– Commentary –

Craig: So when J.D. and I were figuring out who Rex’s lieutenants would be — that is, the ones in the know, as opposed to Hal’s group — we decided that he would have three.  One is Argaddon, whom we met last week, and one we haven’t met yet.

J.D.: And the third is this creepy lady.

Craig: I knew that I wanted one of his lieutenants to be female and creepy, but I wasn’t quite sure what kind of creepy I wanted.  Should she be like some kind of witch, or a frightning warrior, or some goth?  I was quite surprised at what lept out of my pencil.

J.D.: I thought she was intruiging, and immediately started conceiving of who she was, independent of Rex.

Craig: After some brainstorming and discussion, we came to realize what manner of creature she is, why she wears a mask, and what her relationship with Rex is.  In fact, it ties in very nicely with some of the clues we’ve dropped as early as the prologue… but I guess that’s all I can say about that for now.

J.D.: Since we’re going to see her again later.

J.D.: I had fun painting her.  It’s very easy to work with large masses of one color, as opposed to Argaddon with all of his hair.  He’s interesting to work on in his own right, but he’s not easy and he takes a while.  Her hair was another story.

Craig: I’ve been doing a lot of studying to try and improve my art skill.  One method of drawing hair suggests that one draws it as though hundreds of ribbons were springing from the character’s head.  I tried this method with the masked girl and found it to be very effective, if time-consuming.  It gives her a very distinct look.

J.D.: Especially because no one else has hair like that in the comic.

Craig: I love working on Penance because it gives me the opportunity to practice and try new things, and also to work on a really big story.  There’s a tension, though, between experimenting with new styles and methods, and maintaining artistic consistency in the comic.

J.D.: Well, when I go back to the prologue, I can see immediately how much you’ve improved since then, without losing the recognizability of the characters.

Craig: I’m glad.  I feel like my artwork still has a very long way to go.

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