Sam Beck

Links -  www.linktr.ee/sambeck

[sambeckdraws]

the hunt

[sambeckdraws]

@portablecity inspired me to share more process work PLUS they were the art director for this project and provided great feedback on the composition of the final piece. Above: final artwork for The Glorious Dreams of Eight Cursed Swords Eidolon Folio Card 6 in Swords Without Master

Initial layouts. I was going for this cursed undead king who is unwilling to die except by the one chosen sword. I originally wanted to have all these melted and charred swords strewn beneath him showing the swords that couldn't kill him but ended up going with skulls once we cropped in the image:

We adjusted the focus of the last one and then I did a quick sketch and colour mock-up:

The sword was inspired by this dagger "with Zoomorphic Hilt" (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/457730)

i'll try and remember to share more process in the future...it feels more important now than ever haha

[sambeckdraws]

Orionelle, one of the many moons of Realis.

[sambeckdraws]

The Glorious Dreams of Eight Cursed Swords One of two cards i drew for the fifth eidolon folio in Swords without Masters.

[sambeckdraws]

Hey, I just wanted to tell you that i'm a big fan. I've been following you and checking your work for years. Today I read the last book of Verse, and I just wanted to say I loved it and I hope you're doing great

🥹🥹🥹 thank you...it truly means so much to get a little note like this. I'm so so glad you got to read the last book of Verse and enjoyed it.

[sambeckdraws]

love doing fun endpapers. Here are the two that appear in the Alanna book 1! Corus and the Black City

(Also realized I sort of disappeared on here, that's because I have a baby now lmao and I'm just either working on the next Alanna book or doing baby things.)

[sambeckdraws]

At long last Verse: Book 3 is finally out.

You can buy it wherever books are sold and you can catch up on books 1 and 2 as a webcomic at www.versecomic.com

I always told myself I wanted to do a little write-up once it was done and I guess I will now:

Verse started off as a way to escape the tedium of my office job. A month before I had enough and quit I spent company time pulling up my draft to write during work. Once I left my job I decided I'd use Verse as a way to work on the craft of comics, it'd be a free webcomic that I'd update as best as I could. I'd spent my entire teen life reading webcomics so it seemed right.

A lot happened in between that's mostly just annoying publishing drama. Book 1 was a kickstarter, then it was picked up by a publisher, stuff happened, it returned as a webcomic and after really fighting for it, all three books eventually got printed. Book 3 had been ready to go since spring 2023 and was then delayed many, many times over. That's publishing I suppose.

I think I'm sane enough to realize that Verse was never going to be the next big thing, it was my first real comic and I'm fucking LUCKY it got printed. It's done a solid "OK" and that's good enough. I wish for a lot of things that would have kept readers and fans around but I'm really grateful that there's a handful of people that stuck through till the end.

As for Verse itself, the characters will always be special to me. That was the whole point of writing this big fantasy story. To get to play with my little dolls and make them go on adventures and have their big feelings. I feel distant enough from the project to see it for all it's flaws but still be really proud that I drew and wrote over 600 pages. This series has fundamentally changed me as a writer and artist.

I'm really grateful to it, well to me, for making it in the first place.

[more-nothing]

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A post shared by Another Story Bookshop (@anotherstorybookshop)

Vita Ayala and Sam Beck Q&A about the recent AtFA graphic novel, from Instagram (I tried to rip and upload it, because as ass as Tumblr's video player is, Insta's is worse lol, but I think it's too long, about 30 minutes). There are some real gems in here, but it sounds like the second and third books are already in production! Definitely recommend watching; there are some really interesting insights into the joint-workflow here--it seems like the team really enjoyed working together, and, most importantly, that they know what a crazy good job they did with the adaptation!

[sambeckdraws]

Yoo, thank you for uploading this, I'm not a big instagram person so I'm happy to reblog it here!

[sambeckdraws]

if you're in Toronto this weekend i'll be tabling at TCAF!

I'll have Verse Books 1-3, Loving Ohio and Song of the Lioness: Alanna adaptation, as well as some older short comics and new postcard prints!!

Hope to see you there 💜

[sambeckdraws]

At long last Verse: Book 3 is finally out.

You can buy it wherever books are sold and you can catch up on books 1 and 2 as a webcomic at www.versecomic.com

I always told myself I wanted to do a little write-up once it was done and I guess I will now:

Verse started off as a way to escape the tedium of my office job. A month before I had enough and quit I spent company time pulling up my draft to write during work. Once I left my job I decided I'd use Verse as a way to work on the craft of comics, it'd be a free webcomic that I'd update as best as I could. I'd spent my entire teen life reading webcomics so it seemed right.

A lot happened in between that's mostly just annoying publishing drama. Book 1 was a kickstarter, then it was picked up by a publisher, stuff happened, it returned as a webcomic and after really fighting for it, all three books eventually got printed. Book 3 had been ready to go since spring 2023 and was then delayed many, many times over. That's publishing I suppose.

I think I'm sane enough to realize that Verse was never going to be the next big thing, it was my first real comic and I'm fucking LUCKY it got printed. It's done a solid "OK" and that's good enough. I wish for a lot of things that would have kept readers and fans around but I'm really grateful that there's a handful of people that stuck through till the end.

As for Verse itself, the characters will always be special to me. That was the whole point of writing this big fantasy story. To get to play with my little dolls and make them go on adventures and have their big feelings. I feel distant enough from the project to see it for all it's flaws but still be really proud that I drew and wrote over 600 pages. This series has fundamentally changed me as a writer and artist.

I'm really grateful to it, well to me, for making it in the first place.

[sambeckdraws]

Woo, fun news, I am illustrating the graphic novel adaptation of the Song of the Lioness Books.

Song of the Lioness, Book 1: Alanna Novel by Tamora Pierce Adapted by Vita Ayala Illustrated by Sam Beck

Pre-order it: https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/song-of-the-lioness-book-1-alanna-1

[sambeckdraws]

Reblogging to say this is out TODAY!

Everyone who was part of making this book was so amazing to work with. Vita is an incredible writer, Andrea's book design is gorgeous and I don't know anyone who loves Alanna and this world more than our editor Charlotte!

[sambeckdraws]

🌹.

[sambeckdraws]

🧚🏻‍♂️🧚🏼‍♀️🧚🏻.

[sambeckdraws]

🫀🗡️.

[sambeckdraws]

Well, Verse Book 3 has been delayed again and nobody bothered to inform me! It releases December 3rd 2024.

Lots of time to pre-order it still AND to get caught up on Books 1 & 2, both of which you can buy or read online for free!

🌲 Read Book 1 🌲

🔥 Read Book 2 🔥

⚪ More Info on where to Pre-order Book 3 ⚪

[sambeckdraws]

Verse was on a tiny break so I could line up updates with the release of Book 3 on October 15th. But now it's back and updating! There's about 4 more weeks of updates before we reach the end of Book 2.

Read it here: versecomic.com/comic/book/the-second-gate/chapter/4/page/22

Or from the start: versecomic.com

You can also check out the site for links on where to pre-order Book 3!

[sambeckdraws]

Woo, fun news, I am illustrating the graphic novel adaptation of the Song of the Lioness Books.

Song of the Lioness, Book 1: Alanna Novel by Tamora Pierce Adapted by Vita Ayala Illustrated by Sam Beck

Pre-order it: https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/song-of-the-lioness-book-1-alanna-1