About
Akashik: Remembering is the Key to Survival is the reboot of Akashik: Battle of Angels. It is mostly written and created by K. J. Joyner, but Tim Belcher gives essential advice and ideas when the time comes. (Even if writing sessions with him are like pulling teeth from a duck.)
Akashik is the sister comic to The Heavenly Bride. Akashik is set years after the events of The Heavenly Bride.
The Akashik Universe is set so far in the future, America is a myth but true believers know it really existed at one time under the benevolent rule of President Arthur Pendragon. By this point, the Milky Way has been mostly conquered by the noble Reticulan Empire although there are still pockets of resistance. It’s a place where magic works alongside technology. Our main protagonist prefers to use magic, although she likes technology.
Creation
As of 2024 I use the following tools:
- DAZ Studio rendering with 3Delight with the pwtoon shaders coupled with the AoA Volumetric Camera by Age of Armour. Sometimes I also use the visual shaders for DAZ Studio but not as much as I used to. It just depends on what effect I want. The camera is probably one of the most important tools in my arsenal there.
- Comic Life where I add sound effects and word balloons. When it comes to lettering, I suck so I’m very grateful for this program.
- Sometimes I want an animated png page. Then I will create a series of images or pages and assemble them in apng assembler.
- My Wacom One tablet
- Painter 2020
- AKVIS filters
- Backup hard drives which protect a very large 3D library I’ve been amassing since 1997 or so. Fun fact: a former roommate once thought he’d be slick and delete Akashik’s library. But behold! My backups were hidden in the closet.
- Various other bits and bobs
Yes, I do notice a parallel in basic style and creation choice with that hit cartoon The Dragon Prince. The biggest difference between me and them is that their work process has more bells and whistles than mine does, and I’ve been working on producing this comic longer than the show has been alive. (Same goes for RWBY before you ask.) No, the Dragon Prince team did not answer my email when I asked them how they did their noses. I am most envious on how they get their noses to outline perfectly.
Characters
The cast of Akashik, from main protagonist to minor annoyance.
TausTaus went AWOL years ago, leaving her beloved husband behind and running across the universe as far from Reticulan rule as she could get. She's fond of the first several licks of an ice cream cone and fashionable clothing. Her powers include fire, speed, and flight. Comics: 93 | |
NPCsThe NPCs are just background color for various scenes. They can be any race, shape or size. The ones with the big butts were probably designed by Tim. Comics: 32 | |
RufflesRuffles wouldn't tell you if you asked. Comics: 30 | |
GanjiSpacer by birth, this veteran has no interest in settling down on some backwater planet only to be covered in mud. He hitches rides from starport to starport as the mood fits him. He earns food money with side jobs fixing machinery: the bigger the better. Comics: 29 | |
OccomBeing the ward of a notorious criminal on the run has it's moments. Like the embarrassing moments when your foster mother kidnaps you off the street for a private chat only to end up fighting the fiercest person in your unit. In the air, where everybody can see it. Comics: 22 | |
BellaAlthough she wears white in her uniform, meaning she was given her post, she was the best of her class at the Mercy Academy where all Cerberus pups must go to graduate. As a member of the Annannagi race, she is very proud of her lineage and looks down her cute nose at all Humans. She can fly and wields lightening. Comics: 20 | |
Mad RenMad Ren looks more like her mother, but doesn't act like anyone in the family they know. She's very... exuberant. Especially when it comes to fireworks. Comics: 19 | |
LeviathanIf you didn't know, it's not easy getting into Cerberus. Being just a Candidate - a pup as you will - is pretty much something to be proud of. If you're proud to be part of an empire which subjugates the undesirables that is. Known as "Levit" to most people. Comics: 16 | |
RubyRuby felt ordinary, average... just a naga without a plan. It seemed she just couldn't stand out from the snakepit, until she went to space. There people found her downright alluring, and she's loving every minute of it. Comics: 15 | |
TeaspoonTeaspoon the Mad, the most slithery pirate of the infinite cosmic seas, is known by many names. We don't remember what they are right now. But they might all be strange. Comics: 13 | |
FredBeing human and not possessing any natural born "super" ability, Fred voluntarily underwent enhancement surgery for the sake of the empire. This of course makes him a cyborg, or "synth", although his position in Cerberus usually protects him from any prejudice the populace would ordinarily dare to dole his way. His cyber eye allows him to interface with his flight drone, named Puppy, His role in Cerberus it to collect intel among other things. Comics: 12 | |
YeomanYeoman, the half-dressed handsome cyborg with a big gun, prefers the term "synth" over that other, less romantic-sounding term. He's extremely loyal to Taus. Extremely. Loyal. Comics: 10 | |
LhungAs Taus's abandoned other half, Lhung has spent his days reading books and enjoying the peace and quiet of solitude. He also has been doing what he can for their foster son, Occom, and cultivating a variety of houseplants to fill the void. Comics: 9 | |
PaigeComics: 8 | |
Snek & ParrotSnek and his puppet, Parrot, are considered indispensable around that ship. Or at least, that's what Parrot tells Snek. Comics: 8 | |
MetComics: 4 | |
Imp & MetComics: 4 | |
Black PeacockWoman of mystery, a woman of your dreams. Comics: 4 | |
FlotsamComics: 4 | |
ImpComics: 3 | |
SpearcarrierThe characters know not to mess with this woman. She holds the dice of their fates in her hands. Unless she's rolling them on the tabletop. Comics: 3 | |
JetsumComics: 2 | |
JetsamComics: 2 | |
SkyEyeComics: 2 | |
EpiphanyIt took her years to find her name, and when she did it was quite the epiphany. Comics: 2 | |
DeeTeeDeeTee is just a bear, in an endless sea of explosive bears in space. We no longer remember why we named him DeeTee. We know it's some sort of initial. We know we're referencing some person. That's all we can remember. Comics: 2 | |
FlyShe's blue, she's bouncy, and she might bite. No survivors have come forward to tell their tales at this time. Comics: 2 | |
PeaShe's a kid. C'mon. Kids will be kids. Comics: 2 | |
ZleddaIn good time. All in good time. Comics: 1 | |
Phauhn Queen MotherComics: 1 | |
Sam the SailorComics: 1 | |
Happy AccidentComics: 1 | |
Sailor SamComics: 1 |