Panels 12-14 (page 5)

As someone commented to me earlier today, my lines from inking are much cleaner. I also think I have a better color balance. Plus, the fire is pretty.































The first clear look at the cat! Hooray! (The cat started as a funny exchange of lines on page 8, but quickly developed into a consistent companion for Crazy Uncle Jasper... despite his eagerness to foist the nameless feline on anyone who would take it.)

First Three Panels, Revised and Prettier

I had some free time this evening, and redid the first three panels, coloring them at 100% image size before resizing them to 40% instead of after the resize. The result is a lot prettier, and while the original attempt to color the background took over 8 hours, this process took less than one, suggesting that I'm both getting better at this and using a more efficient technique.

Page Four

Children On Deck Of Riverboat

I think this is probably, line art wise, one of my strongest concept drawings:

Page Three

Some interesting developments on page three:



































Crazy Uncle Jasper has two "helpers" living in his bag. The first is a kitten, who is the unwanted result of a trade with one of the members of the angry mob. Crazy Uncle Jasper tries many times to rid himself of the cat, but to no avail. The second "helper" is Nigel, an ambulatory combination piggy bank/compass in the shape of a pig who, to Jasper's chagrin, has developed sentience.

Panel 4 (page 2)