Chapter Two Roughs-in-Progress, and other fun items.

I'm now neck-deep in the process of laying out my pages for Chapter Two. (Specifically: I take a big sheet of drawing paper, trace my page-size border template onto it, then, referencing that page's thumbnail, I start roughing out the drawings.)

At the top of the post, one of my favourite drawings so far, of Alexandra and (spoiler alert) her new friend, Katerina (Ekaterine, maybe), stargazing.

(^ More from that page.) You can, perhaps, see how those relate to the value-thumbnail:

The fun thing about Katerina and her brother is that I designed them without really knowing what role they would play, thinking only that they'd offer some sort of opportunity for Alexandra interact with the people of Archipoli. Turns out, they're good for that and much more. They've allowed me to deliver some necessary exposition AND build character at the same time, which is always pleasing. I kind of love them now, too. The story still has its original shape, but these characters are introducing some exciting new potential that I had not planned for.

( ^ Initial drawings for Katerina and her brother, from earlier in the year. )

Are you worried this chapter will just be a bunch of lounging around, staring at the sky? Fear not! The action is BRUTAL.

( ^ "Augh, my spleen!" )

As a side-note, I'm excited for this simple two-page sequence, wherein Alexandra keeps an eye out for the expected British convoy over subsequent days (and dirties up several different outfits in the process).

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REVISIONS

In other news, someone asked previously whether I would be planning to return to Chapter One and re-draw things or fix things up based on later changes in the story. Well, guess which sheet I've had to draw up for myself this week:

As of right now, I have two small details I need to change in Chapter One, at some point in the future. (When the town "comes back to life," I'm going to make it less-lively, and we're not going to have Alexandra's mom give the hilltop villa to the Captain and his men.)

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SCHEDULE, FUTUREPLANNING

[This section is mostly me making a note-to-self about how to approach all the work awaiting in Chapter Two.]

I haven't done a very specific job of estimating how long Chapter Two will take to complete, mostly out of fear. Roughs will take me until the start of December, at the earliest. Then I start inking, which I will balance with Baby Work. If I can get at least 16 pages inked per month, that's almost six month's worth of inking. The process could go faster, but it's wise to be conservative. That sees inking complete in May of 2022. Then scanning, lettering, and colouring will take us through to the end of summer, at the earliest. Whoof.

So, clearly, "it'll be a while." Thinking back to my ruminations at the start of 2021—about wanting to avoid burnout, about wanting to make something I can be proud of—I know there's one thing I need to do during that time: I need to avoid hurrying. That results in work that looks sweaty but doesn't reach its full potential. It's compromised. 

When I feel rushed, I settle for a type of drawing that does the trick, but is not perfectly satisfying. But we gotta keep moving, right? I gotta keep going, so I compromise: the first solution works, and then I ladle hours of inking and colouring work on top of it to get it to "done." This method results in the type of drawing I am least satisfied with.

But if this whole process is going to take so long, I might as well stop being such a fretful cartoon Tasmanian devil of a worker, and put in the little amount of extra time and effort to make sure—at every step—that the finished page is actually worth the amount of work that goes into it. Whether I hurry or not, the nature of this comic-making process is that it involves many pencil miles, and takes a long time. So I must resolve not to hurry. Be smart about it, yes, absolutely. Don't be wasteful. But do not hurry.

Deep breaths. Make a drawing you can be proud of.

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PIRANESI, a book recommendation.

I finished Susanna Clarke's PIRANESI recently. I liked it very much.

You might know Susanna Clarke from JONATHAN STRANGE & MISTER NORRELL. This one is much shorter. I went into it blind, knowing nothing about what to expect, and I think that was an especially enjoyable way to read this book. If you liked STRANGE & NORRELL, I would recommend doing the same.

Otherwise, I'll just say it's haunting. I was carried through the first third of the book on curiosity alone. It has a lonely quality like the game MYST. It also reminded me of the crumbling, desolate dreamscape at the end of the movie INCEPTION.

It's the kind of book I wish I could amnesiafy or unremember, so I could read it again for the first time. *Sigh.*

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Back to drawing! Be kind to each other, be kind to yourselves.

TC