jccatstudios - Tumblr blog

[jccatstudios]

everyone is your asks is in awe of you fr

as they should be

hahaha thank you! To be fair, I did accidentally incentivize it (truly not my intention, I just wanted to find a better way to thank all of you who send nice things in my inbox).

Speaking of incentives, wanted to share some of my thumbnails for the next set of pages! These are some of the rare layouts that haven't changed since I first drew them back in December. Usually, I make a corrected second draft before doing the final pages, but I liked these so much, they didn't change that much. I've been waiting so long to do page 23 because I love that very comics-specific gag with the back-and-forth panelling. You guys will get to see how these pages turned out tomorrow :)

[jccatstudios]

shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals 💙

From my On Repeat playlist! No surprise that the latest Pearl Jam album's on there. I literally made a playlist just to listen to "Won't Tell" on repeat while finishing the last batch of pages (it's also on my kaz and matthias playlists now because it works perfectly as kanej and helnik song). And "RISK, RISK, RISK!" is for sure on my jesper playlist. I'm sure I'll share those one day. They're just too short to be worthwhile right now haha

[jccatstudios]

The kid in front of Haskell’s desk was hell to look at— a plague orphan, he could tell that much. His face and neck were still marred with the slightly reddish pits that the pox left behind, even months later, and he was gaunt with sickness and malnutrition, bones jutting hard and nasty. They’d have pinned him down as a weakling, before the plague. But that was before. Now, in the miserable, scraping afterwards, not only was he alive, but half the gambling halls and gangs on the Lid were desperate to have him— or so Seeger said, anyway. Haskell didn’t know why this kid wanted to be in the Dregs, when the Razorgulls were practically throwing cash at him, but he wasn’t going to count his chickens. Maybe he preferred crows to gulls.

(the rise of dirtyhands, as witnessed by per haskell)

ketterdam man buys teacup poodle that turns out to be doberman and bites his arm off

[jccatstudios]

This post by @dwyntwo has been in my head

[jccatstudios]

do you think, under a cut maybe, you could add a version with a watermark?? Id love to make your art a phone background or something but I feel weird putting someones wm myself or not using one with a wm!!

Honestly, I have no concerns over what anyone does with my stuff, just as long as it follows my FAQ page. If it's just for you, do whatever you want with it! If you're reposting it somewhere, just make sure to put visible credit in the description. I also just don't like putting watermarks on my work, especially my comics. The reading experience is what's most important to me, so I don't like adding elements that detract from that.

When it comes to my art and comics, I like to conduct myself professionally. I'm still a student comic creator, but when I look at my favorite professional creators, they're not putting a ton of energy into dictating how their readers use their art, so neither will I. That time is better spent making comics!

[jccatstudios]

Can I make your wylan drawing in your latest sketch dump as my pfp? It's so good I love you're art!!!

Thank you and yes you can! My art can always be used for personal use (pfp, layouts, etc) with credit.

[jccatstudios]

YOUR ART IS THE COOLEST THING EVER I AM IN AWE EVERY TIME YOU POST A NEW PAGE

GOODBYE

THANK YOU!!! 💜💜💜

Sketchdump for your kindness. Today, we got helnik, backstory wylan, and human mordecai because I’ve been reading lackadaisy recently.

[jccatstudios]

Six of Crows: A Comic Adaptation

Part 1, Chapter 3

Pages 21–22

Previous Pages

Download the Chapter 2 Digital Copy

[jccatstudios]

New pages tomorrow! 2 pm est

Six of Crows: A Comic Adaptation

Part 1, Chapter 3

Pages 19–20

Previous Pages

Download the Chapter 2 Digital Copy

[jccatstudios]

your art is SO good, i'm so obsessed with it. you always put so much detail and it makes me want to reread the books!!

Thank you!!! All the little details are a product of how many rereads I’ve done (mainly of ch 2-3) and just thinking up stuff I want to draw from this world. I love how much there is to think about and infer. The 3D models I’ve been using definitely help with allowing me to focus on the details rather than the foundational aspects.

Just finished inking a page today and I thought you all might like to see a certain character… :)

[jccatstudios]

just wanted to say i adore your comic style and you are doing such justice to the books. every time i open tumblr Im hopeful to see a new page dropped. hyped to see everything yet to come 🩷

Thank you! 💜 Always honored to hear the comic does the book justice. I’m always trying to capture my initial vision of the book, so I’m glad that people share that vision with me. So far, I’m almost done with the pencils on the next pages, so I hope I can finish them soon!

Early days kaz and jesper. Kaz doesn’t have his look down just yet, neither does jes. I always liked to think that jesper joined the dregs before the bank heist, making him the first crow to ever do a heist with kaz. Idk, jesper being the first crow is so special to me.

[jccatstudios]

Looking at my inbox now and I know what you guys are doing hahaha (just know I very much appreciate it)

PLEASE DO USE YOUR ASK BOX TO SHARE SKETCHES I AM EATING THEM UP /POS

Will do! Moving forward, I'll share some sketches or something else interesting along with asks that don't have specific questions/topics I can answer. Just my way of saying "thank you" for the lovely words you guys send me. If you ever send something and you don't hear back from me, it's probably because I'm saving it once I actually have a sketch to share! I don't have much time to sketch during the school year, so it might take a bit. :)

[jccatstudios]

Hey! Hope you don"t mind me asking so many questions about your process, I promise my style is entirely different, the general theme of your art though is what ive been striving for! Please dont hesitate to share any limits to it!

Anyway, how do you clean up your drawings:0? I believe you said you start out on paper, so how do you get it on digital without it looking messy? Thanks!

No problem! Asking questions is the best way to learn anything, and I don't mind answering them.

I do start off on paper and transfer it to digital. Below is a comparison of chapter 3, page 17's scan file (all traditional, no edits done yet) versus its digitally cleaned-up version (left to right).

The edits on this page are heavier in comparison to some of the other pages, especially since I made a mistake that would affect the narrative (see bottom right panel).

To scan, I usually use the large flatbed Epson scanners provided by my school. When I'm away or on vacation, I resort to using a copier machine (not always great results, but it works out in the end. The first six pages of chapter 3 were copier machine scans). There's a setting called "Gamma" that I like to set to around 1.2. I don't know what it does, but it makes the pages look crisper overall.

After I import my scan file to Clip Studio, I create two correction layers to put on top of the page. One is a tone curve layer and the other is a posterization layer. For the former, I try to make an "S" curve to push the contrast. For the latter, I set it to around 6. These correction layers help the black-and-white contrast shine and define the edges better.

The last step before toning and lettering is the edit layer. I create a new raster layer to make corrections to the page. Sometimes, I have to go in and redraw a large section (like in the last panel), but most of the time, I'm going in and cleaning up areas. My white ink isn't always opaque, so it'll create a gray tone that I have to add digital white over. Other edits include adding in smaller things I forgot to draw or stuff that just would be easier to draw digitally.

[jccatstudios]

PLEASE DO USE YOUR ASK BOX TO SHARE SKETCHES I AM EATING THEM UP /POS

Will do! Moving forward, I'll share some sketches or something else interesting along with asks that don't have specific questions/topics I can answer. Just my way of saying "thank you" for the lovely words you guys send me. If you ever send something and you don't hear back from me, it's probably because I'm saving it once I actually have a sketch to share! I don't have much time to sketch during the school year, so it might take a bit. :)

[jccatstudios]

you are incredible!!!! i am in awe of you!!!!

Thank you! :D Have a nina face study I particularly liked

[jccatstudios]

when existence or when hope is gone : soc jane austen / regency au

"And have you made this entire call without once vexing or offending poor Miss Ghafa?” Captain Rietveld looked coolly at him. Inej bent her head over her sewing to hide her smiling, since she was not sure she would not laugh outright. She had not thought that Wylan would deliberately provoke the Captain, but perhaps his deference to his father did not reach anyone else. “I am sure that is not for me to decide,” said the Captain, “But I own I have been perfectly well behaved.” “Does he lie, Miss Ghafa?” “No— he has been quite tolerable company,” said Inej. “If not quite a perfect gentleman.” “You wound me, Miss Ghafa.” “I suspect I do not, Captain.”

contextual and explanatory notes about regency literary and social conventions are below the cut if you have questions during/after reading! plus some trivia for fun :)

The redacting of certain place names (—shire, — Street) is accurate to lots of old novels, where you will see it from time to time. I think it was a deliberate omission to avoid libel accusations if they accidentally invoked somewhere or someone real, or to also avoid confusing people if it contradicted real life. I used it here both to mimic the style, and also because that way didn't have to pick streets or regions lol.

The 'cut direct' was a social nuke and Kaz has balls of steel for using it on an older man who is his social superior 💀 if you very deliberately stared at and then blanked a previous acquaintance who had greeted you, it severed a relationship or acquaintance forever and could also make people turn on the person being cut. Pekka could have challenged him to a duel for it, but sensibly I think he saw the lapse in logic in giving a pistol to a soldier who holds you responsible for his brother's death and letting him shoot at you

A reticule is one of those dumb tiny handbags that regency ladies had

Governesses were in a uniquely vulnerable position. Not genteel enough for the family while not technically a servant, they tended to be isolated. While they were ofc not comparable to what Inej canonically goes through, many were abused by the families they worked for, rivalled the mothers for their children's affection, and some were harassed and abused by husbands or male visitors. There's a reason Jane Fairfax does not want to be one in Emma.

The navy lists are a publication that, unsurprisingly, list all the men, their ranks, and their ships currently trundling around on campaign. Kaz checks them to see who is still alive and to backseat drive campaigns (what's new!) and Wylan waits on tenterhooks for him to find Jesper. Which he always does because he was already looking for him.

Married couples did not tend to call one another by their given names, at least not in company; Nina and Matthias do it because they have a fond disrespect for one another. Or Nina does anyway and it's rubbed off on Matthias.

Although Kaz and Inej are comparatively very young, twenty six is pushing it for the 'marriageability' of young women; Anne Elliot was twenty seven and was considered to have lost the 'bloom' of her youth, so she is being bourne down upon a bit.

The money concerns in Persuasion— landed gentry losing money and soldiers becoming 'new' money in the war via prize money, but still being looked down upon by the old nobility— are kinda reflected through Kaz and Jesper.

(to be so honest I do not quite understand how the regency economy worked but I figured that like, no one else reading this does either, unless ur a regency specialist. if you are, sorry. how's academia?)

I think we're actually not quite yet at the peak of the 'scandal sheet' Bridgerton-Lady-Whistledown craze, but I couldn't possibly deprive Kaz and Inej of their fishmarket wife gossip habit in any universe.

I also hate Lord Byron. Next!

Nina, Matthias, and Inej are not at the Wesper wedding because regency weddings were super tiny affairs that only had v close / local family and friends at them

I think the circumstances of Kaz and Jordie having been minor landed gentry having to join the navy out of necessity may be a bit of a stretch but... Well I had to think of something to replicate Kaz's backstory with. The easier solution would have been for them to marry rich but I can see Jordie thinking that trying to marry Kaz 'Cut Direct' Rietveld off to a Duchess might be a bit tough

A trousseau was the collection of clothes that women bought before they were married; it was an expected thing, to send brides off with new clothes. Nina and Mrs Ghafa (and Jesper) are a lot more interested in this than poor Inej is lol.

The made up house names are entirely inside jokes with myself. Geldings references horses but is actually a play on the Geldstraat, Crawley means 'clearing frequented by crows', Stavewell is a play on the Stave where Tante Heleen and the Menagerie are, and I think Trasselwood is fairly obvious lol.

[jccatstudios]

Hii I just wanted to let you know that when reading the book I imagined Van Eck exactlyyy as you've drawn him! No joke! His hair especially, the slightly wavy texture and light color and style! I also love his facial expressions, literally can't wait to see Pekka Rollins (that's something I never knew I'd say..)

P.S. huge, huge fan of your Six of Crows comic, every time you post new pages I reread all the previous chapters all over again. Absolutely love, love, love what you're doing!

aw thank you!!! The fun thing about drawing the villains is that there really isn't much visual reference to go off of, so I'm trying to capture what I imagined without any outside influences. People in the reblogs on the last pages mentioned that they've never seen people draw Van Eck before, and I haven't either! There are like only a few pieces of fanart from pinterest I've seen in my research. That's it. As for Geels, there was nothing. I think I officially hold the world record for Geels drawings.

Here's a quick Pekka for your kindness :)

He's very much based on what I first imagined while reading the book, but this design is also influenced by hearing his chapters in the audiobook and working from the sound of the actor's voice. Shame he only gets two chapters. I absolutely love listening to him read.