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magentagalaxies · 1 month ago

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Kids in the Archive: Episode 8

welcome back to kids in the archive! the show where i highlight iconic kids in the hall sketches that i have procured the original scripts for and break down a behind-the-scenes comparison of script and screen

Previous Episodes: Episode 1 - armada finale ("do we make it?") Episode 2 - fran & gordon: the vacation Episode 3 - comfortable Episode 4 - cathy & kathi: is he? Episode 5 - danny husk: kidnapped! Episode 6 - trappers Episode 7 - sizzlers & the bank

on today's episode, i bring you the highly revised s3e17 sketch that is Darcy and Francesca!

i've always enjoyed this sketch - francesca fiore is one of my favorite scott characters and i really enjoyed both darcy pennell show sketches and i wish they did more. however the reason i'm showcasing it today is because this is the most any kids in the hall script has deviated from the final product out of the ones i've read so far. i've had scripts with a slightly different ending beat or a change in casting, but aside from the sketches that never made it into the show at all, this one presents the most interesting alternate universe where this aired as written, and raises questions about why these changes were made in the first place

Darcy's Personality

The first thing you'll notice in this script is that darcy pennell has a bit more of an edge. her opening song's lyrics reference mood swings and lithium (we stan a bipolar queen), she gets mad when she can't parse francesca's nationality, there's a line where she talks about having a thing for the tin man from wizard of oz, she even sits behind a desk! okay, the desk thing isn't that edgy, but that also shows us how the setup of this show differs as well, with darcy constantly calling to unseen camera men with increasingly ridiculous names.

a bit of this edge remains in the sketch that aired - like referencing the show's previous episode as giving makeovers to the women on death row (a line that was added since it does not appear in this script), or teasing the next episode as darcy joining the hell riders (which is still in this ending). however, these jokes are juxtaposed with the daytime-talkshow-positivity and mom-vibes darcy gives off otherwise. i think this works, both because the contrast makes both traits pop and because it plays to kevin's strengths. some of my favorite beats are not in this draft - while script-darcy pulls out popcorn to watch the clip, screen-darcy puts on nonfunctional glasses so she can get used to them. while script-darcy complains about subtitles, screen-darcy talks over the clip by saying "what a lovely wall!"

Francesca Fiore Lore

the sequence of darcy trying to parse francesca fiore's nationality is a bit more drawn out and includes specifics of francesca's global backstory:

personally, i like the final sketch's version of this conversation much better - quickly going back and forth setting up a country she's from and then denying being from that country. i also like the ending of the screen version's conversation better - where instead of getting mad, darcy is somehow able to grasp that francesca is somehow irish. however, this lore-dump is also interesting considering as this is only francesca fiore's second appearance. the first page of the text has to justify her as being "from hazy movie," the only sketch she's been in thus far.

The Censorship

by "the censorship" i don't necessarily mean the sketch itself was censored (or do i?), i mean that in the alternate universe this sketch provides, it's abundantly clear the theme of this sketch is censorship! sure, censorship is referenced in the final sketch (the clip of francesca's movie being cut, francesca's line "shoot shoot bang bang kill kill is fine, but show seven genital and everybody go crazy"). however, the script goes even farther.

after the clip concludes, darcy commiserates with francesca, saying any time she tries to bring up anything controversial, the camera just cuts to calming beach footage until she brings up hairstylists. then this happens:

following this, we have the same francesca line about violence being allowed but not sex, and darcy teasing her next episode.

so what do we make of this? well, the kids in the hall have always had issues with censorship from networks over the years, and the juxtaposition between censoring sexuality while allowing violence unfiltered has been part of scott's work for years. a decade after this sketch, he'd be taking on this subject again in his one-man-show The Lowest Show On Earth, whose poster (featuring scott with what appears to be semen on his face) would cause controversy, leading scott to comment on how if it was blood there would be no issue. interestingly, the topic of censorship became even more prevalent during the amazon prime revival decades later, because while scenes of sex and nudity were more acceptable, the third kind of censorship (censoring discussion of controversial topics, like darcy runs into) was even more prevalent. this topic is also going to be a staple of the buddy cole documentary, and i wonder what scott thinks of this alternate script

so why was the censorship commentary toned down? i have three theories:

a) they were censored (either the network didn't like their portrayal of the censors being met with violence or the violence was so gratuitous that it was not allowed on television) b) it was too expensive to shoot (a lot goes into filming a sketch like this - location, special effects, the cost of filming itself) c) it just wasn't that good

personally, as interesting as i find the kids in the hall's (specifically scott's) relationship to censorship to be, i'm inclined to go with the third option. this alternate ending makes a point, sure, but it's not as funny. i don't think i'd be returning to the sketch as much as i do if this script was the version that aired. even when looking at the youtube comments on this upload, the top comments are all referencing jokes that aren't in this draft. the darcy theme song, "what a lovely wall", and bruno counting the genitals in the clip are all iconic moments and as much as i love satire, i think these sillier moments make the satire itself stronger.

but i'm glad i have this look into what this sketch could have been, to make me appreciate the process.

#kids in the hall #kith #scott thompson #dave foley #90s vintage #kevin mcdonald #comedy analysis #sketch comedy #the kids in the hall #kids in the archive #time for a jessay #most of the time my process for these episodes is watching the sketch with the script in front of me #and making a note of when it deviates like 1-3 times on average #but this one even structurally was so different i knew there would be a lot to dig into #very glad i picked this one to take home bc i didn't fully read it until now. i just saw the alternate theme song and was like #''oh i have to get this''

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stry-someone-to-remember-you · 2 years ago

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Didn't have much for you today. Concept Art!!!

So I thought I'd share a color sheet I did back in early November 2022 when I finally came to a conclusion of Dave's final look.... this isnt the Final Look, but the first sketch of what became his final look.

I made this in November on my phone. I was playing around with character colors then.

Also...

This post is my confirmation....

Dave's name is for the comic.

DEWEY

*Hands shaking*

*Breaths in...*

*Breath Out

BREATH IN!!!

Now...

I have something I've been needing to admit for a while now.

It's not bad....

But...

It's about the story....

It's still coming out 😅😅😅(soon actually)...

Dont worry about that....

So what's up?

I want to make sure I've told you... This Comic is officially ONLY inspired by Henry Stickmin.

This comics been 3 years in the making, along with the novel that I write along side this... and 6 months in, back in 2021 around May, when I literally found out Google docs has a character limit which all my notes and writings by then exceed.... I came to a hard choice. With how hard I've been working on this, do I make it original or keep it fanbased?

It was a long thought. But... after 1 1/2 years going back and forth, over this time I let several people I've known for years look at it. Many who are trusted... and they all without knowing my dilemma gave me the same advice "Make it Inpsired, cause I want to see this published" (talking about the novel and little comic stuff they saw).

By this last summer, around when my surgery and emergency happened I made my decisions after on of the last people asked to see it and told me the exact same words.

After several gave me the advice. I decided, what my gut was telling me six 6months in was this needed to be it's own work. I already was changing so much and... honeslty it's the best decision I made for the comic.

Starting August the comic and the novel have grown immensely (as though a short work break also halted it, it hadn't grown more then several pages since tranferijg from google doc). I already planned on changing the art *hense the few pics I posted with faces not exactly proportional, early concepts from the early days of changes already being made). The comic will be made more manga human style. But that's not to say their wont be an occasional non human entities about.🤪😏😉😉😉

I couldn't thank the people people who all told me to go a different t direction or even all you still supporting me and those who supported me since the start. I HOPE YOU STAY AREPUBD FOR THE COMIC STILL... with this know . I hope it's cool to still post the old art work. And if it's okay with you since this was completely inspired by Henry Stickmin, I still hope to post in the fandom. Comic updates and such.

How will You Know Who People, Places or Things Are?

I'll make changes clear, especially when asked.

I had to make these for copyright reasons, including characters and such. But most should have something about them that makes it clear who they are or were in the original game.

I will say the direction while headed the same way... their are definetly story lines as a original work I didn't plan on or at least wasnt headed towards, or used as some inside joke that was a red herring to make you guys think maybe I was headed a direction to throw people off. But with the changes made even that has become a actual plot and no longer is a joke hint.

But all elements from codes, secret languages, mysteries, and the overall story have remained. They've like everything else just grown from what they were. So have the characters. Some character aspects and personalities may have slightly changed but otherwise their still I hope going to be enjoyable to you guys and you can see who they were inspired by.

Wait CODES (SPILL THE COFFEE!!!😱😱😱 WWWHHHAAAAAAAAATTT!!!)

Yep😉😏😊 Its a secret I've been keeping a long time. You can look back at my oldest posts on the S.T.R.Y page give you a hint if you look far enough of codes being a thing.

How are you using them???

WAIT is this...😶😉😏 Like that

TWINS OREGON MYSTERY Show with a certain evil force Type Deal???

😏😏😏

Ding... ding... ding...

we have a winner. WInner Winner Chicken Diner...! However, the types of codes used may change up so keep a look out. You don't know the lengths I'll go even in the fan art... to hide secrets (mahaha!!!)

Phew you dont know How Nervous I am Admitting this...

I'M SUPER NERVOUS!!!

But hey that's the fun if it.😊😊😊 Right???😅

This post is along time coming.

I've made different ones, but I honestly get so nervous about this. Admiting it's just inspired fandom piece but not a fancomic. One that Hope's to become a novel and thus I had to make changes in order to have no issues with copyrights.

Theirs things that allude to game events. But they dont happen the same more like the idea of the evtns is there but they rent the same events.

Just the idea of something that you can pinpoint, like Oh this is a reference to that experience in game. But it's a completely different tale, different journey with several new characters and characters similar to those you love while being their own. However, if asked I will confirm if a character is fully inspired by a HS Character or are their own entity.

Alot of characters from in game I used aren't often seen characters anyways. But I still dont want to fringe on copyright. Some may have a single name similar. But it's rare. In some characters I kept like an Initial the same. But names came ot have meaning in the story, so I can't promise for how many this remains true as names changed a few times before locking in as they are now.

EX.

I admit Ruperts name I still haven't changed but the rest of his name is changed. It's just I got in the habit of saying Rupi or Rup depending on the character talking and I got to attached to it...if I have to change it maybe I'll go for Ruberto... Or Something that way. But I like rupi especially as Rupi used to be a form of money, the name... in the old story this held some importance.... so it's something that changed while the rest of the character remained. In other words they have human apperances as previously stated and because this was original those who had hair I couldn't give their old hair styles. It was hard but I found stuff I liked for everyone. Oddly enough it worked out cause funny envy RHMs hair I had in mind was a nightmare to draw. I wasnt looking forward to drawing it, but I coukdnt find other ways I liked ti. This allowed me to go a completely new direction. (HE'S still a Red Head)

It's also why I've been so careful with what I post Admiting this has been one of the hardest things for me.

I hope you guys still will still strick around and enjoy what I will bring. It's still a fan work being inspired. It's just the names won't be what you expect. And the world though similar isn't the same.

Will all the favs show:

YES!!!

Yes favorite characters will show, most of the mains have a character of somesort that who they are is greatly inspired by them..

Henry-The character whose this stories Henry Character, DOES HAVE POWERS SIMILAR to the game... Powersare important to the story.... But I did have to make rules and differences so they arent a copy of them..

Because of this, I will have characters that Allude to all the favorites (Also same favorite ships... Copperright is part of this story... just they are the same while they arent... their names arent the same nor are their features but one still has brown hair the other red. And yes they run a "Mysterious Clan" of Thieves that a branch fo the Government called the BATs (Battalion Against Terrorism) goes particularly after.

Sadly,

There are characters who didn't make it in, I intended to have everyone as a fan work earlier. But its a lot of work, then there were the original characters since the "Main Main" character would have different people she'd run into as her story was going on kn the background of the game, and long after... It just even when a fan work didnt make sense to have all characters. My least favorite cut was not having Policeman Panza in it. I really wanted to fit him in... it just didnt work out.

WILL asks still be a thing???

YES!!!! ABSOLUTELY!!!!

How????

Simple, I will still be making short comics on occassion that aren't part of the weekly updated ones. And this is where characters can still have interactions. I'm considering using the simplified more Stickminverse version of the characters, kinda also so the comic never loses its inspirations and where it got its start from.

SO Asks, Anon Magic Fun, all that will still be a a part of it. Just not within the main comic. But maybe some things still will occure in comic we'll see. It's literally up in the air situation.

Do familiar places still show up???

Confidently YES!!!

Bats has alot of meaning like Batsh@t crazy. You chat be just anyone to be in that chain if service. Most civilians dont even know it exists.😏😏😏 why is that???

What are the GOV'T must a new form, their own branch of armed forces. As stated above Battalion Against Terrorism.

But the people who are recruited also, aren't the easiest to work with, often are the ones who'd ahve been sent home. But if they ahve potential often they're recruited for a league that need those who dont have a normal mind of a soldier to go up against the GENTS...

GE TS, I'll explain another time what they stand for. As theres some spoiler territory I dont want to get into.

The Wall, shows in a new prison form (the design I came up with looks like a creepy medieval Boss level prison)😬😬😬😬

It's a name people dont want to evoke I fear of disappearing. Even those who work there arent safe... or gaure teeded sanity. You either disapear or you dont come out the same.

It's called 'The Grave Pits'

It's even nastier then the name may sound. It's not someplace you want to work or be prisoner.

Lastly,

CCC

Exists as, CAC or CATCA. I don't want to say the name fully now. I think I did in a prior post. But if I ddint I want to lime GENTS acronym keep the meaning secret. Otherwise, whoops of I ddi say it in a prior post.😅😅😅

Actually all of these decisions most civilians dont knwo about or believe are TALL Tales.... WHY IS THAT????

You'll have to find out in the story.

(Yes unlike HS world most of these places arent known by the greater populace and most are sworn to secrecy about them. The only widely known somewhat confirmed real is Grave Pits. Only die to the state that Anyone Employee or Prisoner goes in they dont come out!) Theres more going on in its depths if you care to dig.😈😈😈

All the usual sites as described will be seen but obviously dont have the same look and while a similar function dont serve under the same reasoning eaxactly... Just in new ways.

Towns and cities, are another thing that obviously changed and the direction I'm going, I decided to make completely new landscapes. Do we start in a desert town/city with a corrections facility/jail Yes.... but the surroundings even the layout of the Jail is different. Has different functions, etc.

Is there a city with hinted mob activy.

DDOUBLE YES!!!😊😊😊 That I couldn't pass up... But the cities different. It also services a new purpose and focus then in game for the story. It's become something totally different then the site of a museum. Obviously Dewey, as you can tell is originally Dave Panpa and will still be a Sevurity guard. He just doesn't have the same events happen. And while a Museum lime that in the game, will play a small roll. It's not going to be the same purpose it held in the game. Nor the main place of his work. Thus the whole purpose of teh city is completely changed...... and as stated there's a prison like The Wall (*cough* the Wall seems tame in comparison when this place is introduced *cough*😅😙🎶🎶 Had nightmares after writting its first introduction. It wont be the giant of heart when things occure there.)

Like I said everything will show, you can easily see what was inspired by. But in order to be its own work it holds a lot of it own location, sites, stories and such.

It's really exciting. And I do hope everyone stays with me for it.

I've just been so nervous admiting this. I need to finally say it all clearly.

So is ths another blah.... blah.... blue BORING Convolutedly llloooooooooooooooooooooonnnggg Worded Super wordy Post???

😊😅😅😅 LOL, You definetly spotted my bad habit.

<<<Maybe I should thi I of having a moderator to help!!!😅😅😅>>>

BUT Nope,...

I BRING YOU

Timeline UPDATES: PROGRESS AND POSTS TO COME!!!

I will in the next few days post the Valentines art (my hours are still off after taking care of my grandma and being up at graveyard shifts from dusk to dawn in that order with her... So I admit my bearing on time for the next few weeks may be askew and off)....😅😅😅

Once I have that, I'm going to have for the Five main characters a little sneak surprise art that shouldn't take more then two weeks to have all of them out if all goes well.. just like a little teaser reveal of them.

Then within a week or two following that (due to Holidays East and Mothers Day occuring by these times I'm also giving leeway fo three qeeks)

Then I'll post the five main characters profiles, maybe a height chart if I get around to it.

After then. I should be Posting my Henry Stickmin Art from original concepts of characters ect when it was a fan comic exclusively... and/or Comic art periodically at least once a week. Or at least some form of an update.

AM I STILL MAKING HENRY STICKMIN ART??? Yes

I will admit, I'm still making Henry Stickmin art. I still have a few Animatics that have either been in the works or planned for a while. (When you have a song that inspires you... you cant help it... you know what I mean)😊😉 So I'm still Making Henry Stickmin Art. I can promise you that. Some are big projects.

Also dont forget S.T.R.Y wasn't my First Planned HS comic. I still plan to work more on the first comic I had. I just am focused on this one. But have looked at in, as mentioned in a late last year update and I like what I had. I just have more work to do on it.

But this is FAR FRON THE END oF me MAKING HENRY STICKMIN COMICS AND WORK.... So if that's what you want.... My main blog will be the place for it.😊😉💗🤩😍

RELEASE DATE???

I've done a rough estimate. And long as everything goes well I should have some form of the comic out to you by the the next several months. I can't gaurentee if that's 2-or six months. Again I periodically help take care of family members and am currently job hunting. I just know it will be soon.

As shown concept for a later scene was made a while back in rough sketch form and posted a progress in February about it.

That shows how far this is coming.

I am doing something different. I'm treating the comic like a novel, so I plan to long as I get a job soon and have the first ten chapters where I want them see if I can get professional beta readers (and if theres such thing as an editor and beta readers for a web comic). And also I hope to get an editor. If you notice I even when tedious miss mistakes in words and grammar (mostly cause I'm using my janky phone and not my laptop) and am constantly editing thanks to it l, as I'm a perfectionist. I know that can't happen in posted work. So I kinda need that for myself. I know its gunna cost money to hire. And I want to see if there are ones in the industry who would work with a weekly webcomic format.

What are the comic plans???

Currently, the plan I have in place after doing research is going to be to have the first 10 chapters done before the first chapters are posted. Posting three the first day and from then on once a week.

I say I want the first ten done. As the last three years have allowed me to know my schedule and with a job that demanded alot of me prior I have a better feeling of that type of work and what it will take to get this done. This will allow me to stay ahead and not have to many breaks between.

If there are Holidays then I will jump to a fun mini comic episode rather then post a regular post. Cause I think it's nice to have a break fun one. Even if the middle of the story.

The comic will contain a MULTITUDE of arcs. Be warned small details may become important later. (There are small details hidden in my Dave Panpa pic that have not changed in the comic... as are early post tags have some strange wording???)🤪🤪🤪

[Honeslty, good luck deciphering those codes from my old posts. SADLY, I lost my personal notes of a key for them. I've looked high and low on my devices and where I would save them. I seriously, Can't find them anywhere. Honestly, if you crack those codes I did leave let me know. I'm glad it happened since it allowed me to find a new way to save these for the future]

The Story so far is split into what I've been calling when talking about the comic 3 ACTS and when talking Novel 3 BOOKS

SO to say the least it's a big story. But it's worth it. It's a journey and I have fun writting it. It's all planned out just haven't finished writting the whole thing. I have my outline and timeline of events locked in. So dont worry it's a work that knows where its headed. and what needs to happen to get to the end.

Lastly, I should Mention:

The DEEADED PATREON and Tumblr Pay:

WHAT OD I HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THEM????

Not now, but closer to the comic I have plans.

I've decided for myself since I can't put humor, lightheartedness or fun little stories like the end of some webcomics or even some animes after credits theres usually a simple fun little goofy comic.

I'll be having either a goofy comic or some mini comic based on some even in the story. These will use simplified versions of the characters. But they could appear like full versions. This is so whne I'm dealing with heavier topics, for me I cja find a place to get the edge off. And I feel this will be the incentive I will post there, along with early looks at the art. And some early access.

But otherwise I'm not blocking you guys from enjoying the comic. Because it deals with secrets. I'm not going to post the comic early, I'll give sneak peaks on there. But that's it, they won't give away that weeds codes or anything like that.

I want to make it a fair system.

I only have them started but not set up. I'm in no way obliging anyone to support me on those sites. I just want to qualm worries, and give the promise of what I'll be doing. I may eventually release those fun minuses on here.without the pay. But I can guarentee those will have long times between. And it's not a gaurentee yet. Like I said I'm trying ot work out a system so no one feels there missing out on some fun they can have here.

Are these minisodes the same asks the asks ans other fub???

No that will remain here. The ones that will be in there are purely ones I come up with for each episode. I'm thinking Peanuts stule strip tyle situation. So hey if that's your jam, I'll let you no more when I ahve the structure of these more planed out.

SO THOSE OF YOU WHO HATE MENTIOSN OF IT... Don't worry I'M ONLY MENTION IT TO PROMISE to you that I'm not LOCKING ANYTHING from you guys. So I can be completely clear to you what up. Or why I ahve that up. I'm still learning my need tooz for it. Only thing normal people wont see is something I'll do only for paid. But again you wont miss out on the main fun. As that comic will be me releasing steam and being free and just comedic. Again it doesnt mean that I won't release those eventually to you guys. So you will get all the same content you can enjoy on here as there in a sense... theres absolutely not when I have them ready will there be any obligation to support me by paying to enjoy my content. I've lived litterally with no money to my name even when working, I know how it can be and the struggle. So seriously I dont want to make anyone ever uncomfortable. Which is why I'm making my last note here. To clarify everything to you guys.

I just wanted to tell you more on that situation. The funds would go towards way of living and/or if I manage to get someone to at least help edit of not the comic at least the script and paid beta readers... then it may go toward that. WHILE I hope my job when I get a new one will better cover living expenses... AGAIN THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS OPEN YET. ITS STILL BEING WORKED ON.. Dont worry...

ABSOLUTELY NO PRESSURE to pay... IM MAKING this last part of trh post... TO MAKE THAT ABSOLUTLY CLEAR. I DONT WNAT ANYONE EVER PRESSURED INTO ANYTHING!!!

~~~~~

With that always hard to talk about later topic lut of the way...😅😅😅😅

I do really hope you enjoy it.

And I hope those of you on either blog stay with me for it. And continue to enjoy this awesome journey together. Cause I'm excited for what's to come and hope you are too.

It took alot finally admitting this out loud.

I appreciate and love all of you for all your support!!!

💗💗💗 THANKS FOR READING!!!💗💗💗

Have an incredible day everyone!!!💗💗💗

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eddie-rifff · 2 years ago

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happy new years! 🍾🎉 tagged by @girlinthebrightbluejeans <3

what book are you currently reading? The Beasts of Never by Georgess McHargue. its a nonfiction book about the origins of mythical creatures- im interested in the part about unicorns of course.

what’s your favorite movie you saw in theaters this past year? i actually really dislike going to movie theatres and seeing new movies lol i prefer things you'll see on mst3k or nothing at all. i kind of dont like movies which i know is an insane thing to say but its tru

what do you usually wear? lots of black, ripped jeans, white adidas sneakers. 70s looking things too- i go back and forth between goth and retro

how tall are you? 5'9 >:)

what’s your Star Sign? do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event? aquarius! and i just so happen to share a birthday with one alice cooper!

do you go by your name or nickname? trying to get more people to call me twig but generally just my birth name

did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child? not at all! i wanted to work at an animal sanctuary or as a psychologist. and i ended up being a copy editor...

are you in a relationship? if not who is your crush if you have one? nope. im talking to a few fellows tho. my crushes are peter hammill, andy mackay, and bill bruford :~)

what’s something you’re good at vs something you’re bad at? very good at very little imo. uh i guess having 70s prog knowledge? bad at most other things. lets say math to be specific

dogs or cats? CATS

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this past year? i mainly just sketched and worked on that 50+ page fanfic and i am not sharing a single line from that thing- CERTAINLY not my favorite

what’s something you would like to create content for? i want to make custom ceramics! i mean i do that anyway, but i wanna do it more frequently and market myself to the public

what’s something you’re currently obsessed with? peter hammill's solo albums from the 80s! and unicorns!

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this past year? my entire job situation

what’s a hidden talent of yours? like i said. im not really good at any one thing. i guess being hypermobile is something?

are you religious? nope

whats something you wish to have at this moment? a full time copy editing job lol

tagging @wanderinstar @keyed-up-allthetime @yesterdaysanswers @jazzsbingoparty no pressure tho!!

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kakairu-rocks · 2 years ago

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We are excited to introduce our next shining star for the Creator Spotlight... @l1ldraws!

This is a member’s only activity where we reach out to one of the talented people in our community each month to find out all about them and their kakairu creations, and then show them off to the world!

We hope you enjoy learning about Rad & their creations as much as we did. Please give them some love ❤️

Pronouns: They/Them

Type of Creator: Artist

Where to find them:

Most active, fandom tumblr

Spooky art tumblr

Read the exciting interview below the cut, or on the forum!

If you would like a chance to be in the spotlight too, the only thing you have to do is be a member of the kakairu rocks forum, and be a creator; and we will contact you, ourselves!

1. How long have you been creating KakaIru fanworks?

I’ve been lurking in the Naruto fandom for about a decade at this point but only really started contributing fanart in 2020. Like many people I suddenly had a lot of free time and figured it was time to start drawing my silly little pictures.

2. What are you working on right now?

I’m in the middle of completing art for multiple naruto events and have a few wips that are staring me down. I also plan on creating more pieces featuring Iruka in some fun outfits!

3. What is your favourite trope to create for?

I personally describe it as idiots to lovers as I love anything that’s generally silly. If you have silly ideas please tell me I love to hear them.

4. Which of your creations is your favourite, and why?

My most recent recollection is this piece. Initially I had no plan. I was just doing some sketching to warm-up and ended up really liking the pose and it went from there. I am especially fond of how the colors came out as I was going for something more vibrant!

5. Do you have any WIPs you’re excited about?

I have a few. The one I can talk about is an old sketch page featuring Iruka featuring a flowy outfit I am fond of. Unfortunately I am cursed to be good at making pictures but not describing them.

6. Do you have any original characters? If so, tell us about them!

I’m working on a little elemental/angel person at the moment. But they’re fresh so there’s not much to say but stay tuned though.

7. What was your hardest piece to create, and why?

I love comics but they are very difficult for me to do so this little three panel featuring Iruka and Yamato is very simple but I’m still glad I powered through.

8. Do you have any favourite scenes from something you’ve created?

I did some collabs for KakaIru Big Bang and KakaIru Reverse Bang(https://archiveofourown.org/works/40075785 & https://archiveofourown.org/works/40030071) and it was fun working with writers to visualize a scene. Little ole me contributing! Wild! Also I highly suggest checking out the fics they’re great

9. Where does your inspiration come from?

I am haunted by images. But in (some) seriousness I am inspired by 90s and 2000s fashion as well as anything that I would describe as a fun outfit. I keep a folder of inspiration fashion on my phone and reference that whenever I work on a piece. I am also a fan of just putting these characters in generally silly scenarios. Give me the jokes! The laughs!

10. Which of your creations is the most meaningful to you, and why?

I really love my RBB and BB pieces so much and it’s due to the fact that they were collab pieces. I really do love working with other people and bouncing ideas back and forth. It’s what makes working on the piece so much fun!

#Creator Spotlight #kakairu.rocks #creator interview #talented creator #kakairu fanart #kakairu #kkir #kakashi x iruka #hatake kakashi #umino iruka

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calii-classy · 1 year ago

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Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher by Kenny Loui

About the book:

The tale of a man drifting through life, collecting cute, cuddly plushies and valuable life lessons along the way.

Kenny Loui is a self-proclaimed "UFO catcher," whose life goal is to "liberate" all plushies trapped in captivity inside arcade claw machines. In his UFO-catching journey, Kenny encounters a concerned guardian spirit who tries—but fails—to keep him out of trouble, a beautiful stranger with an affinity for dart games but is always missing her mark, a wise arcade owner who never hesitates to share his sage advice, and a rival who foils Kenny's crane game victories every chance he gets.

This collection of short stories chronicles Kenny’s experiences playing arcade UFO catchers, rescuing cute and cuddly plushies while capturing important life lessons along the way... just like Aesop's Fables, but with a modern-day twist (and an awesome 80's soundtrack)! Based on a true story.

This graphic novel collects all stories originally published in Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher #1-3 and features bonus content including extended scenes, an epilogue, BGM-enhanced stories, and character sketch art.

Buy the book – HERE

Reviews:

San Francisco Book Review – 4 stars

Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher , an autobiographical manga by Kenny Loui, was such a creative, lighthearted read. Based on Loui’s personal experiences, he bestows life lessons and wisdom that he has gleaned through a fun, colorful manga.

The story’s main character, Kenny Loui, is a self-proclaimed “UFO catcher” alongside his role as a student, teacher, hopeless romantic, and officer. As a UFO catcher, Kenny essentially goes to crane and claw machines to “rescue” as many plushies and stuffed animals as he possibly can. The manga follows him in 13 different episodes as he plays the claw machine and learns many life lessons along the way. For example, in Episode 2 titled “Always Have a Plan”, the scene is set where Kenny is playing the UFO Catcher claw machine. As he enters his money to play, he moves the joystick back and forth, attempting to maneuver the claw to win a pink cat plushie. After pressing the button, he just misses the toy. Upset, he inserts more money and tries again for his victory. The moral of this episode, summarized by Kenny contemplating his next move next to the claw machine, is to always have a plan. As he states, “Don’t just jump in without knowing what you’re going to do.” Similarly to this, the rest of the episodes continue in this fashion.

As a whole, I enjoyed the plot of all the episodes and found them to be cheerful reminders of timeless advice. But, one of the most notable things about this manga was the gorgeous illustrations done by Yamawe. Truly, she outdid herself. With manga, the artwork is such a crucial, make-or-break component of the novel, and I am happy to say she truly made this book unique! Her attention to detail, color, and precision makes this novel come to life. I loved the way she played with pigments to show shadows, light, texture, and emotion on all of the characters and the scenery.

Finally, one of the most innovative things about this Manga was the incorporation of QR codes. Throughout the story, Loui and Yamawe include scenes with a musical component. On these pages, a character asks the reader to look out for the YouTube play icon, as a QR code is included to deliver you to a music video. The character then encourages you to listen to the song as you read, for a full immersive experience. Personally, I absolutely loved how originative this was. Never before has a book asked me to incorporate another sense as part of the experience, and I loved the results! This truly made this book stand out to me for its creativity and uniqueness!

~ Reviewed By: Theresa Kadair, San Francisco Book Review

Book Life:

As admirable and relatable as his mission is, Loui’s adventure of course isn’t all fun and games. But as he hits roadblocks, his guardian spirit, Somi, offers resonant wisdom, encouraging Loui to find the principal lesson he must learn behind every obstacle. When Loui changes tactics mid-rescue, bully Killian steps in to steal his plushie, prompting Loui’s sage advice that you shouldn’t “ ‘flip flop’ in the middle of executing a plan… [or] you may end up opening the door to victory for somebody else.” That’s the start of a serious rivalry between Loui and Killian, and despite Somi’s efforts to help Loui keep his cool, he eventually loses it—and faces grave consequences afterwards.

Yamawe’s illustrations dazzle the eye while suggesting the narrative’s underlying themes, such as depicting Loui, and Killian’s, inner children, who deliver heightened emotion to some of the story’s more tense scenes. Loui sprinkles mature themes throughout as well, as when he’s momentarily distracted by the racy Gals Attack video game only to end up in an awkward position, prompting him to “stick with UFO catching!” Loui’s choice to include QR codes for a 1980s soundtrack to accompany the story is entertaining, and a fun counterpart to Somi’s moral-heavy philosophizing toward the end.

~ Review

About the Author:

Kenny Loui is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Loras College in Dubuque, IA. Due to his lifelong love of comics and Japanese anime/manga, he often incorporates creative and expressive arts into his classes to enhance student learning. One of his most popular classes at Loras College, Law, Crime & Pop Culture Diplomacy combines Dr. Loui’s interest in comparative criminology and East Asian popular culture. His debut graphic novels, Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher: An Autobiographical Manga and There is No Shrimp… And Other Lies My Mother Told Me, were presented the Mom's Choice Awards in 2023 and received praise from Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Book Review and more.

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academicvoyager · 1 year ago

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Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher by Kenny Loui

About the book:

The tale of a man drifting through life, collecting cute, cuddly plushies and valuable life lessons along the way.

Buy the book – HERE

Reviews:

San Francisco Book Review – 4 stars

Reviewed By: Theresa Kadair, San Francisco Book Review

Book Life:

Loui collects his autobiographical Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher webtoon series into this entertaining manga following his adventures as a teacher, student, and stuffed animal liberator. Characterizing himself as a “hopeless romantic” (who’s also “unlucky in love”), Loui details his mission to free plush dolls from the local gaming store’s claw machine—“because no one should live in captivity…even cute plushies.” His quest is endearing, as are his attempts to keep his cool when the rescue efforts inevitably go south—and the local bully shows up time and again to reap the benefits of Loui’s hard work. As admirable and relatable as his mission is, Loui’s adventure of course isn’t all fun and games. But as he hits roadblocks, his guardian spirit, Somi, offers resonant wisdom, encouraging Loui to find the principal lesson he must learn behind every obstacle. When Loui changes tactics mid-rescue, bully Killian steps in to steal his plushie, prompting Loui’s sage advice that you shouldn’t “ ‘flip flop’ in the middle of executing a plan… [or] you may end up opening the door to victory for somebody else.” That’s the start of a serious rivalry between Loui and Killian, and despite Somi’s efforts to help Loui keep his cool, he eventually loses it—and faces grave consequences afterwards. Yamawe’s illustrations dazzle the eye while suggesting the narrative’s underlying themes, such as depicting Loui, and Killian’s, inner children, who deliver heightened emotion to some of the story’s more tense scenes. Loui sprinkles mature themes throughout as well, as when he’s momentarily distracted by the racy Gals Attack video game only to end up in an awkward position, prompting him to “stick with UFO catching!” Loui’s choice to include QR codes for a 1980s soundtrack to accompany the story is entertaining, and a fun counterpart to Somi’s moral-heavy philosophizing toward the end.

~ Review

About the Author:

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lyradaisical · 2 years ago

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Commission Info

***Please be sure to click through to the original post for up-to-date terms and/or prices***

Information copied from my official commission page:

Will do: Fanart and original characters Will not do: Gore, NSFW, mecha, furries, fetishes, complex backgrounds

Classic vs. No-Fuss, No-Muss Commissions

Classic commissions are my full-service commissions. In this type of commission, I will correspond with you as I work on your commission. I will check in with you after the preliminary sketch. Once I have the okay, I will move on to line art. I request that you take the time to examine the line art. Minor revisions are allowed at this stage. Major revisions (eg. changing the pose), and frequent revisions will incur extra charges. Once I begin coloring, requests for changes in the line art will incur a fee. I will do a final check-in after coloring for any revisions in color.

No-Fuss, No-Muss commissions are the "I'll leave it up to you" commissions. This is my commission option for people who have no interest in the back and forth correspondence and somehow have enough confidence in me not to do them dirty. No check-ins. I receive the commission and work with whatever information is provided to me, and then I'll send it to you when completed. Proceed at your own caution.

Regardless of which commission style is chosen, visual references are required, especially for original characters. Please be ready to give details on what you would like. I don't want to have to wrestle information out of you. If you have a hard time putting your ideas into words, feel free to search for some pictures (clothes, poses, etc.) and send them to me.

Example 1 (No detail): I would like Lumine from Genshin Impact. The rest is up to you.

Example 2 (Some detail): I would like Lumine from Genshin Impact in a sailor uniform using her color scheme, doing the Sailor Moon pose.

Example 3 (More detail): I would like Lumine from Genshin Impact in a sailor uniform. Make her skirt and bow light blue and have the center of the bow the same as the flower she wears in her hair. Don't give her a tiara. Keep her thigh-high legwear. She will be in the Sailor Moon pose (One hand on the waist, the other doing a peace sign at her head. Not the "I'll punish you pose").

Complex designs are subject to extra charges. Very simple backgrounds, such as solid colors, gradients, and basic patterns (stripes, polka dots, etc.), are free. Any other background will be up for discussion.

Terms

Prices are for non-commercial use only. Failure to comply may lead to legal consequences.

I reserve the right to use the final artwork for promotional purposes. This may include: 1. Displaying the watermarked artwork on my website and social media accounts, 2. Uploading the art process video onto my YouTube channel

I reserve the right to deny any commission.

Payment

Payment is due prior to the start of the commission. An invoice will be sent via Stripe when I am ready to work on your piece. Any extra charges incurred will be invoiced and must be paid before I continue.

Processing Time

I strive to be timely and efficient with all my commissions. I will let you know once I start on your commission. Due to the nature of classic commissions, those will typically take longer to complete. No-fuss, no-muss commissions, on the other hand, will be quicker as it cuts out most correspondence.

Receipt of Commission

Finished products will be sent digitally through email in .jpg or .png format.

Refund Policy

No refunds will be given unless I am for some reason unable to finish your commission. Because of this, I do ask that you browse through my art and familiarize yourself with my art style. I'll do my best to make sure you are satisfied with your commission, but if you are unsatisfied with something out of my scope of practice, then there is nothing I can do there. For No-Fuss, No-Muss commissioners, please take some extra time to think if you really want to go YOLO and go this route.

Contact

You can contact me at [email protected] or via DM on my other socials (preferably Tumblr, Instagram, or Twitter). After our initial correspondence, I will let you know if I am able to take your commissions.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

#art commissions

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nevermindirah · 3 years ago

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part 3, "Kid": How every character in The Old Guard (2020) dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood relates to the main character, Nile Freeman

Stop writing people calling Nile "kid" 2k4ever

Andy calls Nile a baby one time, minutes after first dreaming of her. Andy then calls Nile "kid" three times, all to her face, all in the first few hours of their acquaintance. Booker calls Nile "kid" once, on the porch outside the bar. That's it. The context for these lines is super interesting, and calling Nile "kid" in fic doesn’t make any sense without the original context.

When Andy, Joe, Nicky, and Booker wake up from first dreaming of Nile, Joe and Nicky immediately start sharing facts they noticed, and Joe starts sketching. Booker is in his feelings but he contributes a few things to the saying-facts-out-loud rally.

Andy is 100% in her feelings. She starts the conversation with "No, not another one." Then once the boys have gathered a bunch of facts and Booker says "I felt her die" Andy comes in with this:

Andy: [stares at nothing straight ahead, voice is remote, detached.] She’s a Marine. [Joe and Nicky look up together.] Combat. Or near combat duty. Afghanistan. [Shakes her head slowly, wearily.] It’s been over two hundred years. [Whispers, anguished, buries head in hands.] Why now?

Got it. Joe and Nicky are the competent soldiers, Booker is the semi-competent drunk, Andy is the boss. Andy is the fucking depressed boss. It's in this context that Andy, having analyzed the information her direct reports just gave her, made the determination that Nile is a Marine in Afghanistan, and let her team have a brief back-and-forth about whether to change their plan to go retrieve the new one before announcing the decision that is ultimately hers to make, refers to Nile as a baby.

Andy: Get to France. Use the Charlie safe house. I’ll meet you there. [Joe examines his sketch, blows pencil-dust off it. She stares at Booker.] Find Copley. [Joe tears out the page and hands her the sketch. Andy stares at it.] Jesus. She’s just a baby.

Andy's metric fuckton of I AM BEYOND DONE just leaps off the page/screen. Keep that existential exhaustion in mind as we see her early interactions with Nile.

Nile: [stands, panting, regards Andy suspiciously.] Who are you? Andy: I lead a group of immortals. An army, I guess. Soldiers. Fighters like you. [softer tone.] Look... [Andy steps toward her; Nile steps back.] You’ve got questions, kid. I get it. [tiny smile, small nod.] You want answers? Get back in the car.

Andy: [lightly] And I was the one who cut your throat. Right? [stares at Nile, who stares back, then looks away; she has no answer for that.] Listen, kid. You already believe in... [points upward, follows it with her eyes.] You should just keep following that illogic. [Pulls her jacket over her shoulders as a blanket, turns on her right side, back to Nile, lies on the pile of duffel-bags like a reclining chair.] You’re already on board with the supernatural. [Speaks with eyes already closed; it makes no difference to her.] If I were you, I’d get some sleep.

[Nile stands slowly, glaring at Andy, sets her body as she prepares to continue the fight.] Andy: You really want to do this, kid? [Andy’s eyes are bright, her expression relaxed but anticipating; she looks like she thinks this will be fun.]

Andy is looking at this retrieval mission as something that must be done, but quickly and with as little disruption as possible to her team's ongoing mission to find Copley and protect themselves from exposure. And then here comes Nile Freeman, competent as hell, taking no shit, questioning everything, stabbing her and escaping a moving vehicle and just fucking fighting her at every turn.

"Jfc kid will you just get in the goddamn car" feels pretty reasonable in that context, yeah? At least from Andy's perspective. From Nile's, you're fucking right you're gonna ask some goddamn questions before getting on a drug-smuggling plane with someone who just shot you in the head.

It's worth noting that Andy doesn't precisely say "jfc kid will you just get in the goddamn car" — she says "I need you to get back in the car please." She says "can you please not do that again" when Nile fucking stabs her. She's exhausted and frustrated and just trying to get through this and back to her main mission, and from what we see of her so far she's generally gruff as a person, but she's not an asshole, and she’s really showing Nile some respect here, all things considered. I mean, imagine being this polite when someone stabs you. This is a tired adult trying to get another tired adult on board with a sensible plan.

Andy: Argh! [Andy grabs Nile’s knife hand.] Fuck! [throws it violently aside, forcing Nile back a step. With the knife still in her, Andy sighs deeply and looks at Nile. Nile recovers her balance and stares that Andy is hardly reacting to having a knife in her.] Can you please [grabs the knife with left hand, yanks it out] not do that again? [throws the knife on the ground.]

Once they fight on the plane, Andy never calls her kid again. Andy is already starting to regain some of the energy her long life has worn away from her after just 10 minutes on screen with Nile. Andy went into this retrieval determined to be someone Nile can rely on, and that still stands, but by the time they’re in France she’s realizing she’ll come to be able to rely on Nile too. She introduces her to the boys as Nile and that's that.

The only other time we hear the word "kid" in the entire movie is near the end, outside the bar with Booker.

Nile: Yeah. [takes a breath.] Talked to Copley. Said he could fix it. Make it look like I was killed in action. [nods gently to herself] My family will mourn, but, uh... [tiny shrug, head-shake.] ...they’ll be able to move on. It’s just like what we did with my dad. [sighs. Turns to look out over the water. Voice wavers.] I just really want to hear my mom’s voice one more time. Booker: [looks down, pauses, turns to lean next to Nile.] You’re a good kid, Nile. [looks at her, speaks earnestly.] You’re gonna be great for the team.

Sébastien le Livre, whose greatest tragedy is that his children disbelieved and rejected his love for them, would be very moved by Nile's concern and love for her mother. "You're a good kid, Nile," in the sense that she's honoring her parent in a way he, a bereaved parent, appreciates.

There's also the fun shippy reading that he's preemptively friend-zoning her because there's about to be several lifetimes between him and spending any more time with this woman he was having an obvious "oh no she's hot" reaction to over dinner in Goussainville, but I, a feral BoN shipper, like the first reading even better.

But the point is, calling Nile "kid" is an element of the movie that says a lot about the characters using that word. When it gets repeated in fanfiction, it says something about the author.

If you're reading this and reflecting "oh shit I wrote the team calling Nile kid without thinking about it at all beneath the surface" I have a really cool suggestion for you: just edit it. Or at least consider not doing it again. We all make mistakes. We all run with things that we pick up in canon or see in other people's fic that seem funny and harmless, and once we think about those things more deeply we might find that actually it's kinda fucked up, or not what canon was trying to say, or fine on the surface but not fine if it becomes The One True Fanon. Having characters who are either white, men, or both call the adult protagonist who's a young Black woman "kid" all the time carries a weight to it. Please let's let that weight fall off Nile's fully-grown shoulders.

Next up, orders, suggestions, assistance, and other flavors of mentoring Nile and/or telling her what to do. Credit and appreciation to StarWatcher for transcribing the movie here on AO3, all my line quotes are pulled from there.

#nile freeman #andromache the scythian #yusuf al kaysani #nicolo di genova #sebastien le livre #book of nile #dirah discusses tog team dynamics #tog meta #tog #mine #userhayls

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kmclaude · 3 years ago

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Forgive me Father, I have no awful headcanons for you, only a general question on comic making. How do you do it, writing-wise/how do you decide what points go where, how do you plot it out (or do you have any resources on the writing aspect that you find useful?) Not to get too bogged down in details, but I attended a writer’s workshop and the author in residence suggested I transfer my wordy sci-fi WIP into graphic novel script, as it might work better. (I do draw, but I don’t know if I have it in me to draw a whole comic—characters in motion? Doing things? With backgrounds? How dare, why can’t everyone just stand around looking pretty)

I was interested but it quickly turned into a lot of internal screaming as I tried to figure out how to compress the hell out of it, since novels are free to do a lot more internal monologuing and such compared to a comic format (to say nothing of trying to write a script without seeing how the panels lay out—just for my own sake, I might have to do both concurrently.)

As an aside, to get a feel for graphic novels I was rereading 99RM and was reminded of how great it was—tightly plotted, intriguing, and anything to do with Ashmedai was just beautifully drawn. I need more Monsignor Tiefer and something something there are parallels between Jehan and Daniel in my head and I don’t know if they make sense but it works for me. (As an aside, I liked the emphasis on atonement being more than just the word sorry, but acknowledgment you did wrong and an attempt to remedy it—I don’t know why that spoke to me the way that it did.)

I thought Tumblr had a word count limit for asks but so far it has offered zero resistance, oh well. I don’t have much else to say but on the topic of 99RM, Adam getting under Monsignor’s skin is amazing, 10/10 (about the Pride picture earlier)

wow tumblr got rid of the markdown editor! or at least in asks which means the new editor probably has no markdown....god i hate this site! anyway...

Totally! So first, giant thank you for the compliments! Second, I have a few questions in turn for you before I dive into a sort of answer, since I can give some advice to your questions in general but it also sounds like you have a specific conundrum on your hands.

My questions to your specific situation are:

did the author give any reason for recommending a, in your words, "wordy" story be turned into a graphic novel?

is the story you're writing more, like you said, "internal monologuing"? action packed? where do the visuals come from?

do you WANT it to be a comic? furthermore, do you want it to be a comic you then must turn around and draw? or would you be interested in writing for comics as a comic writer to have your words turned into art?

With those questions in mind, let me jump into the questions you posed me!

Let me start with a confession...

I've said this before but let me say it again: Ninety-Nine Righteous Men was not originally a comic — it was a feature-length screenplay! And furthermore, it was written for a class so it got workshopped again and again to tighten the plot by a classroom of other nerds — so as kind as your compliments are, I'm giving credit where credit is due as that was not just a solo ship sailing on the sea. On top of that, it got adapted (by me) into a comic for my thesis, so my advisor also helped me make it translate or "read" well given I was director, actor, set designer, writer, editor, SFX guy, etc. all in one. And it was a huge help to have someone say "there is no way you can go blow by blow from script to comic: you need to make edits!" For instance, two scenes got compressed to simple dialogue overlaid on the splashpage of Ashmedai raping Caleb (with an insert panel of Adam and Daniel talking the next day.) What had been probably at least 5 pages became 1.

Additionally, I don't consider myself a strong plotter. That said, I found learning to write for film made the plotting process finally make some damn sense since the old plot diagram we all got taught in grammar school English never made sense as a reader and definitely made 0 sense as a writer — for me, for some reason, the breakdown of 25-50-25 (approx. 25 pages for act 1, 50 for act 2 split into 2 parts of 25 each, 25 pages for act 3) and the breaking down of the beats (the act turning points, the mid points, the low point) helped give me a structure that just "draw a mountain, rising action, climax is there, figure it out" never did. Maybe the plot diagram is visually too linear when stories have ebb and flow? I don't know. But it never clicked until screenwriting. So that's where I am coming from. YMMV.

I should also state that there's Official Ways To Write Comic Scripts to Be Drawn By An Artist (Especially If You Work For A Real Publisher As a Writer) and there's What Works For You/Your Team. I don't give a rat's ass about the former (and as an artist, I kind of hate panel by panel breakdowns like you see there) so I'm pretty much entirely writing on the latter here. I don't give a good god damn about official ways of doing anything: what works for you to get it done is what matters.

What Goes Where?

Like I said, 99RM was a screenplay so it follows, beat-wise, the 3-act screenplay structure (hell, it's probably more accurate to say it follows the act 1/act 2A/act 2B/act 3 structure.) So there was the story idea or concept that then got applied to those story beats associated with the structure, and from there came the Scene-by-scene Breakdown (or Expanded Scene Breakdown) which basically is an outline of beats broken down into individual scenes in short prose form so you get an overview of what happens, can see pacing, etc. In the resources at the end I put some links that give information on the whole story beat thing.

(As an aside: for all my short comics, I don't bother with all that, frankly. I usually have an image or a concept or a bit of writing — usually dialogue or monologue, sometimes a concrete scene — that I pick at and pick at in a little sketchbook, going back and forth between writing and thumbnail sketches of the page. Or I just go by the seat of my pants and bullshit my way through. Either or. Those in many ways are a bit more like poems, in my mind: they are images, they are snapshots, they are feelings that I'm capturing in a few panels. Think doing mental math rather than writing out geometric proofs, yanno?)

Personally, I tend to lean on dialogue as it comes easier for me (it's probably why I'm so drawn to screenwriting!) so for me, if I were to do another longform GN, I'd probably take my general "uhhhhhh I have an idea and some beats maybe so I guess this should happen this way?" outline and start breaking it down scene by scene (I tend to write down scenes or scene sketches in that "uhhhh?" outline anyway LOL) and then figure out basic dialogue and action beats — in short, I'd kind of do the work of writing a screenplay without necessarily going full screenplay format (though I did find the format gave me an idea of timing/pacing, as 1 page of formatted script is about equal to 1 minute of screentime, and gave me room to sketch thumbnails or make edits on the large margins!) If you're not a monologue/soliloque/dialogue/speech person and more an image and description person, you may lean more into visuals and scenes that cut to each other.

Either way this of course introduces the elephant in the panel: art! How do you choose what to draw?

The answer is, well, it depends! The freedom of comics is if you can imagine it, you can make it happen. You have the freedoms (and audio limitations) of a truly silent film with none of the physical limitations. Your words can move in real time with the images or they can be a narrative related to the scene or they could be nonsequitors entirely! The better question is how do you think? Do you need all the words and action written first before you break down the visuals? Do you need a panel by panel breakdown to be happy, or can you freewheel and translate from word and general outlines to thumbnails? What suits you? I really cannot answer this because I think when it comes to what goes where with regard to art, it's a bit of "how do you process visuals" and also a bit of "who's drawing this?" — effectively, who is the interpreter for the exact thing you are writing? Is it you or someone else? If it's you, would you benefit from a barebones script alongside thumbnailed paneling? Would you be served by a barebones script, then thumbnails, then a new script that includes panel and page breakdowns? What frees you up to do what you need to do to tell your story?

If I'm being honest, I don't necessarily worry about panels or what something will look like necessarily until I'm done writing. I may have an image that I clearly state needs to happen. I may even have a sequence of panels that I want to see and I do indeed sketch that out and make note of it in my script. But exactly how things will be laid out, paneled, situated? That could change up until I've sketched my final pencils in CSP (but I am writer and artist so admittedly I get that luxury.)

How do I compress from novel to comic?

Honest answer? You don't. Not really. You adapt from one to another. It's more a translation. Something that would take forever to write may take 1 page in a comic or may take a whole issue.

I'm going to pick on Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo spent a whole-ass book in Notre-Dame de Paris talking about a bird's eye view of Paris and other medieval architecture boring stuff, with I guess some foreshadowing with Montfaucon. Who cares. Not me. I like story. Anyway. When we translate that book to a movie any of the billion times someone's done that, we don't spend a billion years talking at length about medieval Paris. There's no great monologuing about the gibbet or whatever: you get to have some establishing shots, maybe a musical number, and then you move tf on. Because it's a movie, right? Your visuals are right there. We can see medieval Paris. We can see the cathedral. We can see the gibbet. We don't need a whole book: it's visually right there. Same with a comic: you may need many paragraphs to describe, say, a space station off of Sirius and one panel to show it.

On the flip side, you may take one line, maybe two, to say a character keyed in the special code to activate the holodeck; depending on the visual pacing, that could be a whole page of panels (are we trying to stretch time? slow it down? what are we emphasizing?) A character gives a sigh of relief — one line of text, yeah? That could be a frozen panel while a conversation continues on or that could be two (or more!) panels, similar to the direction [a beat] in screenwriting.

Sorry there's not a super easy answer there to the question of compression: it's a lot more of a tug, a push-pull, that depends on what you're conveying.

So Do I Have It In Me to Write & Draw a GN?

The only way you'll know is by doing. Scary, right? The thing is, you don't necessarily need to be an animation king or God's gift to background artists to draw a comic.

Hell, I hate backgrounds. I still remember sitting across from my friend who said "Claude you really need to draw an establishing exterior of the church at some point" and me being like "why do you hate me specifically" because drawing architecture? Again? I already drew the interior of the church altar ONCE, that should be enough, right? But I did draw an exterior of the church. Sorta. More like the top steeple. Enough to suggest what I needed to suggest to give the audience a better sense of place without me absolutely losing my gourd trying to render something out of my wheelhouse at the time.

And that's kinda the ticket, I think. Not everyone's a master draftsman. Not everyone has all the skills in every area. And regardless, from page one to page one hundred, your skills will improve. That's all part of it — and in the meantime, you should lean into your strengths and cheat where you can.

Do you need to lovingly render a background every single panel? Christ no! Does every little detail need to be drawn out? Sure if you want your hand to fall off. Cheat! Use Sketchup to build models! Use Blender to sculpt forms to paint over! Use CSP Assets for prebuilt models and brushes if you use CSP! Take photographs and manip them! Cheat! Do what you need to do to convey what you need to convey!

For instance, a tip/axiom/"rule" I've seen is one establishing shot per scene minimum and a corollary to that has been include a background once per page minimum as grounding (no we cannot all have eternal floating heads and characters in the void. Unless your comic is set in the void. In which case, you do you.) People ain't out here drawing hyper detailed backgrounds per each tiny panel. The people who DO do that are insane. Or stupid. Or both. Or have no deadline? Either way, someone's gonna have a repetitive stress injury... Save yourself the pain and the headache. Take shortcuts. Save your punches for the big K.O. moments.

Start small. Make an 8-page zine. Tell a beginning, a middle, an end in comic form. Bring a scene to life in a few pages. See what you're comfortable drawing and where you struggle. See where you can lean heavily into your comfort zones. Learn how to lean out of your comfort zone. Learn when it's worth it to do the latter.

Or start large. Technically my first finished comic (that wasn't "a dumb pencil thing I drew in elementary school" or "that 13 volume manga I outlined and only penciled, what, 7 pages of in sixth grade" or "random one page things I draw about my characters on throw up on the interwebz") was 99RM so what do I know. I'm just some guy on the internet.

(That's not self-deprecating, I literally am some guy on the internet talking about my path. A lot of this is gonna come down to you and what vibes with you.)

Resources on writing

Some of these are things that help me and some are things that I crowd-sourced from others. Some of these are going to be screenwriting based, some will be comic based.

Making Comics by Scott McCloud: I think everyone recommends this but I think it is a useful book if you're like "ahh!!! christ!! where do I start!!!???" It very much breaks down the elements of comics and the world they exist in and the principles involved, with the caveat that there are no rules! In fact, I need to re-read it.

Comic Book Design: I picked this up at B&N on a whim and in terms of just getting a bird's eye view of varied ways to tackle layout and paneling? It's such a great resource and reference! I personally recommend it as a way to really get a feel for what can be done.

the screenwriter's bible: this is a book that was used in my class. we also used another book that's escaping me but to be honest, I never read anything in school and that's why I'm so stupid. anyway, I'd say check it out if you want, especially if you start googling screenwriting stuff and it's like 20 billion pieces of advice that make 0 sense -- get the core advice from one place and then go from there.

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures: many people I know recommended this. I think I have it? It may be in storage. So frankly, I'd already read a bunch of books on comics before grabbing this that it kind of felt like a rehash. Which isn't shade on the authors — I personally was just a sort of "girl, I don't need comics 101!!!"

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate: this has been recommended so many times to me. I cannot personally speak on it but I can say I do trust those who rec'd it to me so I am passing it along

the story circle: this is pretty much the hero's journey. a useful way to think of journeys! a homie pretty much swears by it

a primer on beats: quick google search got me this that outlines storybeats

save the cat!: what the above refers to, this gives a more genre-specific breakdown. also wants to sell you on the software but you don't need that.

I hope this helps and please feel free to touch base with more info about your specific situation and hopefully I'll have more applicable answers.

#writing #making a graphic novel #writing a graphic novel #tutorial #writing tutorial

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mvnvgedmischief · 3 years ago

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unremarkable days.

summary: sirius black is trying to be a good man, a good brother, a good person. Sirius has a steady job designing book covers for a publishing house, a flat he never leaves, and a traumatized brother who was just removed from the custody of his parents. All in all, it's wildly unremarkable.

chapter: 4/?

characters: sirius black, regulus black, wolfstar, background marauders

tags: tw: canon compliant abuse, child abuse, social services, abuse

words: 3. 8 k

read it on ao3 here

read the last chapter here

Sirius knew that work was going to be high stress all day. He felt sick to his stomach, thinking about the way he would continuously have to talk to people, when all he wanted was some peace. He wanted downtime. Time when he didn’t have to think about how he needed his paycheck to put food on the table, clothes on his brother’s back, pay bills to keep his lights on, wifi for homework. Regulus occupied his thoughts at all times, protecting him was Sirius’s only priority these days. He didn’t have time for anything else. Not his friends, not his interests, not music. Nothing could come between his focus and his brother’s wellbeing, because if it did, Sirius would never forgive himself. The consequences were too dire. So instead, he just wished for downtime that wouldn’t come, and prayed for the weekend to approach even faster.

The weekend, when he could finally sleep again, albeit not well. The weekend, when he had the time to take a breath, even if it was only brief. Because his weekends were also spent finding ways to better equip his apartment for his younger brother, going to long grocery runs so Regulus had lunch to take to school, meal prepping all of the things he couldn’t bring himself to eat for dinner. He was definitely tired of all of the ways his mind was spiraling out, he didn’t have the time. He didn’t fault Regulus for it, it wasn’t the teen's presence in his life that was causing all this stress. It really was his own fault. A bit of crying at that first hearing had given Walburga and Orion the satisfaction of a victory over him at that first hearing, and they seemed to crave more of that chaos. They wanted to watch their children suffer, and this was how they chose to do that. So instead he spiraled in the privacy of his own home, because he could practically hear the words they burned into his mind whenever he saw them, and feel the ache of old beatings.

But it was only Thursday, and that meant he still had to do this all day, and then get berated by the rest of the team for not attending their weekly bonding happy hour. If he was lucky, no one would ask him to go. He knew he should be less terrified of them asking, most of the people on his team were his friends. There was simply the question of Remus, and Sirius didn’t have the time to be thinking about him in the first place.

He didn’t have time to think about the way his hair curled just the right way to fall into his eyes when he slept, or the way his caramel freckles made him look sunkist. He didn’t have time to think about the pink scars that ran down Remus’s face or how they got there. He definitely didn;’t have time to think of the comfort of his hand combing through Sirius’s own mop of unruly curls. So instead, he needs to put all of that out of his mind. It wasn’t going to help him do well at work. It wasn’t going to solve his problems. He didn’t have the time for this, nor did he have the emotional bandwidth. Perhaps that was why Sirius was conveniently avoiding the idea that he had asked Remus on a date. With some luck, Remus would think he was just an asshole who ghosted him. That was definitely complicated by the fact that they worked together, that he couldn’t just disappear. He wanted to, he really did, because there was simply no time.

He set up his deliverables as though he had made tons of them, because his employment in this company rode on it. Just two months ago, he was pegged to be promoted within the next two cycles, and now he could barely hold on to his sanity enough to handle his workload. He was so fucking tired, and he had so much on his plate. He needed to mentally prepare himself for the long day of meetings ahead of him. He had no true motivation to do his job right now, all he knew was that his exhaustion was no excuse. He knew that his boss, Alice, was giving him a whole lot of leeway right now. She was probably doing more than she should to help him. Being a mentor on the senior design team didn’t mean she needed to keep tabs on his personal life and pick up his slack.

“Sirius–”

When Sirius focused back into the meeting he was calling into, it occurred to him that they’re talking to him. So he did what he always did, blamed it on a shoddy connection.

“Oh, sorry, can you repeat that? My audio cut out.”

“Remus was saying that some of the poems could probably use illustrations, and he was wondering if you had any ideas on which ones needed it.”

“Thanks, Peter.” Sirius was glad that he knew the people on this team, that Peter and James were as close to him as anyone could be. Because otherwise, he’d probably be fucked.

“So I was looking through them, and I was thinking Bite, Magick, and Love I could probably use larger scale illustrations. But at the same time, we don’t want to crowd the book. How attached are you to the current order or page arrangement?”

It felt too close, but he was lucky that he had at least read the titles of some of the poems in the first half of the book. Sirius knew Remus didn’t actually know what his level of involvement was. He thought it was just doodles, but Sirius would be responsible for presenting everything from kearning and font choice within the pages, to illustration and cover art to the design team. He was integral to the success of this book as a product, and he needed to start acting like it.

“I’m pretty attached.” Remus sounded cold to Sirius, and he wondered what exactly he had done wrong in this meeting. And yet, he didn’t have time to think on it. He needed to keep things moving, keep getting valuable information out of the author. Hook up be damned, Sirius needed this book to actually get off the ground.

“Okay, well we should get a meeting on the calender to discuss. What poems and what scale of illustrations you want–”

“Shouldn’t you be deciding what the illustrations look like and the logistics of those. Isn’t that what you get paid for?” Remus really wasn’t making this easy on Sirius. But he had dealt with bigger demons and divas then whatever this attitude was. So he put on a light and airy smile, one they’d never know didn’t reach his eyes over the low quality webcam and nodded.

“If you’d like to take a hands off approach with the design work, that can absolutely be arranged. But in the case of a fledgling project with a new author, the design team, myself included, really hope to prioritize your artistic license so that we can get a better sense of your vision for your literature, should Quill move forward with other publications in the future. We can provide a completely in-house service, with as much input as you feel necessary during the design process, and deliver collateral towards the end of the project when final edits are done, if you would prefer, Mister Lupin.”

Sirius practically wanted to scream. He needed Remus to stop fucking with his job, with his livelihood. He couldn’t lose this project. He needed all of the billable hours he could get if he was going to justify the overtime he needed in order to provide for his brother. This was ridiculous. But his clinical and polite answer must have thrown Remus, because he didn’t get much more attitude out of him. The back and forth had ended. So instead, Sirius pulled up his deliverables for the week, which included new iterations for the covers, and twelve illustrations for the three poems he had mentioned.

He noticed the way Remus looked at his drawings, like he was pained by whatever his thoughts were, and Sirius wants to scream that he’s under no obligation to think that they’re good. But then he remembers that Remus seemed to be nitpicking on purpose, based on his critique of the design system itself. Sirius didn’t have the time to deal with that level of petty, just because he hadn’t been answering. He was too busy. He had too much on his plate. So instead he continues his presentation.

“I don’t like any of these. Maybe you should start over.” Remus sounded vindictive, even mean. Like he was doing this out of spite. Sirius could feel his heart drop in that moment. He didn’t want to start over. He didn’t have the time.

“What do you not like about them?” Sirius is trying to salvage his work while he can.

“The vibe is off.”

“Oh, is there something specific that throws it off or...” Sirius trailed off, wondering what exactly he needed to change.

“No, it’s the whole thing. All of them are just off.”

Sirius needed to think quick on his feet. He didn’t have the time to start from scratch, so he pulled up his original thumbnails that he had discussed with Remus.

“These are the original sketches we discussed. I moved forward with the ones we talked about. I’m happy to rework those sketches,” no, he wasn’t. “But if there’s another sketch that you think would fit your vision better, please let me know.” He felt like he was pleading with Remus not to hate his artwork. He’d be a liar if he said it wasn’t a blow to his self esteem to hear that everything that he did was bad.

“No, I would suggest you start over.”

Sirius nodded, his mind immediately whirring with ways he could start over and re-design this project. He really didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to do hundreds of thumbnails to get set on thirty, only to be destroyed in a meeting again. Especially when Remus seemed so excited about all of his illustrations before the meetings. It felt like too much. He didn’t have the energy for this kind of behavior.

Luckily, Marlene directed the conversation away from Sirius’s work. The rest of the call went on without a hitch, like the only person who’s work Remus had a problem with was Sirius’s. He knew that it was more likely for Remus to have a problem with him, because design work was usually something an artist thought of as easy; however, this felt calculated and cold. If Sirius had been avoiding Remus before, it definitely wasn’t about to get better. So instead, he listened to the end of the meeting, and started the project all over again. He could do this. It was an unremarkable critique. It didn’t matter.

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charlieslowartsies · 4 years ago

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Happy Spring lovelies! Well, we made it! Aside from an issue with my taxes I'm currently working on, I've been doing pretty good since I last tossed up a journal. Hard to believe it's been a month since my birthday actually XD To make up for no sale last month, I'm adding some more slots, the usual raffle prize and some discounted adopts I've still got! Thanks for looking, have a great week! Sale Ends: Thursday, March 25th 12am EST. Raffle Prize: A colored lineart of up to 2 characters! (Clean, NSFW, whatever the winner wants ;) ) -Due to the raffle, slots will NOT empty :) -nsfw ok, some gore ok -fanart, ocs, furry, ok -feral or anthro ok -NO upcharge for nsfw pieces -digital .PNG sent to your inbox/wherever you tell me -I will send out invoices from Paypal -email me at [ chrsjonsey [at] gmail.com ] or Note me here or ping my Discord: CharlieMcarthy#4456 Raffle Notes: -Raffle tickets are per every commission piece. (one commission=one ticket, and so on and so forth) -There currently is no limit to tickets -Winner chosen via an online randomizer on: Saturday, the 27th around noon -Winner has 48 hours to respond, I'll always choose what route we discussed the paid commission for, (ie, if we talked via Discord, I'll ping you there first) -Important: depending on amount of sales, your prize MAY come in two-three weeks. I will let you know. $10 Sketches (+$5 Flat color, up to two characters) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Colored Lineart: $20 (up to 2 charas, extra charas are $6) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Painting: $35 (up to 1 chara, extras are $8) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Experimental Piece: $50 (1 character, +$10 per extra chara, this finish will take longer than other tiers, see details below) 1. 2. 3. Expiramental Example 1 Expiramental Example 2 Expiramental Example 3 Experimental Pieces: These pieces are a great way for me to have a relaxed commission that I can freely play around with. The client who chooses one of these will be able to guide me in any direction they like, or let me take the piece with minimal instruction. But it is important to remember these finishes will not be uniform. Perhaps the only similar things will be my style, but each example was finished at varying times, with various brushes, and thus are all unique to themselves. Fixes will be kept to small, easy adjustments and anything major will be extra unlike the other tiers. Experiments normally start in the $80 range and increase from there, so I'm hoping $50 will entice some people for a special treat, while still giving me time to get the pieces done before Christmas. If you would like me to improvise on something in the piece, please let me know upfront. Otherwise, whatever examples/descriptions you give me I will adhere to best I can~ *NEW* Character Design Page: $80 (1 character design, one fullbody with two smaller examples beside, see examples+notes below) 1. 2. Character Design Page Example 1 Character Design Page Example 2(NSFW WARNING) Character Design Notes: I'm offering these for this sale only, just testing the waters. You can have a colored lineart or a painting of your subject, your choice. One of the examples can also be a nsfw shot of parts just lemme know ofc~ Like the Expiramentals, these babies will take the most time, that's why I'm only offering two. I likely won't offer a discount on my character design pages, (which start at $100 and go up) until next May or June ;) Adopts are 20% off!! Check out my remaining adopts here: https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery.....156/Adoptables https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery.....156/Adoptables https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery.....156/Adoptables Normal adopt rules apply (see in their description for any questions.) Once the flash sale ends, the adopts are back to their original stated price. Please do NOT resell!

#flash sale #commissions #signal boost #artists on tumblr #jesus this is long im gunna try to read more but my RM hasnt been working all the time?#this happening to anyone else guys?#i use xkit idk if thats a prob

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stranger-who-writes-fiction · 3 years ago

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Still a few weeks out from issue 4 of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and DC’s solicit schedule is exceedingly wonky so WHO KNOWS when those will drop...THUS. A tiny bit of art appreciation, to tide us (read: me) over. XD

Potentially (?) spoiler-y art tease below!

FIRST UP, issue 4 variant by Rose Besch! The September solicits had a bunch of variant covers listed without previews, so I think this only started showing up in the last few weeks? Regardless, check it ouuuuuttttt:

First of all: So sparkly. :D

Second, MMMMM, look at that CMY(sans K) color palette! I also think the artist’s style of coloring is just very neat--like, refracted light through a prism, if that makes sense? Very geometric. And of course, always dig a cool, shojo manga-esque look for Supergirl. I think, of the variants released thus far, this one and the Amy Reeder cover are my favorite.

The other little bit of art comes courtesy of Evely, who is back to posting in-progress snippets. As always, I recommend following her and colorist Mat Lopes on their various social media sites because 1.) they are both INCREDIBLY TALENTED and post that Good Good art and 2.) you get to see stuff LIKE THIS:

HNNNNNNGGGGG.

I will go through my usual happy art shouting: HAIR! FACE! BODY LANGUAGE!!!!!!

This is the potentially spoiler-y bit, though without text/additional panels for context, there’s not much it’s actually spoiling? Still. Just want to be extra careful.

I continue to be so completely, utterly thrilled to have eight--EIGHT--issues of Evely’s Supergirl. I mean. Just look at that. Beautiful.

Can’t wait to see the whole page, and Lopes’ colors. Aaaah. S’gonna be GOOD.

Another quick social media account recommendation: Evely’s represented by Felix Comic Art. Even if you aren’t an original art collector, the site usually has decent scans of the original black and white pages. (Watermarked, natch.) But it’s so neat getting to see the original art vs. the colored pages.

And, okay, on that subject of inks vs. colors, I had not originally planned on including this but HERE WE GO, MORE ART, BECAUSE I CAN ALWAYS RAMBLE ABOUT ART.

This time, from Lopes’ twitter; he shared the colors for this page from issue 3, and then later posted Evely’s initial inks:

It’s maybe a little hard to tell, scrolling, but when you check these out on Lopes’ twitter, and toggle back and forth, you can actually see that the colors ever so slightly soften Kara’s expression.

Which I find FASCINATING, because it really illustrates the wild game of telephone that is comics creation.

You’ve got the writer and the editor, who work sort of in tandem to figure out how best to tell the story that the writer has in mind. That then goes to the penciller, who puts their own spin on the script, then it goes to the inker who has to interpret the penciller’s lines and choose what lines to keep and how best to highlight them (though, in this case, Evely is inking her own stuff so there’s less chance for any drastic changes between these phases) and then FINALLY (at least on the art side of things) it goes to the colorist who adds a whole NEW layer (literally and figuratively) to the art by selecting palettes and color holds and so on and so forth.

In fact, I was just reading the coda in the most recent Fire Power issue, (a comic by Robert Kirkman--of The Walking Dead fame--Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson) and Samnee said he’d imagined a particular scene taking place at night, but got the colors back from Wilson, who had set the action early in the morning. Samnee drew the pages for a night palette, but Wilson totally made the morning lighting work, and Samnee felt the storytelling was better that way, as it made the time-skip more apparent. (The previous scene also took place at night, which would’ve been confusing for readers, had they both been set at night.)

ALL OF THIS TO SAY! You have multiple storytellers working on any given book, and here, specifically, I think it’s very cool that Lopes choices enhanced the acting that Evely already put on the page.��

(Though, disclaimer: it occurs to me that this is entirely subjective, and some folks might feel that there WASN’T any discernable change between inks and colors. *Shrug* ARRRTTT!!!!)

Caught a Felix Comic Art stream a few weeks back when he unboxed the art for these issues, and someone in the chat mentioned wanting an Artist Edition for Evely.

And may I just say: Yes.

Like. I don’t think it’ll happen, but I really wish this book would get the usual King trade treatment--a special edition hardcover with a bunch of backmatter, so that we can just DRINK IN THE ARTWORK.

(Would also love to see the script for any of the issues! They did that with Strange Adventures and much like seeing inks vs. colors, it’s always cool to see script to pencils.)

Actually, what I’d really love is an unlettered version of an issue, to highlight Lopes’ colors in particular.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Clayton Cowles is doing a great job on letters, but this is a very wordy book! And sometimes you just wanna push those caption boxes and word balloons aside and see the entire panel, free of text. XD

Sadly, as I said, this probably won’t get too many bells and whistles in the trade release. Maybe a little bit of Evely’s design work? Hopefully?

She actually posted her initial sketches of Kara, a while back! I think they should be on her IG somewhere?

Anyways. I would kill for a large format of ANYTHING by Evely. Seriously, just. Do it DC! Take my money! (Or, IDW? Who handles the oversized editions for DC? ...I think it’s IDW. Either way! Do it! Come on! XD)

(Again, someone in that same art unboxing chat mentioned they don’t really do large format editions for contemporary artists, BUT. They totally released a Samnee Daredevil book! That’s pretty contemporary! Or, it was. At the time of release.)

Okay, I will stop now. For real.

That’s it, I think, in terms of art teases and updates! Until solicits and/or preview art, I guess!

#supergirl: woman of tomorrow #DC comics #long post #kinda #comic thoughts #comic opinions #ARRRRRRRRRRRT

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demi-shoggoth · 5 years ago

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COVID-19 Reading Log

No idea if there’s any interest in this, but putting this out here.

With my vastly increased amount of time stuck at home (that is to say, all of it), it’s given me the opportunity to read more. And although I’m probably never going to catch up completely on my “To Read” pile, I have put a decent dent in it. So I will be periodically chronicling the books I have read. So far, in the last two and a half weeks, I have read...

1. Moths: A complete Guide to Biology and Behavior by David C. Lees and Alberto Zilli. Published by the Smithsonian, this book is lavishly illustrated with color photos depicting moth structures and behaviors. A good overview of the biology of Lepidoptera that aren’t butterflies (which are most of them). The copy came from the library with a neat little insert of errata, mostly for image captions and missing citations. Which suggests that the editorial process wasn’t as tidy as it could have been. The writing style is fluid and light for some decent technical detail. Some types of moths serve as possible inspiration for future monster—moths with tusks, caterpillars that stack their severed head capsules on their heads and use them as bludgeons, giant puss moth caterpillars with venomous hairs.

2. Hackmaster: Hacklopedia: Rustlers of the Night by Jolly R. Blackburn, et. al. A Hackmaster monster book I didn’t know existed until I found it used in a Half Price Books. It is a print on demand product only, and is a compilation of monsters from the back matter of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic book and a few modules. Size more like a trade paperback for a comic than it is for an RPG supplement. Creatures are the usual mix for Hackmaster—some conversions from AD&D, some gag monsters, some original creatures. Some toxic misogyny (the “gargirls”, or female gargoyles, are particularly bad). Lots of fire themed monsters—apparently from a City of Brass themed adventure. High concentration of good critters, especially in the back half. I will be converting plenty of these to Pathfinder.

3. When the Earth Had Two Moons by Erik Asphang. This one was a bit of a chore to get through. It’s about the early history of the solar system and how we know what we know. Some cool concepts and science are here. There are models of collisions between massive (planet sized) objects showing how they can warp, fuse or shear apart. The ideas of what conditions are like on the surface and below the surface of planets (both in our own solar system and outside of it) are captivating and weird. But the writing style is disorganized. Concepts are jumped back and forth between, and there’s no logical flow of ideas from one to the next. There are better books about astrophysics for lay readers out there, but it wasn’t exactly bad. Just not great.

4. What’s Eating You? by Eugene H. Kaplan. I honestly am not sure if I’ve already read this book and just forgotten about it, or if this is the first time. Books about parasites do tend to repeat the same anecdotes (Jewish grandmothers contracting fish tapeworm while preparing gefilte fish, the cycle of infection for Guinea worm, a personal connection to the ubiquitous pinworm). The most striking thing about the book are the illustrations—they are stippled and depict parasites, life history stages, and people infected with parasites. Many of the people are in homage to or parodies of classical art. The author’s attitude towards people living in developing countries seems paternalistic, which is an unpleasant running theme in the background of this book. Maybe skip this one—seek out Parasite Rex or People, Parasites and Plowshares for similar, better books.

5. The Wonders by John Woolf. The topic of the book is on the Victorian era and freak show performers. The main focus on the book is Charles Stratton, who performed under the name General Tom Thumb with PT Barnum. I suspect that the project started as a biography of Stratton, and then changed focus when the author realized he couldn’t find enough verifiable material for a full length book. Other performers who receive biographical information are Chang and Eng Bunker, who are the reason conjoined twins are still referred to as “Siamese Twins” to this day; Daniel Lambert, who influenced the depiction of John Bull as fat; Joice Heth, who was advertised by Barnum as the world’s oldest woman (and cruelly exploited—her chapters are difficult reading); and Julia Pastrana (whose manager was even crueler, and weirder, than Barnum). The writing flows well, and is highly empathetic to the performers. Parts of these stories are ones I’ve read before in other books, but Woolf has a good eye for detail and for connecting the people he writes about to the events of the era. The sexualization of non-normal bodies is covered extensively in the book. The sexualization of “Tom Thumb” when he was a child performer was especially alarming and troubling. Highly recommended—best book I’ve read so far in quarantine.

6. Life in the Dark by Danté Fenolio. This was a pleasant surprise. Specifically, that the book didn’t focus solely on abyssal life, which is what I expected going in. Other creatures adapted to low light environments, such as cave dwelling species, burrowers and even parasites are covered as well. It’s mostly a photo book, with captions describing the animals and their adaptations, but each chapter has a few pages of text introducing it. The photography is uniformly excellent, and the book sent me down a few rabbit holes looking up the interrelatedness of different groups of fish. My only complaint is the final chapter—chapters on the need for conservation work are de rigueur in books about the natural world these days, but the text in this one is somewhat overwrought (and the last photograph, of a sunset over the ocean, doesn’t help matters).

7. Skeleton Keys by Riley Black, writing as Brian Switek. This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for some time. The book is about skeletons—the evolution of the vertebrate skeleton, the structure of the human skeleton and the cultural significance of it. It is heavily informed by the real world events surrounding it. As the header implies, Black came out as trans shortly after writing the book (the second, paperback edition calls Brian Switek her “pen name”). The idea of “osteological sex” correlated with pelvis shape is strongly stressed in the text as not the same thing as either sex or gender, and references exist to gender identity and personal perception when referring to people both ancient and modern. Black is a good writer—I’ve enjoyed all of her books. I would have preferred the book be illustrated, though. The only illustrations in the book are chapter plates borrowed from public domain osteology texts. I understand the practical considerations, but it’s slightly disappointing. Still, definitely recommended.

8. Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson. This is not exactly the book I was expecting. The subtitle is “the women who pioneered horror and speculative fiction”. I was expecting a series of short biographical sketches of a dozen or so earlier writers in those genres; something more like the approach to the various performers in The Wonders. Instead, it covers a few dozen women, from Margaret Cavendish to the modern day. And while it does give some biographical information, it is much more a recommended reading list than anything else. Fun, but I was hoping for something more substantive.

9. Invasive Plants by Sylvan Ramsey Kaufman and Wallace Kaufman. It’s a field guide. The photographs are nice, but it’s a field guide, so not exactly gripping reading. What struck me the most was how many of the plants covered I recognized from my backyard growing up. The authors are on the East Coast (in Maryland), and the East and South get a bit more attention than other parts of the country. As someone who is intimately familiar with some of the invasive plants of California, some that weren’t in the book (Sahara mustard and ice plant especially) struck me as notable omissions. It was cool to see references to plants I’ve worked on and scientists I’ve worked with in the sources.

10. Life through the Ages II by Mark Witton. This is a loose sequel to Charles Knight’s Life through the Ages; it’s designed to be a look at the state of paleoart and paleontology in the early 21th century, the way Knight’s book was a look at the ideas of the mid-20th century. The paintings in the book are gorgeous and well-informed, as Witton’s work generally is. About half of them have appeared on his blog in various forms previously, but some of the best are debuting here. Some of the paintings that stand out the most to me are a very grand stromatolite; an Atropodenatus howling at a suggestively shaped rock that strikes me as being influenced by Bradbury’s “The Fog Horn” and Harryhausen’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; an Opthamalosaurus swimming by a coastline studded with dead trees that look much like the decaying columns of an ancient civilization; a Georgiacetus mother watching over her calf rolling around on a rocky shore; and a Neanderthal family protecting their curious child from getting too close to a wooly mammoth.

#long post #reading log #books

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zoe-oneesama · 5 years ago

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When writing the Scarlet Lady Au, how do you organize your plots and notes, if you do?

Before I would’ve said at random - I’d literally think of the next joke in the shower or something. I had a general idea of where I wanted the plot to go, so it was just making the characters shout at each other in a way that got them there.

Not anymore. I’ve hit a stride. I have A Process ✨

So first: I watch the episode (in French). I used to just binge watch while making commentary notes in the discord where my friends are. Now, I still do this but I also take a notebook and divide the pages in two, essentially writing out what happens in the episode. This includes important dialogue, character interactions, when a character transforms, etc. I also take note of when it seems to be a new day or Day turns to Night. Anything I see in the episode that stands out as something that if I were writing canon as my comic, I would want to hit on.

Second: On the other side of that page, I start writing the Scarlet Lady version of the episode. I write it in the same format, so I’m not focusing on the jokes, I’m focusing on the things that make the episode go forward (who’s talking to who, where is someone going, etc). By putting it side by side, I can make sure that the episode is roughly the same length, hits on the notes I’m keeping from the original, covers the same amount of time. This helps the AU version of the episode be recognizable. I also take notes where I know I’ll need a bonus to flesh something out. Now the episode is “written”.

This is it side by side, official episode on the left, SL on the right [SPOILER WARNING!]

Third: Outfits. Time for the outfits. Thanks to step 2, I know how many characters are going to have lines, are going to play a role. So now I sketch up the outfits everyone is going to wear. I’m also implementing the rule that every new “episode” is one week after the last, to help me keep everyone in the same season (with some exceptions since canonically an episode will follow directly after another ex: Volpina => Collector) I even looked up what the temperature would be in France around “this” time of year.

Psst, these are the outfits for Copycat, that’s how good this method has been for me!

Fourth: The panel writing. This part takes the longest. This is where I write out how a panel will look, expressions I want, who’s speaking, the action, etc. The reason it takes longer is because I have to make it fit the format but still progress the story. I also think it’s important that within every joke, some important piece of information needs to be dropped in - whether it’s adding depth to a character, progressing the action, or pointing out something flawed in the original material. Sometimes I hit this better than others, but I don’t want someone to read any four panels and think “Why did that have to be here?” I also take this chance to write down a bunch of titles to choose from.

[MORE SPOILER WARNING] If I have a specific “expression” I want a character to have, I’ll draw a mini emoji version of it in the margins too.

Fifth: Storyboarding. Staging the panels and roughly sketching where things will go. This is a good time to land expressions and the flow of dialogue in a scene. It can be frustrating, though, when my storyboard expressions come out better than my digital ones!

This can also help me realize when I don’t need to redraw a scene. Note I made arrows in the margins showing I could use the same image in panel 2 and 4 on the left side.

Sixth And Final: Digital work. (sorry I don’t have images of this). I draw directly within the panels, instead of sketching the out in a book and scanning it in. This has some limitations (On model? what’s that?) but gives me more freedom to alter the space. Plus this way, I can take backgrounds straight from the show. This is when I put out the final product!

A big helper in my organization is that each step has a specific notebook (you might’ve noticed from my images). This way I’m not flipping back and forth within the same sketchbook and if I have a question I can pull out the notebook I know has the answer.

I’ve used this method (instead of my old “When a joke comes to me I’ll do step 3-6 at the same time) on Lady Wifi and on Copycat (I’m on the storyboarding steps for that one) and it’s really streamlined my process. But as of now I don’t know if the efficiency is because of the process or because I have so much free time, since I discovered this routine around the same time I quit my job. If I can keep up this speed WITH a new job, then I could see myself upping my upload from Bi-weekly to Tri-weekly, so fingers crossed!

#scarlet lady au #ask zoe #writing process #sl ask #process

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epochxp · 4 years ago

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Epoch Xperience Interviews Nordic Weasel Founder, Ivan Sorensen

Mr. Sorensen needs no real introduction to many miniature wargamers. His company, Nordic Weasel Games, has taken the historical miniatures gaming world by storm, and he’s become the force on Wargames Vault. His formula of “substance over flash” has produced good games for a very reasonable price, and he has taken full advantage of PDF technology to produce a quality product one can buy and have in your (virtual hands) the next day.

Without further ado, I give you Ivan Sorensen:

Biography

My name is Ivan Sorensen, and I am a game designer and self-publishing writer of miniatures games, as well as the odd role-playing game. Under the moniker of Nordic Weasel Games, I have worked as a game writer for close to 7 years.

I am an avid player of board games, miniatures games, role-playing games, video games, and anything else I can get my hands on. I have spent half my life on this planet in Denmark, where I was born, and half in the United States, where I currently reside. I am married, have one kid and two cats named Scruffy and Lancelot.

Unlike a lot of historical games writers, many of my formative miniatures gaming experiences actually came from science fiction games, so I suppose that has given me a little bit of a different perspective.

So, how did you get started in writing rules? Was there an “aha” moment, or did you fall into it?

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I have basically always created little dice and board games for myself, using Lego pieces or other things that we had available, usually based on video games I had read about in magazines or other ideas like that.

When I was 12 or so, I remember getting a copy of White Dwarf magazine from a local gaming club I had joined, and it blew my mind. We had some limited exposure to the idea of space marines and all these things from the Milton Bradley Hero Quest and Space Crusade board games, but the idea of battle games played without a board, using miniatures and dice was too much to resist. I knew I had to get into this, and as I had no money for it, I sat down to write a game I could play with my Space Crusade figures, which would look as much like what I imagined Warhammer 40.000 would be like.

Since then, I had pretty much always been the “rules guy” in the gaming groups I was part of, whether we were playing miniatures games or RPG’s, so it just came naturally over time, I suppose. As I got access to the internet and later got access to ordering things from the UK or US, I devoured every game I could get my hands on and was even remotely interested in.

The start to writing games that were any good was my own attempt at creating a World War 1 game system (titled Trench Storm). I had shared it online, and to my great surprise, it began catching people’s attention and got a (very) small following, with people even purchasing miniatures to play it. Eventually, I was contacted by the US distributor for IT Miniatures, who offered to print it to promote their 20mm figure range. The rest is, as they say, history. Once in a great while, a copy of that game still pops up on eBay, it seems!

How did Nordic Weasel Games come to be?

So that story took place right around the time I moved to the United States. After moving, I had a lengthy period where I did not have my work permit yet, so game writing seemed like an obvious distraction, resulting in Fast and Dirty, a sci-fi rules set that you still see mentioned online here and there.

As the years went on, I kept tinkering and building things but mostly for my own enjoyment. Sometime during the fall of 2013, I started seriously working on a new game system for WW2 skirmish actions that I felt had some real potential to go places. At the time, I worked at a relatively dead-end middle management job at an incredibly toxic information technology company. You know the sort of job, where you have been there for too long, and you hate every minute of it.

Come the spring, I decided to take a gamble that I could make enough money from game sales to make it worth pursuing and quit. I figured if I could find a way to do it without putting money on the line, then if it all bombed, I could just walk away and find something else to do in life.

Consequently, Five Men in Normandy was released on June 15, 2014, and as of today, we are still here!

What is in the future for Nordic Weasel?

Hopefully, many big things! The biggest priority for 2021 specifically is to get into print books, though there are a lot of stumbling blocks in terms of layout requirements and so on.

I always keep a list of projects I would like to do, though I try not to talk about them too much in case they fall through. I am the sort of guy who always starts with 20 ideas, so by the time the unworkable ones have been weeded out, there are 2 or 3 left.

What I can say is that I am actively looking at fantasy miniatures battles, and I would love to do more WW1 and Black Powder era gaming material.

The real big question is that I am also very much at a point where there are just too many things to do it all alone. I cannot write 4 or 5 new games, support an entire back catalogue, and update old titles all by my lonesome, so I look forward to trying to solve that in the future. I suppose this is a good problem to have, but it is certainly also an intimidating one!

Is there a period of history you want to write rules for but have not?

We have worked extensively with the two world wars and the black powder era in general, as well as 20th century-to-modern era battles, and with Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde we even delved into medieval warfare.

The one that stands out as something that would be fun to do is World War 1 air combat, complete with goggles and scarf flapping in the wind. A little romanticized sure, but great fun, and there is a lot of fantastic models available.

For a historical era I have not touched on at all, I would say that while I have done games that cover it among other 19th century conflicts, a dedicated American Civil War set is something I would be very keen to do.

There are a lot of fantastic rules out there for the period, of course, but I feel like the “Weasel” approach of being solo-friendly and campaign-oriented could carve out a nice space of that market. Plus, I find the era quite fascinating. Growing up in Denmark, I was never really raised with a particular view of the conflict, but having married into a proud Vermont family, it is, of course, unavoidable.

Can you tell our readers what goes into rules writing?

I think this is something that is intensely personal, and the rationale for writing something can be varied: It may be due to sensing an opening in the hobby space that does not seem to be catered to currently. It may be that I have a personal passion for a given setting or era, or it may simply be that I have a clever game mechanic and want to build a game around it.

The process for me usually starts with sketching out a page or two of keywords, mechanics, and things I’d like to hit on a notepad. Then I work on building it out with simple sketches for the main areas of the mechanics: Activations, movement, shooting, morale, and so forth. Basically, carving out the cornerstones of the game system. At this stage, it is entirely possible it feels like it’s not going anywhere, and it goes in the bin.

If the core idea seems to have merit in this skeleton form, it’s time to test it out with some generic troops and see if it actually feels fun on the table. From there, you just build out from it: Get other people to read and play it, read it out loud to yourself, etc. Figure out what parts need ironing out and improving and which are good.

It is really all an iterative process. Once I know the game has legs to stand on, I start writing out the table of contents in advance, so I can “fill in the blanks” as I go. If I know I am going to have a section later for off-map support, I can keep that in mind when I am developing each piece of the mechanics and so forth.

Eventually, any project hits “The Suck (TM).” This is whatever part you hate doing the most, whether it is layout or proofreading or points systems or whatever. For me, it is terrain rules, funny enough. I never read that section of a rulebook, and I never enjoy writing it, but you must. “The Suck” is where your game will probably die because if you let it overcome you, you will put the book down, and every time you click on the word processor, you will immediately be faced with it. The best way to defeat “The Suck” in my experience is caffeine and not letting up: When it starts rearing its ugly head, it is time to keep going and don’t stop until you are through with it.

Has desktop publishing and PDF only supplements changed the face of the hobby? Has it affected the quality of the product we see today?

Absolutely yeah. It’s not that long ago that a game being available in PDF was a novelty, whereas today, if a game is NOT available in PDF, you are going to lose sales.

I think the barrier of entry has also dropped dramatically. Even a basic word processing package can churn out a PDF document that you can distribute online or sell. Of course, with proper page layout software, you can achieve much greater results (as some of my friends are rarely missing a chance to tell me), but you need to examine what your skill limit is. Any tool has a skill cap, to borrow a video game term. If you are not currently good enough at what you do to push up against the limitations of your software, burning 200 dollars on new apps will not make your books any better.

It is funny, though, because the wargaming field is so diverse in the type of things we see. You can pick up relatively big-name games that are incredibly plain-looking: Black and white, no art, rudimentary layout. Then right next to it, you see a PDF that is full-color, original artwork, and gorgeous. And the two can be viewed as equal value to the audience.

Of course, eye candy DOES sell, but I think once you are beyond the Warhammer circles, gamers become a lot more content-focused.

What are your favorite historical periods and why?

The 19th Century, the two world wars and the Russian Civil War.

Really, the whole era from circa 1910 to 1925 or so is fascinating to me: It is, of course, the transition of the old, romanticized world to the world of modern warfare, as well as being incredibly diverse in the sort of things you can see. The Russian Civil War sees tanks and armored cars, partisan bands, nationalist militias, Red and White guards, Cossack cavalry armies, Anarchists, and anything else you can shake a stick at. It is really a wargamers heaven for finding odd units to model up on the gaming table.

Honestly, my love of history, in general, comes from one source: “All Quiet on the Western Front.” I think anyone with a passion for history has that moment where they realize that history is not about abstract concepts and kings and dates but is about real people who lived and breathed and had dreams and hopes. “All Quiet” was that for me, and it left a life-long impression on me when I read it as a teenager a few years from the age of the characters in the book.

What do you see for the future of historical miniature wargaming?

Oof, that is a dangerous question. I think I managed to predict the rise of “Warband” level games (games where you play a small force in skirmish actions and with some level of character progression between games). Right now, that idea has set the fantasy and sci-fi miniatures scenes on fire, with everyone churning out their own version of the concept.

In historical gaming, there are elements of it, but it has not been embraced to the same extent, possibly due to the grognard bias against skirmish games. I think if I had to put money on something, I would say watch out for historical skirmish games with campaign aspects or character progression in the next year or three.

I also think solo gaming is going to continue to gain in popularity and respectability, with more games developed primarily or even specifically for solo play. I am super excited to see this field because there is a lot of things that can be done here with how enemies arrive on the table, fog of war, and so forth, which is not possible in a conventional opposed game.

Playtesting, how important is it?

Very, but it’s also very misunderstood. I see people post all the time on forums about how they have been testing their game rules for 5 years. That sounds very impressive, but if you are only getting together 3 or 4 times a year in that time frame, you are basically starting over each time. Additionally, just playing the game with your own group is fine to iron out the basic problems of a game, but it will lose its value very quickly.

To get actual feedback, give the game to people who cannot ask you questions and let them figure it out. Now your text must stand on its own feet and must work without you being there to explain the intentions. That is the real test. I would say three games played by strangers is worth more than ten games with your usual Saturday group.

Of course, tracking down people who can understand the rules, will play the game, [and] report back to you, AND aren’t crazy is a challenge. If you post online, 50 people will say they would love to, and of those, two will read the book. Once you find reliable people who can give you good feedback, cling to them for dear life.

What are the benefits and pitfalls of self-publishing your own wargaming rules?

The biggest advantage is, of course, that you are in charge. What you want in the book goes, if you want a supplement, it will happen, and so forth. Additionally, your game will reflect what you wanted it to be. I think in [self-publishing], you get a lot clearer creative visions and indie gamers tend to gravitate towards that: A game that has something to say on the topic is extremely attractive, even if you disagree with a particular conclusion.

I try to do as much myself as I can, though, of course, I do rely on outside sources for things like artwork, feedback, etc. Part of that is that this way, I know I can support the product down the road: If I want to fix a rule where we came up with a better way of doing it, or I want to add a new section, I can do that.

The downside, of course, is that you are on your own: Your art is as good as your own wallet can make it, your book looks as good as you can make it (unless you pay for it), and so forth. You also must promote it yourself. If you are writing for something like Osprey, they have marketing power and money to put behind the project.

Anything else you would like to say to our readers?

Before you write a game, ban yourself from reading any game on the same topic for a few months. If you are writing a WW2 tank game, put all your WW2 games in a box and do not open it. You should be spending that time immersing yourself in the topic in the form of books, music, documentaries, or anything else. Never ever another game.

Also, it cannot hurt to blast some metal albums, at least in my experience.

At Epoch Xperience, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch Xperience’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.

(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)

#Wargame Miscellaneous #interview #wargaming #history #gaming

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