worldofavania

[worldofavania]

Time for some brand-new summer sketches! This time featuring Viktoria in a dress I saw modeled by a mannequin while I was walking to work (the boutique looked to be more toward Viktoria's price range too), but whoops--I guess those designer handbags aren't always manufactured all the demands of a well-equipped femme fatale in mind!

[worldofavania]

Warm weather means it's car wash season! ...or plane wash I guess, if that's what you daily.

Anyway, I haven't done any new pen & paper sketches in a long time, but I recently had a good opportunity to do so, and this was one of the new sketches I did.

[worldofavania]

The Obligatory Anniversary Post:

Avania officially turns 7 this year, and stands just shy of 200 updates on @avaniacomic (191 to be exact, counting both comic pages and front/back covers). The artwork above is intended for the inside back cover of Issue No.8, as a sort of wrap-up to the events of that issue and the preceding one, but you can enjoy it here just as well.

I don't have much to add here since I just recently posted a long-ish status update following the completion of Issue No.8, but I encourage you to read that if you haven't already. To summarize, it has been a very busy, difficult last few years, but I am working hard and am exciting to draw the next chapter of Avania!

As a side activity, I also started filling in some character profiles and art collections on my ToyHou.se page, so check that out too if you enjoy any or all Avania's wide cast of characters.

And of course, thank you to everyone for all your support!

[worldofavania]

The weather is warming up, we don't need no sleeves no 'mo, hell yeeeeah brother!

Anyway, I haven't done any new pen & paper sketches in a long time, but I recently had a good opportunity to do so, and this was one of the new sketches I did.

[worldofavania]

Post-Issue 8 Status Update

Whew, it is finally done... Issue No.8 took much longer than any previous issue, on account of multiple major life changes during that time, so there is a lot to reflect on...

Eight was the first issue that I started as new dad, drawing with a snoozing baby on my chest (how comparatively easy those days were)... As time went on my father was diagnosed with cancer and I spent the better part of a year visiting him as often as I could. I completed page 16 on a cold January night before I would see him for the last time. I didn't draw much for some months after that.

Eventually, I found the motivation to continue drawing, but time was and is still exceedingly precious. To top all that off, I also bought a house and moved from my apartment of 10 years. I'm established enough to want to draw as much as I can, but there are many demands on my time throughout the day (including going back to the office for my day job) so a few hours a night is about the most I can hope for as far as time for Avania, and other personal art projects.

So all in all, instead of the previous average of about 1 year to draw a complete issue cover to cover, Issue No.8 took about 2.5 years. This is also leaving out some of the bonus pinup art I put on the inside covers of the print issues and formatting them for release (though I am making one pinup for this issue since it is related to the plot of the issue). I will finish and make available for purchase issues 7 and 8 when I can, as there really isn't that much left to do, and it will likely take well over a year to complete issue 9 in any case.

However, both chapters of Issue No.9 have some notable scenes I've been looking forward to getting to for years now, and I'm thrilled that I've finally reached the point that I can begin working on the first of those right now! In fact, I am thinking of posting the cover by itself once I complete it, just to leave a more intriguing "Coming Soon..ish" page on worldofavania.com than the previous issue's back cover (and to help space things out better, since I will likely also be breaking the chapter up into smaller scenes again so I don't go the better part of a year without posting new pages).

In other news, I've made a bit of a companion project to Avania in actually uploading art and writing down notes for my characters on ToyHou.se - I didn't really know what to do with the site despite being invited to it years ago, but recently I thought it would be a nice way to collect art of each character along with more background information on them.

Some of the notes could potentially be light spoilers for revelations in the comic itself, but mostly it's just character histories, info, and relationship notes. (I hope) some of the info can be inferred to some degree from the story and side comics, but since I will likely only be able to cover a slight amount of what I've thought up for backstories, I figured this would be a way for anyone wanting to learn more about Avania and its cast to have the opportunity to do so! ...As well as provide an easy way to see all the art of any given character I create a profile for.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and thank you for your patience and understanding. I hope to gradually return to my former schedule, but for now, it's back to the drawing board for me!

Links:

Deviant Art | Fur Affinity | PillowFort | ToyHous.se | Twitter | Bluesky | Youtube | ModDB | Digital Issues | Print Issues

[worldofavania]

Kick your feet up and relax, the Long Issue is over... May the next one not take so darn long! (To that end, I'm thinking of posting the front cover of Issue No.9 as soon as it is done, so as to wet the appetite for the action in store...)

In the meantime, stay tuned for a post-issue status update, as well a bonus feature of sorts I've been working on here and there!

    Celebrate the end of Avania No.8 with a drink, and toast: To another 8 issues!

    Stay tuned for a post-issue status update, out soon.

    And if you enjoy Avania, be sure to give it a vote on Top Webcomics  and enjoy a special Summer wallpaper ft. Rhys O'Shaughnassy!

| [ Printed Issues on IndyPlanet ] | [ Digital Issues on Amazon ] |

[worldofavania]

An eventful day at Frontier HQ comes to a close, and with it, chapter 17! Stay tuned next week for the back cover, and with it the literal close of Issue No. 8!

  Avania is back again to finish out Chapter 17 and Issue 8 as a whole!

    Stay tuned for new pages every Sunday at 7:00pm EST until conclusion!

    And if you enjoy Avania, be sure to give it a vote on Top Webcomics  and enjoy a special Spring wallpaper ft. Rhys O'Shaughnassy!

| [ Printed Issues on IndyPlanet ] | [ Digital Issues on Amazon ] |

[worldofavania]

A very eventful day comes to a close with some discussion and a smoke... The author does not condone smoking in real life, but discussion of Avania is strongly encouraged--I love to read your comments and feedback!

  Avania is back again to finish out Chapter 17 and Issue 8 as a whole!

    Stay tuned for new pages every Sunday at 7:00pm EST until conclusion!

    And if you enjoy Avania, be sure to give it a vote on Top Webcomics  and enjoy a special Spring wallpaper ft. Rhys O'Shaughnassy!

| [ Printed Issues on IndyPlanet ] | [ Digital Issues on Amazon ] |

[worldofavania]

It has been a LONG day in webcomic time, but as the sun sets on Frontier HQ, we have finally reached the end of Issue 8. Enjoy!

  Avania is back again to finish out Chapter 17 and Issue 8 as a whole!

    Stay tuned for new pages every Sunday at 7:00pm EST until conclusion!

| [ Printed Issues on IndyPlanet ] | [ Digital Issues on Amazon ] |

[worldofavania]

Finally, after a long, grueling however-the-hell-long-it-has-been, it is time to at last bring this chapter (and Issue No.8 as a whole) to conclusion!

Join me, starting May 25th on @avaniacomic / https://worldofavania.com for the final few pages of this chapter.

[worldofavania]

Drawn: 2022

Analysis: Time for another in-universe poster! I had this idea for a while, and even though the White Knights have appeared and some even introduced already, I still thought it would be fitting to have some diegetic promotional material for them (and conveniently, something that would make efficient reuse of some existing portraits heheh). When I first started out with the concept, it was looking kinda bland, but after some time experimenting with backgrounds and portrait frames, I think it really came together nicely!

If I drew it again:  I guess have all unique art? Eh, everything looks good and I'm all about economy of labor!

Favorite Part: The whole thing I guess? I feel like this poster is greater than the sum of its parts.

Avania, No.7 Back Cover

[worldofavania]

Drawn: 2022

Analysis: At last, the final page in this chapter, and the penultimate page preceding the issue's back cover! There's a lot compressed into this page--It certainly could have been two pages, but I'm not about to break my format just yet... Anyway, the layout is fairly standard action for the first six panels, but the final five panels are more novel! It is the central bottom panel here that could have made for a cool stand-alone page, but again, I wasn't about to break my format just for that. Still, I think it works well with the braking shot and respective close-ups on Daniel and Una/Charlotte. As a cliff-hanger ending of sorts, I was really excited to do this scene. Overall I think it turned out well, and I'm happy with all the panel art both by itself and taken all together!

If I drew it again:  As I mentioned, the last half of the page, or even the main panel at the bottom could make for a cool stand-alone page, but my format doesn't allow it (plus a page of ONLY the two ships would likely mean they'd be huge on the canvas and it'd take forever to detail them all--Even more than usual)! Keeping things to one page though, I suppose I possibly could find a better composition, but I think it turned out decent enough as a compromise between a cool page composition and efficient use of the panel space to detail the narrative elements.

Favorite Panel(s): Basically everything here, particularly the close-ups, but as the main concept for the scene, I have to give the number one favorite award to the sweet Top Gun reference--er, second-to-last panel, because it just turned out great and planes r definitely kewl!

[worldofavania]

Drawn: 2022

Analysis: [Showdown Intensifies] This is where the rubber hits the road--Or props hit the air (though I guess they were already doing that...) ANYWAY, action happens and the panels get a little more differently shaped! This layout does something I don't often do, and that's have not just one, but TWO long, thin panels. I think they work well for depicting the dynamic movement of air combat (or mock-combat) within a single static image, and with so much going on at once, I wanted to capture the feel here more than any one specific maneuver. This is the first aerial action scene in quite a long time, and now it's not merely a chase, but a real (simulated) engagement! Overall I'm pretty happy with how the page turned out, and I think it strikes a nice balance of shots.

If I drew it again:  Don't really have any issues with this one, and since I added the radio comms portraits, I think it does everything I wanted it to.

Favorite Panel(s): Probably the plane action shots of 3-6, as just seeing aircraft drawn in dynamic positions relative to one another is fun and makes me want to make VRAAAO and PAPAPAPAPA sound effects to myself... Other favorite: Panels 1 and 2 (2 moreso) because I like Harry's expressions and interaction with Longmeadow, but I really like how cool the others lancers look when seen flying in formation just outside the canopy!

[worldofavania]

Drawn: 2022

Analysis: Similar layout to the previous page, but now things are heating up! I think the spike in tension is reflected well in the panel art, and I really like how they turned out here. This page has a nice distribution of in-cockpit closeups, just-outside-of-cockpit closeups, distant aircraft shots, and a variety of camera angles. Fitting all the dialogue in (and in the larger radio bubbles too) was a bit of a challenge, but I think the placement works really well here without cluttering either the openness of the skies or the tight confines of the cockpits.

As I've noted above for the flying pages this chapter, I went back and added little character portraits alongside dialogue where the speaker's identity is ambiguous. The ambiguity issue was one that I'd originally wanted to address with color-coded radio balloons, but since the comic ended up being in greyscale that wasn't really an option... It wouldn't have been ideal anyway though, so after receiving some feedback about labeling the balloons with the speaker's name and trying that out, I decided I'd go with the portraits for a couple of reasons; names can vary in length and different characters go by first/last or both names depending on context, and the portraits can be uniform size and are easy to move around depending on where the most aesthetic position ends up.

If I drew it again:  I'm generally pretty happy with this page... I guess Moorsley and Mayfaire's panel is a little weak compared to the others? That's more of an issue with the other panels just turning out really good though, so it doesn't bother me too much. I already went back and addressed the radio bubbles too, so no problem there!

Favorite Panel(s): I like all of them (even the first one), but panels 4 and 7, both featuring Daniel, really stand out to me; panel 4 because it really captures the vibe I wanted him to exude, it shows the White Knights' flight gear pretty well, and the fly-by kind of shot just ended up looking cool. Panel 7 is one I've done before back in chapter 3, but with all the progress the comic's art has made since then, everything just looks really nice! I especially like the layers of depth with the gleaming reflector sight glass and illuminated reticle, Daniel's confident mug and cool gear, the out-of-focus interior of the cockpit, and finally the sky in the distance. Bonus: The 3rd panel wide-shot because planes r kewl.

[worldofavania]

Chapter 17 Pages Complete!

Just need to make the back cover and Avania, Issue No.8 will be all done! (at least as far as the webcomic is concerned.)

I will set a date in a week or two when the new pages will start going up, so as to give me some time to make any final tweaks. I'm looking forward to finishing this issue at last though, so stay tuned!

[worldofavania]

Drawn: 2022

Analysis: And now we cut to... An advance element of the White Knights: Squadron Lieutenants Daniel and Winters! Pretty standard layout for this one, though a little more open than usual owing to using on 7 panels instead of 8. I don't have too much to add for this page, as it's mainly a functional introduction and transition for the remaining pages of the chapter. I do like the various shots of the aircraft and cockpit closeups, and then of course the interior big closeups for character introduction purposes.

If I drew it again:  As I stated, this page is mainly functional... I think it could be fancier if I wanted to push it more, but sometimes it just seems better to get something down that does what you need it to rather than trying to make every page have standout composition too. The end two closeups of Daniel and Winters could also be better I think, but since I've only drawn either of them 1-2 times, and this is the first time drawing them in all their flight gear, I think I just need some more practice to really get them down.

Also, potential lettering inconsistency: The dialogue on panels 2 and 3 should technically be radio style balloons instead of regular balloons, as have used radio balloons for any external shot where characters are speaking over the radio (not just to themselves or their crewmate)... I guess since it is a very close shot I just used regular balloons (which meld with the gutters too, unlike the radio balloons).

Favorite Panel(s): Probably panel 5, as the wide expanse of sky and foreshortened angles of the lancers turned out pretty nicely!

[worldofavania]

Drawn: 2022

Analysis: Sometimes you just want to have a nice, simple patrol, you know? Just calm flying and some casual banter... Nothing too fancy here; the same commentary on the full bleed panels and slanted gutters I talked about on the previous page can be said again here (and going forward for the rest of this chapter, for that matter). We have a few closeups again to show the crews, but what this page gets more room for is showing more aircraft! You get a lot of angles in the smaller panels, but it's cool to just have a few wide shots to show planes as the focus and allow for a bit more detail.

If I drew it again:  I dunno, I guess I could have more going on for this page? The previous page neatly included a scene I'd imagined for a long time, though this one does build on it a bit... I tend to over-write in my script and need to pare things down to fit within a page / chapter, which results in economical and generally packed pages, so sometimes it's nice to just decompress for a moment instead.

Favorite Panel(s): The last panel. I really like the variety and of angles of the lancers, and I think the foreshortening on Harry's ship looks really cool with the depth of field effects!