Close up of boys running in detail. The shadows and blur were the final part in the process. You can see how it adds drama and depth. As I was making this post I noticed I forgot the last boy's headphones for his little handheld game. And the lips of the boy riding his brother's back are a little too thick with blackness. (note the changes in the next post)

close up of plane and mountains detail. This was a very fun scene.

progression of page 2

I am having trouble deciding on airport gate interior colors. The window and it's view was the most fun. The glass is a light blue layer set at about 40% opacity. The marquee with New York, Ankomster(arrivals) adds a great "terminal" look.

Gwen, here are the four archetypes I want to work with. I don't know which one should be Nicklas, Sievart, Edvard, or Bjorn. I leave that to you.

Heres a screen shot of page 2 progress. Check out how I recycled the background mountains from page one and flipped and downsized the plane. I filled the boys in with brown just so I can see them better. I also liquified the original sketch so that I could add some chubbiness to Nicklas in the middle. Can you tell the difference from the first sketch? Also can you tell I moved the foreground onlookers to the right a little bit?

sketches

page one

after the dummy book and researching norway, fishing boats, airports, tunnels, fjords, waterfalls, the design process begins. I have to design a special boat for magnus which has gone through 4 or 5 changes in design so far. I have design different looks for each little cousin and a new look for Peder who is now older. I also design airports, scenery, magnus's home, etc. The biggest thing that was holding me back in starting this book, besides, working, coaching, parenting, and going to school, was technique. I was determined to do this book completely digital. This is what has gotten me in trouble. I am learning to paint digitally and am having fun but it has been a much slower process for me than anticipated. I also had some hardware problems. Had to replace the power source on my Mac and my scanner is still down.

But I am absolutely positive it will all be worth it. Here is page one and the beginning stage of page 2. The cousins arrive!

Oofta!

OOFTA is like Homer Simpson's Doh! I was suppose to be a lot further along on Magnus 2 by now. I told Gwen I would have it done by Xmas. There is no way, honestly. I apologize publicly to you, Gwen.