DD4 Chapter Two "Value Studies." Also: Vonnegut Check.

This is exciting. I was reminded of a long-running, irritating problem that I often forget, and am now, finally, solving it.

The other day, friend and brilliant artist Rebecca Dart posted this tweet:

…where what we're looking at are Rebecca's quick black-white value studies for upcoming illustrations. Because I hadn't really tried this before for comics, and because I thought it might help me figure out how to make the first few pages of Chapter Two more impressive, I applied it to those pages. And I have not stopped. Why?

After starting this, I immediately remembered a thing that causes me grief during the colouring process: panels wherein I just plain forgot to consider that they would have to be in colour. Panels where all I've ever considered is the shape, layout, and linework, but not the value composition. I don't know if that sounds dumb, but it's true. Sometimes, while colouring, I get to a panel or series of panels, and I try to figure out what's light and what's dark, and it becomes clear to me: I did not plan for this at all.

So: let's plan.

[ ^ one of the early pages of value thumbnails, wherein this technique reveals its massive usefulness. Just look at the page marked (6) - that's going to end up really solid, I think! ]

Theoretically, when I arrive at drawing and painting these pages, I'll know what to put in shadow and what to blow out. I'll know what to cheat bright and what to darken. I won't have to figure all that stuff out on a per-panel basis while I'm also trying to figure out the colours (though, 90% of the work of successful colour is making good value choices; if the values are right, it almost doesn't matter which colours you pick).

[ ^ at some point, I remembered I had a grey marker sitting around, so I immediately began to cheat—er, I mean, make the most of it. ]

I like the way that these panels read very clearly, even super-rough as they are. I have maybe two more days worth of work to do on these, and then it will be time to move on and start roughing out pages.

How well will these little studies translate to the final page? Will they really improve the final coloured result? I feel good about this, and I'm kicking myself because as soon as I got a few pages into this, I remember all the times—going way back to DD1—where I told myself, "you really should plan out the values at the start."

Additionally, someone tweeted something about achieving success in art by keeping one foot in uncertainty and one in confidence, which feels true to me, and following this process feels like it checks those boxes.

- - - -

Why is everyone talking about Kurt Vonnegut lately?

Vonnegut has been popping up a lot over the last week, for me. Dunno why. Since he is commonly regarded as one of those writers One Must Read, I had of course ignored him, until recently. Now, Slaughterhouse-Five is one of my favourite novels. No one told me that well-regarded "literature" could also be funny.

Here he is, talking about one of my favourite subjects, "the shape of stories" (Youtube Link).

Being very funny about the casual dismissal of genre fiction and his being categorized as an author of such (Twitter link).

His writing advice (Instagram Link) …which I will copy here, because Instagram is awful:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

I will thank you all to please not call me out on breaking any or all of those rules.

I posted the first link to my group chat with other grumps and they said, "he's so grumpy he would have fit in well around here" and I said, "I do not think he comes off as grumpy," which I think is revealing of someone's character, I'm sure.

Good times,

TC