Song of the Eastern Sands: Page 28
Murder! Mayhem! Canid assassins in the Sunsgrovian Embassy! YOU probably know what this is all about, but those poor Lutren and Tamian look completely taken by surprise. Seems that the mayhem from elsewhere in this world is starting to seep into its more idyllic locales.
As you can see in the original thumbnail, the second panel was a good deal more ‘straight-on’, showing the angle from our main trio’s perspective. While this was serviceable, Jerome wasn’t too thrilled with it and we noodled on a few alternatives. Ultimately, we decided the smartest thing to do would be to flip the camera angle around to the other side of the room, so the Canid assassins are moving toward the camera, not away from it. Much more menacing that way.
After a few rounds of feedback (THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH), we’re getting closer to a final t-shirt design. This is our latest pass:
One of the biggest points of feedback was that the text in the earlier pass looked too static and somehow disconnected from Quinlan. This new design gives the text a little bit more space to occupy in the design, giving it a more “emblem”-like look and also anchors Quin a little better.
The latest few passes, for those who didn’t catch our shout-outs on Twitter and Tumblr, also removed the 2-tone approach that was more appropriate for ink-limited screen printing (we’ll be using digital printing for these shirts, so we can use as many different colors as we want). Rachel also added some distressing to the image, giving it a more weathered feel.
This week for guest art, Veigue surprised us with a wonderful new piece showing not just the Western Deep characters as humans, but their Song of the Eastern Sands compatriots! Check this out:
From left to right, we’ve got Rook, Beck, Hardin, Quin, Dakkan, Eira, and Theo!
I love how even with the switch to human characters, everyone still looks interesting and unique, and I’d still love to see these characters participating in their adventures. Veigue, you did an incredible job translating the Eastern Sands crew. Jerome and I love how they turned out :)
Pfft!
Ok this is the best comment!
wait a sec, so its a Canid treachery?
They are taking over the world! They called Hardin a madman, a terrorist! BBut Hardin knew what was up. He knew the Canid were up to something! Luckilly, his tinfoil hat spared him from their mind tricks and allowed him to become the leader that his kin deserves and needs.
One Can if general killed, so they try to murder all the Sunsgrovian diplomats they can get their paws on. Cowardly sons of. . . well, you know. Though I am surprised; the Canid struck me as a race that would look down upon assassinations as a dishonorable tactic.
Janik has some plot immunity, but I’m pretty confident her father’s going to snuff it. No name, no scenes, no love from the authors.
And Beck, (because we all know that’s the voice in the final panel), you really need to think before you open your mouth. To paraphrase Count Dooku, brave, but foolish of you, my dear. Rook will not be pleased.
Shirt design is a definite improvement. 10/10, would buy.
I didn’t expect the Canid to employ treachery, especially when the Ermehn are Dunia’s universally accepted punching bag, and they could easily rally the other nations into aiding them in a “punitive expedition” to the northern wastes.
I gotta agree with the fourth master, Beck is the most likely candidate for trying to intervene… she’s my favourite character now!
I’m sorry I hadn’t participated on sugesting anything about the shirt’s design before. Forgive my laziness.
The new design is so much more detailed, I am actually a bit awed by the level of skill in it. I liked the red pattern on the previous font, bbut the new leaf and vine-like design covering the letters is….. simply beautiful!
For Pete’s sake Kenosh, what where you thinking?…Obviously he wasn’t. So it seems my theory that the Canid wasn’t just going to single out Kenosh turned out to be true. But the fact that they’re using assassins to kill off the Sunsgrove embassy fills me with some much raeg.
Anyway, I’m glad that the T-shirt design made some nice improvements! Hopefully we can get a couple of other designs to dink around with in the near future.
Just to point something out, that’s supposed to be Asha on the far right, but genius ol me forgot to add her facial tattoos *facepalm*. I’ll make sure to correct that as soon as I can.
let’s see….
Kenosh is likely to run to a kingdom that *isn’t* Sunsgrove nor Aisling, so the Canid are probably doing manhunts in Cenolau, Gair, and Nessa.
assuming he’s fleeing to any of these 3 kingdoms, the Embassies would be the first destination to deliver the news of the fiasco at Deltrada. it’s likely he’ll head for Gair since someone he knows– Janik– is there doing her job as an ambassador of Sunsgrove and have her relay the news to Terria and Lutra.
either that, or get rid of anyone who can relay the bad news so nobody would know that Ermehn successfully raided a Canid Garrison and killed a general– it’ll make their kingdom look bad.
It could happen, if Kenosh decides to brake off with the Sratha-din immediately after their encounter. But chances are he’s sticking with them for just a little while longer…maybe..who knows. Anyway really though, screw the Canid. Their militaristic power hungry ways will be the end of Dunia.
I said it once and I’ll say again, Veigue, you are the gift that keeps on giving.
And you always managed to match Rachel’s style seamlessly. Seriously, it’s amazing!
oh, did I say Gair? sorry, I meant Nessa…
Aaah! When will the murder end?! Nameless background guys are people too.
Also: that’s some real good guest art, Veigue.
yeah! like Feyn (ol’ one-eyed Ermehn in chapter 2)! and the rest of the Sratha-din members who lost their lives at Deltrada!
And the Canid dead too.
Thier army is likely full of young people led astray by rhetoric.
Did they all deserve death? True, they are members of a militaristic regime but BtWD is not Redwall or Lord of the Rings where the “vermin” and orcs are intractably evil based on some kind of genetic imperative.
There is room for good people even on the canid side even if thier national politics are discusting.
I’m not sure if I should cheer for the gang’s bravery, or worry about their lives because, well… they’re going up against highly trained (by most standards) Canid assassins!
ok, I love the improvements on the shirt design! good luck with having it printed!
Alex said this was going to be a more light-hearted story in comparison to the grimness of chapter 2, so I would assume that means 50% of this chapter’s protagonists survive.
This doesn’t entirely seems to add up. – Aisling is practically on the eve of war, threatened by terrorists and have basically 1/2 of their command structure killed.
Then they decide to assault an embassy in a third-party nation and slaughter their allies’ diplomats in a loud and messy manner. Making sure to have their assassins be Canid-only and wear characteristically uniform Canid garb.
It seems all too perfect as a smear campaign…
Also – excellent work on all fronts.
For all the Canid know, Kenosh’s actions were state-sanctioned, part of a secret alliance with the Ermehn. I’ll hazard a guess that this is only one of the moves the Canid are currently making throughout the lands — and I’m not sure these guys are assassins, per se.
There’s also the possibility that these soldiers are doing this without official orders. Heck, they probably have several copies of Clovis’ How to Emote scrolls. He was their face hero. And outrage is hardly conducive to calm thinking. And anyways, what else are they going to do kicking around this desert city?
What PB&J said. Looking from the Canid point of view a Sunsgrovian assassin pretending to be a diplomat murders one of their top generals holding a strategically important location during an Ermehn attack – much too convenient to be a mere coincidence. It is painfully obvious that those two are in cahoots, and that they have declared a war on you.
The Ermehn are not a credible threat and can be contained with a token force, so you reply by marching your armies south against the squirrels and otters, cutting out their ability to do diplomacy in foreign countries, and calling the Polcans for the free-for-all salmon buffet.
It’s likely no coincidence this happens just the night Beck’s gang sneaks in. Whoever Theo’s informant is, they could be involved with the canid. I wonder if Theo knew that these assassinations were going to happen and if he just thought it a good chance to rob the embassy.
You know, I was just wondering the other day if news from the north would trickle into this story. And I’m very happy it is!
The new shirt design looks fantastic, by the way.
Oh hey! It’s also great to see another southpaw, even if he is being a little murdery
I like the shift from cold tones to warm ones matching change from stealth to violence. Also, the shirt design is way better now. I dig it!
It would seem that the actions that took place at Deltrada have unforseen consequences.
Hello, diplomats. I hoe that one Tamian already down isn’t Janik’s father. I’m assuming it takes a bit longer to get to Nessa than it does to Deltrada- at least from Terria- so while I doubt Janik is in this mess, I’m sure her dad is.
I also doubt this was an entirely unforseen consequence. Kenosh has had years to think about the plan and its ramifications, I find it unlikely that a scenario like this never crossed his mind.
The real question is: is this a calculated attack or a knee-jerk response? Because while there’s no questioning the skill of these assassins, It could either be an offensive retaliatory attack or it could be designed to agitate the discord that will inevitably form between the Lutren and the Tamian. I mean, Crim is clear example that racism still lingers to an extent- most likely on both sides, but the Tamian in particular seem prone to it- and Tamian diplomates getting killed as a result of an extremist Lutren’s action certainly won’t go over well. Poor Dabheid, he’s got quite the mess to deal with.
….crap. Is this what you meant when you said that the Sunsgrovian Embassy in Aisling wasn’t going to stay open much longer?
It’s a shame I missed the movie, I’ll have to put some time in to see it some time soon.
Kenosh’s pose on the poster made me choke a little, how’s that for foreshadowing? Great job, Jeri!