Gawain Project: I. The Darkest Hour - Master List

Hit befel in the dayes of Vther Pendragon, when he was Kynge of all Englond and so regned, that there was a myghty duke in Cornewaill that helde warre ageynest hym long tyme, and the duke was called the Duke of Tyntagil. And so by meanes Kynge Vther send for this duk, chargyng hym to brynge his wyf with hym, for she was called a fair lady and a passyng wyse, and her name was called Igrayne.

- Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur (1485)

I. The Darkest Hour

On a dark winter's night, the Queen of Britain tells a sorcerer of the wrongs she has suffered at the hands of a man. The woes of Ygraine will determine the lives of her descendants.

1-3 - 4-6 - 7-9 - 10-12 - 13-15 - 16-18 - 19-21 - 22-24 - 25-27 - 28-31 - 32-35 - 36-40 - 41-44 - 45-47 - 48-50 - 51-53 - 54-57 - 58-60 - 61-64 - 65-66 - 67-69 - 70-73 - 74-75 - 76-81 - 82-84 - 85-87 - 88-90 - 91-92 - 93-97 - 98-101 - 102-103 - 104-108 - 109-111 - 112-114 - 115-119


Next:

II. Sunrise

The Darkest Hour 115-119 (Epilogue)

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! We have made it to the end of the first story arc! I hope you have enjoyed the ride - and of course I also hope you will tune in for the next episode :) . It's actually going to feature the hero of my tale.

I'll post a master list with links to all pages soon. Then I have to start thinking about the future of this comic. It will go on, to be sure, because I have a lot of tales to tell and take an immense pleasure in telling them. The question is rather what form the comic will/should take.

But first I'll have a bit of a break. I have been writing, drawing, posting almost non-stop since April 2009. This story was easy-peasy compared to what comes next, so I need to reload a bit.

Meanwhile, BY ALL MEANS let me know your opinions, sentiments, constructive criticism etcetera regarding the Darkest Hour storyboard. I will start on the definitive version of the comic soon, so now is the time to offer your advice for improvements!

For now: have an Epilogue.

(As always, click the images for a larger version.)

Thank you very much for reading along!

The Darkest Hour 112-114

Next week: the epilogue!

The Darkest Hour 109-111

Nearly there.

In other news: my new computer has been ordered. That means I should soon be able to start learning about digital stuff, and that is vital to the future of the comic (read: the definitive version of the comic). Wheeee! Serious post about The Future is forthcoming.

Meanwhile I still welcome constructive criticism. Let me know what you think!

Gift drawing

You know what: visitor number 3000 (see the counter below in the right column) can claim a free drawing if they feel like it. Show me a screencap of the counter @ 3000, leave a comment with your e-mail address or send me a mail, and you get a picture.

Neat or not?

Good luck!

:-)

The Darkest Hour 104-108

This week we have a pretty wordy update. This episode was not easy to script. I guess the tricky part was to condense everything and still keep it comprehensible and credible. If it doesn't work, please let me know :). I spent more time on some of the art than is reasonable for a storyboard, but, you know, I do want to have something worth looking at - that is more enjoyable for you and me both. Some of the faces came out so well that I'd gladly use them to accompany a cast description :-). I may just do that.

At the comics festival in Turnhout at the beginning of this month I was told that my storyboard is much too elaborate art-wise. That is true. But if I had drawn it with stick figures, I couldn't very well have posted my progress. The storyboard has been my main occupation, art-wise, since April of this year. Take out its pages from this blog, and there will be rather little left. I guess I could have progressed faster if I'd spent less time on the art, I suppose - but I don't think I would have been able to assess how well (or not) certain set-ups would work if the pictures had been strictly basic. That, and it's always a good thing if I enjoy myself while working on something, especially on a project this big.

Famous last words?

Maybe.

In any case, we are in the meantime getting very close to the story's end indeed :).

Season's Greetings

Have a very merry Christmas, or whichever festival you celebrate at this time of the year :D!

And at that holy tide

"And if the wars were unwelcome, the winter was worse,
When the cold clear rains rushed from the clouds
And froze before they could fall to the frosty earth.
Near slain by the sleet he sleeps in his irons
More nights than enough, among naked rocks,
Where clattering from the crest the cold stream ran
And hung in hard icicles high overhead.
Thus in peril and pain and predicaments dire
He rides across country till Christmas Eve,
our knight.
And at that holy tide
He prays with all his might
That Mary may be his guide
Till a dwelling comes in sight."

From: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part 2 (translation by Marie Borroff, 1967)

I'm trying. But clearly I still have a loooong way to go. Why is colour such a difficult matter to me? Painting this was so very hard. And in my head the colours looked better :/.

The Darkest Hour 102-103

I had intended to post extra-large updates from now on, so that The Darkest Hour would be all told by the end of December, and here I am with an extra-short update -_-. It is all because of the snow - the snowy skies inspired me to do a full-page illustration with watercolour, the colours of which I couldn't get right and spent a lot of time worrying about. So now I have only two pages of comic. At least I did finish the illustration today, meaning I can devote myself entirely to the comic now :). I may end up doing middle-of-the-week updates - I'm thinking about it.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the continuation :).

As always, lcik the images for a readable view...

The Darkest Hour 98-101

I have the feeling that this week's episode has finally cleared the road towards the story's ending - there are some minor things to figure out, but King Uriens rather unexpectedly showed up exactly where I needed him, so now the waiting is for the last two guests of the Grand Finale. It would be great if I could finish The Darkest Hour this month... That would require Extra Large updates, though, because I have only two Sundays left before the new year :-). We'll see.

This week: VIOLENCE! BLOOD! WALKING DEAD!
(Just trying to attract an audience - don't pay it any attention. But there is a bit of blood and a walking almost-dead, so I don't feel guilty about stretching the truth a little bit :P.)