Enter: Stiletto (Patreon)

Another sneak peek at Volume 6 production- before the pics, quick overview on our current production routine:

In addition to monthly Fanart and Sketch of the Month and keeping up with commissions, our main focus is on bringing big Vivid projects to life- Prelude comics, Volume 6, and the first Dreamkeepers video game, Skirmish.

Every two weeks we post progress on one of the big endeavors here- rotating between Skirmish animations, V6 behind the scenes, or a finished fresh Prelude update.

Previously we were doing only Prelude comics every two weeks, but I wanted to make Volume 6 go faster, so we rebalanced.

Probably our key project currently is Skirmish. The hand-drawn animation is a huge undertaking. But if Vivid gets into video games successfully, that's the possible route to kicking everything up a notch. That's why I'm willing to mix video game production in alongside graphic novel work. Me 'n Liz can only create so much with our own sets of hands. But if video games expand Vivid enough, we can kick everything up a notch and get more talent fueling the engines, and then we can create more & faster to share with you.

So that's the endgame! In the meantime, we're focusing on bi-weekly updates rotating between Skirmish, Volume 6, and Prelude, to ensure we keep the comics alive while Vivid rises into animation and video games.

Alright! On to some of our recent Volume 6 work. If you've visited our Picarto streams, you've probably seen us shading some of this:

Stiletto and her unit of shock troopers are stepping into focus.  (Couldn't resist giving her some rare custom shock trooper armor.)

Have been doodling possibilities for her gang, and it's nice to get them coming into the light at last. New setting as well- an abandoned pramanthium mining facility in the Ruskol district.

  Lots of thought into the siting and logistical support of the location- a facility for excavating and refining the pramanthium on-site, along with an aqueduct for transporting the product out, seeing as the approaching terrain is highly treacherous. A shed out front for mounts, cranes for lifting ore onto transports, smokestacks above the refineries, etc. And in the distance the Ruskol district tower, and behind it all in the haze, the omnipresent Sabbaton Towers.

Dutch angle in the comic layout itself to emphasize the sense of vertigo and wrongness as the scene unfolds.

Another fan favorite will be making an appearance in this scene.

We haven't named Stiletto's bud yet, but I couldn't resist an opportunity for another shark character. Sharks and dinosaurs were some of my favorite to draw as a kid.

Damn.

I kinda want to add more dinosaur characters now...

Stay tuned for more Prelude comics, more Skirmish animation, more monthly fanart and SKOM content, and more Volume 6! Thanks for helping us power through, it is going to be badass when Vivid has the power to start producing all of this faster.