Song of the Eastern Sands: Page 24
Bags out, money in! The heist seems to be going off without a hitch, which is curious, don’t you think? I mean, all that money just sitting there unguarded? Clearly some guards are in dereliction of their duty — or maybe they’re otherwise occupied elsewhere in the embassy? Guess we’ll find out what’s happening soon enough!
So, I have some good news and bad news for our friends planning to swing by our Boston Comic Con table this August. Unfortunately, it appears Beyond the Western Deep: Volume 2 won’t be ready in time for Boston. It will be there by Hartford ComicConn, and if we can land a table at New York Comic Con it will most certainly be there as well.
The good news is that we’re planning to refresh all of our merchandise in the coming months, so all of our convention-goers will have a chance to grab new prints (including a Song of the Eastern Sands print by Jerome), new bookmarks, and our very first Beyond the Western Deep t-shirt!
Speaking of which, we’re still ruminating on a design for it. If you could have any Western Deep t-shirt design, what would you prefer?
Let us know in the comments!
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Interview!
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to answer some questions from Western Deep reader Garrett Simpson and chat about the comic, my career in game development, all sorts of fun things!
You can check out the interview by clicking on this link!
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PAX East!
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend PAX East in Boston alongside the League of Geeks crew, showing off Armello to the greater gaming populace! Fortunately, Armello shows off rather nicely, because the art team is freaking magnificent and those classically-animated trailers are amazing.
We were also showing off the quirky PS4 title Push Me, Pull You which is being co-developed by League of Geeks and hits the PS Store next week. It’s… well, it’s a little weird! But it’s also a self-sustaining smile generator, which makes it all worth it.
Also at PAX East was the upcoming Tooth and Tail, which I’ve shared a little bit of information on in the past. Jerome is creating character art for the game, which helped to bring in a TON of people to the booth.
The game itself is a fast-paced RTS that you can play in about 5 minutes. It’s going to be amazing, and will lead to some incredible competitive play (I foresee a lot of great Twitch channels devoted to it)!
Lore-wise, the pitch is basically as follows: If Redwall took place in medieval times, imagine what that world looks like during the Russian Revolution. Well, that sold me. It’s not exactly 1:1 of course — but if you’ve ever wanted to know what happens when you pit an army of temerarious squirrels drunk on acorn vodka against a minigun-wielding badger, this is your game!
Also, I think I deserve bonus points for bringing back the word “temerarious” in a description about pistoleer squirrels fighting what is basically the mustelid equivalent of a Heavy from Team Fortress 2.
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Jerome also gets the spotlight this week for some fun ensemble artwork he put together a couple weeks ago. It started off as a movie poster-style piece of the cast of Song of the Eastern Sands. But, in typical Jerome fashion, other characters decided to sneak into the piece. First Cain and Yurk bombed the group shot. Then Clovis and Hardin. Then Dak, Quin, and Kenosh swung in. The gang’s all here!
I love this piece and everyone in it. All of these characters are treats to write, and seeing them come together for one epic (and hilariously hectic) photoshoot is a ton of fun. Bouncing their personalities against one another is fun in writing, but seeing it come across in the art is a completely different beast.
Everything is going all too well, but it looks like Beck has become aware of this fact. As silly as she can be, she’s a crafty one. If the spiders are smart, they’ll take their already ample haul and head on out. Of course, it isn’t going to be that easy; what sort of story would that make for? Can’t wait to see what happens next.
As far as T-shirt designs go, I vote for this as the first shirt: https://westerndeep.net/comic/nycc/
I have to disagree there, Fourth- it’s great for a print but I’m not sure the design would really work for a t-shirt. Course, that’s just my artistically untalented opinion.
How about Hardin’s “tried to save my people from disapearing and bbeing forgotten by history and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.”
Ooh! Or the Clovis’ “Much power, so stronger, wow” shirt!
A friend and I actually brainstormed a t-shirt idea a while back, but I never got around to actually laying it out. It was going to be a tracing of One-Eye Ermehn falling from Deltrada’s battlements back on https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-75/ with a faked dictionary entry for “battlements” (i.e. the real definition and then something to the effect of “built for the purpose of throwing enemies to their doom”).
By the way, hi guys, I’m back. Well, sorta.
I wonder who that Tamian in the portrait is? Maybe it’s because it’s in a different artstyle, but I don’t think it’s Dabheid. Janik’s father, perhaps? (Is that God’s Thumb next to him?)
Ah yes, empty sacks on their persons to carry the loot. The question is how fast can they run with the loot so they get out of dodge and not get caught? I love how Rook immediately picks up that Beck has some additional side quest in mind that’s likely going to lead to a lot of screaming and running for their life and probably abandoned loot. His pose and his face is perfect there. Someone has to be sensible in Felismum’s absence, after all. (Beck, //don’t get cocky.)
I really like the way you do the beats of the page, Jerome- dumping the dishes into the sacks, stuffing the sacks, and then the overhead shot of the room.
Maybe the Tamian Merchant is making trouble at the gates? Or, more likely, it has to do with the kerfuffle up north.
Good luck with landing a table at New York, Alex.
Yes, more merch! I’m still a bit too nomadic at this point to really start collecting but once I’m more settled I can rack up the prints. I’m definitely getting me a T-shirt though. Hm. I really liked the design of Quinlan’s shirt in that Zootopia drawing Rachel did- it’s simple, but easily recognizable. Maybe a similar shirt design can be used for Hardin’s torso tattoos? And, of course, there’s the option of a black shirt with the gold/ red Canid chevron or one like Kenosh’s diplomatic robe. Then, of course, one with the actual faces of the characters on it would be good- like a yin/yang contrast style for Dakkan and Quinlan. I know this is a lot more information than you asked for, lol.
TLDR, Whatever you decide, I’m not going to pass up the chance to become a walking billboard for my favorite story.
Lovely interview- and I can definitely say that the characters in Beyond the Western Deep and their dynamics are one of the biggest pulls for me. Everything about the worldbuilding, the art and the plotting is great. but the characters and their dynamic are just so lively and vibrant. Dakkan and Quinlan in particular feel like real people. When I read the comic for the first time and I’d finished binge reading up to early-mid chapter two, it felt like I’d known the characters forever. (On a related note, yess Janik in chapter three!) And I really appreciate that there aren’t easy answers as to who we root for or any pat solutions. There’s just so much care, detail and nuance stained with blood sweat and tears that went into this comic and it shows on every panel.
Tooth and Tail looks interesting, those temerarious Tamian better watch themselves. Is that supposed to be a reference to the saying ‘tooth and nail’?
And that’s a lovely piece Jerome has done. Dakkan seems happy and Kenosh is- content? I guess? – I suppose one and a half out of three isn’t bad.
I also like simple/easily recognizable idea….design…thing. Although Veigue’s idea would probably be a bit more descriptive of BWD as a whole?
Maybe some sort of grayscale scene? Something in between the finished pages and the sketches?
Or a less detailed title in combination with outlines (silhouettes) of characters?
Eh, just the first ideas that came into my mind.
I like the idea of silhouettes.
In response to Shield Maiden’s text wall:
1) I think that may be a portrait of Quinlan’s grandpa. He has that angry face about him. Either that, or it’s a grumpy kangaroo.
2) I hope the merchant gets his stuff back. I mean sure, he was a merchant, and therefore souless, but I can’t help but feel bad for him.
3) I like your ideas for the T-shirts, specially the Zootopia one.
I also think using the “national flags” of each of the story’s nations would be great. Simple to make and good for wearing out on the street.
And the plot thickens! Getting out of the embassy in one piece is the hard thing now. Hopefully the crew can pull it off. Loving the purple and blue lighting, and how the plot is proceeding.
Tshirt-wise I think some propoganda-esque or symbol shirts would be fun. Maybe a Sunsgrovian alliance one for starters with a date the alliance started or cheeky details related to it, that kinda thing. Or a Lutren shark hunter guild shirt. But I’m always a sucker for those designs, so take that with a grain of salt. :P
That went surprisingly well, but I’m sure trouble be snooping around the corner.
Jerome’s art here would totally fit for a Beyond the Western Deep/Song of the Eastern Sands Artbook (in which I hope it becomes a thing in the future). I love it! I’m a huge fan for poster style illustrations.
As for the T-shirt…actually, I’d be looking for something with what Jerome did here. A simple character compilation in the veins of a video game cover such as these:
http://pre15.deviantart.net/abc4/th/pre/f/2013/201/8/2/xilla2final_by_joshcrawford-d6eajwp.png
http://gallery.abyssalchronicles.com/displayimage.php?album=162&pid=4937#top_display_media
http://www.darkstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Rorona-plus-box-art.jpg
the heist was perfect!
too perfect…. this probably won’t end well….
anyway, good luck with the hard copies of Chapter 2, and at Hartford and New York, Alex!
oh, and for the shirt design, all I can think of now is a portrait (or maybe a mugshot) of Kenosh with “World’s Best Diplomat” underneath it,
or a colored version of this: http://40.media.tumblr.com/ff3f90616dfca01cc30d83e158f6346f/tumblr_o5tc0tDqm41qjr7x3o6_1280.png
or maybe this: http://36.media.tumblr.com/d1e97ff867dc6885d7cb4c8962bc0b09/tumblr_o5tc0tDqm41qjr7x3o1_1280.png
World’s Best Diplomat!?!? ahahaha. Don’t rag on Kenosh TOO much!!! He totally knows what he’s doing…
I think.
*worrying intensifies* Beck, don’t get everyone caught just because that wasn’t enough money for you!!!!
I love the purple lighting so very much–it helps show that it’s dark, without making everything hard to see ^^ Beautiful work, Jerome!
As for T-shirts, I would *LOVE* to have the Summer Olympics drawings Rachel did in 2012! https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-1-page-22/
I personally would want to get a Polcan and Felis shirt ^^
Side note for Alex: have you guys ever considered going to Anthrocon, or other East Coast furcons? BWD would probably be favorably received there :)
I am so terribly lazy I didn’t post what I was meaning to.
That Tooth and Tail game sounds strange. An strategy game that plays in five minutes?
And speaking video games, I found this gem of an animation a few days ago. It has nothing to do with the western deep, but I thought you guys would like/love it, so yeah.
It’s more like a hybrid of Starcraft and Tower Defense — hard to describe, but yeah! Five minutes or so! :)
And funny thing about A Fox in Space! Matt Gafford (who did 99% of the work on it) voiced Ol’ Gappy in Dust: An Elysian Tail. Deven Mack was also the voice director of Dust :)
Why is it so many talking animal-related artist are connected to that game? Is Dust the center of some conspiracy that connects everyone on the internet?
oh, hey! that reminds me– it’s the 6 (or was it 5?)-month anniversary of me buying Dust! it’s been a fun 5-6 months of playing (even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time)