Flawedprefect Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a short 8 page submission to an anthology all about the migrant experience. I asked my wife if I could adapt her family’s story about escaping Vietnam in 1981 for my comic. She enthusiastically said yes, and so after getting a few details, I created a sci-fi story about a family who boarded a space tug to escape their home asteroid in the hope of reaching asylum.
It was perhaps the most involved piece I have worked on. I used Blender to create the sets and props,and imported hand-drawn images into the 3D environments so that I could use the in-built compositor to create the unique look of the comic.
The overall process utilized sketches done on paper, digital inks, exported PNG files mapped on planes in Blender, then final renders re-imported into panels laid out in Photoshop.
I am pleased with the final results. If I have any regrets, it’s that I couldn’t create a larger story or about 16 pages to let some of the more intense moments breathe a little. As it is, 8 pages packs a daring escape from the asteroid, a bumpy ride through a rock storm, and a tussle with scrappers – it’s a lot to try and pack in, but ultimately I wanted to show that the heart of the story was this one family battling all odds to remain together.
You can pick up a copy from the FORWARD COMIX store
