Two Pages of Pen-and-ink Purgatory

Aaaalright guys, here's the next two pages I've done. Progress! Tell me what you think. And don't hold back.

- Maxburg

Not Just for Breakfast!

Sorry, don't have the time fer color.

-Maxburg

Coffee Shop Adventures

True story.

-Maxburg out.

That Voice

The lesson learned from this venture into the world of markers: don't use them if you ever plan on using a scanner at my house. This was in color originally, and looked even worse than it does now. Seriously.

Oh, and I guess I'm sorry if the naughty words offend you. They're directed toward me, so they really shouldn't.

- Maxburg out.

Four pages of heaven.

Or hell. You decide. No, really. Decide. I need some input. These are obviously photos and not scans. I don't have access to a big enough scanner at the moment, and I figure I should show them to somebody other than my mom, so here we are.

The lettering isn't gonna be handwritten when it's actually scanned. This is just so I know what the hell they're talking about.

READ UP.

-Maxburg out.

Mein Lack of Commitment

I don't feel like coloring this. ;D

-Maxburg out.

Concept art, a birthday present, and some GARBAGE.

Behold dear viewers. My latest festering, steaming artdump. From top to bottom: A birthday present for FAGG- i mean, Hunter, concept art of my wizard's mother, Frog from Chrono Trigger, and a drawing of Laura K scavenged from a sea of doodles. Enjoy.


Until my next urge to update,

-Maxburg out.

New Concept Art, and New Concepts

Alright, I'm going to spare you the explanation on these two new images. Basically, if you've read my last post (wishful thinking), you'll know who these characters are and what they're up to.

What I want to do here is share some of my specifics as far as the story goes. So... here goes.

Basically, this is a story of witch hunting. A story of a man who finds himself an outsider in a world of the mundane. Wizards exist. They do not, however, sit next to kings and advise them as they might in many stories of high fantasy. In this world, they are heretics, at least to the ignorant. Unfortunately, the ignorant populate most of the world.

The wizard in this story was born and raised in an elven village. Peace-loving and forgiving, the elven monks can be discriminatory, but never cruel. When the true nature of the wizard is revealed, he is banished from their settlement, and out of love, his family goes with him. They move to a human village rich with peasantry and honest work. For years, things go smoothly without any incedents. Then, something happens that triggers his fire. Probably something really insignificant, like being snuck up upon and scared by a local boy, causing him to jump and shoot flame from his mouth. Or something.

This will either result in the potential stoning of his family, or the potential burning of his family. There will be fire either way, because he's going to fall victim to his own primal power and torch the fucking place into oblivion.

He'll be burnt up, confused, and there'll be one of those typical aftermath "OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE" scenes. He'll wander into the forest, and eventually meet a woodsman who will kindly treat his wounds and take the boy under his wing, and probably help him learn to control his power.

---

What's probably going to happen after the flashback is a scene in which Itch gets saved from death by some sort of forest beast. The wizard will torch said beast, and some douche will be there to see it, and most likely run and scream to the locals, resulting in what will lead to the wizard being burned at the stake. Fun!

Tell me what you think if you actually read this. Really, any input would be appreciated, as I'm trying to have the story down BEFORE i start drawing this time around.

Until next time,

- Maxburg out.

OH MY GOD.

So I'm absolutely certain that ink brushes with cartridges are the best thing since sliceable cookie dough. We'll get to that in a bit, though. First, here's some more character design for the wizard in my tentative HATCH 2 comic.

As you can see, I still love the long arms and peg leg. The long arms do now have an explanation. He is an elf. Since it's fantasy and I can do whatever I want with my own little universe, I've went ahead and did a little sketch of what more fortunate members of his race look like (meaning, not burnt the fuck up).

I think they might be a race comparable to Buddhist monks, living peacefully in self-contained villages in forests. Wow, going out on a limb there. Elves that live in seclusion. Oh Max, you're so original. I do mean they might be monk-ish. Since they have a pretty long reach, martial arts are probably the best bet for their on-foot defenses. I probably won't need to get into this stuff too much, but since a flashback involving the wizard's past might be in order, I felt that not-so-crispy elves needed a design.

I also did a sketch of what could end up being Itch's tavern-ownin' foster pop.

As I've conveniently noted within the image, I did fuck up his face. This was my first experiment in using an ink brush on pre-drawn pencil lines. From that experience, I learned not to trust myself with a brush when dealing with intricacies like faces. It's okay, we all have to learn somehow. He has a look that I strongly associate with dwarves, even though he is quite large and definitely not a dwarf. I really like the rough, pierced look of the Warhammer Fantasy dragon slayer Dwarfs, and I couldn't help but rip that off a tiny bit when I drew him. I'm not 100% certain that I'm happy with the design. That's probably gonna change a bit before he's finished. Who knows.

Now for the bestest bit of the bunch.

These brush pens are so great. Seriously, I highly recommend going and picking one up if you're going to even entertain the idea of inking with a brush. They're easy to use, self-contained, not too messy, and not too pricey. They're also just so fun. I'm almost positive that I'm going to use a brush to ink most of my comic. I feel like I've been missing out. Obviously, this is Itch and the wizard having a stroll. Bonus speech bubble for charm.

The story is still being fleshed out little by little in my head. If I get any sudden bursts of inspiration, I'll probably post it here, and nobody will read it.

I probably won't cry, though.

- Maxburg out.

I fIgHT foR My FrIEndS

Post-hurricane Ike comic, actually done during the power outage. The last panel was a pretty clear prediction of what happened in the end, regardless of it being drawn before it actually happened.

I really didn't feel like coloring it, and I feel like I should just post the fuckin' thing already. So here it is. ENJOY!

- Maxburg out.

New ideas and udda fings

I've got to do something for the next volume of HATCH. During class today I got the idea to do something with a medieval fantasy setting. So I started drawing THIS fella.

So basically he's a wizard. I'm thinking a pyromancer, a bringer of flame. This story will take place in a gritty fantasy world in which magic is uncontrollable, unbridled, and absolutely forbidden. People who are born with the burdensome gift of magic are few and far between, probably because they're euthanized at a young age. Obviously this one survived. This guy is burnt from head to toe. He wraps himself up in bandages, robes, and whatever else he can to disguise his marred flesh. Also, he might be missing a leg. Don't know if that'll work so well. If this guy gets into any real heavy firestarting, a wooden leg might just get in the way. Then again, it'd be funny if he burnt his fake leg away. You can see how long his arms are. I think it looks pretty cool. Obviously anatomy gets in the way of that. One explanation could be that he's an elf or half-elf. Great thing about fantasy is that you can design fictional races to look however you want. This is just one character though. After I drew this guy, I figured I'd make some sort of peasant boy his friend.
This is Itch. He's a little errand boy who works in a tavern for the owner, who also happens to be his foster dad. He called him Itch 'cause he was left on the bar counter by some anonymous woman who couldn't take care of him. Ever since, he's been nothing but an itch on the back of the tavern owner that couldn't be scratched. At some point in time, the pyromancer wanders into the tavern and crosses paths with Itch. Itch learns about his horrible past, which I think will involve an entire village being inadvertently burned to the ground. Most importantly, Itch will learn that people who harness the burden of destruction are people too.

This is all tentative, of course. I would, however, appreciate any feedback or ideas. I feel like it cold go somewhere.

So I thought as long as I was scanning this stuff, I'd throw some other miscellaneous wotnots into the mix as well.


I fucking love American Psycho. Patrick Bateman is one of the funniest characters i've ever seen.

At Danielle's request, I drew her. The drawing sucked, so I told her I'd do a good one at some point. This is that good one. Too bad it's unflattering as hell.


I've been playing Warhammer Online. It's fantastic. Beats the shit out of WoW in the respect that you don't have to power level to the endgame to have fun with other players. These are a couple of doodles I did of a Zealot (top) and a Marauder (bottom).

I've got another autobio comic on the way, this time about the recent hurricane. I just need to color it and then I'll post it. In a hasty fashion. Post-haste.

- Maxburg out.

Three out of four is something, right?

I guess it takes a hurricane to pay some attention to my artblog for once. I've been giving my Deviantart page a significantly larger amount of attention, which is totally ironic since I'd previously sworn my allegiance to this blog in posts past. Without further ado, enjoy four things I've come up with in the recent past. Three of which funny (meant to be, at least), and one not so funny (not meant to be, at least).


And now, as I said a second ago... here's the depressing contribution. It's kind of a test more than anything - a test to see if I can write and draw about my anxiety in a semi-serious way without wanting to blow my own head off afterward.

Alright, it's time for me to leave this coffee house and return home, with high hopes that our fucking power will be back on. Which it won't.

Until that happens...

- Maxburg out.

Putting the 'Pain' in 'Paintchat'

I'd say it's a collaborative effort if penises are drawn at some point during the process. Niko's paint chat with Hunter. Hey'ohhh.

- Maxburg out.

My first attempt...

...at digital painting - outside of whatever awful doodles I've done in Facebook Graffiti. I used Photoshop for this, which seems to be the best thing for me to learn with at the moment.

- Maxburg out.

WHERE IN THE NAME OF CROM...

...IS MY TABLET PEN?

-Maxburg out.

A third attempt.

It's much more polished this time - perhaps as polished as I want to make it. This is actually the second attempt at drawing this comic. Check out my first attempt.

It's probably funnier than the actual comic. I laugh every time I see it.

- Maxburg out.

Mark II

Round two. Tell me what you think of my new direction, folks.

- Maxburg out.

UGH.

KRIS MADE ME DO IT.

- Maxburg out.

Why, you ask?

Because. That's why. Also:

So um... yeah.

- Maxburg out.

Page Four (or Five) - Now With More Tree!

Here's what I've got of the fourth actual page right now. On the site, it's gonna be the fifth, as the first page will be the splash/title page. As you can see in the third panel, that tree needs some attention that I forgot to give it. Either than that, it's pretty much done. I also need to go back and rework the text in the other three pages. Enjoy, and check out Kris n' Kat's contributions here.

UPDATE: Fixed the tree. I love my tablet so fucking much. I highly recommend the Wacom Bamboo to anyone who wants to learn to use a tablet and is on a budget that doesn't allow a $300+ purchase. It has half the sensitivity of the cheapest Intuos, but it has my love. Now buy one.

- Maxburg out.

THREE.

At this point, it doesn't need much of an explanation. When Kris and Kat get back from their comic convention, I'll be able to get them to slap this stuff onto the VEIN site.

- Maxburg out.

The Second Dystopia Page

Well guys, it's 6:15, my Tylenol PM kicked in an hour ago, and I'm ready to pass out. As you can see, though, I took the time to scan and complete the second page of my contribution to VEIN. Hope you enjoy it.

Maxburg out.

OMG KRIS?!?!?!

Some random "fanart" I did of Kris on the plane from PA to Houston. I know, I don't have anything particularly exciting to upload just yet... unless you find Kris as fascinating as I do.

- Maxburg out.

The First Dystopia Page

Because there's nowhere else for you people to see this yet.

- Maxburg out.

ZOMG NEW CONTENT

So hey kids, how about that dystopia? This is the first in a long line of sketches i did of this particular character. Back before Kris told me what the project was gonna exactly consist of, my idea was to have this mechanic/family man character going. I was pretty enthusiastic about his design, as you can see in the following page.

And then, mean ol' Kris shot that idea down. I did, however, have a new thing to work from. I had to make a scientist character, a character with an appearance that suits the 1980s in America.
In the meantime, I designed this scary Russian guy. He might end up being someone's shady boss? I have no clue.
After doodling a WoW character I had recently made (Laurica), and after drawing Niko Bellic from GTA IV, I began doodling potential scientist faces. As you can see, by the end of this page, I came to the conclusion that I could simply slap glasses onto the steampunk mechanic, and viola. He's my 80's scientist.

Since there's some sort of virus involved in the story, I attempted to draw mutated lab rats. Don't pay no mind to them.

Alright, there's the stuff I said I needed to scan. When there's more, I'm sure it'll eventually find its way here. Until then,

- Maxburg out.