Pfft. We all know novels are being held back by console controllers.
PCs have a keyboard with every available key on them. If you were to write a novel with a console you’d only have A, B X, Y, L, R and maybe U & D at a stretch. Best case scenario. Worst case you’d by writing with wingdings (I’m looking at you PS3).
I don’t know about you but I can only read “BUY BABY RAY LAX. DUB A BUR. RAD.” once before feeling like the novel just isn’t living up to spec.
[QUOTE=zenstar;383693]Pfft. We all know novels are being held back by console controllers.
PCs have a keyboard with every available key on them. If you were to write a novel with a console you’d only have A, B X, Y, L, R and maybe U & D at a stretch. Best case scenario. Worst case you’d by writing with wingdings (I’m looking at you PS3).
I don’t know about you but I can only read “BUY BABY RAY LAX. DUB A BUR. RAD.” once before feeling like the novel just isn’t living up to spec.
[/QUOTE]
Well played, sir. Well played.
Won’t count on any novels soon. Not until we see a SDK, otherwise it’ll be tough to build them and getting them out there.
If there’s no linux version i’ll be extremely annoyed. At least release the linux printing press files so we can create our own novels.
[SIZE=5]If you are on my Photobucket Page and you only want to see the newer stuff, click “Previous”, not “Next”.[/SIZE]
Haven’t posted much lately, because I haven’t done so much. Now I’m back and I’ll try to keep posting a couple images a week.
The first panel here is drawn after I haven’t drawn anything for a while and it looks really horrible, but it was a start. It is a panel for a double page.
This image, like the one above and the five following, is also a panel of that double page and even though it’s just a layout I consider it quite better than the one above; I was so rusty then.
This is a sketch I did at my regular work from my recollection after I did the image above.
So here is the double page. It’s generally one big panel with smaller panels on it. The double page shows the advancing maintanence bot. I thought it would be a good idea to show the bot advancing in three “steps”, but I think it looks like if there were three bots, so I will only put one bot in the final illustration.
What’s happening here?
On the left;
-Sec behind the bot near the gate
-Sec getting shot at from all sides
-Sec guys taking cover behind bot and repair it
-One Sec guy repairing other get shot
-Resistance snipers view
-counter sniping Res sniper
-Res sniper in crosshair
On the right;
-Two Sec guys split from main group
-The guys making it through the Ship(Hope)
-One is providing cover whilst the other takes over the command post
-The two guys exiting the ship(maintenance bot has also advanced)
-They run to outflank the Resistance/ the bot in foreground and the hit Res sniper falls down behind them
After the double page above I decided that I would only layout single panels instead of entire pages. That’s because it’s easier this way to rearange the panels later. And especially with complicate panels I have more space to layout stuff that is important for me. It’s definitely not the fastest way to work like that, but it fits for me.
Most panels are panoramic, that’s because I love movies and I’d like to make the comic look/feel like it’s a movie. I have allways movies like Heat, Shooter, Tears of the Sun and Black Hawk Down in my mind when I consider my panels.
The Kross. Another Sketch on my Desk at work; have to stop that or they’ll fire me at one day 
A more graphic approach. I filled in the blacks to have a better idea if the panel would work or not.
Those two panels have the size of one regular panel. It is a way to show stuff that belongs together but couldn’t be drawn in one panel as you’d like. And at the same time you can save space and keep up the pace.
Some “making of” stuff. On the pictures in this album you can see me, my trusty drawing puppet and my own little maintenance bot(Lego Mindstorms NXT. Google/youtube it if you wanna see some amazing robo stuff. I’d suggest to start with NXT Rubik Cube solver, NXT Mona Lisa, or NXT loom).
Also in the pics are my computer-desk and my drawing-table together with my light-box and some sketches on it. One pic shows the console commands I’m using. Especially noclip and si_scriptControlledtimeLimit 0, together with si_timelimit 0 are invalueable.
The puppet can really stand on its own two feet and is capable of most stances a human can do. This puppet is far better than the usual wooden artist-puppet crap you’d get in an artstore. I got it from a modelshop in the Netherlands. Its usual purpose is to wear all kinds of different uniforms(astronaut, WW1-, WW2- and modern warfare soldier, you name it).
http://s1137.photobucket.com/albums/n520/19Frost79/Brink%20the%20comic_%20making%20of/
So, been a couple days since I’ve posted something here(life just won’t stop happening; time keeps on flying and flying; no idea how to finally get a grasp on it. And the release of NS2 is no help either. But, whatever…). Nevertheless, I got some tightly penciled layout pages, but I decided to wait with uploading them till I’m done with the double spread I’m currently working on. I wanted to be done at the weekend, but since months I have this half inked Brink(Brinkettes) illustration lying around here. I allready struggled to get my layouts done, so I postponed it week after week and month after month, but this weekend however I decided to pull thru this and be a happy guy again. It was a lot of work and even though I’d have liked to post it together with my new pages I just couldn’t manage to do so.
The (7)pages(one double spread) and a lot of sketches will come at the end of the week. With them I’ll have 22 pages in total; I think I’ll need, all in all, 40 pages for the story, maybe even 45. So the layouts alone will still take me a while. The good thing is, when it comes to actually rendering the stuff it will go very fast, at least that’s what I’m hoping. Especially the stuff that I consider difficult to draw is allready very detailed in their layouts, so I don’t have to think too much about them when I’m doing the shadowing and the texturing *. The easier stuff is sometimes only indicated. So, the more detailed something appears, the more trouble I had with it beforehand, or I was trying to really emphasize something and didn’t wanted that it’ll get lost over time.
Nevertheless, I feel, that I’m really getting a handle on the Brink-verse. I knew from the start, that it won’t be enough for me to go ingame and just draw what I see. Every weapon and prop has it’s very own anatomy and in order to play around with it I have to understand and internalize it in the first place. Especially the bot was really challenging at the begining and the chopper is even more challenging because of all its sub-shapes. And since comics are very much about dynamic, it’s not enough to just draw them as I see them. I’d have to make my own comic version of it, but without making it look (too)cartoony.
As to the “Brinkettes” illustration. I did the initial pencils a long while ago AND as you might see, there are a lot of things wich are note exactly right and of course I had some ink accidents too. Now I wouldn’t draw most of the stuff like I did it then, but I had to cope with it, since half of the pic was allready inked. Many things in this picture are even outright wrong, like the UAV that’s attacking our girls. It’s an Resistance UAV, therefore it doesn’t make much sense. The mine and the handgrenade are also not quite right, neither is the sticky. And the gatling-turret is also not really to my liking, but after all I’m glad I’m done with the illustration.
* My approach is to transfer the layouts from the sketch-pad to a high quality Bristol board by"lightboxing" them. I’ll then give the chars real faces/masks/helmets etc. and put clothes on them. I’ll also change/add a lot of their weapon loadout(I used the Carb mostly as a fill-in weapon. So if you see someone with a Carb it will most likely be changed in the final pencils. If someone carries anything but a Carb, then I did that because I’m allready quite certain what weapon I want to see in a particular scene and it will most likely be final). I’ll also add shadows and textures of course. All that will be immensely easier and most of all, faster, if the construction work beneath it is really solid. After the layouts are done I don’t want to worry about perspective or proportions anymore.
http://www.deviantart.com/download/338693952/brinkettes_by_msc_frost_msc-d5lndxc.jpg
Haven’t found a way to watch the images in fullsize online, but when you download them, then you’ll get them in full resolution(just in case somebody wants to see more detail)
The first image here is the consecutive panel to the last panel on post #115; wich indicates the throwing of a napalm grenade, a HE grenade and a flashbang.
Napalm Grenade
HE Grenade
Flashbang
Security shooting in the direction of the right Resistance spawn exit
Sec guys setting up an ambush with various mines and a turret and making themselfs ready behind cover
Change of camera angle; Resistance guys are coming and about to trigger the traps
This is not the consecutive page to the one above. I reworked the intro, it’s the new first page now(the initial first page is now page #4), it shows the approaching Sec(last panel shows the inside of the cockpit, like you’d have cut it open with a light saber; on the left and the right you can see the filling/glas of the choppers hull)
New second page, also shows the approaching Sec(camera) flies through chooper and finally turns around to show CC in the distance.
Landing on the pier; landing boat, maintenance bot and departing chopper in the background.
Couple sketches
Those are layout pages. Faces, clothing, detailed weapons and detail in general(shadows, textures) will come in the final pencils. For now I’m happy when I’m finally done with laying out the whole story. I think I still need something around 15-20 pages. That means, the whole thing will have 40-45 pages in the end
Ok, just to get a more clear overview of my project I thumbnailed every remaining page, and surprise surprise, my guess of 15-20 pages was far to low. The thumbs below show 2page grids, wich means, that there are 44!!! pages remaining. I came to the conclusion, that I have to change my whole approach completely* and I shouldn’t strive for an overly rendered style either. The definite total of pages is 70(+/-1) now. I just can’t render 70 pages in full detail like I would an illustration; yet I do not want to let the quality level drop too low. To be frank, I’m quite intimidated(aka. scared ****less) by the task ahead. But as Ripley said: “I made a clean spot here. Now I’ve done it. Guess I’ll have to do the whole thing.”
Almost exactly one full year after the last post in this thread, it’s about time to kick up some dust again; it’s necro revival time B**CHES!!! 
Yes, I was a bit lazy over the last year, but I thought about my project every single day and I even did some occassional drawings and sketches here and there. I already drew the first 3 (real)pages but I never posted them, because I wanted to complete the whole introduction-chapter first; wich would mean the first 6-8 pages, or so. But you know, life, summer and my then new PS3, gave me no chance to proceed, so my Brink comic got kinda stuck. But as I’ve said, the project was allways present in my mind.
Now I feel, like I have the energy and willpower to proceed. Wich basically means, planning my whole life around this thing again. Needless to say, that I have to massively cut back on my VG time; wich is definitely the hardest thing to do for me. I was never surrounded by so many games I’d like to play, than I am now.
Whatever, I’ll stop whining for now and rather send you guys a tiny, little sneak peak of what is to come around next weekend. It’s just a small sketch, but I hope you like it(done it at work, like prolly half of my sketches:wink:).
Around Sunday I’ll post the first 3-4 complete pages and some nice sketches and concept drawings from the last year.
PS: Everyone who wants to have his dearest Brink char in the comic should send me some screenshots from at least 6 different angles. Not only would this be great in terms of an interactive comic, but it would also add some kind of virtual credibility, because those chars actually fought on the Ark. Plus I wouldn’t have to play dress up like crazy in the custom menu; wich is of course fun to a certain degree, but it would also slow down the production process quite a bit.
I opened a new thread for that purpose. It’s called; “Player characters for the Brink GN”.
Wow frost you’ve returned from the dead 
I cant wait to see what u come up with. I haven’t thought of brink for like 2 years, its crazy thinking about how much time has passed…
[QUOTE=VG_JUNKY;488428]Wow frost you’ve returned from the dead
I cant wait to see what u come up with. I haven’t thought of brink for like 2 years, its crazy thinking about how much time has passed…[/QUOTE]
But you are still checking out the forums, that’s great. Yeah, much time has passed and Brink is dead as a game can possibly be, but I had already put so much work* into that comic, it just wouldn’t make sense to throw that all away now. Aside from that, I can’t wait to show all you guys the finished product. I know it will be awesome, but I have no idea how long it will take me, or if I’ll ever finish it. Though I hope, with all my heart, that I’ll have the power to pull through this, this time around. It’s a mix of exitement and frustration, that I can’t crank that thing out just like that, so I can show it to you. I’ll have to wait till it’s done, sketch after sketch, stroke after stroke and layer upon layer.
PS: Don’t forget to put some screenshots of your Brink char and your favorite weapon set up in the link below. That’d be cool.
http://forums.warchest.com/showthread.php/39170-Player-characters-for-the-Brink-GN
*There’s a lot of stuff, I’ve never posted, or stuff that can’t be posted. I even bought me a airsoft M-4 and handgun, so I would get all the stances and gestures right. That is so invaluable btw. Everyone who writes about, draws, models, something that involves weapons, has to buy himself a couple airsoft/toy guns; that is so helpful and even gives you new ideas, or shows you, that some things you had in your mind would never ever function in reality.
[QUOTE=.FROST.;488434]But you are still checking out the forums, that’s great…
PS: Don’t forget to put some screenshots of your Brink char and your favorite weapon set up in the link below. That’d be cool.
http://forums.warchest.com/showthread.php/39170-Player-characters-for-the-Brink-GN
[/QUOTE]
Yeah I’m actually not looking at any forums anymore hehe just stayed subbed to this thread and received an email announcing your return 
I’ll post a pic of my fav char, but I’ll have to dig out my copy of brink. I’ll see if i get around to it this week 
