Chapter 2: How (Not) To Train Your Betta cover

And now Chapter 2 begins!

So until the first page is out, let's talk about the cover. So you can tell from the preview I posted yesterday, the biggest change was the figure in the middle, from black to white. Honestly? It was just too dark. Which is one of the reasons I needed photoshop working. This worked out even better as a place to put the logo.

The whole page was done with Acrylic Inks, on Bristol board, which scanned in a lot better then I thought it would. The green was a last minute idea and added last. I did experiment with a few ideas, like having the fins more transparent, and show the green underneath, but this version makes the fish pop out more, which is important since they are technically the stars.

Now, about the fish.

The two large ones are Blueberry (dark blue) and Dusty Rose (the one with freckles). If you have read chapter 1 you already know about them. The next 3 however, I got some time in the fall. They are female bettas, which means they are a LOT smaller than their male counterparts. Sitting on my head is Nightshade, the smallest, the red one is Rouge, and the blue one under Dusty is Indiana.

AND HOLY CRAP, WERE THEY HARD TO PAINT.

Dusty and Blueberry I had for a while and drew many sketches of over that time. But my three girls? They're still young so they like to, oh, CHANGE COLOR every so often based on mood. So my reference wasn't exactly... reliable. I thought I was having eye problems till I figured out what was going on. Heck, it wasn't until I got a new aquarium light that I realized that Rouge actually had a few orange spots (sadly not shown here). But also, because of where they are located in my room, I'm not as physically close to them as I am Dusty, who sits beside my bed.

So when I get close, their instinct is not to go about their business, but to stare at me, waiting for food. It's very hard to get a good look at the sides of fish when they want to have a staring contest with you. Indiana and Nightshade were especially hard because they are similar in color to each other, and Blueberry, so I had to look hard for some details so the reader can tell them apart. There are a few other ways, but that will have to wait for the comic.

That's all for now, see you soon!
Tegan Dumpleton aka The SlugLady