27.4.12

Sneak Peak! The art of the six-page intro for "Ancient"






Hey everyone! Leila here.

"Cellar Door: Ancient" is coming along fantastically! We're at 230-ish pages! It's funny to think back a few months ago when I thought I would only receive ten submissions and would have to buff up the book by adding filler pages. This is not the case at all, and I'm super impressed with the talent in this book! The final count is 26 artists and creative teams. That means 26 short comics, all ready to be held in your summer hands within the next few months!

The art you see above is the six-page introduction comic that I drew and colored for the anthology. I usually draw my comics very tight and detailed and it was unbelievably refreshing to loosen up, not worry about what my employers wanted, and just do what felt right for me to draw. I kept the coloring simple with a limited color palette, and I actually had fun coloring a comic for the first time!

I felt like I could breathe with this short comic and it's definitely inspired me to draw more simplified comics for myself in the future. It also helped remind me how important personal projects are. After a few years of doing art for other people, it was nice to do this one without worrying about creative restraints. Don't get me wrong, I love the paid work I'm doing now, but I need to take a break from them sometimes and do what I want to do.

I hope you enjoy the little preview! We'll be keeping you posted with release dates, you saucy readers, you.