sidekickmatt 3Speak Podcast

sidekickmatt 3Speak Podcast

By Matt S. Law
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sidekickmatt 3Speak Podcast episodes

  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 045

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/pjqfwuas

    a webcomic, by Matt S. Law

    Sorry for my absence, folks. Another unannounced week off from posting or drawing anything. Can't say that there's really a reason for it. Partly just laziness. Partly wondering why I'm bothering with any sort of creative endeavors in the age of AI content creation. I have been looking for more ways trying to figure out how to monetize my content. Hive has certainly been a blessing in that regards, as I've made more here in real profits than in advertising, book sales, merch sales, and anything else combined. But at the same time, web comics is not exactly a booming market here on the blockchain. It feels like I'm the last man standing from all the comic artists that used to be here.

    Anyway, enough about me complaining. I know everyone here really just wants to see Asptha turn into a snake and eat that kitten!

    Also, if Medusa doesn't hurry down those stairs, there's about to be a bunch of thunder and lightning and punching. Run, snake-hair, run!

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    0 min
  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 044

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/wpcneqxv

    a webcomic, by Matt S. Law

    Why are all these super villainesses taking orders from Huntress. Because she doesn't have any powers, so she's just like Batman. She is bat- crazy.

    Of course, all of Medusa's power is tied up in keeping Mary Marvel a stone statue right now, so she's pretty much helpless anyway.

    Missed out on a Java Jaguar update yesterday. Just got busy doing computer stuff. In fact, just had to finish this panel and get it uploaded right now.

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    0 min
  • Splinterlands Art Contest Week 370: Fire Caller

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/flevulqm
    This here is my entry for the weekly Splinterlands Art contest which can be found RIGHT OVER HERE, CLICK HERE, THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO THE PLACE

    Compare to the original card art:

    My Drawing Process in Clip Studio Paint:

    Step 1: Rough draft. I use a fat pastel brush to block out the character's position, then refine the shapes and details a bit with a fat, but not as fat, mechanical pencil brush.

    Step 2: Line art. I outline the figure with a 15px G Pen brush. All the interior linework is done with a finer brush, anywhere from 4 px to 8 px.

    Step 3: Flat layer. First hide the rough layer. I've found the best way to fill in an entire silhouette for a character is to use the magic wand tool to select everything outside the figure. Then inverse the selection and use the paint bucket to fill in every drop of space. This makes a single flat layer that extends all the way into the thick pen outline. Picked a color that would make a good skin tone and used that.

    4: Step 4: Colors. On a new layer, color in everything that is not her skin. I mostly just use the paint bucket fill tool and sometimes find missing corners and just fill them in with the G-pen.

    5: Make some fire. Probably didn't actually draw this part next, but I think it's easier to show you this step now. I used a thin Real G-Pen brush to make the outline of the fire. You can see it now, but I think I actually got rid of the outline layer for the final version. Filled in the fire layer with bright orange, then just used the soft airbrush tool to make the interior of the fire aura more yellow and then transparent in the center.

    6: Shadows. I make two separate shadow layers. This first one is a big chunk of gradient shadow. I've started using the Shading tool in CSP. On the flat layer, I set the auto-shading tool to "ball light" and placed the source directly in her palm. I went back on the same layer with an airbrush to darken some areas.

    7: Cell shading. Make a new multiply layer and just use a fat G-pen brush to carve out defined shadows. I also usually in the layer settings create an outline of everything in the layer of a slight pink tone. Since this is a multiply layer, pink just turns the skin tones slightly redder. This is my easy way to create a "terminator" between the cast shadows and the unshaded area. If you zoom in close you can probably see it.

    8: Background. I use generative I art for my backgrounds. I just asked for a temple interior, but also, I really wanted rows of iron braziers with embers in them. Obviously, those are not embers, but AI is not really great about following all the instructions you give them.

    9: Details. I created a clipped "glow" layer to add some reflective light and glow in the eyes. Also, I apparently had a hair layer for shadows and texture in the hair, I just turned that back on. Also hid the red line around the fire. And last thin, used a fiery color for my initials at the bottom right of the page.

    10: Animate the Fire Caller so she can do some cool fire bending moves. If you watch the video above through to the end, there is a short animation surprise sequence added on to the end. I've been playing around with this feature in Grok Imagination and have been impressed with the results. Go watch it!

    Step 11: Fame and Fortune!

    That is all.

    Matt S. Law is a homeless, full-time nomadic pet-sitter. You may know him from such hits as Kickman LLC, Java Jaguar, and The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley. All three appear here on the HIVE block chain in my blog. You should totally follow me.

    0 min
  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 043

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/ecojrtud

    a webcomic, by Matt S. Law

    End of the torture montage sequence. Maybe it's technically not torture, since they are not trying to coerce anything out of the heroines by beating them up. Maybe it should have just been an "Abuse Montage." I'll talk to the guys in PR and settle on one or the other. Also, the guys in HR... just because I always seem to be on my way to the guys in HR.

    Medusa looks so cute with all the snakes sleeping. The animation sequence at the end of the video looks pretty good, considering it's just a transition scene with no real action. Although I was trying like heck to make the snakes and her breathe/snore in unison...

    Also, waitaminute! Medusa is sleeping and someone is panicking. Did she miss her countdown to re-stone Mary Marvel? Is this really how they escape, because Medusa drank some wine?

    We'll find out in the next panel or two of... The Real Superheroines..!

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    0 min
  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 042

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/mldkvfrl

    a webcomic, by Matt S. Law

    If you watch the timelapse video all the way to the end for the bonus animation sequence, here's where Grok AI's awkward punching works in my favor. It still doesn't always follow directions. I told it to "have the Green Villainess bounce around and throw some weak, awkward lefts and rights at the heroine." Technically, I guess she did kick with the left foot. I just wanted to make her look like an unskilled fighter, probably tucking her thumbs inside her fists. I think this shows that pretty well...

    Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the animation sequences with each panel. Think of it as a value add for the readers.

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    0 min
  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 041
    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/xqxjvyfx
    ---

    This was a battle against AI to try to make an animated clip for this panel. First of all, Grok only allows moderated content, so that exposed nipple is a big no-no. Unfortunately, Grok got it in it's computer head that I was trying to make some kind of porn, so it kept flagging it as moderated, even after I erased the nipple. Then added additional covering to Miss Fury's ass. This is the image I ended up having to use:

    Then, if I thought that the AI animation had a hard time making combat scenes involving punching, it sure as heck gets confused by wrestling. I had to run this a bunch of times through Imagine and settled on the best one for the ending of the time lapse video ("It's better than good, it's "good enough."). Also, it seems like if you keep having it process the same image over and over, it burns up your daily credits faster. Moreso if it flags you for content moderation. Fortunately, I created three different Grok accounts to log in with.

    I ended up with a bunch of bizarre videos, so I strung them all together to make a video blooper reel. My favorite one I think is at the very end.

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    0 min
  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 040

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/wjzevigc
    # THE REAL SUPERHEROINES OF HIVE VALLEY

    a webcomic, by Matt S. Law

    Montage Sequence!

    One thing I've learned from action movies, is that electrocuting as a method of torture doesn't really hurt the hero and somehow makes them stronger. First Blood 2: Rambo, Lethal Weapon 1, Tango and Cash. Electrocuted, then in the next scene they are fine and kill a bunch of bad guys.

    So Fantomah is probably fine. Well, except her hair is going to be a mess.

    Also, if you watch the time lapse video and see the animation at the end, the Grok AI really went to town on Fantomah. I thought making Iron Maiden punch Moon Girl over and over in the boob was pretty harsh. But check out what Grok did to Fantomah. It's pretty horrifying.

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    0 min
  • Real B*tches, part II, panel 039

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/fmrtevkg
    # THE REAL SUPERHEROINES OF HIVE VALLEY

    a webcomic, by Matt S. Law

    Okay, I am back to posting on 3Speak. Here's why. I've been including a link on each of my comic panels for quite a while now to show the time lapse video of me drawing the panel. I usually include a link to Youtube or Rumble, and it usually gets almost no views. But from now on, I'm going to include a surprise at the end of each video. I've been fooling around with Grok Imagine to animate still drawings with some very cool results. So from now on, every panel of Real Superheroines will come with a time lapse video that shows the panel being drawn, but also has an animation surprise at the end!

    Watch the video.

    And I sweaar to God, my instructions for the AI were "the armored woman punches the heroine repeatedly in the stomach.

    Montage Sequence! (yell that out just like "Mortal Kombat" from the Mortal Kombat movies, maybe imagine the same music as well...)

    Need to speed up the clock on this whole heroines in prison chapter. Obviously it would get pretty old to watch them get abused for the whole week. And the TV execs agree, that's why they authorized going into Montage Mode until something else happens. I think 5 montage frames should be enough to satisfy the storyline. One for each heroine except for Mary Marvel and Phantom Lady. Actually, Sheena doesn't really have an arch enemy in the group, so maybe just four montage scenes and then we can get this story moving.

    There are only two options: Escape or Execution!

    Boilerplate:

    The Real Superheroines of Hive Valley is a webcomic about a reality television show following the lives of seven public domain superheroines that all live together in the same mansion in the elite community of Hive Valley.

    You can read the series from the beginning ---> HERE.

    Created in Clip Studio Paint Pro on my mobile art studio which is a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+.

    Oh, yeah! Happy Halloween!
    1 min
  • Splinterlands Art Contest Week 369: Pembrooke Nymph

    https://3speak.tv/watch?v=sidekickmatt/lhtiebsp
    This here is my entry for the weekly Splinterlands Art contest which can be found RIGHT OVER HERE, CLICK HERE, THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO THE PLACE

    Nymph artworks are always appreciated. Compare mine to the original card art:

    I kept a similar skin and hair coloring but went with simpler, minimalist clothing.

    My Drawing Process in Clip Studio Paint:

    Step 1: Rough Draft

    I start on a 3000×4000 px canvas at 300 DPI. Using CSP’s Oil Paint Flat Brush set to a fat 50–70 px size with high opacity, I scribble in chunky pastel-like strokes of muted cyan and lavender. The goal: capture gesture and proportion fast. Her dynamic pose—weight on one leg, staff raised triumphantly—emerges in bold, overlapping smears. Once the energy feels right, I drop to a Mechanical Pencil (Design Pencil) at 0.3 mm with pressure sensitivity. On a new layer, I refine anatomy: pointed ears, hourglass curves, the gem on her forehead. Smudging with the Blur tool softens pastel edges, and I erase aggressively until the sketch sings.

    Step 2: Line Art

    New layer, G-Pen dialed to 25 px for the silhouette. I trace the refined sketch with confident, tapered strokes—thick at curves, thin at joints. CSP’s stabilizer (set to 15) smooths my hand. For interior details, I switch to a custom 8–12 px textured pen (slightly grainy for organic feel). I vary line weight: heavier on bikini edges, lighter on hair strands and staff runes. The third-eye gem gets a crisp diamond outline. I use Vector Layers for the outline so I can tweak curves later with the Object Tool without quality loss.

    Step 3: Flat Color for the Entire Figure

    Below the line art, I create a Clipping Group. With the Fill Tool (Refer Other Layers enabled), I bucket-fill base colors: #4A90E2 for skin, #9B59B6 for hair, #E74C3C for the bikini. The staff gets #8D6E63 with a #FFF59D orb. I paint stray gaps manually with a hard round brush. This flat stage is crucial—clean separation ensures later layers behave.

    Step 4: Color Variation

    On a Multiply layer clipped to flats, I airbrush subtle gradients: cooler blues in recessed skin, warmer purples in hair tips. I add a Colorize layer for the gem’s golden sheen. Bikini fabric gets a Screen layer with faint red highlights for satin texture. CSP’s Tone Curve adjustment helps unify the palette, boosting contrast between red and blue.

    Step 5: Shading – Large Areas with Airbrush

    New Multiply layer. Using CSP’s Soft Airbrush (200–300 px, 20% opacity), I paint broad shadows: under breasts, along the far arm, beneath hair. Light source = staff orb, so shadows fall opposite. I sample darker skin tones and push cool grays into crevices. Flow and density controls keep edges soft—this is volume, not detail.

    Step 6: Cell Shading

    Switch to a Hard Round Brush on a new Multiply layer. I block sharp mid-tones and deep shadows with flat color (#2C3E50). CSP’s Lock Transparent Pixels on the flat layer lets me paint directly without overflow. I add rim light on a Screen layer with pale yellow where the staff glow hits her edges.

    Step 7: Highlights – Soft Glow Layer

    Add Glow layer (Screen mode). Using a Soft Airbrush (150 px, 15% opacity), I paint white-yellow highlights on cheekbones, collarbone, and staff orb. A Gaussian Blur (10 px) softens them. For the orb, I add a radial gradient and a Glow Dodge layer with starburst brushes from CSP’s asset library.

    Step 8: Background – AI-Generated + Adjusted

    I generate a stormy sky using Grok Imagine (prompt: “dark fantasy storm, twisted dead trees, lightning, moody teal palette”). Import the PNG into CSP. On a new layer beneath the figure, I trace key elements with a Chalk Brush to mimic my line style. I desaturate the AI image slightly, then use Tone Curve to match my foreground contrast. Lightning gets a Glow layer with white streaks.

    Step 9: Final Glow Layer

    One last Screen layer for magical touches: faint aura around the staff tip, subtle sparkles on the gem. I use CSP’s Decoration Brushes (sparkle set) at low opacity, then blur selectively.

    Step 10: Signature

    Step 11: Animate with Grok Imagine

    Export as PNG sequence (figure + background separate). Using Grok Imagine’s animation module. Watch the video to the end to see her unleash some nymph storm magic.

    1 min

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