Master of Shadows

I’ve made very good progress this week on page 20, and I think I should be able to squeak out another page by Sunday or early Monday. It would be nice to get more than one page done in a week for a change!

I created a new corridor set early in the week that represents the dark passages below the training base. I also did the lighting for the set to create a lot of great shadows. In fact, I use shadows to good effect throughout page 20. This is actually how I originally wanted to do the whole story, which is more evident in the first few pages. From his name, Magnus Black is supposed to be dark.

To give an idea of how I get my ideas, page 20 and 21 evolved in my head organically. By that I mean, I had a general idea of what I wanted (i.e.: Magnus in the corridors, hunting his fellow classmates), but I wasn’t sure how I would execute it (so to speak). Then I thought about him using a ruse to trick his target so Black could get behind him. Then, after taking a shower actually, I thought of an additional twist that would actually trick the reader (for a moment anyway) into believing one thing and then pulling a “bait and switch.” The audience is thinking one thing, but discover it was something else. I’m not sure it will work, but it’s worth a try I guess.

Anyway, here’s a shot from page 20: