#creator commentary

[cosgestalt]

creator commentary

a bit like a director's cut for a film, I will be going over the first four pages of Gestalt. If I left out anything that you would like to know more about, do not be afraid of the askbox!

I wasn't sure whether to call this an artist's exploration or a peek into the writing or what, so I figured "creator" is broad enough :)

and now, some notes that aren't specific to one page:

I did a lot of things I've never done before already working on this comic. I've fully rendered linework, I drew pine trees (and got sick of drawing pine trees), and I worked in a limited color palette! Each color is taken from colors of the first page with the exception of the gold which shows up increasingly over the following pages. (There is also the exception of the faaaaaint reds underneath the fingerprints in the second page and in the well in the third.) They look very nice in the first full illustration, but quickly become dull to the senses. How very Barovian! These will not be the only colors used forever, so do not worry. The palette will change for each scene, and shift gradually for other situations.

What else to say? Every choice is intentional, so if it seems like there is a discrepancy between the module and Gestalt, know that it is on purpose. Most everything sticks very close to the module, so the differences that are there were very thought out and done for a reason that will become apparent later in the exploration of the abbot's story. The only choice that was made without a deep reason is the removal of the abbot's hat. I just didn't like it.

as a fun extra, here is what I would say the theme of the prologue is: How Long by Julia Holter

though I do like how the live version droops and drags. it feels even more like someone not fitting in quite right:

for those who have read this far, i have some secret extra news for you:

we are making the backend of the site compatible with gifs. i will keep quiet about specific plans, but now moving elements are a possibility within pages!

i am considering the possibility of letting people submit work to be displayed in the sidebars next to the news on the homepage. i would love to promote work by the curse of strahd community. there are so many amazing artists and writers! i need to think more on the logistics of this, but it could be fun.

i got a new monitor from my parents for the holidays, so recording my workflow is now a possibility. if i find myself with the extra time to edit videos together, i may do more commentary in those, but for the time being i will stick to just writing posts.

i have plans for other videos. keep an eye out for two treats in the future! one for me and one for you :)

that's all I can think of for now! there will be no more updates this year, so I will see you again in 2024!

[hyperbolicbeaver]

Authors note: I made this format specifically so that I can release comics once a week, the alternative being to double my workload, go insane and join this cult as a result.

(on a separate note I'm going to use tumblr for creator commentary from this point forward that way I have a place to put my recordings as well as give a small peek behind the curtain)

[funakounasoul]

Chapter 4 or Raison (raisondetrecomic-com /shamelessplug) is gonna be a doozy of a chapter. Not because of anything revealed (though it does have some plot/lore points hiding in it, but nothing major), but because it's really, really long.

...and it's really, really long with no real path going on. It was at this point in drawing the comic that the plot was shifting as well as the lives of some of the characters and I was wrestling with a lot of "what should I show and what can be developed over time?" It WAS supposed to be about how Nozomi befriended Sachiko and Miko, but then turned into some generic NKP recruiting story, then, somehow, Rie's little dilemma happened and some weirdos start showing up in the shadows in the bg. Weird, huh?

I am aware of this, but oof. Sometimes it's a slog to get through this one myself in re-reads, heh. It IS a neat ride if this is your first time reading through the updates, though. What happens here pretty much (in a meta sense) sets up what the story of Raison has become since then.

^ You'll also get to see this panel in its rightful context! Oh boy! That should pop up sometime next month, actually~

[piosplayhouse]

The way scum villain has so many themes about writing/the literary arts and mdzs has so many themes about music and tgcf has so many themes about visual art and how each character that represents each of those respectively has their own struggle with their craft (passion burnout, loss of control over their ip/creation, obsession and dissociation) that gets turned on its head as their stories continue and their art comes to represent satisfaction and connection and devotion and love

[pitofpurple]

This guy. This guy is proof that if you are passionate about something and you talk about it, it will be entertaining

I watched this guy talk about a series of movies that I have no interest in for an entire hour. I watched him go on a rant about the handling of a character I had never heard of in the remake of a game I had never played. It was still entertaining because it was genuine, because viewers feed off passionate, because this guy only seems to talk about things he likes even if those things have nothing to do with his channel. I could listen to him rant for hours about literally anything as long as he felt strongly about it, or at least seemed like it and honestly I don’t think that power is exclusive to Pastra

if you are passionate about something and you want to talk about it, do it in front of a camera and show me the video I will watch it while I draw. Who knows maybe I’ll even know what your talking about once in a blue moon.

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

Do you remember episode 12, season 3 of Xiaolin Showdown when Chase was trapped on that machine thing that was brushing butter or whatever all over his chest? Well, hypothetically speaking if First walked in on that situation, how’d he react?

Ok I cackled unreasonably loud at this ask

listen i rewatched the episode (for science) and honestly the unexpected fanservice torture dungeon happened much differently than i remembered lol (also how fucked up is that right after Jack straigth up murked older monks?? wild)

but anyway basically what First Ninja saw

ive been on internet too long not to see all of it now

congrats Jack you managed to traumatize a 800 year old ghost.

extra doodle

[iintervallum]

Sometimes I think about how the dndads cast should be on tumblr, with them having a subreddit(you know how they can be) and dndadstwt being like 10 people, tumblr would be the perfect place for them to see more of the fandom, if they wish to that is. Since quite a lot of people on here are way less honed in on negativity than reddit and twitter.

My edit of this is getting long lol so I'm putting it under a cut

Especially reddit, the people on there honestly I think just get too attached to a specific format or way of doing things, its a common pattern in any long running show fandoms i've been in where its reddit that constantly complains about the "good ol' days" and hate any new changes made. I would sometimes drop in and just see a lot of Scary hate at times, or people getting very irritated with the rule breaking, or just complaining that they're "forcing" the humor. I saw a post like that when i just started s2 and that couldnt have been more incorrect (yeah the piss jokes got a bit much but every other part was golden!...pun not intended)

There were absolutely points where I felt my interest wanning, but I think people would get pretty vicious about it and make a lot of mean spirited accusations. Like if anything the things I really enjoyed about this season was how different it was to s1, the contrast was really nice and i liked a lot of the story choices made, i still think about the apollo four teens and the fucking goof realm episodes, they were amazing. Which is why I remember thinking it was odd that they suddenly started involving the dads from s1 more, but knowing now that Anthony was struggling with people not liking this season as much it makes perfect sense.

Idk if it were just me, but i liked the earlier parts of the season for how the teens were still kind of discovering more about themselves and through gathering each anchor, learning more that their parents are people too, with their own fuck ups revealed and the teens have to clean up after them, so having it shift to be about Willy again was a little odd if i'm being honest(I didnt hate it but a repeat villian is hard to do, and for what its worth i think Willy did get the end he deserved and i loved the finale).

Funnily, in its own way it fits the theme of being a teenager and having to live up to your parents expectations. In a meta sense this being the successor to the first season and it being awkward at points and having issues with its identity is very fitting and just like how teenhood actually is.

I've gotten off topic but my point is fandom is just fandom, and letting it influence the way creators can view their own work is an interesting side effect of the internet and the way we navigate with the media we enjoy or hate. And spaces like reddit are grown in a way to encourage more brutally critical ways of analysing media which has very little consideration for the creator. By no means am I saying that the creators of things should be coddled, heck I literally airing my own annoyances with the podcast in space where i'm uplifting the positivity of tumblr over those spaces lol. I just mean that seeing the more genuine side of the fanbase would be more of a better time for them.

EDIT: (I just phrased things better, fixed the spelling and grammer errors and added more thoughts) The more I ruminate on this the more I think that it would honestly be a good idea. Like I do get the base worry of being too close to the more intense side of the fandom, as people on here are unafraid to gush about the show in ways that can be a little much and theres parasociality and all that jazz.

But it would be really good at least to see some actual genuine positivity, so many people provide their thoughtful meta and theories that even if widely off base are just interesting to read through because of how various different people see themselves in the characters they play. And even the critiques people give are not unkind, they come from a place of wanting to understand the choices made better.

I mentioned this in the old version of this post but having a blacklisted tag that only the people who don't wish their post to be seen by the cast use, something along the lines like how the magnus archives fandom has "do not archive", would be a very useful tool to create a barrier in the fanbase. I know i'm someone who feels very nervous about creators seeing the posts I make. Something like "not safe for dads" could work well or any other joke or pun about it being hidden. I doubt it would be filled with discourse or whatever it would mainly be people hornyposting since i know fandom well enough lol.

[addysfandomdump]

Tbh my problem with how Vivzie treats Christianity in her shows is not because it's disrespectful, but because it's disrespectful in the most swagless way possible.

[chrollohearttags]

and if I said I wanted to leave—🧍🏾‍♀️

[awesamforehead]

I love the highs and lows of this fandom. We rave about the new dream pics for like an hour before we light a cigarette to talk about tommy

[bronson4444the2nd]

My re-binge of all the Homestar runner cartoons has made me realize:

Homestar has better romantic chemistry with Strong bad than Marzipan.

Aparently, tumblr thinks that too. And I 100% agree.

[luke-o-lophus]

I like Crowley's grey bad-boi-deep-inside-good persona as much as the next person but let's not pretend he's above hypocrisy.

Miss ma'am criticizes the overkill of making angels fall for asking questions, but (apparently) obliterates his plants at the first sign of disobedience/failure/disappointment.

(then again the shredding happens off screen so who knows?)

[fabuloustrash05]

Team Four Star DBZA Creator Commentary Be Like:

[imaggots]

[rebelrainfall]

I swear almost every negative review I try to read on The Creator is so wrong about it and it's because they all seem to think it's supposed to be a movie about AI when it is very much a movie Not About AI

[wondrouswendy]

I genuinely feel like Alan Wake 2 has reconfigured my brain chemistry on a completely new level. Like no joke, I feel like I was one person before this game and now I’m someone else after. No I am not being dramatic