Tag: The Locked Maze

Webcomics Panel March 29

Morning Serial: Webcomics at the Henry Art Gallery

If you haven't heard, my comic, The Locked Maze is being featured at the Henry Art Gallery's webcomics exhibit now through June 30th.

The gallery is also hosting a pre-ECCC panel this Thursday, March 29th, at 7:00pm. It is free for students and only $5 for everyone else. I will be there, although probably frozen in fear and mute with horror at the crowds (they are putting a MIC on me... eek!), and I will bring lots of free bookmarks and prints, so be sure to say hi after! :)

Final Pages of The Locked Maze

[The Locked Maze finale]

Yup, that's it. The final pages of The Locked Maze are all posted. So ends a decade of my life. Now I have to work on all those other projects I've shelved for so long because I was too busy with the damn comic. Like, programming. :P

Pumpkins 2010

Pumpkins 2010 (mleiv.com)
Medium: Pumpkin Size: N/A
Here are my pumpkins this year. TLM theme. As always, the tools of my trade are my serrated just-for-pumpkins scoop and my serrated battery-powered just-for-pumpkins carver. I am so delighted that there is a whole world of pumpkin carving tools out there to spare my fingers from being sliced to pieces. If only someone would make a detail sander for pumpkins, I could try the multilayer carving effects again.

TLM Halloween Filler 2010

TLM Halloween Filler 2010 (mleiv.com)
Medium: SketchBookPro/Photoshop Size: 7"X11.5"
I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that Anna is not much fun at parties. And Lucky - well, just don't leave him alone with your phone. That totally NSFW ringtone will be the least of your problems in the morning. :P

And this page is in place of a regular comic this week. Sorry, all that October business taking up my time (next week: MY FAB COSTUME PHOTOS!).

Promotional Art for LM2

Promotional Art for LM2 (mleiv.com)
Medium: SketchBookPro/Photoshop Size: 12"X3"
Here is the promotional art I created for the premium pack of The Locked Maze 2. The first two are the bookmark and the other two are stickers/magnets. I am showing the RGB versions here, because that is how I drew it, but they do look a bit different printed in CMYK, especially Lucky (damn blues!). See the photo on the sales page below.

Lucky's phrase originated with dA's very funny and talented ElectricGecko. Gecko, note me your address, because you get a free comic pack for your troubles. :)

So, without further ado:

The Premium Pack Order Form

My printed comics are officially en route and barring any catastrophes (which I am, I know, prone), I should be mailing these out within the next two weeks. I only have 30 comics to start with, but in the unlikely circumstance they sell out, I will put a second set up for sale in a few weeks (although the extras may change - I could run out of postcards and copies of LM#1). Also, I will put the comic for sale on IndyPlanet in the next few weeks, so you can always buy it there.

Concerning custom choices in the premium pack:
  • I have 20 Oak Leaf charms which I can include in the premium pack for another $5. I am initially restricting these to people who order the comic, just so I don't run out. But if there is interest, I can always make more.
  • For those of you who already have a copy of Book I, just let me know in the notes field and I will substitute your choice of a charm or extra stickers/magnets.

Buying A Signed Copy of The Locked Maze II

I will be offering Book II for sale over IndyPlanet in a few weeks, but I am currently offering a limited number of premium preorder copies signed by me with lots of extra goodies.

All orders include:
  • A signed copy of Book II printed by Ka-Blam comics with a nice cardstock cover
  • A quarter page sketch of a character of your choosing
  • A free copy of Book I
  • 2 stickers or magnets
  • 2 bookmarks
  • 1 promotional postcard
[comic example photo]

Orders will ship out as soon as I can fill them, but it may take two weeks. I will send a shipment notification to your paypal email when I mail your order.

Choose Your Package Price:
Choose Your Extras
Choose Your Custom Character Sketch
Additional Notes:

[sticker example photo]

Get a Set of Stickers

Shipping Preference

[charm example photo]

Get a 3/4" Oak Leaf Charm

Shipping Preference

The Locked Maze 3: Title

The Locked Maze 3: Title (mleiv.com)
Medium: Photoshop Size: 8.5X11"

All these pages have been moved over to The Locked Maze, so comments are closed here on mleiv.com. Click the link above to go to that site and comment there.



Okay, deep breath, here we go! I will try to keep up with the weekly schedule, but these new pages are taking a very long time to create and it is very likely I will fall behind. I will post WIPs or sketches or filler art if that happens. Maybe a breakdown of my process - I've been meaning to do that one of these days.

This page is one of those rare artistic moments where I am completely happy with how it turned out. I am very, very proud of it. :) I've revealed more plot secrets than I wanted to, of course, but as they are all out of context, I don't think they will spoil anything until after the fact.

Locked Maze Necklaces

Locked Maze Necklaces (mleiv.com)
Medium: Glass Size: 1-2"
These are made of glass with a hand-painted (slightly metallic) decal backing, silk/velvet/organza ribbons, and fake murano glass beads and bits of other stuff. I haven't made any jewelry since high school, so they were quite an adventure of mistakes and glued fingers. :P But they are really damn gorgeous to look at. Although they started out as a stained glass effect, I quickly realized that I liked the metal look more, so they are too opaque to be proper suncatchers at this point. I will keep experimenting on that, though, see if I can get a more translucent layer of paint. This is my first batch, and in subsequent attempts I've learned that printing a base layer of color really adds to the traditionally-colored glass look.

I started this project with the idea of making them an optional add-on for the comic orders at a nominal fee, but they have proven fairly spendy to construct - I'd have to price them at $25 or more. :/ I dunno, feel free to weigh in on your opinions. Maybe I could just make the glass charms without the beads and ribbons.

Photos by juliantheapostate.

Queen/Hunter, Locked Maze Book 3

Queen/Hunter, Locked Maze Book 3 (mleiv.com)
Medium: pencil/Photoshop Size: 11"x8"
More concept art for Locked Maze #3. Here is the Queen and the Hunter (with his dogs).

Fairy Concepts, Locked Maze Book 3

Fairy Concepts, Locked Maze Book 3 (mleiv.com)
Medium: pencil/Photoshop Size: 11"x14"
Just working on concept art for The Locked Maze: Book 3. Here are some fairies from the Queen's court. They started out as being much more, uh, *sedate* in their color schemes, but when I started putting them all together and giving them names... well, let's just hope their bright flower/feather colors don't drive me to distraction when I am trying to color pages in the actual comic book. :P

The left three girls and two boys are the fairies from SLC who aren't dead yet, so you may recognize them. The others are new. The two in white are the queen's personal handmaidens.

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