adamwarren
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DISTRESSED DAMSELS: Rough sketches repurposed for EMPOWERED pages (pt.1)
🕑 Added 2020-08-05 13:01:04 +0000 UTCBackground: The webcomic serialization of Empowered is currently working its way through a bondage-intensive story that contains most of vol.7's more or less mandatory damsel-in-distress content.
As I write the commentaries for that episode's pages, I'm spotting multiple Emp poses that were based on older rough sketches either drawn as DiD commissions (for a patron who appreciated such loosely sketched sets) or as random, between-panel doodles I knew could be reused in later Empowered pages.
So, here are those pages and the sketch poses that were reused for 'em. (I also tacked on a recent vol.12 page that was posted here a few months ago, to point out that this sorta thing is still going on.)
A few words on the sketches (if I get the free time to expand this post, that is; if not, blank space below):
On the webcomic's commentary, I point out that Decade-Ago Me liked to hit up some cartoonishly exaggerated "big head" figure proportions from time to time, as seen above. I've flagged this whimsical stylistic flourish with the tag "Lollipop Figure Proportions Alert."
And s'more "Lollipop Figure Proportions," folks! Note that both the preceding roughs featured unmasking, which I've belatedly decided is a violation of the Empverse "Unwritten Rules" governing interactions twixt capes and bad guys. (Er, despite the fact that I actually showed unmasking in a very early Empowered episode, mainly to comment on the possible pointlessness of such a concept.)
One long-time commissioner of mine was cool with rough sketches, which was handy for me as I could try to work out a series of potentially usable Emp poses ahead of time. (Only the one at lower right above wound up reused, but what the heck.)
The later reused pose above was lightly sketched on a piece of tracing paper, hence those scanned pieces of tape. Compare and contrast the big-headed "Lollipop Figure Proportions" above from a decade or so ago with the very different approach used on the commissioned sketch set below, which was drawn roughly two years ago:
Yeahp, over time I've shifted very far away from the sporadic Lollipop Figure Proportions riff, as you can see. Now, if anything, I have to guard against accidentally drawing Emp with Robert Crumb-worthy "too-small head" proportions!
Anyhoo, I'll revisit this "rough sketch vs. reuse for publication" concept in future Distressed Damsel Wednesdays, as I have many—nay, many—more examples I could show you.
TOMORROW ON THIS HERE PATREON: Not sure, but I might start posting more content from my mid-2000s run on the Playstation magazine PSM, which included a lengthy run of B&W single-page comics as well as covers and interior illos.
Comments
Lex of Excel
See, when I think of comic book characters with undersized heads, I think of Fletcher Hanks. Then again, I haven't actually read anything by Crumb.
Eric
Not to be rude but isn't the psm stuff up on your deviantart already? or is that not everything/you have sketches of those?
chantienyee
Love the roughs so much!
The D-Wrek
I personally dig the “Lollipop Figure Proportions”, it was always rather fitting for Emp. :) Hope to see your PSM stuff in the future. Those came out right around the time I discovered your work. Specifically that Valkyrie Wilde art. As a teenager at the time I found those to be rather *ahem* eye grabbing. :3 Had the PSM Valkyrie Wilde PS1 memory card sticker on mine for the longest time. :3
Jack Hallows
i think the curse is from a goddess who felt threaten by Emp and in a jealous rage used this curse haha
JoJack86
These are awesome, Adam. Thanks for sharing them!
Erin O'Loughlin
YES!!! PSM was my first intro to the comic world and especially, you!
