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Description
First attempt at drawing a couple of these fuckers, pretty much designed on the spot. As I keep fleshing out the world of HIOD, I really started liking having Glenn as an actual underground musician in addition to the drug dealing gig. Things just kind of fell into place from there as I started working out his bandmates, and like I said in a journal explaining my username, I've used "Naphtha" as a name for fictional bands in works I scrapped so I figured it'd be an easy thing to carry over. Only one of these dudes came from the previous incarnation, though, and that'd be Jarrett.

Glenn Koga - A Japanese-American, bisexual, apathetic snarker who deals drugs out of his and Geoff's apartment to a variety of clients, human and demon. Glenn has grown up under his mother's constant reminder that he would never measure up to his older brother, who manages a bank, and the reminders have essentially turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. He actually finds comfort in his low-income lifestyle estranged from his family, and his connections through his other roommate Adrian allow him to sell unique goods so he can afford to expand his CD collection. His vocal range is lower baritone, and his style usually mixes sarcastic, half-snarled clean vocals with harsher barks, grunts and screams in various registers. His lyrics tend to run on sarcasm and shock value, and cover topics such as torture, corruption, horror movies and apocalypse theories. His favorite bands include Slayer, Deicide, Gojira, Toxic Holocaust, Trivium and Hirax.

Geoffery Michael Stroud - Glenn's best friend since middle school, when they met each other in the skate-punk scene. It was in high school that the two really started getting into metal, mostly fueled by Geoff taking up guitar and learning from a friend's collection of thrash albums. Geoff is outgoing enough to reach further outside the cliques he's a part of and try to attract different groups of people, so if the apartment ever gets trashed in a wild party, he's probably the one that invited all the guests. He also works part-time as a bartender in a local club named Rosemarie's, which helps with booking some extra gigs here and there. Geoff's guitar is a dark red Gibson Explorer, and he handles most of the solos and lead sections, though he also tends to write in harmonized guitar parts to add to evil or dramatic-sounding riffs. His lyrical contributions are few and far between, and when he does write, it usually deals with violence or fiction. Geoff likes plenty of extreme bands like Strapping Young Lad and Arch Enemy, but he still has a soft spot for Anthrax and Metallica since he learned to play by listening to those bands.

Chanmaly Sorn - Glenn's Cambodian girlfriend and newest member of Naphtha (who actually used to play under the name "Phallus Maximus" before she joined). Maly's own commitment is a mostly-female prog act named Mynarchy, which she also contributes guitars and secondary vocals to. She and Glenn have had a fairly stable relationship for a few years, though she no longer does any of the drugs that first introduced them to each other and sometimes has to use dating strategies to keep him from using the same substances he's selling. She doesn't have much in common with her two older brothers, Chhandy and Sopheak, but they are both very supportive of her career choice. Maly handles most of the rhythm parts in both of her bands, and provides harsh, throaty vocals to back Glenn's own or contrast with Mynarchy's lead singer. The lyrics she writes tend to deal with societal issues and her taste in bands crosses several subgenre boundaries, but she's always happy with a little gender role reversal in metal. Her favorite bands include Fear Factory, The Agonist, ReVamp, White Zombie, Prong and Holy Moses.

Damon Kontos - Damon is one of those rare potheads who looks and acts more stoned when he's sober. He depends on the substance and doesn't see the point in having it be illegal in most states or circumstances, since him using it doesn't affect anyone else. His interests in foreign cultures, world religions and philosophy add an occasional abstract touch to Naphtha's lyrics, but also show up when he talks, because he tends to use more complicated words and has a somewhat unconventional, roundabout way of looking at things. He's probably the most laid-back member of the band, but takes his music seriously and shares most of the composition work with Geoff. His favorite bands include Protest The Hero, Dream Theater, The Acacia Strain, Epica and the Devin Townsend Project.

Jarrett Vallie - Jarrett is essentially a hired gun in the band, not really much more than a session drummer. He has a few years and bands' worth of extra experience compared to the other members of Naphtha, and Geoff contacted Jarrett to join them specifically because of his work with several other local acts. When he's not performing on stage, Jarrett is a part-time student at an art school in the Greater Boston area, still trying to decide his exact field of study and expertise but looking to design album covers and layouts eventually. He also stands out for the classier appearance he sports when not performing, dressed in button-down shirts and retro high-tops with detailed designs. His favorite bands include Death, Dark Angel, Sepultura, the Devin Townsend Project and just about any band with Gene Hoglan in it.

Descriptions aside, how's the art itself? I started experimenting more with filters combinations for the backgrounds and font to come out just right, and the band logo was the result of some dabbling with blending options which I hadn't done before. The shading and highlighting style was also changed up a bit, partly to give additional depth to certain features and partly because I've been experimenting with a tablet I ended up getting from a friend of mine not too long ago. I still don't know about doing the entire comic digitally, but if I can branch out as far as styles and media are concerned, any practice should be worth it.

Description
First attempt at drawing a couple of these fuckers, pretty much designed on the spot. As I keep fleshing out the world of HIOD, I really started liking having Glenn as an actual underground musician in addition to the drug dealing gig. Things just kind of fell into place from there as I started working out his bandmates, and like I said in a journal explaining my username, I've used "Naphtha" as a name for fictional bands in works I scrapped so I figured it'd be an easy thing to carry over. Only one of these dudes came from the previous incarnation, though, and that'd be Jarrett.

Glenn Koga - A Japanese-American, bisexual, apathetic snarker who deals drugs out of his and Geoff's apartment to a variety of clients, human and demon. Glenn has grown up under his mother's constant reminder that he would never measure up to his older brother, who manages a bank, and the reminders have essentially turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. He actually finds comfort in his low-income lifestyle estranged from his family, and his connections through his other roommate Adrian allow him to sell unique goods so he can afford to expand his CD collection. His vocal range is lower baritone, and his style usually mixes sarcastic, half-snarled clean vocals with harsher barks, grunts and screams in various registers. His lyrics tend to run on sarcasm and shock value, and cover topics such as torture, corruption, horror movies and apocalypse theories. His favorite bands include Slayer, Deicide, Gojira, Toxic Holocaust, Trivium and Hirax.

Geoffery Michael Stroud - Glenn's best friend since middle school, when they met each other in the skate-punk scene. It was in high school that the two really started getting into metal, mostly fueled by Geoff taking up guitar and learning from a friend's collection of thrash albums. Geoff is outgoing enough to reach further outside the cliques he's a part of and try to attract different groups of people, so if the apartment ever gets trashed in a wild party, he's probably the one that invited all the guests. He also works part-time as a bartender in a local club named Rosemarie's, which helps with booking some extra gigs here and there. Geoff's guitar is a dark red Gibson Explorer, and he handles most of the solos and lead sections, though he also tends to write in harmonized guitar parts to add to evil or dramatic-sounding riffs. His lyrical contributions are few and far between, and when he does write, it usually deals with violence or fiction. Geoff likes plenty of extreme bands like Strapping Young Lad and Arch Enemy, but he still has a soft spot for Anthrax and Metallica since he learned to play by listening to those bands.

Chanmaly Sorn - Glenn's Cambodian girlfriend and newest member of Naphtha (who actually used to play under the name "Phallus Maximus" before she joined). Maly's own commitment is a mostly-female prog act named Mynarchy, which she also contributes guitars and secondary vocals to. She and Glenn have had a fairly stable relationship for a few years, though she no longer does any of the drugs that first introduced them to each other and sometimes has to use dating strategies to keep him from using the same substances he's selling. She doesn't have much in common with her two older brothers, Chhandy and Sopheak, but they are both very supportive of her career choice. Maly handles most of the rhythm parts in both of her bands, and provides harsh, throaty vocals to back Glenn's own or contrast with Mynarchy's lead singer. The lyrics she writes tend to deal with societal issues and her taste in bands crosses several subgenre boundaries, but she's always happy with a little gender role reversal in metal. Her favorite bands include Fear Factory, The Agonist, ReVamp, White Zombie, Prong and Holy Moses.

Damon Kontos - Damon is one of those rare potheads who looks and acts more stoned when he's sober. He depends on the substance and doesn't see the point in having it be illegal in most states or circumstances, since him using it doesn't affect anyone else. His interests in foreign cultures, world religions and philosophy add an occasional abstract touch to Naphtha's lyrics, but also show up when he talks, because he tends to use more complicated words and has a somewhat unconventional, roundabout way of looking at things. He's probably the most laid-back member of the band, but takes his music seriously and shares most of the composition work with Geoff. His favorite bands include Protest The Hero, Dream Theater, The Acacia Strain, Epica and the Devin Townsend Project.

Jarrett Vallie - Jarrett is essentially a hired gun in the band, not really much more than a session drummer. He has a few years and bands' worth of extra experience compared to the other members of Naphtha, and Geoff contacted Jarrett to join them specifically because of his work with several other local acts. When he's not performing on stage, Jarrett is a part-time student at an art school in the Greater Boston area, still trying to decide his exact field of study and expertise but looking to design album covers and layouts eventually. He also stands out for the classier appearance he sports when not performing, dressed in button-down shirts and retro high-tops with detailed designs. His favorite bands include Death, Dark Angel, Sepultura, the Devin Townsend Project and just about any band with Gene Hoglan in it.

Descriptions aside, how's the art itself? I started experimenting more with filters combinations for the backgrounds and font to come out just right, and the band logo was the result of some dabbling with blending options which I hadn't done before. The shading and highlighting style was also changed up a bit, partly to give additional depth to certain features and partly because I've been experimenting with a tablet I ended up getting from a friend of mine not too long ago. I still don't know about doing the entire comic digitally, but if I can branch out as far as styles and media are concerned, any practice should be worth it.