Draft #14 - Badin and the Secret of the Saami

Notice some Viking-esque patterns?

As I mentioned yesterday, I still have three characters with incomplete model sheets for Badin and the Secret of the Saami. One of them is quite large and requires some complex schematics. Technically, it might be considered a location. However, since it is not a stationary thing, I have classified it as a character. I made 14 drafts of just one part of it this morning. I think I like number 14.

This character will contain many subtle designs inspired by old Viking-era objects I have found during my research. Being that this graphic novel takes place in Sweden, with Swedish and Saami characters, and I, the author, am half-Swedish, it is crucial that Swedish culture is evident throughout it.

I suppose I could just make it up as I go when I illustrate this graphic novel. However, I enjoy drawing the complexity and history of a character. It makes it more real in my imagination. Also, I have plans for a special edition of the graphic novel, which will contain all kinds of interesting extras either not covered in the graphic novel—or not relevant enough to keep in the story. I believe you will want to know more about this character than is revealed in the story.

At left is an abstract of the character. The scanned pencil layer is under the ink layer. This was created with Manga Studio 5EX.

The Antagonist - Badin and the Secret of the Saami

A storm in the story

After going through my checklist of 28 model sheets to color in Badin and the Secret of the Saami, I discovered that that the antagonist of the story was still unfinished—among 3 others.

I organize the characters as note cards in Scrivener and use the status field to sort them. When a character is labeled "100%" that means I did the color and they are ready for use in the illustrations. Apparently, I got a little too happy with my progress and overlooked a 75% (the antagonist), two 50% and a 0%. That zero—although she is a minor character—is embarrassing. I am holding myself back, however. No thumbnail phase until the model sheets are all labeled 100%. Self-discipline is crucial to proper management of this project. 

Who the antagonist is and how they fit in the story, I cannot yet reveal. However, I will confirm that the abstract at left is indeed the antagonist—or the bad guy.

Badin and the Secret of the Saami Progress 2015-09-27

You may be able to tell from the abstracts at left and right, I am finished with the color model sheets of the main character, Badin. It feels really good to be at this stage. It's like part of training for an athletic tournament. I am now closer to the big showdown.

The "bigger" Badin

The "smaller" Badin

While doing all this I have been thinking about fonts and word balloon styles. That is not a priority at this time, but I will need to deal with it eventually.

Badin and the Secret of the Saami Progress 2015-09-23

An unnamed main actor

As I write this, I am sleep deprived, but hyped. I am working on Badin's model sheet: The star of the show. The lead actor. My main man. However, I got distracted when ideas about promoting the graphic novel and its cover crept into my head. So I had to write them down before I might forget.

As mentioned before, I use Scrivenor for organizing the script, notes and references. It is very useful. I highly recommend it if you are writing a script or novel.

The abstract at left is not Badin. It is someone else—a main character. I was excited to finish this one tonight. No spoilers—not at least before the first promotion.

Badin and the Secret of the Saami Progress 2015-09-19

Model sheet color sketch

"Surely, after difficulty, comes ease" reads a verse from the Holy Quran (I am too tired to look it up for a citation). This is not a blog about religion, but rather an expression of my journey to create and finish Badin and the Secret of the Saami. So it is all about overcoming ease: Something which can be harder than the difficulty.

After you get your mind around that one—it took me awhile too—you might see the patterns of life: Death and life are one in the same. People fear them equally. Difficulty can be equated with death and life can be equated with ease.

When I am happy with an illustration, I am inclined to slow down and feel less anxious about moving on to the next one. This is the hardship of ease. As I finish this blog entry, I am in the middle of coloring the model sheets of the three main characters. After that, I must do the antagonist and a room. That's over 20 model sheets done. After that…I believe I can finally start illustrating the graphic novel.

The model sheet abstract above is for one of the minor Saami characters. It was created from a pencil sketch that was inked and colored using Manga Studio 5EX.

Badin and the Secret of the Saami Progress 2015-09-16

A color abstract of one of the minor, but important, characters

I may have mentioned previously that Badin and the Secret of the Saami is like no other illustration project I have done before. Some will hate it. Others will love it.

Either way, it will shed light on topics untouched by any graphic novel that I have known. The most important of them, is the childhood of the most famous Swede of the African Diaspora: Badin. Although it is entirely fiction, many of the characters, scenes and events are related to actual history of Swedish and Saami people.

This month, with the help of funds raised from dozens of people from around the world, I hired translators and editors and published the first English translation of the real Badin's diary. It is available as a download for free on the Internet. A hard-bound edition is available at-cost from Lulu Press.

I did this out of my own time, with no pay. I did this for the Swedish people out of gratitude for their gift to me and my family. That gift was to be a guest for the 2013 season of Allt för Sverige and receive family history and the reuniting of family from three generations ago.

Badin and the Secret of the Saami Progress 2015-09-13

Many Swedes are not blond

No matter how difficult it appears, I have found that when I focus on drawing through the entire figure, object or background, it's like a carving a path through dense woods. Nothing is distinguishable at first. However, after cutting through a few times, the shapes, textures and values begin to appear.

So it is with any problem in life. Each time I encounter the same problem, a new opportunity appears. It is an opportunity to traverse the path with more confidence and determination to get to the other side.