[Concept] Beaumont in Castle Zaleska #1 (Patreon)

Introduction

I’ve begun working on the next Beaumont comic story, though I’m still in pre-development. This comic will probably be much longer than the prototype and will take even longer to make. I don’t have a page count yet, but I could easily see it being twice as long as the prototype, since I fully expect to let the comic slow down and breathe at different points. 

The prototype comic was rushed and served to communicate the basic idea of what a Beaumont comic MIGHT be like. If you haven’t read the prototype comic, you can find it HERE.

This story is set before Amaranth & Elayne know each other, so it could potentially function as a “Beaumont #1.”

Concept Origins

I didn’t originally set out to create a comic with this idea. In fact, it was intended to be used for a game project that I was making in Dreams (PS4). The experience would’ve felt similar to an old Resident Evil game, in which you’d explore an area, investigate, and solve puzzles. But I soon realized that this game was too ambitious for me at the time and would take too long to develop in a 3D space by comparison. Enemy behaviors, the map system, etc.

Two routes were planned, with both characters accessing a lot of the same areas, albeit with differences & some unique content. Players would initially play with Elayne and explore a ruined castle as they try to piece together elements of the story. Once they complete Elayne’s route, players unlock Amaranth, who would lend additional context to their understanding of the story.

Games are an excellent medium for non-linear storytelling & looser narratives, but comics are different. It is an inherently linear medium, and we don’t want to repeat elements like we might in a game. So, the story needs major adjustments to fit the new medium.

Initial Concept Sketches

This story takes place within the castle of Lady Zaleska, a vampire lord trying to create a means for which vampire-kind can prosper without the need for hunting humans. Amaranth visits the castle, but his stay is interrupted by the arrival of an intruder. How’d they get in? Intruder window!

As you will have seen in the sketches above, new characters have been created for this story. Unlike the prototype comic, which focuses on Elayne beating up monsters, the point of this story is to tell an actual narrative and help paint a larger picture of the world. It will also feature a lot more Amaranth too.

While combat will still occur, this story is much more concerned with character interaction.

Character Design

One of my favourite things is when characters get new costumes, especially after hiatus. It feels cool, so I’ve been thinking about updating the outfits for some of our regulars.

Amaranth

Amaranth’s current design was a last-minute temporary design for the prototype comic that somehow managed to stick, but we have been trying to develop it a bit since then (with limited success). I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the new direction, but I DO think it looks like a cool outfit. I’m glad that we were able to bring the red scarf back to the design too.

This new design uses a lot of the same basic shapes but refined to offer a bit more visual diversity while being much cleaner & easier to read. His previous jacket felt a bit formless, and there’s a lot of noise in the chest area. It’s a subtle change, but the fact that his jacket is closed instead of open helps to suggest someone who keeps things close to their chest, creating a slightly less welcoming impression. 

His apparel feels much less haphazard now. The jacket is held shut by a series of buttons, which is much more technical & controlled than being loosely held by a belt. He no longer needs a belt, but we can use the scarf as one, keeping it out of the way of his cape (which was always an issue before now).

Elayne Beaumont

Elayne doesn’t have a lot going on with her that we haven’t seen before, which could mean that we’ve reached a comfortable spot with her. I still worry that her design lacks colour, but I don’t want to push too much colour into the design, compromising the aesthetic we have.

I am, however, considering some fishnet stockings. I’m not sure if it plays nicely with the design, but I am wondering if, perhaps, the legs are distracting us from the torso & face. Adding some sort of element could help break up the sparseness of her legs – assuming they are, in fact, distracting.

How do you feel about that idea?

Different Shapes for Different Faces

There are a handful of new things I’d like to try with this comic, but one of the most noteworthy things is playing with a wider variety of shapes in character designs. It’ll let us see characters that feel differently from those I would otherwise naturally gravitate towards, and keep things feeling fresh as a result.

Our next character design exemplifies that.

Rembrant

Sometimes our art just sucks, and you must throw out a lot of stuff that just isn’t working. But that is part of the design process, so it’s important to recognize what you like, don’t like, and what exactly you want to accomplish. That’s how we problem solve, so this next sketch is an important one.

This first sketch of the character is a bad one because it doesn’t read very well. This isn’t an appealing design, even if there are good ideas present. The updated design is much stronger and took a few more hours to do than I’m willing to admit, but that’s just how it goes.

Rembrant is immediately different from the kinds of characters you’d usually see in my work. He’s a big, tough guy with a lot of strong rectangular shapes in his face. You could easily believe this guy capable of winning a fight. There’s a bit of sex appeal too.

Notice how the design is so much simpler and easier to read now? The colours are clearer, so it’s easier to tell the difference between major areas. One of the reasons Amaranth & Elayne have difficult designs is because all their colours are close to one another on the colour wheel, so they are harder to distinguish.

The use of green in the design gives the impression of a military outfit, which can subtly communicate the idea that this is a tough guy & capable warrior. Although he does wear some dark colours, he seems much less entrenched in it than Amaranth or Elayne, who have a lot of dark, muted hues in their outfits.

Untitled Girl

This is also pretty different from what I’d usually do, because the shapes need to be less exaggerated to communicate the character’s youth and lithe frame. So, there aren’t any contrasting muscles or curves. 

This character doesn’t have a name yet, but she’s still undeveloped. The shapes of her apparel will end up communicating different things, like economic background or personality, so it’s important that I get a stronger idea of what exactly I WANT to communicate with her design. 

This young girl was intended to be the secondary character of Elayne’s route.

Lady Zaleska

Unlike Countess Karantos, Zaleska’s skin isn’t an icy blue, so her pale skin is closer to what you’d expect from a vampire. The warmth of her outfit further emphasizes the paleness of her skin – it feels cooler by contrast instead of being outright blue.

I’m not sure if red is the best colour to go with, but it is the one I find most appealing. I just wonder if it’s too powerful on our eyes. I made some quick colour variants, and I really like the yellow/violet one, but I didn’t play around with it much. Introducing colour into a design adds a lot of complexity to deal with.

You can see me experimenting with shapes in the hair, boob window, and shoulders. Most of my concern is in the boob window, however… Initially, it’s so long that it pulls our eyes down to her legs (the emptiest part of the design). Which isn't ideal...

The sketches I like most show more of the chest than I had initially planned, but the contrast of shape & colour makes it easier for our eyes to rest around her face. 

Do your preferences lie elsewhere among the sketches above?

Writing

Most of the story has been outlined, though the climax needs some major adjustments. Since we lack the experiential nature of playing a video game, the climax needs to be adjusted to feel satisfying. It is no longer as simple as “beat a boss,” it needs to have a stronger narrative crescendo. As I try to do this, I’ve had to change the ending and write new material – which means I’ll have to fiddle with it a bit.

Elayne's narrative was already pretty light in the game concept, since most of the bigger events happen before she arrives. In translating those ideas to comic, I’ve had to remove several parallels between the routes, so we aren’t repeating content, and now, Elayne just isn’t contributing as much to the story. So that needs fixing.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I will keep you informed on further developments.

Don’t forget to eat & sleep.