JFT: New Sensations | Page 2 - WIP (Patreon)

Here's the WIP for the second page!

The action happens pretty quickly here, and since we're still in the early, descriptive part of the story, I decided to take my time and give the reader enough visual information to understand where we are: inside a supermarket!

We see Pino about to head back inside, while Luca is caught completely off guard and desperately tries to hide behind a shelf. Nothing too complicated in terms of action, so this is a relatively simple page!

Storyboard & Sketch

Moving from the storyboard to the refined sketch, I made a couple of changes to improve the poses and make the action more effective. In the first panel, I adjusted the wolf's pose to emphasize his body language and make him look more startled and caught off guard. In the second panel, I reworked his jump to make it feel more dynamic.

Lineart

As in the previous chapters of the main Just Fairy Tales series, I decided to use lineart only on the characters, leaving the background without outlines.

It's a simple stylistic choice that helps separate the characters from their surroundings. I don't think it makes much difference in terms of the time required, but I like the overall look it gives the page.

Coloring and Rendering

For the supermarket background, I went with a fairly simple rendering style. I didn't want to define every single element too precisely, but I still wanted the colors to feel rich, with plenty of subtle variations and details. Nothing too over the top, though!

Once the background was done, I moved on to coloring the characters using a palette I had established beforehand. I added a shadow layer set to Multiply, followed by a gradient on an Overlay layer to bring some light to the central areas of the characters.

Layout & Lettering

To finish the page, I added the motion effects, sound effects, and action lines to emphasize the suddenness of Luca's reaction and make the whole sequence feel more dynamic.

Speaking of sound effects, I usually hand-letter my onomatopoeias in Sketchbook Pro and then import them into Photoshop to add a black outline. I have to admit, it's a pretty time-consuming process!

Some programs, like Procreate and Clip Studio Paint, have brushes that can automatically add an outline to your strokes, saving you a few extra steps. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to create a brush that does the same thing in Sketchbook Pro.

And Sketchbook has been my main drawing software for years, so I'm not planning to switch anytime soon! 😅

Anyway, that's how the second page comes together, step by step. Thanks for following along with the process! ❤️<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>