slr2moons | "If Only..." Vampirates Doujinshi, part 3 of 3 (end)

Minna, I am pleased to bring you the 3rd and final installment of my Vampirates doujinshi: pages 5 and 6. I've managed to earn several new readers since I posted the 2nd batch, and I hope those seeing this for the first time will enjoy my artwork. You can find the posts for pages 1-4 by using the Vampirates-If Only tag.

Title: If Only...
Rating: PG-13 for suggestive themes.
Genre: gender switch AU, comedy BL/slash.
Length: pages 5 and 6 of 6-page set.
NOTE: reads right to left, which apparently makes me a weeaboo. Ask me if I care. (For me, left to right is backwards, mmkay?)

These pages can also be viewed at my Deviant Art account: page 5 and page 6

Technical info: Sketched in Photoshop, then inked and toned in Deleter ComicWorks. Back to Photoshop for type and final tweaks. Originals are at 600 dpi. Artistic influences are Jones (the creator of Vampirates), Nakamura Yoshiki, and Yazawa Ai.

Page 5 notes: Do you see that section of background in panel 2???? That took FOREVER for me to draw in Deleter! Oh...my...god. I decided I needed to draw a real background, since this doujinshi is meant to be practice and I need to practice backgrounds, so I did. And it took FOREVER. The perspective tools in Deleter 1.05 are terrible. *headdesk* They would rate "not great" if the proggie would let me rotate in less than 1 degree increments (Photoshop will do down to .05) but since it won't, that means the perspective tools are TERRIBLE! *headdesk again* Thankfully, I think I've figured out a way around that little hang-up. I sure hope so, as I can't afford to lose that much time on one panel. Nrrrrrgh! On a more positive note, I tried selective erasing on Clyde in ~~that irritating~~ panel 2, and I like how it turned out. I'm also pleased again with his bed sheet. ^^ The photo is a treat for Vampirates readers. Yazawa-sensei heavily influenced toning for panels 1 and 2. Panel 3's word bubble is pure Nakamura-sensei. :D I wish I'd separated panels 2 and 3 with white space and another panel border, but oh well. If I tweak forever, I'll never finish!

Page 6 notes: This page is the most complicated of the 6, yet it was the easiest for me to draw. I guess all the practice is finally paying off! It's also my personal fave. ^^ I am finally finally getting the hang of inking tousled black hair. I'm not there yet, but I'm relieved to discover I'm much closer than I was when page 3 was new. YAY!! I can't decide which panel is my fave here, though I really love how pouty!Murphy in panel 1 turned out. ^^ On a whim, I decided to use the manga-style end note: "If Only... / end". And since this is a doujinshi and I've seen enough of them to know the doujjin often signs them, I added that, too! And chibi me. :3

Ending notes: I am very glad I went through with my doujinshi bunny and really did it. I've learned so much from this, and I'm not talking about working around Deleter's quirks. It's clear that Yazawa-sensei of Nana and Nakamura-sensei of Skip have had the strongest influence on me--both intentionally on my part and not. At first, I felt really silly drawing all those long Nakamura-style eyelashes on guys, but by page 6 I was used to it. :B Personally, I think the extra-bishounen style I've used here is something I'll save for special occasions. For my next manga, I plan to keep the men a touch more manly, at least in regards to eyelashes. (Heh!)

I've also realized I have a rather unusual problem among aspiring mangaka. Because of work, I'm used to seeing pages with edges that aren't trimmed and neat. Bleeds and tone with messy cuts and bodies or backgrounds that just end with no lines. All of that stuff is trimmed off the page when it goes to print, but I see it every day in work, so it looks completely normal to me. O.o For my next manga, I will have to force myself to pay attention and actually trim my pages before posting as if they were printed in a book, not just printouts from my work. This means I really need to be careful of page trim and safety while I draw, which I know I ignored for this doujinshi. (Bad s2m! Bad bad!)

This was drawn entirely for practice, to allow me to focus on artwork rather than world building and character development. My mission was a success! Mostly, as clothes are something I really need to work on, and I let myself completely skive off with this morning after story. :P (Lazy s2m! No biscuit!) As previously mentioned, I gotta practice black hair. And backgrounds. *cries* It's going to be a painful process, but I hope my handful of fans will enjoy watching me improve. ^^

OMG IT'S OVER!!!!!1!!1 =O =D X3

Wow, guys. =D This means my original, 100% by me short story is next. KYAAA! I'm so excited!!!! *runs in joyous circles*