of Uther Pendragon, High King of Britain. So far, he hasn't had his comeuppance yet. BUT, as we have seen in the Prologue, Ygraine has now summoned a sorcerer, the mysterious Klingsor. Would you like to know why? All you have to do is read the Epilogue ... and keep following the Gawain Project, of course :P.

The Darkest Hour 1-3, The Darkest Hour 4-6, The Darkest Hour 7-9, The Darkest Hour 10-12, The Darkest Hour 13-15, The Darkest Hour 16-18, The Darkest Hour 19-21, The Darkest Hour 22-24, The Darkest Hour 25-27, The Darkest Hour 28-31, The Darkest Hour 32-35, The Darkest Hour 36-40, The Darkest Hour 41-44, The Darkest Hour 45-47, The Darkest Hour 48-50, The Darkest Hour 51-53, The Darkest Hour 54-57, The Darkest Hour 58-60, The Darkest Hour 61-64, The Darkest Hour 65-66, The Darkest Hour 67-69, The Darkest Hour 70-73, The Darkest Hour 74-75, The Darkest Hour 76-81, The Darkest Hour 82-84, The Darkest Hour 85-87, The Darkest Hour 88-90, The Darkest Hour 91-92, The Darkest Hour 93-97, The Darkest Hour 98-101, The Darkest Hour 102-103, The Darkest Hour 104-108, The Darkest Hour 109-111, The Darkest Hour 112-114

( In which a Queen and a Sorcerer throw in their lot together )