Weekly Update - 48

The next page is... pretty spoilery, so... I don't know that I want to share any parts of it just yet.  It's also not very far along due to a rather unproductive weekend, and I'm not yet sure if I'm going to get it done by Wednesday.  I don't want to delay it though...  The story must go on, despite all the extra work and moving and chores that need doing.  >.>

Anyway, here's a preview of a possible pose for Kiera's full-size poster.  Because I've already started on it.  I started on Max's too, though I'm probably going to have to redraw his face nine hundred more times to get it perfect.  Did I say I was unproductive?  I guess, not entirely.

Let's talk a little bit about character design!  To get my mind off of... some... interpersonal drama with which I am not directly involved but certainly collaterally affected by.

My characters tend to grow from a simple idea.  I don't think in terms of "my plot requires a character here."  I think of it in terms like, "oh hey, there is a super interesting character here!  How much of their story overlaps with the one I'm already telling?"

This sort of character-focused design perspective leads to a lot of really rich, deep characters, but also a lot of misery from me because I don't actually ever get to SHARE a lot of it.  Riley's backstory may get touched on a fair bit, because she's become pretty important to me and I saw ways for her to be involved in Kiva's life in a big way.  There's themes there and messages and things I want to explore, because I feel like "crazy" characters are done a disservice in a lot of stories.  Even still, there are a lot of things going on there that may never be answered.  For example, what happened to her dad?

Betty's backstory, on the other hand, will probably never be told.  It is interesting, in its own right, to me, but it is also comparatively mundane.  Exploring the intricacies of navigating the messy life of a successful grocer in the Downtown is its own story, with an entirely different pace and theme and message, and the stakes for her own personal success and failure are far lower than the stakes Kiva is facing.

Drawing:  I'm still hoping to finish Page 92 this week, but I don't know if I'll make it.  I don't want to rush it, but I also don't want to wait another entire week because the page isn't really THAT involved.  I'll try.

Playing:  (See Drawing.)