hey guys! sorry for the lack of updates, i know we were releasing 2 a month for the most part and it’s been a whole month without any updates… :^B
the season for my job is over at this point, so i’ve started workin at my old job again lol. its all good tho, since i DO get a lot of down time during my work hours (aka more time to work on the comic >:^) ). with my classes going on at the same time however, i haven’t gotten to work on the comic as much as ive wanted to.
idk, to blame my workload wouldn’t be fair tbh, i don’t have a lack of free time or anything, i think its been a little harder for me to work work on the comic cuz im just not as confident in writing/illustrating engaging action scenes. for just this update im gonna put a pause on the whole “otis is the author” thing, cuz i gotta be more clear when im articulating this ( for the uninitiated, otis isn’t real, its just my pen name).
to be frank, im not as comfortable with the dialogue of this iSSUE. for me, it just sorta feels off/unnatural? im always worried about my character’s decisions and behavior not making sense or not having a clear cause/effect. i know in the past i’ve struggled with that in my work, sometimes “things just sorta happen”. it doesn’t help that im also always worried that there isn’t enough interesting things happening in my more action-heavy scenes (again, refer to “things just sorta happening”). iSSUE 4 is 24 comic pages total, with about 12 of those dedicated to action, only 6 being heavy-action oriented. thats a literal third of the full iSSUE being heavy action, only half being action focused at all. how the hell does that happen??
tbf, a lot of this has to do with establishing gum and beat’s interactions. it doesn’t work to just say they’re good friends without showing that happening, yknow? also i feel like i didn’t give gum as mush time in the first chapter beta comic to be her own character, which makes sense given i was writing it page-by-page. also also i do appreciate all the comments i get from all you guys, especially about gum’s design. i say it all the time but they DO mean a lot to me, and i know her redesign isn’t for everyone but to hear from the people who’s design she IS for react positively, it is reassuring.
apologies to those who were looking forward to Tab and Roboy’s appearance in iSSUE 4, i PROMISE they’ll be here by iSSUE 5.
(panel from iSSUE 4)
in other news, im screwed. i got lazy and stopped saving all my files to my computer and opted to keep some on a usb. lo and behold, i managed to completely brick said usb. ive already looked into file recover and everything, and there absolutely no way for me to retrieve any of the files. like, at all. thankfully none of the comic pages/iSSUES were lost, but sadly some sketches and base files for character references were. so uh, beat is stuck wearing his orange swirl t-shirt until i can find a way to reliably convert the png ref images into straight linework.
(tech jargon-wise, i am aware there IS a way to do this, i’d just have to use his b&w/iSSUE pages ref png and convert brightness to opacity, selectively erase all the tones by hand, recolor his base design using the secret flat color pngs i keep for myself, re-texture this base template with pieces from his rendered png, ect. but its a long, tedious process, and i kinda need to work on the actual comic instead of a glorified dress-up doll. also he already HAS a reference image to begin with, unlike half the cast. jfc don’t get me started on the other character’s model sheets, bios, and even some wiki playlists. ((i’m sorry Cube)))
(my ugly sons, i hate them <3 )
dw bout me though, im gonna do everything i can to sit my fat ass down and WORK on iSSUE 4, even if i don’t believe in it as much as i wish i could. i try not to be too vocal about any doubt i have in this comic, as i don’t want to worry y’all or make u guys feel like its y’alls job to whisper sweet nothings to me about how “beautiful” and “amazing” and “captivating” the comic is just to keep the production dragging along (/lh). not every iSSUE can be my magnum opus, and i get that lol. and who knows, maybe it’ll be like iSSUE 3 and be surprisingly motivating by the end? hopefully.
im gonna make the next big super-cool announcement in my next update tho, so dw something big is here >:^)
(although it’s kinda corny, the song for this update is really tied to my feelings about the whole comic as of late “cuz i want to believe in something”. i love this project deeply and i want to see it to the end, but i yearn for something that doesnt exist and i dont even know what this abstract thing is to begin with. this has been a constant in my life for as long as i can remember tho, so its nothin new. its not like im gonna drop the comic and abandon all my hopes and dreams over it. yknow what they say, ycasyf4i. …nobody says that, and i refuse to clarify cuz if anyone knows what the quote is from i’d look mad autistic. more than i already do i suppose.)
2 Responses
I totally get it. It can take forever to get something in your head out there, such vivid thoughts festering for ages without being transcribed. I have been there, just… stuck with very clear ideas but never getting them out, even if I have the time. But in the end, it feels so rewarding when you actually do finish it and you come to the realization that “oh my gosh. i made this.” and that’s pretty ‘effin’ cool.
It also doesn’t hurt to have some outside motivation. So, this is a continued eager fan here to say “myeeeeeeeh. finish it faster. myeeeeeeeeh.”
Finishing an organized (and probably begrudgingly condensed) comic is always incredibly hard to do, and that deserves so much credit in and of itself. Looking forward to it!
By the way, I’m really looking forward for some action scenes! Choreo is like my favorite thing ever! 😛