step-by-step (.GIF) (Patreon)

(edit: uuuh, this doesn't seem to be working in the app? i recommend looking at this with a browser.......)

my usual background process! messy sketch (i use references for the places in this comic, because it saves time!), cleaning sketch &working out details, lineart, lots of frustrated groaning, screentones &hatching and SPARKLES \o/

all locations in #muted are based on places of the city i live in. the main reason i chose to do this is because this way, i don't have to come up with my own locations, i wouldn't be able to update twice a month if i had to do that, because it takes so damn long.

like this, i can just google for refs real quick or take a walk and take some pictures and then use those. at first i was wondering if i should feel bad for "cheating" like this, but in the end i came to the conclusion that, no, this is Fine. the main focus is on kai and jasper anyway, so i don't have to go out of my way to make the backgrounds super special, the readers won't care about them as long as they look pretty i suppose XD and also i'm suddenly paying way more attention to my surroundings when i'm outside, always looking for a nice building that i could use for my comic. i've been living in this town for 12 years but i'm only now noticing certain things that have always been there, haha. it's good to walk around with open eyes for once and to appreciate the environment you live in.

anyway, lately i tend to ramble a lot q _q)