Month: November 2025 - Page 2 - Landy's Sketchblog

Animated gif showing Malyck wielding Caladbolg. Leyline energy pulses around the, as does Caladbolg's internal glow. — Malyck | Roughly animated comic panel crop | The Harbinger’s Path; Ch3, pg 14

In addition to the Trahearne and Malyck practice animation I made for Heart of Thorns’ 10th anniversary last month, a much smaller thing I also finished by that day was adding a bit of animation to chapter 2’s finale page. This version of the page has been live since the, and you can view it here!

Animated gif showing Trahearne ensnared by winding, thorned vines. His bioluminscence pulses frantically. — Malyck | Roughly animated comic panel crop | The Harbinger’s Path; Ch3, pg 14

It’s likely obvious, but this page was not drawn with the intention of animating it from the start. I tend to save several steps of the process in the comic page files, as I have the habit of duplicating layers and working on the duplicate when I want to make a larger change or know I will be progressing the page more. This makes my file files larger than they need to be, but on the plus side, I like being able to go back into the file and see how the page progressed over time.

My first attempt to animate this page was all the way back in August – which I just remembered, I even posted that test panel here. This test is what lead to the practice animation from last month. Even though this page’s animation is both much simpler and rougher than last month’s animation, I still have a little sentimental feelings over it, since dabbling with this page was what really lead to all the animation practices afterward (and I have more I want to do in the future!).

So! That’s why I wanted to have a version of this page up, even if it is rough around the edges. It is cleaned up from the August test – the page now is rebuilt completely from scratch from the August version, using 3 layers from the comic file itself. While it is not intended to be super-smooth (which I hope is clear – it is keyframed and not tweened), I hope the cadence feels intentional.

Does it add a little flavor to the page, or does it distract? Feel free to let me know anywhere, as I’m biased toward it, but I would definitely like to know if anyone preferred the previous static page instead of this animated version!

Ref sheet drawing of an anthro avian character. Lineart. Full-body front and back views, a 3/4 bust, front-facing bust, tail cutout, a long scarf, and swatches in the shapes of feathers. Text for the character reads: Zecknel Al'Raithe. — Reference sheet commission; lines only.

Recently finished ref sheet commission! I’m so humbled when I’m asked to do a ref sheet commission, because it isn’t something I formally list anywhere that I do, but the ones I’ve done have been very enjoyable. Many thanks to Zecknel for this one, in particular, because when first asked to do this, I let Zecknel know that I would use a looser line style. I say this for all the ref sheets I’ve done, because before this year, I wouldn’t say I work with clean lines.

Serendipitously, between the time Zecknel approached me with this project (an updated ref sheet for his character, the original itself a ref sheet I made for them a few years back) and the project’s start date, I began drawing more with line as I drew The Harbinger’s Path webcomic. By the time the start date for this commission approached, I was fairly confident I could do this reference sheet with cleaner lines than for any ref sheet I’ve drawn before. I would still consider these lines more on the looser side, and not “true” lineart – but they’re much cleaner than “lines” I’ve drawn before this year – especially on commission.

Color version of the previous ref sheet. The avian is richly clad in feathers of a darker, royal blue, with feather accents of gold and yellow. Eyes are also golden yellow. Scalesa and talons are a dark color. Scarf is orange, but text notes it can be any color, but is very long. — Reference sheet commission; with color.

Zecknel has such a cool concept for their character, especially once you add color. The vibrancy of their character’s feather patterns have a visual spark, I think! I’m also excited about this ref sheet, because it will be used to create a costume (or “fursuit”) Zecknel is commissioning from a specialized crafter. I’ve known Zecknel’s character for a few years now, and I’m really looking forward to seeing a physical manifestation of their character! I’ve always had a lot of admiration for the craftsmanship behind fursuit crafters – the technical skill to bring these imagination creations into physical form is this wonderful representation of passion and creativity. I’ve seen some truly incredible instances of artisan craftsmanship that rival what you see on stage or in films. I just love seeing people expressing what they love, especially the more indie types!

Reference sheet crop highlighting the scale and feather detail of an anthro avian character. Lineart. — Crop | I especially loved drawing the scales and feathers!

Edit Nov 5, 2025: I don’t know what it is about posting that makes my eye notice things, but I noticed the angle for the far wing was inaccurate! I’ve revised the above refs, and the earlier versions are in the full post below:

Articles from November 2025

Ch3, Page 14 Animation – The Harbinger’s Path | November 6, 2025

Zecknel Ref Sheet Commission | November 4, 2025