Art Style

For now Glider Ink doesn't have a set art style. The only hard requirement is supporting the project's themes:

• Realism - all the characters should be people, someone you could meet in a real world. No basement goblins or tech elves.
• Optimism - which implies a full color palette, not only washed-out cyberpunk grays underlined with bright neon signs.

• simplicity/complexity - this can vary a lot depending on a particular illustrator and the project's budget

• IRC Bubbles. Many characters communicate via IRC protocol (sample irssi screenshot) both on their computers and phones. This can be solved as a rectangular box between panels, on a panel's top or bottom. Can be used as a narrating technique, for example with Cynic or sh0dan commenting other character's actions.
• Interesting and realistic representation of technology without going into minority reporting or ghost in the shelling.
• Nerdiness - most of characters of Glider Ink willingly spend their evening in a workshop, playing with technology, building things, and doing all these pointless algorithmic exercises - for fun! They clutter their minds with trivia about how first computer works and sometimes speak Klingon. With all that, they're still human - and very varied. They should be drawn so.
• Presenting a physical hackerspace location in an interesting manner. Spaces range from lofts with mezzanines to cramped basements, almost always with interesting, colorful and dynamic lightning. The nerd/geek culture of inhabitants guarantees a lot of interesting backgrounds,
• The state of “flow”, focus characteristic to deeply focused programmers, administrators and hackers in general. DO NOT DISTURB.

• Strong Female Protagonist webcomic used to be my personal benchmark for simplicity and realism. It may have a little too much text - something this comic will have a problem with as well.
• Stay Still Stay Silent has a beautiful, varied art style, it's own style for speech bubbles. Some characters are realistically plump, which is quite seldom in comics.
• The Sound of The World By Heart performs magic with the golden rays of light in most of the scenes, making the city look optimistic and beautiful.