A Distant Soil Commissions: Bast, D’mer, Jessica UPDATED
on January 29th, 2012Wow, I only have a few of these left to do. This is very exciting. I’ve been behind schedule on these character portraits since sometime in 1997.
I usually wait awhile between finishing a portrait and mailing it, because I like to have a look at it with fresh eyes. This D’mer, finished around Christmas, got extensive revisions. (EDIT: and after I posted this, it got even more revisions. STOP ME BEFORE I PICK UP THE ERASER AGAIN!) I’ve also rescanned them. These scans are truer to the originals. Previous scans had the contrast set too high.
Bast is starting to look more and more like Kim Kardashian. It is making me nervous.
This completes the order for all four volumes of the A Distant Soil graphic novel limited editions for Theo, who has been waiting patiently! Thanks, Theo!
Speaking of making revisions to commissions, I posted this Jessica a few days ago, and it bugged me. So I redrew her jawline and gave her a nose job.
I still have copies of the limited, signed and numbered remarqued editions of A Distant Soil volumes II and III available. I can take advance orders for 4 copies to be completed and delivered (US guarantee of delivery only, can’t be responsible for foreign customs) no later than March 30.
Each book is one of our hard to find hardcover limited editions, long sold out, individually signed and numbered by me, with a hand drawn character portrait of the quality you see here. This is SUHWEET. Prices include shipping worldwide.
OK, you can down the eraser now.
Honestly, I compared the two versions of Jessica side by side and saw what appears to me to be very subtle differences. Yes, I think the second version is better.but only by a whisker. If the Jessica was for me I would have been very happy with the first one.
Of course, if you want to try and make Bast look less like Kim K……..
(Can you tell that I am not a fan of the Kardasians ?)
Not a fan of the Kardashians, either. Bast has style and class.
I just feel bad unless I am sure that the reader gets a really good drawing. The books aren’t cheap, and they have to wait a while to get them, so I just want to do my best.
I can’t begin to recommend these editions enough. I have all 4 volumes in the remarqued, and the first two volumes in the lettered state editions (still hope that you will at some point be able to make the other volumes available in a similar format). They are, truly, my most prized possessions.
Deven, that means so much coming from you. You had an epic wait! I truly appreciate your great patience, and am so happy you like the books!
In the end, I will have done nearly 500 of these character commissions!
The lettered state books have gone up so much in cost that it would be twice what I was paid just to manufacture each new book. I don’t know what my options are there.
BTW, I am thinking of doing a Kickstarter program to finance reprinting A Distant Soil trade paperbacks I and IV, as well as raising a bit of extra money to finance Volume V. Was quite nice to spend 5 days in a row just working on A Distant Soil. Haven’t done that in awhile!