Choices

Inking Ash's Ninja Baby pages has been much fun so far. He uses an expressive, dynamic style that suits the material well. Poses are interesting, and action sequences are really effective.

Inadvertently, a lot of 'me'  creeps into the finished pages; I add background details, trying to keep consistent with prior panels. I've started to add panels, in order to flesh out the story.

Here's an example. This is Ash's pencilled page:

This is a critical moment in the story, where the main villain is introduced. My concept is that she sucks the energy out of well-loved toys, and they turn into controllable 'zombies' as a side-effect. While inking, I decided that more was needed to show the villain in action, which would result in a smoother pace (the story now has a beat to 'breathe and create tension):

This also pushes Ninja Baby's discovery of the villain to the next page, which I find works better.

Although my drawing skills are still improving, I've always prided myself on my story-telling skills, a bi-product of my days doing storyboards (where clearly defining action and showcasing 'acting' is essential). I'm glad I'm confident enough to tinker with Ash's nice pages, and it ultimately becomes more of a collaborative effort. 

Next week: a progress report on NB