Ring Saga, Scene 1, Pages 9-10

Another page is done and up. Or more or less done, I should say. I'm realizing now that there will be a lot of final color correction to do once all the pages are complete, in order to achieve an overall balance, with a consistent range of hues and brightness. Some of this will have to wait until I see some page proofs printed out (my color laser printer is out of toner), at which time I'm sure I'll have to go back and change everything. But for now I'm just trying to get them somewhat close, so I don't have to make too many changes. Initially I had intended to make each of the underwater scenes slightly brighter than the one before, to emulate the approach of dawn; but that has proven unrealistic given the need to backlight the text areas enough to read without excessive straining. As it is I'll likely have to adjust these up to be even brighter, since anything less than pure black on white is bound to be a challenge for some readers, but I'll leave that for later. And I have to say I'll be really glad to leave these underwater scenes behind and deal with normal light for a change. Only five more to go...

This is the first "split" page layout, with what amounts to two separate scenes on one canvas. Bear in mind that in many formats only one half of each layout will be seen at a time, with the print edition being divided by an inner margin. Consequently I have to conceive each two-page spread as both a single, cohesive image, and a series of two separate ones. Here the composition works fine either way, since the eye will naturally read from left to right, and follow Alberich as he clambers up the pinnacle of rock. As the book progresses many pages will take on a more "graphic novel" approach, with multiple scenes on each page, particularly where there's a fast paced action sequence with a rapid-fire series of events. In general, in laying out my storyboards I tended to start with wide shots and work my way inward as the sequence of layouts progress. For this one I had to back off a little in order to get the two halves in with all the text. But the next few pages push in pretty close, so you'll see a lot more detail there.

As far as the story goes, this is the segment I refer to as the "Rhinemaid Seduction Sequence," in which our poor dwarf gets the runaround from all three sister nymphs, as they tease and taunt him mercilessly until he's nearly fit to be tied. By the way, I'm also writing this as a filmscript as I go, so hopefully one day we'll see it on the big screen. Unlikely, but you never know. This particular scene would be a lot of fun to watch.

As always, there are more notes and test art up on the main pages, and you can click the pic above to get there and view it in higher resolution.

Formatting Graphics for the Kindle

I've talked a bit about getting images into the Kindle in prior posts, but in the meantime I've done some experiments and tests and thought I'd share some of what I've learned.

Firstly, of course, the current Kindle screen can only reproduce images in 16 shades of gray, so the best graphics use fewer colors in high contrast lights and darks. Otherwise you'll lose a lot of detail. So something that looks a bit "cartoonish" is really best, with dark outlines and lighter color fills. But a blend of dark and light color works just fine as well. You'll want to retain some of the color present in your images, and not just convert them to gray, because your book may also be read in Kindle apps on color screens. And at some point the Kindle itself will get a color screen. Of course, if your images are already black and white or gray this isn't a concern.

The second major issue is image size and resolution, and this is a little bit trickier. As I mentioned before, while the Kindle screen size is 800x600 pixels, due to its page margins the actual maximum size for interior graphics is 622x520. You can override the default 1/2" margin setting in your header coding, so long as you use very clean and systematic CSS styles to retain proper margins for your text, but I find it a bit disconcerting to have inconsistent alternating margins, so I've opted to retain the defaults myself. This is generally a best practice anyway, but be aware that you can change the margin spacing if you want to.

Where image size becomes more difficult is in dealing with the various screen sizes for devices that handle the Kindle app. The iPad's landscape layout, for example, creates pages slightly smaller than the Kindle's, at 412x544 ppi, plus three 1/2" margins horizontally (left, center, right) and upper and lower margins of 3/4" and 1" respectively. However, in portrait mode the iPad's Kindle app converts to a 792x554 pixel area, plus margins, without increasing either font or image size (the iPad's overall screen size is 1024x768). Consequently, images inserted at the native Kindle reader size will look very small surrounded by all that extra text.

In addition, image resolution is a major consideration. The Kindle's native resolution is 167 pixels per inch, while the iPad's is only 132. Interestingly, the original black and white eInk Nook and Sony readers both have screen specs exactly the same as the newest Kindle. The newer NookColor's LCD screen, meanwhile, is 1024x600 at 169 ppi - the same height as the iPad is wide, but narrower and with slightly higher resolution to fit images into its smaller 7" screen. The larger format Kindle DX, by the way, has a screen size of 1200x824 at 150 ppi, although I've never met anybody who actually has one.

As far as the other major tablets go, both the Motorola Xoom and 10.1" Galaxy Tab boast the largest screens, these being 1280x800 ppi at 160 and 149 ppi respectively (making the Xoom the overall pixel winner). The 7" Tab, by the way, is 1024x600 @ 171 ppi, nearly identical to the Color Nook. And to confuse matters further, Kindle apps are found on iPhones (640x960 @326ppi for the iPhone 4) and Androids (480x854 @228ppi for the Droid X), their smaller screen sizes being made up for by greatly increased pixel density.

And finally, if you're using Word to do your writing and layout, any images imported there will be automatically converted to its native 96dpi format, which I find to be a good compromise due to the Kindle's limitation on file size: images must be 127kb or less, and any that are larger than this are automatically resized at the expense of image quality, so take care in creating graphics that meet this stipulation.

Interestingly, at 96dpi images are sized most accurately on the iPad, even though its screen resolution is higher. I did a series of experiments for this using incrementally sized versions of the image below to see at what size they looked best, and at what point the image was resized to fit the screen. An image 554 pixels wide at 96 dots per inch displayed edge to edge with no resizing or noticeable artifacts in either the horizontal or vertical grids, while higher resolution images no longer reached each edge and lower ones distorted the alternating lines into shades of gray (a good sign that the image has been resized). Each black and white line on the left is one pixel in width, while the lines on the right are two pixels wide.

The solution to all this, for me, was to format my images for the largest logical screen size, that of the iPad in portrait mode, and let the Kindle scale the graphics down to fit its screen. Since the Kindle reader can't reproduce high quality pictures anyway, it seemed far less drastic than compromising the more pristine, high-contrast screens found on tablet readers. Plus, screens are only bound to get better, so that in a year or two the Kindle will boast far better graphics than it does right now, and having those already loaded in will save a lot of time and frustration later.

Page Layout 4

This week's page is a comparatively simple affair, relative to any of the three preceding ones. For this layout I wanted to focus entirely on the characters, as the sequence we are now entering upon is all about the interactions of these four figures. Additionally, I knew this page would be fairly text-intensive, as the next few will be also. The text was left almost untouched from its first draft incarnation, needing only minor editing and very slight modification to fit the allotted space (final revisions notwithstanding).

In this opening salvo, the three Rhinemaidens are confronted by the repugnant visage of our dwarf intruder, extending a somewhat less than amiable welcome. While none of the replies might be considered kind, each of the three sister nymphs responds as their nature dictates, with the younger sister Voglinda (left) showing some small measure of curiosity after her initial surprise. The middle sister, Velgunda, finds the dwarf repulsive, and Flosshilda (on the right), the eldest and most stern, responds with innate defensive angst.

The story at this point follows Wagner very closely, and I have attempted to retain as much of his wit and humor as possible. Many of the Rhinemaidens' lines are direct translations from the original German libretto. As mentioned in the previous post, I have veered off slightly on my own with regards to Alberich's intentions and motivation. Here I have developed that somewhat further, to the extent that I have given our dwarf a clear initiative: in the opera it is left at best a bit muddled and unclear how this interaction actually begins. Additionally, Voglinda's tinge of optimistic curiosity is entirely my own invention.

Click the image to visit the Fantasy Castle Books pages to read in full resolution, and for more behind the scenes details on the creation of this and all the other page layouts. A number of improvements have been implemented this week to augment and ease the reading experience - click on the left and right page borders to "turn the page" either forward or back. And as always, feel free to let me know what you think!

Page Layout 3

Well, it's Sunday, so time to post up this week's work. New pages are up at Fantasy Castle Books, with some new ebook reading features as well. I'll try to post at least one new page each week, given time and other obstacles.

This week's installment officially introduces us to Alberich, the instigator of the Curse. This page was not actually in my original outline or draft, at least not in this form. In Wagner's opera Alberich simply pops out into the Rhinemaids "lair", emerging from a crack in the rocks. No explanation is given, and it appears to be mere chance, although other authors and translators have given more or less believable explanations. One such laughable excuse was that Alberich actually knew about the Rhinegold and was only toying with the sirens to get at it. Not only is that directly in opposition to what Wagner specifically states, but it proves problematic on a number of other levels, not least of which is our need to empathize with his downtrodden state, which provides the real impetus for his later actions.

To that end, I had from the first intended to play much more on Alberich's infatuation with the Rhinemaids, and this scene is the ultimate result. My contention is that being a dwarf smith, Alberich would always be on the scout for ore to mine, and the gleam of distant gold would not long escape his eye. But here I give the real reason for his visit on this particular day, and that is entirely of my own devising: he is smitten with the loveliness of the river nymphs, which stirs something that is sorely missing in his own life. This leads us naturally in the direction we need to go, and provides more than ample motivation for what is to come.

I should mention here that in the writing of my finished draft I am deeply indebted to the genius of Oliver Huckel, whose 1907 poetic rendering is in my view among the very best.

It might also be mentioned that Alberich himself, and the scene of the gold's theft, is an amalgamation of several variant versions of what was apparently an old Teutonic folk tale. Very different takes on it appear in the Old Norse Eddas, the Icelandic Volsunga Saga, and to a lesser extent, the late Germanic Nibelungenlied. From the latter is drawn the characters of the Rhinemaids themselves, who do not appear elsewhere, and there not in connection with a treasure, though certainly with a river. I won't here go into the details of the various elements that make up the Alberich episode, as I've written more on that elsewhere, but suffice it to say that here is Wagner at his best, drawing diverse pieces together into a cohesive whole far greater than its parts.

As for the artwork itself, essentially I wanted to view the scene from Alberich's perspective, so it is more or less the same scene from the prior page, but darker, and more mysterious. This is closer to how I envisioned the set initially, and I may yet go back and remove much of the bright color from the preceding page, which now seems to me a bit too "tropical" and oceanic. It's difficult to find good digital models for underwater props that aren't ocean sets. But then, this isn't exactly the realm of reality, where dwarves can breathe underwater and sirens swim in a region of subaquatic ether. But, then, maybe that didn't bother you, so forget I mentioned it.

Kindle Edition Art - Addendum

Here's a quick screenshot of how the art will look on the Kindle. Not as pretty as I'd like, and it will take some tweaking to get each image right, as far as contrast and detail is concerned, but it's better than nothing at all. One of the main difficulties with the Kindle's screen is it's low resolution and dynamic range, which has to render everything in 16 shades of gray (one of which is the off-white background). That may be fine for text, but it leaves much to be desired where images are concerned.

In fact, if anyone views this on a first generation Kindle - which can only render 4 shades of gray - it will look like crap. But I doubt many people still have one of those, since the Kindle didn't really become popular until after version two, when the price went down.

For this screenshot example, the color/sketch composite shown in the last post was used, so all the colors are simply desaturated shades of gray, giving the image much more shadow than it should really have, and washing out anything that's close to white. The sketch render composite shown at right might work better for the black and white screen, since there are no colors to convert, but it loses much in the way of subtlety and depth, not to mention the dynamic range that color gives.

Another element to bear in mind when adding images to a Kindle ebook file is that while the screen size is technically 600x800 pixels, due to the quarter-inch border, the actual viewing area is only 520x622 dpi. Any images larger than this will be scaled down automatically, while any images more than half this size (260x311 and up) will be re-sized up to fit the screen, until either the horizontal or vertical dimension (or both) reaches the border. Images smaller than half the screen size are not resized, so that you can add drop caps or graphic section dividers without their changing size. Consequently, any images that are not exactly 520x622, or less than 260x311, will lose quality when their resolution is changed by the Kindle's inner software. Thus, if you want an image that is, say, three fourths the width or height of the screen you'll need to add white space until it's either 520 pixels wide or 622 high.

That being said, there is a lot of room to work with in the Kindle, particularly if you're into pen and ink or pencil art. Unfortunately I have yet to see anyone take advantage of this, either because Amazon has not been exactly helpful in aiding authors with anything beyond simple text formatting, or because the vast majority of book illustrations are done in color, and it's just not practical or advantageous to convert them into basic shades of gray. But with so many authors now publishing directly, if not solely, on the Kindle, I would have expected to see more use of the benefits this new medium has to offer. So far it's been more like trying to paint with watercolor on an oiled canvas. Books are a square peg that have been repeatedly crammed into a digital round hole, with unsurprisingly poor results.

Kindle Edition Art

I spent the better part of this past week working over some of the art for the first section of The Ring Saga in order to make it work on the Kindle. I've toyed with this off and on since beginning this project, and it's been a bit of a thorn in my side all along. The fact is that more Kindle editions of ebooks are sold than any other format (and that certainly holds true for me), so it deserves some serious consideration as to how to deal with the graphic elements of this book.

At one point I had considered just abandoning the Kindle altogether, since its 4" black and white screen is simply not compatible with full color art. Graphic novels and comics are really only suited to reading on LCD screens 7" or bigger, but as I said I've been mulling over how to deal with the Kindle's limited screen real estate and lack of color. In addition, graphics on the Kindle can only be placed between lines of text, although with a bit of clever formatting, small thumbnails can be added within a line, like drop caps, but this is extremely limited and hardly ideal.

Some word wrap can be achieved with Kindle formatting, but only around square boxes, just like in this blog; but with such a small screen, that doesn't leave you much in the way of resolution. And as you can see from my last two posts, resolution is something of a concern here. Even on a 10" tablet, a two page spread will look pretty small, though of course you can turn it sideways and view one page at a time for easier reading. And with touchscreen you have the benefit of pinch and zoom as well. Not so with Kindle.

So as far as I can tell the only real solution is to eliminate the backgrounds altogether and retain only the main elements of each piece, creating mini vignettes, if you will. But unfortunately size isn't the only consideration. In order to accommodate the Kindle's grayscale screen, the color must also be muted and the line detail increased. I could, of course, simply eliminate the color altogether, but not everyone reads Kindle ebooks on a Kindle reader, so it needs to look good in the Kindle app on tablets and computers as well.

To achieve this I did a series of render passes in Poser using the Sketch Designer to create some hand drawn styled images, onto while I composited several color render layers using various filters and blend modes in Photoshop. The "Find Edges" filter is particularly useful to create an outlines layer, and I'm also fond of the "Ink Outlines" filter for this purpose. It takes a bit of tweaking to get the color balance right, but then that's a big part of doing digital art in any form. I'll just be glad when the Kindle has a nice big 7" color touchscreen like it's competitors.

Page Layout 2

As promised, here is the next in the series of "finished" page layouts for The Curse of the Rhinegold. As before, you can click the image to visit the host page at Fantasy Castle Books, where additional notes and art elements have been posted up, detailing some of what went into creating the image. I have also started posting detailed credits for all the elements used in making each piece, from digital models to Photoshop brushes used.

As for the text, we're now getting a bit into the story, so maybe a word or two should be mentioned here. While overall this is a very dark and violent story of mayhem and destruction, this opening sequence is right out of a children's fairy tale, and I've written it intentionally to feel that way. Don't let it put you off. This is not a children's book, and many pages will be splashed with blood before we're done.

But every conflict begins with relative stability, so my goal in creating these first few pages was to visualize a lush paradise before the fall, so to speak. I wanted the colors to be vivid and dynamic. In addition, it felt only natural to use a watercolor motif, given the setting. (On that note, I also posted an alternate version of the first page spread which used a watercolor splatter effect that I ultimately removed, for reasons I make note of there).

This image was particularly difficult to finish, for a wealth of reasons, not least of which is the several hundred models and layers involved. Virtually everything that could go wrong did, and it's a wonder it ever got done at all. Of course, I have no illusions that it's actually finished, but for now it's close enough. Final color adjustments and printer's proofs must wait for another day.

New Ring Saga Art

Beginning today I will be posting new "final layout" pages for The Ring Saga over at the Fantasy Castle Books site. Go to the "Ring Saga" menu and click on either or both the "Artwork" or "Final Layout" links. The first will give you additional submenus divided into sections for characters, sets, props, etc., where you will find among other things early concept art, test renders and character model sheets. There are new model sheets for Alberich and each of the three Rhinemaidens, with more to follow. Final Layouts is where I will be posting the completed page spreads like the one shown here, which I plan to do for the entire first book. The additional Research button also found there gives you supplemental info and links to download a great many of the source texts I've used in undertaking this project, including my own "Comparative Text Editions" of Wagner's opera librettos, the Norse Eddas, and the Icelandic Volsunga Saga.

I know this has been a long time coming, and as I haven't posted in awhile, I'm certain many of you must have thought I'd given up. But that is not the case. I have, in fact, been hard at work all the while, to the extent that I had to stopped blogging about book industry news and tech and just focus on my own work. Indeed, it's been a lot more work than anticipated, and as always, a great many things have gone haywire in the process. But I'll spare you the tedious details.

I have been intending for some time to create a new Wordpress site in order to incorporate this blog with an actual author website, but I just haven't had the time to build it. As soon as I do I'll let you know. Meanwhile, I'll try to post more regularly now that finished pages are beginning to flow off the press. Once the first chapter is completed, I will be printing up a limited edition chapbook series, which I will give away free, so stay tuned for that.