#maybe someday godlings will exist...

[theartfulmegalodon]

The next page is eeeeeeeever so slowly coming along.

I’m fighting with the fact that the other two panels left to do are just, you know, more of the same. Just sorta medium shots of the gods talking. Mostly Tez. I worry my composition choices are obvious and pedestrian, like my brain simply wants the “camera” trained on whoever’s speaking in the most boring way possible. I worry I’ve drawn the main characters too many times without enough variation. But honestly, there’s no gripping action to lean on, and I can’t think of how else to draw the scene, so...

*massive shrug*

[theartfulmegalodon]

Page 18 of Godlings! (And close-ups! As always, all dialogue - ooh, and it’s good dialogue, too! - is omitted for now until the whole 25 page issue is done.)

No, you’re not imagining it, I actually finished a new page within a week!!!

First time I’ve ever drawn a spittake, and it’s a god spitting out blood. By the way, the things floating in the blood are monarch butterfly wings.

Ah, cue the usual gripes: Quetz, why did I design you to have that feather hair? I kick myself every time. You know? I think there’s only one page in this whole issue that has NO feathers on it at all.

Enjoy!

(Uhh, no promises for future quick updates!)

[theartfulmegalodon]

Hey, just wanted to let you know that I saw your Godling comic and, as someone from Mexico who grew up really into Aztec mythology, I am really impressed and happy with the level of respect and research you put on the Aztec gods. I love the way you designed the characters, and definitely cant wait for when you (eventually) finish it. Really gonna keep my eye on this!

Thank you so, so much! I did my level best to research thoroughly and design them well. I must apologize (as always to any fans of the project) that the updates have been so sporadic, so glacially slow, and that I no longer have any set time frames or goals for finishing it.

Honestly, the story of Godlings is a pipe dream, a mammoth plan that would take years and fleets of artists drawing it for me to create. What is drawn so far are only the in-progress pages of the opening 25-page *prologue* to the actual story. I do plan to finish those 25 pages, inks, colors, and all, but beyond that... it is simply unrealistic to continue. It's possible I may find a way to tell the story through some other medium or means years from now, but I cannot in good conscience get anyone's hopes up for more than that.

That said, hearing that others enjoy it (much less intend to follow its progress!) will always and forever melt my little Failed Comic Artist heart, which starves for validation. Thank you so much, again, and I hope to get back to finishing it soon!

[theartfulmegalodon]

Final sketch for Godlings page 13! (As always, all dialogue is omitted for now until I finish the full 25 page issue! So, sorry you can’t read the sick burn Tez is delivering to off-screen Quetzalcoatl here.)

The first official look at all the main Aztec gods and goddess who feature in the story! (Though to be fair, most of them are very minor characters.) Across the top, in the back, are Mixcoatl, Coatlicue, Xipe Totec, Chalchiutlicue, and Tlaloc. Standing in the middle, with his flaming snake, is Huitzilopochtli (left leg of hummingbird feathers and all!) and of course, looming in the foreground, is Tezcatlipoca!

I wish you could see this all how I picture it finished, with the crazy menacing red sky, the deep, deep shadows, the firelight and distant sunset colors glinting off of everything. But these are just the clean sketches, with the roughest of tones, not meant to indicate real shading. It does mean you guys get to see ALL the details before they get swallowed by spot blacks, though!

Enjoy!

(Like I said before, with my new job, I’m not sure when/if I’ll really have time to continue these pages, but PLEASE know that I’m always gonna try!)

[theartfulmegalodon]

Page 17 of Godlings! Plus some closeups of the panels. (As always, dialogue is omitted here until I finish the full 25 page issue.)

Tez shouts into the temple, summoning an acolyte (INTRODUCING THE FIRST ACTUAL GODLING IN THE STORY, BY THE WAY!) who offers Quetz blood to restore his strength. A suspicious Quetz takes the offering.

OooooOOOOoooooh! What’s gonna happen next, folks?

[theartfulmegalodon]

Trying to get back to this ol’ comic thing. Here’s my initial “thumbnail” sketch, and the more developed sketch. Not done yet. (Preview panel from the upcoming page 19.)

[theartfulmegalodon]

Page 16 of Godlings! Plus close ups of all the panels. A day later than promised, but hey, you guys aren’t the stickler types, right?

The conversation between Quetz and Tez continues, as Tez inspects Quetzalcoatl’s meager prize. And then the talks turn to how they shall use it... Hmmm...

On the next page - hang onto your hats, folks - an ACTUAL. GODLING. That’s right! The half mortal son of Tezcatlipoca is due to appear! Stay tuned!

[theartfulmegalodon]

Final sketch for Godlings page 14! (Plus close-ups.) Full of dialogue, but as always, sorry, the dialogue is omitted for now until I finish the full 25 page issue.

The small group of Aztec deities awaiting Quetzalcoatl’s return stand at the top of the grand temple and make disparaging remarks about the feathered serpent and his mission, which it appears he has failed. In the last panel, Quetz angrily protests that no, he didn’t fail, actually! I mean, there were extenuating circumstances, and...

Clockwise from top left are Chalchiutlicue, Xipe Totec, Coatlicue, Mixcoatl, Huitzilopochtli (rolling his eyes), and Tlaloc. In the bottom panel you can see Tezcatlipoca’s bone leg and Huitzilopochtli’s left leg of hummingbird feathers.

(Next page has lots of Quetz and Tez, and also, I’ll finally get to use those Aztec-styled drawings of the Greek goddesses I made over a decade ago! Stay tuned!)