the secret laboratory within the hidden temple...

hiding your secret high tech laboratory underneath long forgotten temple structures deep within the jungles of borneo seems to be THE most perfectly logical thing to do - who would EVER think to look THERE?? - except HOPE, of course...
well, it's actually not that simple (is it ever?), but you're gonna have to stick around and eventually read the book to find out

it IS pretty much a 'james bond'ian setup, though, isn't it? secret villainous lair hidden in or under some exotic landmark? LOVE IT!!
"No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"

the set design is also inspired by my favorite comic strip, 'terry and the pirates', which took place in numerous picturesque locations along the chinese coast

background

here is the background for the panel in progress - it's somewhat inspired by anime, which i feel is totally appropriate for all the tech-y elements in the hope universe, the look of which creates a nice contrast to the characters with their unmistakable franco-belgian heritage.

interesting to see the BG in its unobstructed glory - it will be mostly covered up in the particular panel i'm working on, but even though this creates more work right now, designing and drawing and coloring the whole panel - if you think about this workflow more like you would in animation, this 'shot' is being prepared like in a multiplane set-up, and thus it allows you to use all the elements separately, and possibly in a slightly different way, in other panels requiring the same (or a similar) location...