Chapter 17: New Kids On The Block Part III
Things are picking up now, for the kids, but it’s only going to get more dangerous before it’s over!
I spent a lot of time drawing and redrawing that first panel- first drafts had more recognizable…bits, but I felt it was too graphic. Harlowe is definitely for grown ups, and while I do intend to keep including horror aspects, seeing sheep intestine and eyeballs on the front page felt more like it was going into ‘torture-porn’ territory than the ‘weird fiction’ aspect I like. It’s a weird nebulous line, but I try to stay to one side of it.
Plus, the idea that whatever the Landlord turned into just liquified the lamb is really funny to me, and keeps the Landlord from feeling like a physical monster that can be fought. More on that later.
This chapter also features the first of what will become a standard feature in Harlowe comics: Proper persepective on a building, thanks in no small part to me farting around in Blender! I despise drawing the Black House, and struggle with getting the proportions and angles right, so I just said fuck it, and built it in Blender:
The weird, high-contrast colours help me pick out where the edges are- It’s super low poly, and missing a ton of features, but that’s fine, it’s just there to be a guide, I can get the exact angle I want, take a screen grab, and then slap it in CSP and draw it right every time. I’ll probably do the same with the rest of the houses in Harlowe at some point, so I can stop hiding backgrounds and improve my art.
Finally, another peek at my upcoming project, with some more concept art:
The centauri are the closest allies to the Sol Protectorate (that’s us) both in distance, and in diplomatic ties. Earth and its colonies technically exist in the Centauri Empire’s territory, and the centauri are one of the only species that truly trusts humanity, with the majority of other sapient species considering humanity to be territorial and dangerously aggressive. Centauri culture was previously based around a dominant warrior caste, but in the last few centuries they have become more ‘civilized’, encouraging peaceful cooperation between the various species of the known galaxy. They are, however, still the dominant military force, due in large part to their size- with individuals standing up to 3.5 meters, their ships are large, with commensurately heavy weaponry and armor, few navies can risk going toe to toe with the centauri fleet.
