In a future too far for human numbers, on a gigantic biomechanical planet, four souls awake, trapped inside android bodies, and search for the truth they may not want to discover.
Sci-fi/Horror/Thriller/Drama
R H G H R H G H R H G H R H G H R H G H...
Damn what a trip, huh? I hope you guys enjoyed reading SBA as much as I enjoyed making it.
I started this story on March 14th 2017. Between then and now, the day before I release it, it's changed so much. I initially was inspired by a nightmare [of which you can read a recounting in the other bonus chapter 'Nightmare Journal'], and being an edgy 17 year old film nerd, I wanted things to go in a VERY different direction. I originally imagined SBA as a 2D animated film in the art style of Rock & Rule, even wanting to use 80s animation techniques- animating on physical cels, using real-time light sources for some effects, using multi-plane cameras for dynamic and complex shots. Even at the time I knew this was a pipe dream, but I still began writing up a script, and that script eventually was edited to death into the finished novel.
I wanted to invert everything I was sick of in modern movies of the time, gray protagonists who destroy the world instead of saving it, but no one being inherently evil or good. I initially planned for the story to end right after the Ego Death scene, having Earth actually be dead, in order to leave the audience in a state of shock. But, as I grew up, so did the story. I no longer wanted it to be a betrayal, but instead a sobering, relatable, important message.
So, here's some early concept art. Like, EARLY, concept art. Drawn on my 3DS or on unused receipts when I worked at a grocery store as my first job. The first thing you'll notice is the poor quality of the work- there's a reason I never even considered trying to 2D animate things myself lol
This first image is the absolute earliest piece I did, directly inspired by the more detailed and visceral nature of my nightmare. I think I made this one really soon after I heard of the movie Eyes Without A Face, the one where the girl gets a face transplant and it goes bad. I still haven't seen it oops
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The next ones are the main four characters. Even here you can see how little emphasis was put on Gardenia.
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