V6 Behind the Scenes: Devil in the Details (Patreon)

As much as I love dynamic, flexible character art- a big part of the magic in Dreamkeepers is the immersive settings- and that means perspective & detail!

Feels good to excavate these long-imagined set pieces with the ol' reliable triangle.

As much concept as goes into a setting, I find there's always more ideas that spring to life right up to the blueline sketch and even penciling stage. Placement of a rail system to move ore from the grinders to the smelters, cranes that are wheeled to slide along catwalks, chains, cables, pulleys-

Not sure if all this will even be explained in the comic itself, as the focus is on plot- but that makes this a great venue for sharing the ideas here!

An abandoned pramanthium mine (the metal used in springers which has antistropic tensile properties). The central drill shaft, in addition to being driven by a windmill on the roof, has a circular platform centralized here for manual labor. Knossus would be marched out, chained up to the shaft, and walked in a circle to charge the central spring drive. Then they're walked back out again, and presto- it's time to drill.

I'm planning to color-code the modular floor paneling system to indicate which areas have solid stone underneath, and which have only support struts, so workers would know the load-bearing capabilities at a glance.

Thematically, I'm also integrating cathedral symbolism- some of the drill shafts and devices look like inverted church spires, with spurs reminiscent of Gothic ornamentation.

The inversion of sacred beliefs fits with the idea of a once-productive warehouse that has crumbled into rot and ruin- beauty turned to decay.

I'm also aiming to include as many harsh angles as possible- triangular support struts are exaggerated, right angles abound, and iron beams are tangled crazily in the central shaft- but in a manner where they support the central drilling platform, and serve as a dynamic linear focal point.

This is the most time consuming part of Dreamkeepers graphic novel production by far- but, I love bringing the world to life like this.

And, of course, I think the lush settings provide the perfect set piece to make character emotions really pop.

...What a smug bastard. Also note the value contrast- maximum dark on light to bring out Ravat's face as the focus, and light on dark to make Stiletto a clear secondary accent. Leveraging the light in this way was planned back in the thumbnailing stage.

 Haven't drawn this evil goober in awhile- really enjoying production on V6.

More in the pipeline! Meanwhile Yark Survivors is live on Steam now, print sale live in the After Dark store, we'll be at Megaplex next weekend- and the Saturday after that we've got a Prelude comic update coming. Thanks to everyone for keeping us working!