February 10, 2008 by Timothy
I finished inking page 21. Another nicely complex dark page. This showcases the relationship between Corvus and Eve. I love writing and inking these intricate pages between the two of them. I just find it fun and challenging to play the two characters off of each other.
Now I just have 3 more pages to ink and about 3 more week in Feb. so with inking about one page a week I should be able to finish inking issue 2 within my own personal deadline. I can then finally send pages back to Darryl Sheakley. Then I will get to the proposal and sending those out to publishers. I can’t wait and hope 2008 is a great year for Hope 7. Maybe even get to a couple conventions this year!?
Posted in Hope7- Issue 2 | Tagged comic book, fantasy, gothic, hope 7 | 3 Comments »
January 30, 2008 by Timothy
Holidays and sickness and website design work kept me from my Hope 7 fun but I’m back to inking about a page a week. I was going to show you page 15 from issue 2 because some people wanted to see more of the drear cub but then I looked back on page 10 and I like the drear in there better. So here it is. This page leads right into page 11 where the last panel shows how Keren sees Siryn below fighting off hungry adult drears.
I am currently inking page 21 from issue 2 so I’m nearing the end of inking all of issue 2. I’ll post page 21 in another week or so. It’s a perfect Hope 7 page… dark, detailed and moody. You’ll love it.
There are 24 pages in issue 2 so I should be able to finish inking the pages around the end of February. Then I can finally send pages back to Darryl. I’m trying to get them done Darryl 
Click the image or here to see it larger
Posted in Hope7- Issue 2 | Tagged comic book, dark art, fantasy art, hope 7, illustration | Leave a Comment »
November 30, 2007 by Timothy
This time it’s a peek at page 11 from issue 2. Here we get to see what Keren and Tyler and the drear cub are up to while Eve ran into Corvus. We also are introduced to a new character of Siryn who looks to be in trouble while surrounded by some madly hungry adult drears.
I just finished inking page 15 and I’ll put that up soon. My goal is to finish inking issue 2 by the end of January. I’ve been averaging a page and a half a week so I should be able to do it. Unfortunately I’ve been busy doing work that pays the bills. Having a house and trying to be all grown up does that to people I’ve been substitute teaching and doing freelance website design through my Shadow Song designs webpage and Shadow Song designs blog.
I am looking forward to 2008 and hopefully making some conventions. You can also peek at Darryl’s art life at his journal. I’ll keep you posted here.
Posted in Hope7- Issue 2 | Tagged art, comic book, fantasy, hope 7 | 2 Comments »
November 12, 2007 by Timothy
It has been some time since I’ve had the chance to update the blog. Do know that I have been using any free time that I have to work on Hope 7. Unfortunately, that free time has not been as much as I’d ish for. I have been busy working on projects that pay the house bills. That includes website design, seen at my Shadow Song designs website, various comic book projects I work on for others, and substitute teaching at the local school district.
During planning periods I have been inking Hope 7 pages, one of which you see here. This is page 6 from issue 3. I have been skipping around and inking various fun pages. I am also planning on finishing inking all of issue 2 by years end. I am simply waiting for a few more pages from Darryl and then we will have 5 issues worth of new Hope 7 material in various stages of development. I will still be sending out proposals but simply waiting a couple more months to get as much done on these 5 issues wo that they are ready to be published so that you do not have long to wait inbetween issues and it will give time for us to keep on a schedule for future issues.
In the meantime, I will be showing new inked pages here and I look forward to your thoughts and comments. They keep us hermit creative types going
Posted in Hope7- Issue 3 | Tagged art, comic, comic book, fantasy | 2 Comments »
This page shows the last part of the first meeting between Corvus and Eve. The mood in the first panel is just perfect. Darryl really worked magic with my script. It was a joy to ink, even the last panel with all the inky blackness where Corvus takes off his mask. Don’t worry, for those new to the series you WILL see his face later in the issue. The reason he took off his mask is a bit more complicated and helps define his character and reason for being there.
I’d also like to take a quick moment to wish all those with booths and all those attending the comic con a great weekend. There are some very talented creators there and I wish I was joining them, maybe next year.
Posted in Hope7- Issue 2 | 3 Comments »
I have activated the new Hope 7 comic blog feed service through Feedburner. I will now be able to optimize the feed for all RSS reader types and better track it. So for all of you that use an RSS feed reader program or read the feed in a browser, please resubscribe. The new feed link is to the right, a direct link is http://feeds.feedburner.com/hope7comic
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
For many of you who read this blog via feeds, I want to just let you know that I will be joining with Feedburner to provide cleaner and prettier feeds and an easy way for me to keep track of all of my feed readers. I am new to Feedburner, so you may have to come back to my actual blog address at hope7comicblog.com, in the next few days, to re-subscribe, as Feedburner may change the feed address. I apologize if this is the case and for your inconvenience. Again, I’m new to their service so this may not be needed. Feel free to leave a comment if you are familiar with Feedburner and you have any tips and hints.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
It’s been a long time in coming, but here is a new inked page. This page shows a more tender look at Corvus and Eve. Corvus tries to calm Eve down and reassure her while explaining why he is there and the part he believes she and her brother, Tyler, will play in the future of this world You can see where I posted page 5 here. I am especially pleased with panel 3, it conveys the perfect mood and feeling I was hoping for.
As always, comments and constructive criticism are appreciated. Also remember that you can click on any of the posted images to see a larger version. For even larger versions of the pages and covers I show here, you can take a look at my page at Deviant Art. I will post the pages here, on this blog first though. So it may take a little while until you see pages on any of my other social online galleries.
Posted in Hope7- Issue 2 | Leave a Comment »
These past couple weeks I have been putting together a proposal to send to editors and publishers withing the comic book industry. Howeve, I was advised to hold off on sending the proposals until after the summer and the convention season. I guess that makes sense as the editors and publishers are busy preparing for the cons and traveling and inundated with unsolicited work from other people.
So I will be patient, it’s been a long hiatus for Hope 7 anyway so I can wait a couple more months. This will give me time to get all the inked and penciled pages lettered and get more feedback. So alot of behind the scenes stuff has been going on so sorry for the delay on showing more ink work. I’ll try to get that as soon as possible, I’ve been itching to get away from the computer, and my lettering work and freelance web design work and get to some inking again.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
I’ll take a brief break from my usual posts to talk a bit about the Ride for Roswell. Don’t worry, that new inked page will be posted here soon This is a bike ride to support the continuing cancer research and care that Roswell Park Institute offers. Last year I rode the 33 mile bike ride, however, this year I have had no time to practice or break out the bike even once so I will be humbly riding the 20 mile course.
If you too are in the area and will be riding in the ride then feel free to message me and say hi. It’s happening this weekend on June 23rd.
If you want to pledge to this great cause and pledge me as a rider I would really appreciate it. Most people in Buffalo, and surrounding areas, know of or have a relative or friend that has been helped by Roswell. I have a page at the Ride for Roswell website for pledges. Just follow the following link and I look forward to the ride and helping a worthy cause. My Ride for Roswell Pledge page is here. I am also in the team BGI, a local puzzle and board and card game company.
-Tim
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
As my substitute teaching slows to a halt with the end of the school year, I finish up a couple website design projects and our lawn is finally coming together and we have permanent occupancy I will be returning to a more regular posting schedule. Now I should have a little more free time to work on Hope 7, while still working on freelance projects to keep paying the bills. I have a couple website design projects lined up for the near future and possibly a couple comic related projects, that don’t pay quite as much but are fun to do.
Look for a new inked page here next week. I will also soon return to my lettering 101 posts, for the one or two of you that care
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
April 25, 2007 by Timothy
As I slowly start letting longtime readers of Hope 7 and prospective new readers about the re-launch of Hope 7 I was contacted by a longtime fan of Hope 7, Rachel McKinney, for a phone interview. I love to chat about all things geeky and Hope 7 so I quickly agreed I will let you know when the interview is posted, but until then, feel free to visit fangirlmag.com give them some love and mention you heard of them from Hope 7.
I am looking forward to seeing my phone babble in print, as this was my first interview in a couple years for Hope 7. I gush about the always improving to utter greatness pencils of Darryl Sheakley, the page counts of the first new three issues, a hint or two about Corvus and Amrit, a new emphasis on character development through additional pages and alot more that I probably do not remember as I babbled away
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
April 23, 2007 by Timothy
While I try to split my time between web design work, teaching and subbing stuff, and Hope 7 I have been thinking more about starting to get the new issues of Hope 7 all lettered. I have not lettered a comic book since last summer in 2006 so as a way for me to refresh on my basics and get me more psyched to get to the Hope 7 lettering I will try to piece together a bunch of posts about the basics of lettering, a humble lettering 101.
Choosing and effectively implementing a font and the best placement for balloons and narration captions is an important and, unfortunately, often overlooked part of comic book creation. I’ll try to go over quite a few topics about lettering, in-between posts of Hope 7 pages and any other comic related freelance jobs I may pick-up. I hope this guide gives enough information to make an educated opinion as to what should and should not be used and why.
The whole point of proper lettering is to draw as little attention to the lettering itself as possible, while enhancing the flow and presentation of text to visually reflect the events in the comic. The various topics I’ll talk about should help you to better understand the theory and usage of lettering. I’ll give examples from some of my previous works as I discuss many of the topics.
Posted in Lettering 101 | Leave a Comment »
April 13, 2007 by Timothy
Still having that fresh ink smell I wanted to take a break from long posts and show you a newly inked page. This page shows the first meeting between Corvus (the darkest of ravens) and Eve. Eve was dancing all pleasant like on the beach behind her house on the cliff when Corvus sneaks up and grabs her. The perceptive viewer will also see one of Amrit’s (our resident dark queen) watcher birds in the background. Thoughts?
You should be able to click on the image for a larger peek.
Posted in Hope7- Issue 2 | Leave a Comment »
April 12, 2007 by Timothy
Today I’ve been spending the, now sunny, spring day as a hermit. But I tend to do that anyway
After my post yesterday, I recieved a message asking how I scan the Hope 7 pages. For those that are interested, this is what I do. Basically, the pages are pencilled on 11″x17″ illustrator board for me to ink over. I use a basic flatbed scanner and scan the pages at 600 dpi line art and then turn them to greyscale and reduce them to 300 dpi. I scan them in two, sometimes three, pieces… depending on how much of the page the penciler used. This is until I can buy an 11″x17″scanner, one can hope . I scan the pages horizontally and place the pieces together as seperate layers, to best align the seperate scanned images into one single page image, in a paint program. I normally use a combination of Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Paint Shop Pro. Yeah, I use Photoshop alot, but for the basics, I like using Paint Shop Pro, when it was still done by Jasc. It’s an older version, 6.0, but I feel comfortable with it. Once I have the page scanned, I clean it up, at full size and then I can resize it for whatever page size specifications the printer requires. Always keep in mind bleed for the larger size pages so that you do not cut any important piece of art out if it is printed.
Learning from my past mistakes, I now archive files for the original pencils, the original scanned inked line art at 600dpi and then the final cleaned up grayscale 300dpi inks for every page. You never know when you need to revisit another version of a page.
Ok… back to work for me.
Posted in How I do stuff | Leave a Comment »
I finished inking page 21. Another nicely complex dark page. This showcases the relationship between Corvus and Eve. I love writing and inking these intricate pages between the two of them. I just find it fun and challenging to play the two characters off of each other. 
