Black Flag Frequently Asked Questions
People don't tend to ask me questions, actually. Most of the ones listed here were approached obliquely, rather than stated outright.
Why are you waiting until the whole story is done to start posting it?
I started doing it that way out of habit. When I write a book, I write the whole thing, and then get reader feedback, and then I revise. I saw no reason why a graphic novel should be approached differently. Later I learned that doing this way is unusual -- almost unheard of -- amoung webcomic artists, but I'm afraid don't see any advantages in the more traditional post as you go method.Why don't you learn to draw?
Draw? Oh, you mean, this sort of thing?
Yeah, that's fun too. Something to do when I'm not by my computer. I scribbled out that one while guarding some sound equiptment for a friend at a science fiction convention. (For more of my hand drawn artwork check out the gallery.)
Then why don't you use real art for your webcomic?
I have this strange notion that the results you get are more important than the tools you use to achieve them. Considering all the really bad drawing that gets posted out there in webcomic-dom, I find it incredibly amusing that someone would think that switching from Poser to pen would make what I was doing "real art". I am doing the digital 3D thing for Black Flag because I like how the pictures look, and I think the style is suited to the subject matter. I am also working on another, softer graphic novel with a more historical feel, using the low tech and astonishingly traditional method of pencil and paper.How exactly do you make the pictures for Black Flag?
The short answer... I primarily use a program called Poser.The long answer is really long, which I have started to answer in my Character Creation Tutorial. The summary: I take commercially produced human 3D figures, do extensive customization (all male characters in Black Flag use one base model, and all female characters use another), then I choose and customize clothing for them to wear. Next I build my sets (and many of the props) in a 3D modeling program, import them into Poser, set up my scenes and lighting, pose my characters, and "render" ie take a virtual digital photo. The renders are then touched up, and composited in Photoshop.
It's a lot of work. I drew all the rough sketches for Flag in Flames in only a couple months. The digital artwork will take me approximately 5 years to complete.