Oblivion Song by Kirkman & De Felici Vol. 1

This has been few times on my shopping cart when it have been on sale. Premise sounded interesting but I wasn’t so sure about the art. Nowadays comic book’s art has become important to me. I want to read comics which I could pick something for my own drawings. Oblivion Song’s art isn’t that. I don’t say art is bad. It does what it should do. My enjoyment wasn’t decreased by the art. Neither was in increased by it. It made me consider getting this longer than I otherwise would have. First issue was free on Comixology. It was interesting but I still wasn’t sure. World and setting was interesting but I wasn’t sure about the art. I was interested enough to give first volume a shot.

Oblivion is set ten years after massive event which took 300 000 citizens of Philadelphia into nightmarish dimension Oblivion. One guy is trying to save people from Oblivion. His small team is running out of money. Won’t go deeper into it because the story is best part of the comic. It get quite different than I expected after reading the first issue.

Robert Kirkman is writer of one fairly popular long running zombie comic which turned into long running fairly popular tv series. He knows how to sell next comic on last pages. I bought next volume right after reading this. Later I started to think was it because this was so good or because ending left me wanting to know what happens next. After first issue there were few things I wanted to know. Last pages of this volume sets four or five cliffhangers to make you buy next one. Story has to be good enough for you to get invested into it. But was it so good I want to buy whole series or just know what happens next. Answers for first issue’s open questions were not too satisfactory. I start to feel like I was manipulated to get next volume. Which make it hard to start reading it.

Eyes without a face 20220102

Bad ideas continue when I can’t get good ones. This is inspired by name of famous Billy Idol song and movie the song was inspired by. Haven’t seen to movie but heard the song quite a few times. Tried to learn how to draw eyes. Wanted to draw eyes for this post.

I found new inking brush in Corel Painter. It is not liquid ink brush. Have to have it on different layer but I have all the other elements in own layer anyway. So it is not that big issues. Just have to create correct type of layer for it. There should be similar brush for liquid ink. I probably should make liquid ink version of it but I don’t remember how to do it. New brush is really good for hatching. No liquid ink brush come even close to it. I probably shouldn’t call it new. it has probably been there longer than liquid ink. It is just new to me.

Blade Runner Origins Vol. 1

Blade Runner 2019 did well enough for publisher to make two new Blade Runner comics after it ended. Blade Runner 2029 continued where 2019 ended. Blade Runner Origins is prequel to Blade Runner comics and movies. It tells about first blade runner. At least it says it does. First four issues doesn’t get that far. This is about case in Tyrell corporation which turns out to be something else. Exactly what is not told in this volume.

Blade Runner Origins is promising rather than good. Story and art are off the mark too many times for it to be good. But at times there are clever ideas. This could get really good without those off moments. Without going into spoilers sometimes characters do something to create intense moment and next time we learn what they did to make intense moment didn’t make sense. There are few of those moments. Then you have action scenes just to have action scenes that don’t progress the story. Like there had to be action at that point. One time it was followed by other action scene which progressed the story.

Characters feel too much archetypes. Boosted archetype is better term. It is not enough our hero’s boss don’t like him. Boss hates the hero. This goes into other characters too. It gets to point where it is not believable anymore. I can see what they are trying to say but they try too hard.

After all this why I think Blade Runner Origins is promising? It is mainly because of art. And there is one story arc which could get interesting. But it is mainly because of art. Art saves the story many times. Not every time. Writing has such issues art can’t save them. I will check next volume and decide after it if I will continue reading this further. I hope it will get better.

Weird Randomness with Behringer 2600, DSI Tetra and Pigments

This wasn’t planned at all. I just wanted to try one thing and felt like I could a make video of it. First time in almost two years when I did anything on Davinci Resolve. I have used Cubase but not finished anything in it almost as long time. If this feels bit rushed it is because it was. Just wanted to have it done on one day. Video’s description tells what I did and there is link to Venus Theory’s video which shows Pigments’ functionality I used. It was quite fun but not sure how to use it in anything less experimental.

Funny thing happened day after I made this. Someone made video where he talks about gain staging and added link to his other video where he shows how it is done. If only I knew that when I was mixing this. Probably I knew because I had seen gain staging video before but didn’t remember. I guess you have to do something to learn what you don’t know. Link to gain staging video is on pinned comment of my video.

After next week there will be posts of what I have done with my studio. This video is result of it. Didn’t want to hold publishing it here until those posts were published. Process is still going on. Still waiting for some stuff to come and hoping to make bigger change in my flat later this year which would give more room for studio. More room doesn’t mean more gear in this case. Limited space was one reason for changes. I don’t think I mention it in the posts. But it wasn’t the main reason. You will understand after I publish those posts. First steps have made big improvement.

Next video should not take almost two years. I have some ideas but it won’t come next week.

Blade Runner 2029 Vol. 1: Reunion

It is time to check the other current comic I am reading. There are only two at the moment. This was released some time ago but it took this long to get to reading it. Blade Runner 2029 is continuation of Blade Runner 2019. I guess I feared it wouldn’t be as good as 2019. I was wrong. This is better than 2019. First volume of 2019 took lot from original movie. Two later volumes moved more towards Blade Runner 2049. 2029 has moved away from original movie. Big element of it is building of one of the landmarks of Blade Runner 2049.

Blade Runner 2019 showed Ash’s journey from cold replicant hunter to friend of replicants. Ash’s future was left open. At start of 2029 she is blade runner again but this time she saves good replicants. Comic has found its own voice. References to movies are minimal. To be honest I am bit confused how what happens at the end of this volume should fit into 2049 and short movies which told timeline between the movies. I might be missing something. Otherwise this fits to 2049.

Blade Runner 2029 is good jumping on point. You don’t need to know what happen in 2019. It is more of its own thing than 2019. If you like either of the movies you should check this.

Snowblind 20211225

This was inspired by Alpha Flight issue 6 by John Byrne. I have never read it but have seen one video of it. I put it at the end of this post. Didn’t have any good ideas for this week’s drawing. Had to use bad one. I didn’t want it to be only a joke. Tried to have impactful sound effect. Not sure if it works.

Next week’s drawing will have more effort put into it. Didn’t want to draw heads again. Have got better at it but not enough to publish another head drawing.