So it has been a good while since we have offered some blog updates. Sajad, Adelso, and Alonso have been very busy as convention season is gearing up. Over the last few weeks they have been working to get our interior pages started. To date we have 2 pages completed and more in the pipeline. Here are some sneak peaks at the interiors:
First Media Coverage
So our dear friends at Urban Asian have been so kind as to cover our project. Check out the awesome coverage in the link:
http://urbanasian.com/whats-happenin/2014/02/the-last-ansaars-of-zindan-to-be-released-on-june-1st-2014/
Many thanks to Nila for the announcement. Hopefully there will be many more articles to come as we continue to move forward on this project.
More Colors!
Here is the back cover that just came back from Sabine. I will be posting two versions. The first was fantastic but since we are trying to sort of have some continuity between front and back we asked Sabine to color match the skies a little bit more. She did this with ease and I am sure we can all agree the outcome was fantastic!!
Colors!!!
This week we got our cover back from Sabine Rich! I think we all agree that it is absolutely amazing! I just want to bring attention to a few of the details that stood out.
Our initial directions were to make Timur's pants green, Zain's helmet gold and red, and the immortals hair white with a sunset occurring in the background. One of my concerns was the skin tones for the characters. Sadly there is a tendency in comics to make all the heroes very "white". Luckily Sabine nailed the skin tones on the first try without any need for revisions.
Another thing that I was worried about was being authentic to the time in terms of the look of the fabrics/costumes. Since we are based in the 1600s, the bright spandex colors of modern super heroes would be very out of place. So you can imagine my relief and amazement when Sabine picked reds and greens that looked like they were plucked right out of a Mughal outfit.
One thing Sajad noticed that I would also like to bring to your attention is the way the fire from the immortals hand is reflected in the lighting in his face. Now that is attention to detail! Im sure there will be many more incredible details to notice as I continue to study the colors but just wanted to get this up for you ASAP! Hope you guys like!
Inks on Back Cover
Once again Adelso delivers amazing inks on the back cover! Check it out below!
Cover with Title
Here is the first mock up with colored title. Thanks to Alonso for the work. Things are coming together and this is starting to look like a comic book. Still patiently waiting for colors on the cover to come back...but in the mean time this is exciting!
Back Cover pencils
Originally the back cover was going to be blank like most comics, but after thinking about it, we really thought that artwork there is a necessity. We rang up Sajad and Adelso and called an audible. Here is the progress on the back cover!
Re-Draft of Title Logo
The initial logos were narrowed down to two designs with instructions to try to redesign them with a more "eastern flare". I gave roberto the reference picture below from which he designed the second draft of logos that follow.
The Ink has dried
The inks are completed and now the cover is dry. Next stop is our colorist!
Title Designs
Adelso introduced me to his uncle, Roberto Vargas, who is a very talented graphic designer. He has put together some first mockups below as we begin the search for our logo design.
Inking continues
Adelso continues to work on the cover. These are his progress pictures he posted on our group thread. Cover looks amazing so far. Sajad was absolutely right when he said Adelso is incredible! Funny fact: Adelso enjoys inking facial hair.
Ink has started to flow
Adelso has just started Inking the cover and here are the first preview shots:.
Zain comes to life
Zain plays an incredibly protective and at the same time - heroic character in this story. We wanted to portray him as a sort of morally just figure who Taimur continually looks up to. Omar initially came up with this two second sketch showing a certain hairstyle, facial structure. I immediately knew which Bollywood actor he was thinking about when coming up with this sketch, because I was thinking of the exact same person! Sajad from this point was able to deconstruct and pencil in our imagination on paper in a real sketch. Hope you guys like it!
-Khurram
Developing the plot
Having a passion for South Asian and Islamic History, we really wanted to incorporate what we felt was a heavily understressed rich heritage in this series. The amount of tradition and culture in Mughal History, Persian history and Arab history has let our imaginations and fantasies run wild in the creation of The Last Ansaars.
Our goal in the creation of this series is to blend factual history of the region with old world mythology and forge a family of superheroes that can represent the region in a positive light.