V6 Update: Mounting up (Patreon)

Operation Valentine kept me focused mostly on fanart in February, but we still got some V6 in.  Couldn't resist, it was time to finally put the Killgears onto paper!

This would have been so much easier if it was a lineup of identical machines- but no, everyone in Troika has just GOT to customize their rig.

The big panel took me a few tries- wasn't feelin' it the first rounds.  But every attempt I was able to narrow down what wasn't landing for me- first the overall angle was off, then the lineup of rigs looked too cluttered and chaotic.  It's inevitably going to be cluttered, but in the final version I aligned most of the heavy mounted weapons to imply a slight radial pattern, and give it something to tie things together.  Subtle, but little things like that can really help.

In addition to the rigs themselves, I included a jib-crane in every docking area.  I don't think I'll stop to explain it in the comic itself, but a lot of the heavy weapons and equipment are... Well, heavy. X  D Trying to muscle everything up, even with a team, would be hard work- made sense to have a support system to suspend gear while it could be affixed to the attachment points.  There's a segmented cable along the front that lowers and raises the suspension bar by rotating a central axle in the boom arm.

Blues can seem jumbled- pencils add more clarity, but even so the black and white is often difficult to interpret when there's so much detail.  I rely shadow and light to pull the scene together in the end- even when the objects are manifold and complex, if they're in one cohesive space with specific illumination, it will add a sense of unity to the composition.

MK. III rifle in a sleeve mount, with a translucent blast shield mounted on the outside.  Alternate handle attachment (the "Modular" in "Modular Mark III" comin' in handy.)

Feels great to start taking these from the concept refs and letting them get into the story!

Speaking of concept refs, I should check on how the Sketch of the Month vote is going...  😊