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Inspiration and experimentation

Posted on October 17, 2018 by eczarnik
Last weekend I did a new experiment to see where inspiration takes me.
Lately I’ve been drafting T-shirt designs for a promotional event. While thinking of ideas, I remembered how popular online Bible verse images are, especially on Instagram.
So I wondered if there would be crossover appeal to using “Milhamah” on the side as a teaching platform. My goal is to teach a Hebrew word or two to people who might be interested.
The psalms and wisdom books are my favorite parts of the Bible, so that was the first place I looked for a passage.
Inspiration came to me through Psalm 20:4.Levav is Hebrew for "heart," and 'etzah is Hebrew for "plan." Besides the psalms, in the future I might use other examples of poetry or do language lessons using my characters for colors, animals, etc. Art is about experimenting. If some people like inspirational quotes or vocab words, I’ll occasionally make more and maybe even make prints or shirts. Otherwise I’ll drop the idea and devote full attention to the webcomic. Hopefully my plans will be fulfilled!

Welcoming fan art and feedback

Posted on October 13, 2018 by eczarnik
Publishing artwork online is like leaving your wallet in a public place. Your valuables and identity are exposed, and most people who find it are going to keep it for themselves instead of trying to contact you or return it. So when an artist gets comments and fan art back, it’s a welcome and wonderful surprise. Last week, @the_art_of_bsienk drew this excellent inking of Tiqwah Tawit for Inktober after requesting ideas on Tapastic’s forums. You can check out the link and the artist’s other Inktober work below.
While I hope that more people will create fan art and have fun with “Milhamah,” my biggest short-term goal is to get a community of commenters, especially on this blog, whether it’s talking about:
  • The latest “Milhamah” webcomics, including characters and settings\
  • Trends in video games, comics and anime
  • Artists who inspire me
  • My upcoming “Milhamah” roguelike
  • Video game mechanics and game design
  • Linguistic studies, especially Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Akkadian and Ugaritic
  • Archaeology of Biblical times and ancient Near East civilizations, or
  • Issues related to Orwellianism, speech and censorship
As a result, I plan to write a bunch of blog pieces on the weekends and schedule them to automatically post throughout the week. While I won’t name countries, lately I’ve been getting a consistent trickle of readers throughout the world, and I want to create content that will entertain and generate discussion. If you know anyone who would like to read about the topics I mentioned above, send them this way!    

The fight begins in ‘Aim for the Jugular’

Posted on October 8, 2018 by eczarnik
After covering himself with ossified armor, Shem ‘Etzem tries to fight off the intruder Deli… to little success. Can Shem focus and pull himself together, or will he soon pass through Bavel’s gate as a captive? Shem charges toward Deli to fight him.Shem's attack misses.Deli soars and lands in his humanoid vessel's hands.Deli fights back, using the urn as a baseball to score a home run on Shem.Shem flies backward toward Bavel's gate. After a few episodes of buildup, the action scenes finally begin in “Milhamah: Fighting Words.” Part of the challenge of making this scene was illustrating motion and pacing the anticipation. Manga-style speed lines and glowing brushstrokes help, but there is more room to push myself and improve. And because this comic now keeps the vertical scrolling webcomic format in mind, I’ve been adding more anticipation shots and facial expressions to tell the story through the images, and not just the dialogue. It’ll be interesting to see where Shem’s impulsiveness takes him. He’s a bit of a contradiction, a volatile mix of focus and wild passion. The goal is to make him, for all his flaws, someone who’s memorable and easy to cheer on. What do you like to see in a good fight scene? Which fight scenes in comics, TV shows or movies to you find most memorable, and why? Feel free to leave a comment. Questions and suggestions for “Milhamah” are welcome too!

Episode 6: A Jar is Born

Posted on September 24, 2018 by eczarnik
In Episode 6, Shem ‘Etzem rejects the evil jar Deli and his suggestion to surrender to Bavel. Will Shem’s ability to form bone armor help fight off this intruder? Deli reveals himself in a Bavel gate. Deli the evil jar introduces himself. Deli introduces his humanoid "vessel." Deli urges Shem to surrender. Shem drops the dalet... ... then grows bone armor and charges toward Deli. Follow us on social media! The conflict is starting to heat up, and we learn a little about Bavel’s ideology. It not only wants a world with a single language, but also a world with no competing nations, cultures or religions. As the comic develops, the characters will show how Bavel plans to do this. After earlier using his spiny bone armor to break through a wall, Shem is ready to use it again: This time for attack! Look forward to seeing more of Shem’s superpowers in the next installment. This episode stylistically marks a big change in format. This is the first time I switched from a standard comic strip format to a webcomic one, as commonly seen on Tapas and Webtoon. I also punched up the colors and refined the color levels to alter the mood. And this time the comic incorporates several effects from Clip Paint Studio EX. Overall, I hope Episode 6 marks a new milestone in the development of “Milhamah.” I already started the seventh episode, and I hope to get on a consistent release schedule soon. So what do you think about the characters, plot and setting so far? Leave questions and suggestions in the comments!

How to stay motivated as an artist

Posted on September 15, 2018 by eczarnik
Sometimes people ask me how I stay motivated as an artist, especially when I’m just starting out and trying to get my work seen. Here’s my advice: Pursue whatever motivates you to plan and research. That’s where your passion is.
Shem finds a dalet glyph.
Shem found what motivated him. Will you find yours?
Staying motivated is easy when I have a 20-plus chapter story outlined on paper with over a hundred scenes (so far) roughly sketched out in spreadsheets. Plus there’s filler when I feel like it. But you really have to like your characters and your setting, and have a fire in your bones to share it with the world. In my spare time, I get a kick out of learning Hebrew and other Semitic languages, so creating this comic is like a journey or game in itself. “Milhamah” has been floating around in my head for a couple of years. Finally bringing the story to life has been very rewarding so far, even if only a few people are currently seeing it. Also, since I use vector art, making comics is like killing four birds with one stone. Design a new character? That can be the backbone for a video game sprite animation or a future  merchandise design. Make a new panel? That can be reused as future card game art or a print for conventions. Just make sure you save and back up all your rough materials!