This is a technique you've seen me use in my two other series, Satin Steele and Dyna the Damsel Dynamo!; collaging elements from photographs together with drawings to create an establishing shot. But here's the first time I've used it, in this first look at Hamilton Slade's "humble abode".

The main number one reason I started using this method is simple: I hate drawing buildings and cars. Human figures, you can fudge a little and claim "stylization". But in art like I like to draw it, you have to have buildings and cars look correct or the entire panel looks amateurish. And that involves precise curves, straight lines and correct perspective.

What I'd hoped by "cheating" with artistically filtered and collaged photos was cutting a little of the time it takes to produce the art for my stories. Unfortunately, I'm finding that finding suitable photos for my uses is taking as much time as sitting down and laying out the perspective lines and everything else involved in the "precise curves etc." So much for "saving time..." *sigh*

© 2005 DCM