my_mayfly

Happy New Year! (And happy update)

2007-01-01T11:40:19Z

May this year 2007 be at least as good as the last one -- and let it not be worse.

Just 6 pages of chapter 3: pages 21 to 26

Sort of, that is.

A short intermission with two hight members of the Council on a rather secret meeting...
Angus trying to be all macho and stuff (I think I really enjoy writing him... He does remind me of a certain guy I once knew...).

We haven't seen too much in this update, but at least one thing is certain: the older brother Quoyle is, definatelly, a Chaos Mage. And his level is far from medicore, I can give you that one info...

Next update is planned for the end of the January, and hopefully it will be the rest of Chapter Three. If i don't manage to complete the chapter, I'll update with as many pages as I have -- unles it will ruin the climax;)

Take care in this 2007.

A much delayed update -- Merry Christmas!

2006-12-24T14:13:27Z

The best laid plans--
Updating in 'chapter-per-update' schedule just went over board. We're back to update half-a-chapter schedule, and let's hope it'll stay in this reasonable pace.

The update: 20 pages of Chapter Three

Half a chapter, because it's Christmas. And because I thought it's better than nothing till the end of the year.

This seems to be the longest chapter up to date, and many things happen in it -- and many will still happen in the next update.

A bit more info about the world and -- I hope -- more about the characters and things that make them tick. At least some of them. If you happen to completely dislike some of the characters after this update, don't worry. It's just how they are.
And they all make mistakes-- Noone is actually completely guiltless.

More will be explained as the story progresses, but I can assure you that the other half of the chapter holds some new questions. And a tiny bit of romantic perturbations -- but i wouldn't be myself, if I didn't put in a bit of romance...

Thus, next update will come after the New Year's Day -- be it two pages, five or more (I hope for more), it's quaranteed. Unless my computer drops dead. In which case, I'll probably be dead right beside her...;)

Step by step - closer to closing...

2006-10-07T15:40:38Z

Hellish week, part two: the nightmare continues.

That should be the title of a horror movie, not yet another week out of my life. Though, it seems to be brightening on the horizon and I actually got a few hours for myself and for My Mayfly. Which eventually led to creating a few more pages. And bringing chapter 3 a step further on the road to the end.

Yes, the character design yet again: Ashivayra sure has a lot of faces. But this time - inspired by a lot of beautiful ladies of the silver screen, I think I've designed the actual her.
Here she is:

Mysterious, alluring, kind of Arwen Morningstar look-alike, isn't she?

And, to make the wait for chapter 3 more bearable, here's another extra:

The scene where Angus Malatesta pretends he actually has balls.

I know it's not much -- but it's a proof we're still alive and actually doing something... Till next time, everyone!

comic progress and character design evolution

2006-09-17T10:40:30Z

As usual, the work can kill the creative bug -- with a big can of Raid, I believe.

For the past two weeks I was doing commissions, fixing stuff for other people (who claim they are graphic designers and even get paid for that -- yeah, right.) and trying to catch a tiny bit of sunlight (the room with my PC is, unfortunatelly, situated on the shadowy part of the building...

The state I developped bounced happily on the verge of depression, exhaustion and -- eventually -- deep and bitter frustration.

It's not over, mind you. I had to take a day break from work, or else...

Now, for the crucial part - more and more pages are being put up together, but i won't update until i have the whole chapter ready. Chapter Three is one of the most important chapters, as the choices the characters make in it drop shadow on their future lives. Thus, i don't want you to experience this chapter in a jaggy way -- rather as a whole.

For a treat and extra material, that is a character design of a lady who's going to show up pretty soon --

Character design of Ashivayra:

The final version -- on the right.

As you can see, I've gone through some stages. At first, I had this 'lofty, lady-like' classical beauty in mind. She kind of looks like Wonder Woman, doesn't she?... But eventually I found her too stern and serious.

So, the second version -- Jessica Alba look-alike. Sure, I saw this figure on the market and bought her, thinking she'll make great Ashi... Until recently. I thought that maybe -- just maybe -- the new design is too child-like. Plus, i had troubles with the hair, could get it right.

Eventually, I sat down and dig out an old character of mine, from the times when i was trying to recreate Liv Tyler... Well, i know. She doesn't look like Liv.
She has this innocence, though and unearthliness I was aiming for, without the seriousness of the first version. I think she'll stay;)

(Ashivayra shown up for the first time at the end of chapter three, and then she stays for a little longer. I have to admit that from all my female characters, i like Abby most, Ashi second. Do i even like Maeve...?)

I'm going back to work... Wish me luck, I hope to finnish the chapter before September turns into October...

production stills

2006-08-21T19:25:10Z

Still on holidays -- just returned home for a day. I'm beginning to think that I'm more tired on holidays than at home... And I actually have more free time when I'm working! Now, that's ironic. I guess it's like that year after year, but I need to rediscover the fact each year...

As I think about My mayfly in terms of a Tv series;) -- every episode should have a set of stills, showing scenes that will be in the final version.

More to come, as the work on chapter 3 progreses.

Worry not, My Mayfly is alive!

My Mayfly has been ranked!

2006-08-01T10:29:05Z

Hey!
I'm on the brink of leaving for a whole month (with little breaks, now and then) and -- as You're all aware of, it'll put a little stop to the works on chapter 3. Naturally, a month in the woods will proove excellent for my healt (both mental and physical, I do need a break!) and I'll have plenty of time to script the pages.

Progres so far: page one done, page two storyboarded...

And a teaser, as promised:
.

And now the happy news!
My mayfly has been ranked A+, 5.0 / 5.0!

and a link to the ranking

Chapter two completed

2006-07-25T18:17:26Z

Finally -- those pages took far too long to complete...

The final pages of episode two

I know it's only a few pages and I could have waited -- but i didn't know how long it would take me. The IB light in the clinic is killing my computer;)
Worry not, in the next episode the light will change as a certain chaos mage triggers off the alarm. But that'll happen in September, as I won't be home for the whole August, and thus the next update is due to September...

Some production notes: Argent got clothes change (for clinic clothes). It's really hard to find good looking children clothes for Poser figures...

I really, really liked the way the kidnapped nurse looks. Took me a moment to pose the scene and I'm satisfied with the result.

Oh yes, and in this chapter begins the long-time wondering "who fathered this child?" -- let's just say there'll be clues. And mis-clues. And it's not as obvious as it looks.

The close connection between chaotic magic and healing magic could be dwelled upon further in future episodes... For now it's suffice to know exactly what Nate has said: they are both rather unpredictable and not halted by the barrier, thus all mages inside the clinic cannot defend themselves against the 'terrorists', who also happen to be -- though it wasn't shown -- Chaos Mages.

I've also updated the extra section on the main page.
And if you can see the title and small cover for episode three -- it's absolutelly normal;) As I won't be able to update till September, I'll post teasers and some concept art there. Soon. I'll let you know in the journal;)

One final note. If you'd like to be notified via e-mail whenever My Mayfly is updated, mail me on ariah81@yahoo.com
I'll add your address to the mailing list and when a new chapter is ready, you'll be first to know.

Chapter two: pages 1-18 online

2006-07-15T15:21:19Z

I've decided to post the bulk of the chapter two (though not finnished, yet) not to keep You waiting too long. The rest will follow shortly, either one page at a time or the whole ten at once.

My main mistake was rusing the IB lights in the clinic scenes: they look great, but take a very, very long time to render... It took me a day to do one page right...

Though, never mind. Here you go: the pages so far, 1 - 18

This time we meet more characters, some of them will play an important part in the plot, some are there just to spill some information.
Though it may seem out of place, the sub-story with the guy and his little brother will come up in the upcoming pages. Trust me.

We finally got to see Maeve's fiancee (what does she see in this guy?) and learned a bit about the nature of the PA, the Personal Assistants.

Some pages just didn't want to follow the script: the one inside the clinic, with the little bald kid and Argent exchanging looks, for example. I really liked the way it turned out... Hey, I practically like any scene inside the clinic, but are they painfull to render...

More to come, naturally; I know it looks like nothing really happens this chapter, but that's just a prelude. No info is redundant -- perhaps you already know what follows.

Have a great read, a please do drop a line or two afterwards!
Take care!

The progress so far...

2006-06-30T20:57:58Z

Today i realized the sad truth: I don't do one page for up to two hours. It actually took me half of the day to do two pages. Oh dear.

I need to get a faster computer. Or stop listening to WinAmp while working...

Good news: chapter two is growing. I don't think it'll be more than 30 pages long, but it already has 7. And a cover. Here's another teaser :

the cover with the title

And no, Maeve did not change her hair-style permanently: she just ties her hair when at work.

A tiny chenge on the site

2006-06-25T09:28:52Z

Hey!

Once again, thank You for the comments posted previously, I tried to answer them all. You're wonderful and one of the reasons I want to create.

Now, as for the change: I've been notified that the progressive JPEG is slowing down some of the connections. As the actual difference in size is minimal, i've changed the pages to a regular JPEG. It should work fine right now. If there's still any glitch, let me know. I don't want to shrink down the pages too much, as the quality loss is too great.

Another change deals with the navigation: now You can turn the pages of the comic by clicking on it. It's more intuitive that way.

And, as a teaser and a proof I started work on chapter 2, here's the very first page: a teaser

There are two new characters, Katerina and Malchus, who together with Tremain form the Trinity Council.
More to come, deffinatelly.

Chapter One: The Stolen Child

2006-06-18T15:25:21Z

Finally, chapter one has been finnished.

It's a bit of an exposition, so far -- the main characters had been introduced, but there are a few left unmentioned. Those will come up in the second chapter, a second part of the exposition before the main action starts.

Not too much is said about the world: we know there exists magic and a thing called Chaos (a bit of light is shed on this issue if You click on the 'extra' section on the comic page). We know there is a city (no name, so far) and that is has a few levels (with the lower ones being a rather unsafe place).

Other bits of information can be found in the 'characters' section -- but don't expect huge revelations. The world and its rules will slowly be unravelled. With the stress on slowly.

What I can say for certain: Mages are, indeed, a kind of a higher class in this society (at least in the country the action takes place), but not the rulling class per se. Yes, the comic will focus not only on action, but also on the characters.

And, naturally, I will answer any question You ask me -- as long as it doesn't consider too much spoilers!

As for the next update: this comic is to be updated chapter by chapter, not page by page. However, if You really, really wish to have it updated -- say, twice a week with one or two pages -- don't hesitate to tell me.

And I'd really love to hear what you have to say about this little project of mine...

my_mayfly @ 2006-06-13T17:52:00

2006-06-13T15:55:51Z

This journal will be devoted to the on-line fantasy comic book, 'my mayfly'. It will deal with the act of creating, plot and choices made in order to deliver it, the characters and why they are the way they are.

It will start in full swing once the first issue of the comic is fully operational and on-line.

Till that time, then.