The 16th Trial: Caverns of Death - POSTED!

[YAK_Chewie]

A great (but short) chapter. There was a lot of suspense in it.

I'd like to see a couple of full shots of the diorama. You really made a good use of it's space.

Thanks! I struggle some with how long to make these. I could have added another section to the story - and almost did - but felt it was going to start getting too boring for readers... I am trying to make it 75-100 frames per chapter, and keep each line of text only one sentence per frame (max of two sentences). Otherwise, I think in this media it just becomes too cumbersome for the readers...

As for the diorama, I should be able to snap some pics this week. :mrgreen:

:wink:

 

[Evilivo]

It turned out I missed the previous chapter, so now I had the pleasure to read two at once, which was absolutely great! The scenery is reaaly impressive and the feeling of a junk wasteland very convincing. I loved the water effects in the sewer, was the underground river a real water or a resin one?~
The dwellers are pretty creepy, but the cobbled together droids of the Maker were even creepier. The prisoners are all with great parts and very well represent the look of a gang members who came from all accross the Galaxy. Waiting patiently for the next chapter
Thanks for keeping us entertained!

 

[Evilivo]

Oh, one more thing - if these are Boss Fight skeletons, they look incredibly well, I must finally get some

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Excellent as usual! Thanks!!

Thank you, glad you liked it!

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Awesome!!! The suspense in this one made it feel longer then it actually was. Well for me any way.
Really like how you made the set, I'm guessing they are 100% modular?

Like the design of the dwellers. The Dianoga was a nice touch aswell

I hope and wish you have more spare time to make the next chapter sooner :wink:

Thank you for the feedback.

Yes the scenery is all modular. It is so helpful for trying to make the area look a little different in different pics even though in many cases it's the exact same background, just arranged differently.

The diagona was funny in a way. I just photo duplicated his tentacle some and added the eye for the part where he's peaking out of the water.

I am pretty sure I'll be able to get the next chapter done quicker than this one. I have most of the sets and customs for it done already.

Again -- thank you for reading and the nice feedback.

:wink:

 

[UKHistory]

Chewie thanks for sharing another great episode of the Enloe chronicles.

This chapter is really fun. Big on adventure with the star the diorama background. The sewer is excellent. Great. The sludgy water. The jagged sides. The sewer pipes. Really awesome.

One of the real strengths of the entire series is how Chewie takes the known Star Wars world and adds his own creations to it. I say that because bringing the trash compactor beast into this sewer was really nice.

Great photography. Like the interactions between Enloe and the others.

Like the cliff hangers and the mysteries of this penal colony planet. The new evil threat is a nice touch. Really cool looking alien.

Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing

 

[Darth Kikinou]

Chewie! One thousand apologies for being so late to comment on this chapter, I visit this site far too seldom now.

Outstanding as always, just far too short! Please tell me you're just releasing it slowly for suspense but you have it all set!

But yes it's great, you hit all the usual notes. Very impressive use of water I know that is not easy.

Can't wait to see more of the Maker!

I am soooo far behind in adding everyone's new chapters to the photonovelalliance.com site, I will do so very soon!

 

[DarthParallax]

Absolutely enjoyed reading this , and am really looking forward to going back and reading the previous chapters you put out now. I was actually like "awww man..." when it said to be continued.... The black frames that you used really helped build up that suspense for what was waiting on the other side.

Loved the custom made figures you have made for your story , they all fit the Star Wars universe well , and your set pieces give it the spot on Star Wars feel. Awesome work!

 

[Lance Quazar]

Wow, Chewie. Wow.

This is one of the creepiest and most exciting chapters you've ever created and, of course, that is saying A LOT.

The sewer sets/dioramas are eye-poppingly mind-blowingly fantastic. So immersive and stunning, I'm just blown away. Again. It looks so darn good.

And the dionoga attack is one of the best action scenes you've ever done. It's really legitimately exciting and scary and visceral. The dionaga looks great and the water special effects are tremendous.

you really do create a palpable sense of mounting dread and then unleash the fury. It's like a really good monster movie or action movie. Building tension then an explosion of fierce, chaotic action.

And then, just when we take a breath and regroup, here comes the "Dweller", which is probably your scariest creation yet. Just all kinds of creepy.

This is a total thrill ride of scares and excitement and it really does grab you and never let go.

Now all that said, here's my one criticism of the chapter, which is that the story itself doesn't really "advance." And normally, having an awesome action interlude is its own reward and it's still exciting and thrilling on its own.

But, given the unfortunate reality of your life, your family, your job, your real world joys and responsibilities, you can only release a couple chapters a year at that point.

So I was hoping, given all that, the story would move forward a little bit more. basically, the characters are at the same point they were at the end of the prior chapter, which is still just trying to make it into the complex to confront the maker. In terms of the plot, nothing that happens here is really "essential".

But that's plot. It's still wildly entertaining and fun. I just wish that the last few panels were them actually inside the complex. Maybe coming face to face with the Maker himself. Even if it still ended on a cliffhanger (as most of your chapters do, which is great.) But at least it would have felt like there was a little more momentum to it. Wouldn't have to be all that much, really. You wouldn't have had to have created the entire next chapter. But just a little more "accomplished" by Rykrof...moving the pieces down the board a little bit more than what you do here.

Anyway, thanks again for a terrific and wildly enjoyable installment, though. Don't misundertand, I'm really engrossed in this particular storyline of Ryrkof's, which is why my only criticism here is that I wanted more!

 

[YAK_Chewie]

It turned out I missed the previous chapter, so now I had the pleasure to read two at once, which was absolutely great! The scenery is reaaly impressive and the feeling of a junk wasteland very convincing. I loved the water effects in the sewer, was the underground river a real water or a resin one?~
The dwellers are pretty creepy, but the cobbled together droids of the Maker were even creepier. The prisoners are all with great parts and very well represent the look of a gang members who came from all accross the Galaxy. Waiting patiently for the next chapter
Thanks for keeping us entertained!

Hey buddy, thanks for taking the time to read and share some feedback.

Glad you liked the scenery... for the water, I first had a painted area with a glossy finish... it was okay, but in the pics it just didn't have the desired effect... so I photo edited some water in.

The next chapter will feature more dwellers, a whole new batch of prisoners and some new droids too.

Again - thank you for reading, and sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it!!

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Oh, one more thing - if these are Boss Fight skeletons, they look incredibly well, I must finally get some

Yes, they are boss fight ones... and pretty easy to paint too! The sculpts on them are amazing.

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Okay, so now that I've actually had time off from work, graduate school, and home tasks I can give you more feedback.

Busy, busy! I know the feeling... :upside down:

This was a short chapter, but a great one nonetheless! I think your use of parts for the dwellers was intelligent and creative. I remember when you first started this series most of your parts are from Star Wars figures. It's really cool you've branched out from those and incorporate a lot of different figure sculpts into your creations. That's thinking outside the box! The dioramas were well executed in this episode and I can tell you put a lot of time and thought into them. How do you photograph these, if you don't mind me asking? Do you use a mobile camera or an actual one? And what lighting and editing techniques do you employ?

Thank you! Glad you like the look of the dweller... there's several more that I've been saving for the next chapter. Definitely good to branch out and use parts from other toy lines where they seem to make sense.

As for photographing, my technique is extremely amateur. I just have a digital camera, and try and using a "still life" setting and snap the pics under natural lighting in my house.

A lot of images turn our too dull, grainy, out of focus, discolored, etc. So, I edit using a program called Photoimpact. It's a poor man's version of Photoshop. I add saturation to the photos, play around with the hue some, and blur out the areas of the pic that I don't want the reader to focus on. So for example, if Rykrof is speaking in a frame, I will blur out almost everything in the image except for him.

Excited to see what happens to our pal Enloe next!

I should have some previews in May...

Thanks again for the feedback - I definitely appreciate it.

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Absolutely enjoyed reading this , and am really looking forward to going back and reading the previous chapters you put out now. I was actually like "awww man..." when it said to be continued.... The black frames that you used really helped build up that suspense for what was waiting on the other side.

Loved the custom made figures you have made for your story , they all fit the Star Wars universe well , and your set pieces give it the spot on Star Wars feel. Awesome work!

Thanks for the feedback and so sorry for the late reply. I know you did read the older stories and really appreciated the notes you posted them.

Again, really do appreciate the feedback and hopefully you hang around for the next chapters!

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Chewie! One thousand apologies for being so late to comment on this chapter, I visit this site far too seldom now.

Outstanding as always, just far too short! Please tell me you're just releasing it slowly for suspense but you have it all set!

But yes it's great, you hit all the usual notes. Very impressive use of water I know that is not easy.

Can't wait to see more of the Maker!

I am soooo far behind in adding everyone's new chapters to the photonovelalliance.com site, I will do so very soon!

No worries, just glad you still come by when you can.

The next chapter hasn't even started yet. But I have a ton of new customs for it. And I do mean a lot. And most of the dioramas are set. Still have some work to figure out though for it.

There will be a full reveal of the Maker in the next chapter. Hopefully it will turn out okay!

Thank you as always for the feedback and your site updates.

:wink:

 

[Codaks]

There will be a full reveal of the Maker in the next chapter. Hopefully it will turn out okay!

STOP TEASING ALREADY!!! :wink:

I'm pretty hyped about that, sorry for caps

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Chewie thanks for sharing another great episode of the Enloe chronicles.

This chapter is really fun. Big on adventure with the star the diorama background. The sewer is excellent. Great. The sludgy water. The jagged sides. The sewer pipes. Really awesome.

One of the real strengths of the entire series is how Chewie takes the known Star Wars world and adds his own creations to it. I say that because bringing the trash compactor beast into this sewer was really nice.

Great photography. Like the interactions between Enloe and the others.

Like the cliff hangers and the mysteries of this penal colony planet. The new evil threat is a nice touch. Really cool looking alien.

Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing

Sorry for not replying earlier, my life has just been crazy busy! Getting back into photonovel mindset this month though.

Appreciate the nice words, and you pointing out some of the diorama details, etc. It means a lot.. so much work goes into all of this, and it's hard to find the time to work on these (as always).

Hopefully the next chapter doesn't disappoint!

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

Wow, Chewie. Wow.

This is one of the creepiest and most exciting chapters you've ever created and, of course, that is saying A LOT.

The sewer sets/dioramas are eye-poppingly mind-blowingly fantastic. So immersive and stunning, I'm just blown away. Again. It looks so darn good.

Thanks my friend, that means so much coming from you. As you know, I always look forward to your critiques!

And the dionoga attack is one of the best action scenes you've ever done. It's really legitimately exciting and scary and visceral. The dionaga looks great and the water special effects are tremendous.

you really do create a palpable sense of mounting dread and then unleash the fury. It's like a really good monster movie or action movie. Building tension then an explosion of fierce, chaotic action.

Thank you, I was so nervous about how to portray water and splashing, etc. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted, but it worked for what it is... action figures in a little make believe scene, lol.

And then, just when we take a breath and regroup, here comes the "Dweller", which is probably your scariest creation yet. Just all kinds of creepy.

...more of those to come...

This is a total thrill ride of scares and excitement and it really does grab you and never let go.

Now all that said, here's my one criticism of the chapter, which is that the story itself doesn't really "advance." And normally, having an awesome action interlude is its own reward and it's still exciting and thrilling on its own.

But, given the unfortunate reality of your life, your family, your job, your real world joys and responsibilities, you can only release a couple chapters a year at that point.

So I was hoping, given all that, the story would move forward a little bit more. basically, the characters are at the same point they were at the end of the prior chapter, which is still just trying to make it into the complex to confront the maker. In terms of the plot, nothing that happens here is really "essential".

But that's plot. It's still wildly entertaining and fun. I just wish that the last few panels were them actually inside the complex. Maybe coming face to face with the Maker himself. Even if it still ended on a cliffhanger (as most of your chapters do, which is great.) But at least it would have felt like there was a little more momentum to it. Wouldn't have to be all that much, really. You wouldn't have had to have created the entire next chapter. But just a little more "accomplished" by Rykrof...moving the pieces down the board a little bit more than what you do here.

Right, this didn't advance the storyline really - all it did was take up some space in the series and make Rykrof's ordeals a little worse. But I wanted to portray more of the adventure on this planet, showing the perils, etc. And I really wanted to have a sewer sequence with the dianoga... and to introduce the dwellers. I really didn't feel ready for a standoff with the Maker just yet. The next chapter though is going to move things further.

Anyway, thanks again for a terrific and wildly enjoyable installment, though. Don't misundertand, I'm really engrossed in this particular storyline of Ryrkof's, which is why my only criticism here is that I wanted more!

No worries, I appreciate the feedback and part of me felt that way when making the chapter... the next chapter might move a little too fast... but hopefully not. I'm pretty good at taking things at a slow pace... lol

Again - thank you for the feedback!!!

:wink:

 

[YAK_Chewie]

This chapter has been restored. Looking back, I forgot how much I really like this one.