Allotter 2013/05/23(Thu)17:20 No. 70823 ID: 28bd43
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To note; my absence has been due to helping to cope with an illness in the family (an unexpected stroke), my participation in a friend's short film, and a small host of other unspoken worries.

Finally back home for a a bit so I'll try and get some work into the update, it's probably going to be a chapter closer, so it's likely to end up a pretty decent size.

Allotter 2013/06/07(Fri)11:34 No. 71957 ID: 440b7f
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Wanted to try an unusual coloring style, resulted in something of a pin-up.

>>71957
looks like something we might find in one of August's brother's rooms or something. or very possibly on Larcen person. could make for some funny dialog if August ever ran across it.

Allotter 2013/07/02(Tue)07:51 No. 73102 ID: 61bc48
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Well I'm not dead, although I've been so unpleasantly ill over much of the past month I nearly felt like it at a few points. Still, I seem to be recovering to some degree.

Working on the opening to the next chapter of BtS but I've still a few more pictures to go.

>>73102
people being sick seems to be a theme this summer it seems, hope you get well soon man

Looking forward to your return.

Allotter 2013/07/19(Fri)22:13 No. 73816 ID: 981281
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Fresh out of illness I have somehow aquired a paying job for the moment, it's probably only temp work but I feel it may explain my absence.

Still thinking of and doodling stuff for the next chapter.

you know what I love most when you show us the land around in your story. I love seeing just how broken the world is. You can tell just from the glimpses you give us that something better, that something more use to full the world but then something happened (most likely war) that tore it apart. Whenever I see this broken landscape I can't help but think what it must have been like in it's prime... and what it's people must of thought in it's twilight hours. Did they see the end coming for them or did they hold on to the hope that they would survive, did they give up on that hope but kept fighting because it was all they had left or was there something else there that saw it through to the death of civilization? I can't help but wonder what it was like as those people who lived through the end and had to wait for the the world around them be born again. I wonder if those who first settled in the burnt out husk you now call cities felt bitter that those shells are the closest thing they have left of there old world or if that world was already a forgotten memory?

And I can't help but wonder, how long this world has left until it all happens all over again.

Allotter 2013/08/04(Sun)21:07 No. 74717 ID: 3d938a
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>>74025
I'm glad someone likes all the background bits I put in. Sometimes I'm afraid I dwarf my characters with the enviroment and it makes the suggesters feel too helpless in the face of a much larger, ancient world.

However, August is, if not a particularly adept magician, he's still a very good scholar (in gamist terms he'd be the bard.) So he learns and can exploit facts about the world around him (in good warning for this chapter and reminder of the last, I design combat with environmental advantages in mind.)

>how long this world has left until it all happens all over again.

It keeps on happening. August's hometown is a layer cake of ruins. The sad, nowhere port he's in right now wouldn't exist till centuries after 'The Great Wars' happened, the relatively recent casualty of raiders and a kingdom's collapse.

Picture is old concept sketch of wyrdeyes in the process of squiring a guard disguise.

Has anyone told you how magnificent your tgchan quests have become? A certain flabbiness and disproportionateness has become your trademark and suits you on tgchan.

Allotter 2013/08/20(Tue)04:48 No. 75380 ID: e5952e
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>>75274
My thanks for a judgement of
>magnificent
though following it with
>A certain flabbiness and disproportionateness
leaves me slightly puzzled for clarification.

Although, it's entirely possible this because I haven't slept in a day. Been having a bit of trouble getting to sleep since I got ill back in June. Going to try and stay awake as long as I can today and go to sleep early tonight, attempt a reset.

Pictured is an 'in-universe' comic cover I started doodling because the idea of Kurtail reading a cheesecake/pulp adventure comic amused me. Still need to figure out the human's 'strategically damaged' environmental armor though.

>>75380
I'd read it

Allotter 2013/11/23(Sat)21:13 No. 77949 ID: 04845e
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I yet live, am working on an update, most of the art is basically done at this point with some shading left in a few frames.

To note, I should really work on getting a new job. Perhaps in the field I actually got a degree for... at least something tangentially related.

Allotter 2013/12/06(Fri)20:00 No. 78306 ID: 05778e
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Looking back I have by this point drawn a few undressed Verhimen females, yet no entirely nude males. This leaves a lack of reference if certain people were to try and draw one.

I keep saying I'm going to finish my rather larger, comprehensive Verhimen physiology sheet; but till then here's a crop with the selections of the sample male.

Allotter 2013/12/13(Fri)17:16 No. 78470 ID: 05778e
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I'd always planned for Before the Storm to be one of those quests that occasionally used a tactical or management map.

You've improved a lot in use of colors! Just wished to see you perfect the line expression too.

Also, your composition and use of effects is the best I've seen on tgchan quests so far.

Allotter 2014/05/04(Sun)21:45 No. 81457 ID: f357a3
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>>81371
I fear my linework has always been weak and I've attempted to use shading and color to compensate in a way. Takes a lot more time the more layers and detail I get though, and when I started working I'd realize I'd 'lost' days and felt the need to make extra frames for the update to compensate and somehow it's snowballed to the point where I only 'wish' I could update weekly.

[side note: I've actually been experimenting with different styles using some non-quest pieces in an attempt to fix the lines, but my experiments with speedpainting, pixel art, and vectors remain just that, experimental.]

>>81373
Been doing it for years now I suppose, that and I've got a good 'editor' to run it past before I post publicly, so I'd like to think there's some sort of 'payoff=time/effort' operating in there somewhere.

Still, thanks for the compliments, I truly appreciate them.

wtf am I doing Allotter 2014/06/04(Wed)14:03 No. 82119 ID: ddcac0
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So, I just have celebrated yet another year of being alive, helped one of my brother's move into his first house, and played host to my most dedicated friend/fan over the last week. An eventful 9-ish days, not particularly 'productive'... but a vast improvement over this time last year in which I spent most of a month trying 'not' to vomit up anything I ate. So I'll chalk those up with a semi-steady employment as definitive improvements in my life.

Regarding my quest, I also feel my art has improved in depth, but... when it comes to actually releasing regular updates I have obviously been less successful this year. Regularity and frequency are obviously more important when it comes to sustaining interest and motivation (see: Prequel vs Ruby Quest.) I am tempted to draw/release something vaguely titillating and pornographic as penance for not updating last month, but, I'm not sure it would actually encourage me to keep on schedule (as opposed to just drawing more smut, which seems seductively simpler.)

Anyhow, I've finally replaced my tablet nib, having drawn the past three years on the same nib, found one of those nice rubberized tips and am focusing on smoothing and improving my linework. This picture is part of the update in progress in which I realized that most of the background I detailed should actually covered up by the large luxury office chair the Mayor is sitting in.

>>82119
Nice. Still improving.

Anonymous 2014/07/04(Fri)19:18 No. 83318 ID: 6aad53
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I drew this for something ITQ, but it didn't seem like quite the right pose, not for August anyhow, so to the scrap pile it went for working over.

Anyhow, I am trying to update faster... as evidenced by my latest update being 'only' 9 days later than the last, rather than... a month.

This prompted by my editor pointing out and my subdued agreement that it isn't very engaging or useful to suggest for only the beginning of something as interactive as conversations/ arguments, an important conversation (like the one with the Mayor) could easily be treated as a combat of wills, facts and ideas.

Anonymous 2014/07/04(Fri)21:26 No. 83320 ID: 6aad53
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Fiddling around with the design of these things, probably still too minecraft-y.

T S Eliot may have said the best writers steal, but that means making it my own.

>>83320
I would think that their appearance would have less tentacles but more pustule-like swelling, considering how they are full of explosive gas and all.

Allotter 2014/07/05(Sat)15:13 No. 83334 ID: 6aad53
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>>83324
Unstable oils, not gas, closer to nitroglycerine really.

Good point though, a swollen look may help them look more explosive.

>>83334
Tubes seems the best bet here, imo

I think the top right one looks the most explosive, though the tube one looks interesting in a weird way and the mist cloud idea has some potential.
The claws or teeth on some of them seem a bit redundant when its attack style is to explode as soon as it gets in close quarters.

Allotter 2014/07/17(Thu)14:54 No. 83714 ID: a40073
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Looks like I'm really gunna have to do a long update... only way I see to progress to a properly 'suggestible' point, didn't really want to do that, mais, c'est la vie.

Sadly my stylus/tablet is also on the fritz; compounding a failing mini-USB port with my stylus literally falling apart in my hands (forcing me to hold the entire apparatus at odd angles and readjust every minute or so to maintain function.)

Still, if I have pride in anything it is persistence, so feel free to still slip a suggestion in there and I'll see if I can't work it in.

Now for something dusted out of the vault, an old design for a propaganda poster, used it previously in the background here >>83318 but I made it quite some time before that.

>>83714
Looks pretty good! Though the torso/leg ratio might be a bit high.

Also, you haven't been on IRC.

Um, to recap, what do we know about when the threat will be arriving relative to now? I can't remember off the top of my head and that is one of the main factors in the preperations we will make.

>>84836
According to the Sirius' projections the threat will arrive sometime tomorrow (in-quest time.)

Alloter 2014/08/23(Sat)20:28 No. 84876 ID: 0f6bb7
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Just to be clear, I've little intention of playing out the entire battle on a battle map. However, I wanted to try out prepping for a battle using such a tactical map at least once, as I'd intended to do these sort of small scale tactics a lot more frequently when I started this quest.


Anyhow, here's a frame from a dream sequence I cut somewhere way back down the line.

Those are some pretty cool blood-related quotes.

August 2014/12/01(Mon)20:15 No. 87318 ID: fdc30f
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>>86652
Thanks, was somewhat difficult finding blood related quotes that weren't specifically nationalistic or otherwise wouldn't really flow with August's cultural background.

ie: "From time to time the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots" is all fine and good a sentiment when you don't live in an explicitly aristocratic, highly race conscious/stratified society.

Speaking of which the verhimen have an 'Age of Imperialism' sort of look, meanwhile I'm playing around with the aesthetic of the human Bastille culture, should look somewhat more medieval, knights would probably have more power armor and cybernetics.

Anonymous 2014/12/30(Tue)11:05 No. 88372 ID: c335fd
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So I was without a functional laptop for a week, during which I also lost my glasses, so the going is slow (not to mention the temptations of steam sales, and other holiday distractions) but the update is coming along.

Here's something I culled from the line-art because the expression was too unfitting, but I modified it and slapped a little color in there because it amused me.

Dude, that GIF was nuts!

Allotter 2015/06/28(Sun)11:19 No. 92419 ID: efe9a2
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>>92389
43 930x630 frames in Photoshop Elements. Took most of a month to put together and there were compression issues obviously (for a while I was playing with converting it to .webm or .swf but my conversions weren't as clean looking.)


Really a bit of a folly project as I'd never tried moving viewpoint in an animation before but I learned a thing or two.

>>92419
looks p good. I woulda sped it up 2x to smooth over choppiness a bit

Allotter 2015/08/03(Mon)19:45 No. 93738 ID: 4a8153
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I am well overdue an update... it is coming but it's a lot slower than I expected. Indulging in Dark Souls II and XCOM after the summer sale was perhaps not the wisest of decisions ;>_>

Regardless, I began this chart forever ago when I laid out the base plans for the current battle, trying to figure out what the fishmen of the Norskult should look like and get in a little practice with human-ish profiles.

Ghuls are probably the least familiar of these races as we've never encountered one in the quest, so I'll note that because these profiles don't include any hair it neglects their fur, of which they can have some pretty crazy styles.

Allotter 2015/08/03(Mon)19:54 No. 93739 ID: 4a8153
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I believe Colour also pointed out to me sometime last month that he'd never actually seen any of my drawings of Freya... turns out I checked my files and find I DIDN'T HAVE ANY!

Needless to say that's just a bit shameful when I started this nonsense by basically filing the numbers off of Burmecians, slapping on some new paint and calling it a go.

So here's a sketch I made to help remedy that curious lack. Maybe too much clothing... but I was really more interested in the idea of a bracing pose one would adopt to enhance a falling spear attack.

Allotter 2015/09/20(Sun)11:49 No. 94960 ID: f1f4ea
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>For clarification, does dropping the cargo pod also drop the engine? I was getting the impression that it does not from the diagram, but I am not quite sure.
Okay, seems setting out the options through dialogue was a little confusing. The captain 'could' in theory drop the Engine Pod/segment using her controls from the cockpit, but she's reluctant to do so because it leaves them without steering control.

She suggested instead that August could instead climb on the engine segment and manually prime and detach some fuel tanks if he wanted to firebomb the sub, however the time restraints mean August cannot use the cannon during this option at all, giving the sub's gunners free reign to fire on them (fortunately for August he'd be in the most difficult to hit angle of the airship at this time.)

Alternatively, dropping the Cargo Pod will not effect the engine... though it will disarm the airship and make it difficult to control altitude till ballast and lift can be re-adjusted. August could risk using the cannon till he absolutely needs to evacuate the cargo pod, but because of the size and weight of this attack (and the sudden recoil after drop) the airship is less likely to encounter fire anyhow.

Or one could just risk the return fire and slowly strafe them, both August and Captain Ryllora would risk a lot of incoming fire, but using the cannon would at least keep some of their heads down and distract most of the others from suppressing the tower.


Note... I do actually use some dice rolling in cases where someone risks uncertain death or injury (ex: there was some low possibility that Kurtail would miss his shots when he initiated attack on the deck gun.)

Anonymous 2016/01/21(Thu)19:53 No. 97266 ID: 631fe1
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Usually the odd bits of artwork distracting from my actually updating don't have much to do with my quest, but this month it's those durn Burmecians again. Both of that fated pair of dragon knights, Freya and Fratley... to the backdrop the ruined city of Burmecia at that!

Now, how exactly one would go about the repairs of what resembles a pueblo style city, while it apparently rains 'all the time' I've no idea. However, I somehow suspect they're currently considering the more natural concerns of how to go about populating it instead.

>>97266
I should really read through this at some point, you got good art my dude

ITS OVER (sorta almost) Allotter 2016/06/04(Sat)12:53 No. 100116 ID: 8968e0
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Given my complete and total absence the past two months I felt it necessary to explain what I am currently up to.

I am working on a sort of epilogue chapter to Before the Storm. I'll likely end up posting it all in two or three huge updates once I've finished the art, but overall it's got a sort of 'Ron Perlman sits down and explains how our different decisions played out' feel going on, not a lot of active decisions left to influence (which doesn't feel terribly quest-like I suppose.)


This isn't to say it's the ending to the Story of August de Sauterelle (and friends.)

Before the Storm really helped to distill a setting and world for the characters, but I feel the need to re-organize and map out some sort of path to get to those scenes, characters, and conflicts I'd like to show (and to see myself); instead of just meandering along in that general direction and hoping I don't bog myself down in sidequests and minutia.

Seems the better I get at the art the longer it takes for me to actually get updates out (in the early days I was putting out daily updates, now weekly ones are a miracle.)

>>100116
Is the sequel During the Storm?

>>100122
Asking the real questions.

Anonymous 2016/06/07(Tue)17:52 No. 100202 ID: 33de2d
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>>100122
>>100128
Honestly, I dunno yet.

My reasoning for calling it 'Before the Storm' was because August's life is being swept up in forces grander than his own; in part due to his birth, in part due to the orb (so he can't truly say he never asked for this.)

He is like a little ship being driven before a storm.

August didn't seem notably surprised by the whole space thing. Does anyone on his planet regularly go to space aside from wizards who are already fugitives from space to begin with?

Are we able to suggest during the epilogue?

Allotter 2017/03/05(Sun)19:49 No. 109511 ID: 9d2e5a
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>>109500
The concept of 'space travel' is pretty well known in-setting (particularly among more industrialized powers like the Verhimen.) The actual practice is terribly rare as ancient warfare left the inner solar system a truly hazardous mess to traverse for the unprepared. Even launching something simple like a spy sat is hoping you won't run afoul of orbital wreckage, seeker mine, or radiation clouds.


>>109501
I certainly wouldn't forbid you bumping the thread into view, and it 'is' pretty unusual to have a quest chapter without suggestion... but I'm not really sure what I can add to reply to it, since I basically dumped everything prepared in one go.