Despite the fact that I am fairly pleased with how the background is turning out on Bring the Rain (my current art WIP), it is SUCH slow going. I ask myself, is this worth it?
< Some bits and pieces from the background that's taking so long.
I do feel that a detailed background adds some serious goodness. I want the finished product to feel like a snapshot, not art.
I guess the point of a background is to imply that the character doesn't live only within a piece of art; he or she (in this case, two he's) has their own fully developed backstory and is part of a 'world'. This picture will eventually feature Hawk and Venneman, 2 of Spade's 'line kids'. Put more simply, his teammates. They'll get their own character pages on my website at some point.
The Meddler (novel) is in the range of 60-70% edited and moving along nicely. Release date on this website and on Amazon should be mid-summer.
In my next blog I plan to upload a short story written by someone who's read The Meddler in full, one of my beta readers. The story is their own take on what it would be like to be a sagji (to find out what that is, you'll have to read! Meheheh...), and she's written it with an excellent balance of humour, intrigue and 'relatability'... hope you enjoy it and stay tuned!