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LucrataNexarii — Undertale: Recursive Tangent - 3
#gaster #undertale #undertale_comic #undertale_gaster #undertale_gaster_follower
Published: 2016-06-03 04:39:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 3080; Favourites: 27; Downloads: 2
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Description
Thoughts: So, we take our first look into Albert's past. One bridged on the uncertain arch of lying by omission, and keeping his true thoughts hidden. Perhaps that's for the better, but it doesn't change the fact that he's walking the gray land of lying to Toriel. For him, it's an act of mercy on two fronts: one, that the Underground was long implied to be hopeless and dejected as a whole for a very long time, and two, the royalty would have been quite keenly aware of this.
Albert would sooner also not give away too many clues about Gaster's actual whereabouts.
The area of Snowdin is big, and grows colder as you get farther from the more densely-populated area of Snowdin itself. Albert mentions or thinks two particular lines: taking off one's mitts, and also burrowing or hiding. For those who are unfamiliar, these are the late stages of terminal hypothermia. Also, Albert didn't want to be found when he first left, and subsequently would have left hardly any tracks - natural Monster magic effects. The active snowfall only added to that. By the time he may have had some instinct to keep living, his trail of footprints would have been very well out of the way of anyone.
Gaster, meanwhile, has gone to considerable lengths to remain hidden. His moment of deliberation has multiple reasons.
There is a nearly-dead thing on your doorstep, sir. Don't step on it...
My exploration of digital techniques continues.
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Notes: Undertale, Gaster, and 'Gaster Follower 1' (herein known as Albert) are property of Toby Fox.
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Comments: 18
*waiting for the next part fills you with PATIENCE and DETERMINATION*
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Coincidentally, I was working on the last panel thereof.
For a long time, life had said 'no' to continuing the effort, but hopefully that will soon lift. I do have to refine my process, though.
In any case, it's good to get back to it.
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All these graphical pages turned out really great! 
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Ah, yes. This is the comic that spawned my internal in-joke "Not the pine trees!"
But, with the image also comes the relative mercy of being able to let the organic flow of detail take over. Oddly, the main point of struggle I had was just how to depict Albert after he'd fallen over (and presumably still been feebly trying to move), including the subtle factor that he had removed his mitts and boots.
My only wish is that I'd more time to continue working on this. The next page is in the works, but at a pitiful crawl, until my next work break. Thank you for the encouragement! I am still trying to find a good style to work with, and so I fully expect the subsequent pages to differ by a degree or two, visually.
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Yes, comic pages always seem to take eons upon eons. I speak from experience. :l Good luck all the same! I really do enjoy these digital works you've been making. :3
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Really like the design of Gaster you've used, the hood seems to fit him well, it's more fantasy-like than a labcoat.
Also, you've quite nicely managed to execute the idea of introducing Gaster through his items (the book). Really like where this is going.
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Greetings, Raaleth.
At this point in time, I cannot say that my visual concept of Gaster will drift; I expect it to (as all art will). It's far from settled, here. However, I do need a structure to his features that caters more to guarded expressions, or to the fact that he would appear slightly older or more weathered than another Skeleton of equivalent maturity.
While Gaster does have labcoats and limited other safety equipment, that is factor which is addressed later on - a key point being that Gaster is nowhere near as inherently vulnerable as Albert in laboratory or workspace conditions.
The cloak there is actually the 'lighter' or more basic form of travel robes that Gaster scrupulously wears while out of his concealed home. Clearly he wasn't expecting to encounter anyone at all. However, I did choose to leave his gloves absent (he would have removed one or both in the panels) for the sake of his few frames here placing more emphasis on his Skeletal features. He goes out of his way to stay hidden, with good reason.
So far, Albert is skipping the question of just what Gaster is, in favour of speaking well of his traits. This comes with a couple of reasons - some of them being an additional element of Monster history that I've built into my concepts. Albert also isn't telling the whole truth to Toriel, but that comes with two main reasons: one, that he doesn't want to trouble her with what must be a looming specter in the back of her mind, as leader of her people; there is a deep air of hopelessness in the Underground - and two, that adjusting to Gaster was at first intimidating, and some of his traits were unsettling.
Some items in here suffered a lack of proper design; the lamp was originally going to be a more complex object, designed to be able to snap shut completely lightliess, with a mechanism in it's handle... But, lacking time, I went with what was here. Likewise to his cloak, Gaster would also have various forms of lamps or light sources for field use. I could go on more, but Gaster's field equipment, along with other items of his fabrication, will need more specific design and research by myself.
As always, it is good hearing from you. With what limited time you have, you taking the time to leave a comment is always welcome.
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With regards to Gaster's design, well, no doubt that it will change, things like this usually evolve, though the direction you've taken seems good, at least in my opinion.
As with Gaster trying to stay away hidden, I presume it's because of his sort of reclusive personality? Or is there a deeper reason behind this? And if yes, will it be explained in later chapters?
When you've mentioned that Albert is skipping what Gaster is, my first thought is that the truth would most likely either upset Toriel or put Gaster in danger. Seems interesting so far.
Regarding the equipment, well, you've still managed to pull it off in my opinion, the background and objects are still fairly informative and the images in general feel complete, without the feeling of "oh, there is an empty space there, I wonder what should have been placed in this spot?".
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The design of objects associated with Gaster is the real formulative trouble here in my works, especially along the path it takes to reach them, along with finding the proper 'feel' of eccentric design and unforeseen functionality of them befitting of Gaster.
His reclusive personality is one element, but I've decided to make the role of skeletons in Monster society somewhat more complicated or recursive (er, with only coincidental/subconscious leanings to the overall works' title). That will either be implied in related and unrelated parts in the upcoming two pages (and later on)... Whenever I find time to see to those. Due to my work type and lack of free time, the pace is currently 'at a crawl'... But rewarding nevertheless.
I could probably divide the angles of Gaster's choice of remaining hidden (or hiding his Monster type) along a few lines. Foremost it's due to social or cultural reasons, as it's quite practical to not be known as a skeleton. Other reasons do run deeper, but I'll forego explaining; I am sure you understand.
Thank you for the opinion on the background or other compositional points. I should say that Toriel's abode is a blessing for how relatively simplistic it is. I've yet to get to a meaninful, proper design for Gaster's area of work and residence. That will be considerably more complex to plot out. If anything, I prefer to design an area beforehand so that later panels of comics have due cohesion and proper perspective from various angles.
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Ah, I see, so essentially skeletons and other monsters have pre-defined roles in the Monster society in your comics.
Yeah, I can understand why you don't want to spoil too much here, after all you still need to have something left for the comic.
As for Gaster's abode being complex, well, cohesion is quite important when you want the viewer to pay attention to the background, so it's understandable that you want to put as much detail into it as you can. Cohesion helps with the suspension of disbelief, after all.
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Heh, Gaster certainly does look intimidating enough to pass off for some Angel of Death. Love the spectral hands, they remind me of the ones Gaster has in Handplates. How'd you get them to look so ghostly? Your illustrations are very nice.
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Greetings, Sage.
Gerson mentions that Monster's concept of the Delta Rune switched to a more pessimistic view, one translation being 'the Angel of Death.' So, the concept must exist somewhere in the Monster cultural collective; exactly when that came to enter into it, or what exactly it is may vary considerably.
But, by that point in time, Albert probably wasn't very cohesive at all, and his dim, pained awareness was going back to the most mythical or archetypical concepts. (Originally I was going to have that last frame or thought-bubble slowly losing it's cohesion, along with his words also turning a little more ashen as the comic page went on, but that'd have been a little bit visually difficult on some, I suppose. Either way, a reference to him being near the end of things. Poor soul.)
It had taken a bit of luck to get the hands reasonably correct. Originally I didn't want things to veer too close to the Handplates material, out of respect for Zarla, but there are only a few parameters by which to vary Gaster's magical influence visually while one is going with the 'additional hands' effect. It takes a few transparency layers of various brush hardnesses and transparency, including one to add more opacity to the edges of the hands, or areas where bones would visually cross over one another - overall, a process to give a pale, glassine effect.
I should note that Gaster's unusual traits don't go unnoticed. The pellucid nature of his magical influence among it; nearly all Monsters' magical constructs or influences are quite opaque and have a strong glow. On another note Gaster's pupils in the 'surprised' panel are actually a very pale shade of blue, and the other of orange - his pupils are also the same size, it's just that the light of the concentric ring on the other has mostly gone out due to past damage. On a similar note, I was going to have a pale green glow to his eyes in the last panel, but 'dark seriousness' had taken precedence.
Yes, Gaster's been through a bit.
The illustrations do take rather a while to put together, unfortunately, so it makes new pages quite slow to render, depending on levels of detail.
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Well, regarding the hands you did a pretty good job with them. And it's understandable that good illustrations would take some time to do. There's certainly no rush to get them done when you put quality into your work. It just shows you take your work seriously and care about it. ^_^
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Aye, there is always more that goes into an artwork than is said or seen on it's outside. I find that half the time, the Commentary below is just as important, as is my reaction to those who have any thoughts to express.
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G: Accidentally steps on him
G: "oh hey look someone's dying on my doorstep"
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In a darkly amusing way, that may nearly have been the case. Collapsed Albert and his earthtone parka would blend in reasonably with the dark environment.
I'm also not sure whether it's a compliment that the darkest, most unforgiving rock crevice in the area is one's disguised doorstep... The go-to place for anyone that's ever been told "Go away and die." Unwittingly, it's a magnet for despondent people. 
Also, Gaster was surprised enough to drop his book. He picked it up in the last panel... But that first set of spectral hands looks ready for combat - can I assume the reflexes of the other set grabbed the book before it hit the ground? Gaster has mad skills. 
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