Paper Doll Veronika update - Not a feminist heroine

 

Paper Doll Veronika has updated; Chapter 13 of Part IV, "Iconopathy", has begun!

The chapter begins here.

The part begins here.

The story begins here.

This condition Veronika is in and the confrontation that led to it are what I was talking about at the end of this post. We finally reached the "part I was having difficulty with" that the Arkhaven article helped me "make... far more exciting." Unfortunately, the article I referred to has been taken down... maybe the Dark Herald can be prevailed upon to repost it on the Arkhaven Substack!

Paper Doll Veronika updates on Fridays/Saturdays on my site, Sundays on Arkhaven, Mondays on Substack, and Saturdays on Deviantart. (Substack and Deviantart are at much earlier points in the comic). I recommend using bookmarking or the "Save your place" gadget on my site, even once you catch up, because the site starts at the beginning and updates are several pages.

Veronika Bosch, who's never left her father's estate, has to go on a journey when envious animals kick her out. Half collage, half puppetry, a fairy tale adventure made with hand-drawn paper dolls.

Support the comic and get special bonuses here!

Get the book of Part I here!

The Deer Queen made human

 

An ink-and-watercolor portrait of the Deer Queen from Bovodar and the Bears, but if she were human!

Author Jack Mikkelson embellishes the piece with fantastical speculation: what this shows us about her character, how this image could fit into the world. 

She looks almost wild, but she is not. She is controlled, polished, composed, jeweled—almost courtly. And yet, she is menacing as she looks at us—a menace comes from her refinement and power.  

Back-and-forth mutual inspiration, that’s what art and storytelling is all about!

My thoughts drawing her were: She has to have a certain striking beauty, but arrogant and asymmetrical, be wearing men’s clothes, and have a large nose like a deer’s snout. By the way, I based her face on young Barbra Streisand.

Arktoons is hoppin'!

 

 

Both Bovodar and the Bears and Paper Doll Veronika have updated on Arktoons!

The latest Bovodar and the Bears episode is here.

The series is here.

The latest Paper Doll Veronika episode is here.

The series is here.

With this resumption of updates, more Bovodar content will be forthcoming!

The Bears are Back!

 

After a long absence, Bovodar and the Bears returns to Arktoons!

The latest episode is here.

The series is here.

Arktoons is presently the only place where you can read this comic, written by Jack Mikkelson and drawn by me in ink and gouache! But we are working toward making a real book of it! That'll be really great especially since the page layouts are really dynamic, and they are are of necessity lost in the Arktoons format.

We waiting to hear back on one possible avenue of publication; if that doesn't work out, we'll try another, the main thing is that Volume 1 has been completed! Keep watching and reading!

Paper Doll Veronika update - Climax of Island

 

Paper Doll Veronika has updated; Chapter 12 of Part IV, "Rise and Fall", is complete!

The update starts here.

The chapter begins here.

The part begins here.

The story begins here.

This--well this whole chapter--is the climax of Part IV! As you may be able to tell, I have been planning this since 2020. I am glad it goes up on the Feast of the Name of Mary.

It updates on Fridays/Saturdays on my site, Sundays on Arkhaven, Mondays on Substack, and Saturdays on Deviantart. (Substack and Deviantart are at much earlier points in the comic). I recommend using bookmarking or the "Save your place" gadget on my site, even once you catch up, because the site starts at the beginning and updates are several pages.

Veronika Bosch, who's never left her father's estate, has to go on a journey when envious animals kick her out. Half collage, half puppetry, a fairy tale adventure made with hand-drawn paper dolls.

Support the comic and get special bonuses here!

Get the book of Part I here!

Two small but key revisions

 

Veronika was just too pale in my first rendition of this piece, "Neither do I judge my own self", extra art for Chapter 10 of Part IV of Paper Doll Veronika, so I went back and added a little more color to her skin. While I was at it, I thought I'd make revision to another piece that had been bothering me:

"Adrift", art for Chapter 19 of Part III, is in my opinion one of the best paintings I have ever done, but Veronika was colored very flatly as opposed to the water and sky. So I gave her shading, and now it holds together much better.

For the past couple years I've been trying especially hard to shed perfectionism with my drawings, not get caught in endless corrections. But when there's a glaring deficiency where one knows exactly what to do about it, coming back and revising can be very rewarding.

Neither do I judge my own self

 

Bonus art for "Under the false floor", Chapter 10 of Part IV of Paper Doll Veronika, which is now being posted on Arkhaven! 

The latest episode is here.

The series is here.

This is my second attempt at Macoto Takahashi's style, and while I did better on the eyes, it doesn't have near his symmetry and softness, and with the overall color combination, the result looks fairly strange. She's very pale, almost vampire-like, but that fits with how she was just at death's door and hearkens forward to things to come... Well, it's interesting. 

Companion piece to "Wind through the leaves judgeth you", my first attempt at Takahashi's style. "Island" having so many companion pieces to works from other parts reflects how it is very much about Art, y'see.

You can also read Paper Doll Veronika on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arkhaven for mobile.)

Support the comic and get special bonuses here!

Get the book of Part I here!