Monday Comics – Return of THE LIFE-TAKER pt 2

Posted on by JG

Hypertransitory Monday Comics, episode 21 -part 2 of the return of The Life-Taker!

THE LIFE-TAKER

We saw the return of the big guy last week, and if you missed it go back to check out The Return of the Life-Taker comic, then get back here to read the continuing saga!

Click to view larger in a new window

JG’s CREATOR NOTES

Well, it just doesn’t look like he can get along with anyone, does it?

We’ll wrap up this story next week and see how this one ends, but after that we may not see any more of these 3D comics until I make some changes.

I think this one has taken the honor of longest comic, weighing in at 7000px tall! Whoa. It’s possible I may need an editor :)

3D DRAMA

I have to say, I’ve never ever, ever, EVER had so much trouble making a comic as with this one.

For one thing my 3D program kept on crashing for no reason I could determine. There were some different angles and panels I wanted to show but I literally couldn’t because they either wouldn’t render or in some cases they wouldn’t stay open long enough -the program would just crash.

Sometimes you can tell what it is -like if you’re out of memory or you don’t have the right graphics card for certain effects, or even if there is a documented bug you need to workaround.

Not this time though. I would have a working panel, then I would turn the camera to a different angle or adjust the lights a little, and that’s all it took -CRASH.

Very frustrating. Also, some of the lighting was just not working for me. Meaning I couldn’t get it to look the way I wanted. Normally, I can come pretty close to what I envision in my head but this particular comic is not that close to what I actually wanted.

I may hold off on doing too much in-depth 3D stuff for comics and just save it for illustration work until I upgrade my rig and my program.

Finally, I think the results of the poll, comments and emails have shown that people prefer my hand-drawn stuff, so once this comic is wrapped up we’ll be seeing more of that.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Again, there are no raw pencils on this one but here’s some more screenshots of the working Daz Studio environment, and some raw renders so you can compare to the final product. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!





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51 thoughts on “Monday Comics – Return of THE LIFE-TAKER pt 2”

  1. Dude, if you ever give up drawing, there is a rabid audience out here waiting for your STORIES. This is one of the best written episodes on Hypertransitory!

    I love that evil sneer on the elf – removes all illusion of rainbows and unicorns.

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    1. Thanks, Mitch!

      This one kind of started writing itself at some point. I’m sure you know how it goes.

      re: stories – I got myself a new template and new direction for Soryan Order, so once that gets spruced up I’ll be finishing that tale and continuing with new stories there…should be a blast!

    1. Yes extremely frustrating.

      I want to finish this little tale, but I’m really dreading getting back into the program and dealing with it again…aaargh!

      If only I were rich enough to just smash stuff and simply replace it the next day lol

  3. Very interesting story! I am just waiting for the next episode and see what he does. Does he wait or kills the Elf? You are smart and have ended the episode at such a point that I just cant wait.

    1. Hi Nicolas, thanks for reading! The finale should be up this coming Monday so i hope you’ll be back to see the conclusion to this round of The Life-Taker!

  7. Wow! This is a good example of work of art! Do you have any animation with this? I mean those who are moving?

    1. Hi Judith, you know I don’t actually have any animation with the Life-Taker, but the program I used does indeed do animation, it could be something we’ll see in the future!

    1. Hey Jacko! Well this one is done using Daz Studio 3D, which is a free program, and also Photoshop and Illustrator, so technically anyone could do it. Thanks for reading!

  9. Wow! These is really fantastic, And the creativity is here not just about the image but the sense of it story.

    1. Hey Mint, thanks for reading and thanks for the compliment! I was trying to create an immersive story so I’m glad you got into it.

  11. This is a very interesting story to read. Your a very creative writer and a good artist. I’m looking forward on your next post. Job well done.

    1. HI Divina, thanks for the compliment. The final installment of this Life-Taker comic will be up this coming Monday no matter what the cost or how many lives are lost!

  12. I this this kind of story is very interesting to read..You had a very creative idea doing this kind of art..Thank you for sharing to us always..

    1. Hi Eleonora!

      Thanks for commenting. I try to impart something useful in my behind the scenes. I know it’s been a lot of complaining lately but hopefully that will end once I finish this Life-Taker story lol

  18. You just had to leave us hanging like that, didn’t you? Lol but seriously, this was really well written, the dialogue was really interesting. I usually love your comedy, but this comic is really good. I think the Life Taker has real potential, you could make a whole series about him. Keep up the amazing work, can’t wait for part 3!

    1. Hey Karen, Thanks!

      I have a ton of stories I could tell with this guy, but I’d have to fix all my 3D program issues before I’ll do another one lol

  19. Wow, awesome comics. Since when did you know this story? I’d like to read more these soon. Thanks!

    -Keri

    1. hi Daniel, yes Daz is currently what I’m using to do these comics, but I then fix up the raw renders in Photoshop and do the lettering and layout in Illustrator. I’ll have to see if I will continue using Daz since I’m having some issues now.

      thanks for commenting!

    1. Thanks much, Amberr! Even with the 3D problems I still managed to get the conclusion done. Whew! I might avoid 3D comics for awhile tho lol

  22. I’m loving Monday more and more now. I love the whole thing and the 3-D drama & behind the scene portions in particular.
    It is turning out to be a really great story.

    Thanks.

    -Ian

  23. I liked this post very much. It was great to get to know the technique that goes into creating a comic, thanks to the behind the scene review.
    This is a great story. Great job JG. Keep them coming.

    Thanks.

    -Nancy

  24. Those crashes have definitely taken its toll, right? I hope that you will be able to resolve the problem soon.

    1. Hey John, yeah a bunch of people told me that, too lol. In hindsight I should have done a bit more to differentiate him from a popular character like that but it’s too late now. I’m glad you enjoyed!

  26. Wow, that was so great John! Glad to know about the return of the life taker part 2. I love the character of that bald one he’s cute. :)

  29. I agree with John Smith, main character really looks like Kratos from God of War. This is really hard to made.. and its look so great!
    PS : Kratos have goat beard :)

  30. My son is fan of your comics and he always wait for your new updates. When you will share your next blog? I also agree with John Smith, the main character really looks like Kratos from God of War.

    1. I have some new comics coming up for February so watch out for those! Also, yeah I wasn’t thinking of Kratos when I made him. Like I told John I would have made him look different if I had been on top of that lol.

      And tell your son thanks for being a fan!

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