Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Volume 7 - What the Hell is That, Otaku? (1)
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"No way, right?"
At first glance, just hearing the name gave off a strong vibe like it could draw screentones with a pen.
But I knew something similar—it was the pattern brush used when drawing digitally.
As art shifted to digital, it became possible to draw consistent patterns with a single stroke instead of a regular brush. Those are called pattern brushes.
In simple terms, it's like a magical pen that draws a special shape as you go.
"Um, could you explain this one?"
"Oh, the screentone pen?"
"Yes."
"Just a moment."
She pulled out a sheet of paper, placed the screentone pen on it, and drew a long stroke.
What emerged wasn't quite screentone but lines following a peculiar path...
I could clearly see it drawing a specific pattern, just like a pattern brush, even though it was a straight line.
The design varied slightly depending on speed, slowness, or direction.
Honestly, the moment I saw it could use pattern brushes, I was so shocked I couldn't say a word.
"Whoa..."
"There aren't many types yet, so those five are probably all there are."
Unlike the pattern brushes I knew, which you could create and apply on the fly, each pen here seemed preset with its own pattern from the start.
That meant making a new pen for every pattern, so it wasn't as easy to produce as screentones.
Still, the very existence of such a tool was thrilling.
'Huh?'
I decided to buy them all and tested each one briefly. The feel was incredibly unique.
Scribbling like coloring definitely gave the sensation of filling with specific screentones, so the name fit.
But the implementation was completely different from the digital pattern brushes I knew.
Every time I applied color, there was this weird sensation like ink sticking and extending from the existing lines.
That allowed patterns to connect stably no matter how wildly I drew, resulting in something convincing.
It felt like a feature designed for that stability, but when sketching instead of patterns, the lines popped out in a wildly intriguing style...
'This has potential.'
The unpredictable bounces and attachments created images far more natural and mystical than I'd imagined.
And that feel was exactly what I needed for expressing fire in Descent of the Avatar.
I let out a sigh of relief, thinking I'd finally found the solution.
Wow, who knew it'd resolve in such an unexpected way?
After the date ended and I returned to the villa, I tested it right away and nearly teared up from the awe.
Of course, getting used to it would take time, and the frequent erratic jumps felt pretty strange.
But the results were fresher and more convincing than anything I'd seen before. I couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
"Turns out the filling wasn't the issue—it was the lines."
Combining light screentones with the screentone pen sparingly felt most appropriate.
It captured the flame's essence while letting each color's traits shine at a glance.
Even without color, you could tell whose flame it was just from the art, sensing the character's personality and fighting style.
Citrinitas's yellow flames looked more like crackling sparks, electric bursts masquerading as fire.
Viriditas's green flames rippled like living vines, growing plant-like blazes.
Finally, Rubedo's red flames flowed like liquid, devouring nearby things in whale-like gulps.
"This is seriously good."
Albedo's formerly empty white flames, too pale and void-like.
Nigredo's black ones, so dark they seemed to corrode the pages themselves.
Now, each color vividly embodied their traits. I couldn't stop marveling.
'Since the lines need redrawing from scratch without the old flames, it'll mean retracing everything... but this is more than satisfying.'
That part was just redoable, but this sensation couldn't be forced with time or effort.
I could redraw the lines identically since they're outlines, but I never would have conceived this idea.
Even if I had, unlike screentones that copy exactly, painstakingly drawing those complex paths stroke by stroke would've driven me insane.
"Well, finding it at all is a win."
I cleared my wandering thoughts and dove into the work.
Rozaria had just finished her comic, so she'd probably cling to me for a while.
The more she did, the less drawing time I'd have. Headache all around.
Finishing and submitting ASAP was courtesy to the readers pre-ordering and waiting.
'...But I didn't expect to actually run out of time.'
Thanks to Rozaria sticking to my side all day, I truly had no drawing time.
In the end, I sacrificed sleep every night to draw.
Well, if I dozed off during the day, she'd slyly offer a lap pillow, so maybe this pattern was a net gain.
But I couldn't nap all day without raising suspicion, so limiting it to about two hours was honestly tough.
"Anyway, I finished faster than expected, so I win."
The cover illustration of Albedo battling corrosion with pure white flames turned out great.
The main comic's flame-heavy fight scenes were successfully resolved too.
With the manuscript complete, I'd lied to Rozaria about family matters and snuck to the capital.
"Ah, you're here."
"It's been a while. Master was a bit late, wasn't he?"
"No, actually a tad early? Perfect timing since the workshop's free now."
"Can we start production right away?"
"Yes. But with all the pre-orders, factoring in production and shipping, the date will push back a bit."
"Can't be helped."
Hearing how many pre-orders there were made me feel great.
I probably couldn't resist a limited promo card either.
Knowing you can never get them later hits hard.
"And everyone pushed a bit hard to sell more, y'know?"
"Pardon?"
"We promoted that Descent of the Avatar buyers could join exclusive pre-orders. Most reserved thinking it was a perk for their purchase."
That probably boosted pre-orders too.
Condition for new limited edition: own the previous work.
Naturally, prior owners might feel they'd lose out skipping it.
Staff leveraged that to pump numbers.
"Wow, an extra color illustration... This one's for the cover, right?"
"Yes, use that original for display. This is the finished cover version."
"The text style matches so well, it screams connection to Descent of the Avatar."
Otherwise, who'd know it's a sequel?
She tilted her head at the cover manuscript, asking about the band-like image on the left.
I explained its purpose.
"Remember how Descent of the Avatar's cover had that side image standing tall on the shelf?"
"Oh, right!"
"Made it connect to that. Collect all the backstory volumes, and the full Descent of the Avatar cover shows on your shelf."
"Ah...!"
No need for numbers to sequence them.
Looks great all lined up too.
With planned storyboards and volume, it'd wrap in five volumes total—perfect for one full side cover.
She marveled long at the explanation before snapping back and fetching samples.
"Check these, and flag any issues."
"Thanks. Oh, perfect."
The promo cards nailed thickness, size, material—spot on.
Book and cover quality impeccable as always.
Honestly, issues were so rare I wondered if checks were needed.
"Proceed like this."
"Yep!"
Manuscript submitted, I browsed comics and art for the first time in ages.
New works skewed comics, so displays favored them heavily.
Wonder if decent comics are finally emerging, even by my standards...
"Huh?"
Amid them, tons used single-color covers.
Rozaria's Pink Diary influence?
Checked its recs: excluding mine, top-tier for comics.
"It's a total hit...?"
Curious, I headed to paintings—overflowing with SD character pieces.
This time, not me—Rozaria was reshaping the market.
Our Rozaria's talent?
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