How we make the comics...

Note: IRC uses < > tags on nicknames natively. And Patreon strips them. So in the log below, I had to manually edit it and add the names back in.  Hopefully I got the right names in the right places.  But otherwise, that's the way it works.

Today's page is going to be late again. I'm waiting on Dialogue and the art depends on the dialogue. I've got it sketched now, but... yeah it's a waiting game between myself and the other writers. I don't have this problem with the Endy/Niixa pages since I write for Endy, and Ringtail writes for Niixa. (And Ringtail happens to live with me).

So, I figured I'd give you guys a little inside info on how I make the comics. Most of the time we discuss the next week's worth of comics on the weekend before. Though lately it's been a bit difficult getting everyone on together. When that happens, I write it and then I ask them to clarify the dialogue to the character's own inflections, catchphrases or whatnot. I know most of the characters well enough that I can generally write for them, but I still like to get the okay. (This is what I'm waiting on right now).

Other times, after we discuss what will happen, we RP it out on IRC. This is my least favorite method because it takes a ton of time to edit it. There's a lot of unnecessary fluff. The players continue to use quotations which have to be edited out of every single line. And I often have to remind them that this is for a comic and brevity is the soul of wit.

Here's an actual comic RP snippet for Issue 7:

[19:36] [Endymion] **Just to make sure everyone understands, we are picking up from page 13, with Tunc and Endy in the newly installed cells, Callie outside of them, and Niixa just showing up.

[19:36] [Niixa] "Us. Fill \us\ in."

[19:37] * Endymion perks up when he spots Niixa, and holding the candy. That gives Tunc a chance to pipe up while he's distracted.

[19:37] [Tunc] "The Woman in White, she wants Endymion. Dunno why, but she seemed to want him bad. Wanted me to infect him, something about making him her's."

[19:38] * Endymion frowns and rubs at his arm. "Mission accomplished."

[19:38] [Niixa] "Why? What does she gain from him?"

[19:39] [Lasthowl] "Her going after the blonde woman I can understand, but she had the anomaly. You're rather ordinary."

[19:39] [Tunc] "Her control was different than before he showed up. Blew right past our work, Callie. She wasn't playing games."

[19:39] [Endymion] I saw Lorelei, in the mindscape. She's the one that warned me about Sisari.

[19:41] [Lasthowl] "You have a name," Callie says, suddenly focusing intently on Endy.

[19:41] [Tunc] "That's...an unexpected breakthrough. Mindscape?"

[19:42] * Endymion glances to the others and then back to Callie, "Lorelei said her name is Sisari. She's desperately trying to find someone named Aisha."

[19:43] [Niixa] "I know of no one in the town with that name."

[19:44] [Lasthowl] "I'm drawing a blank as well, but getting a name is significant. I can work with that."

[19:44] * Endymion looks back to Tunc, "The mindscape is a visual representation of the mental and physical states of a person, like a dream. Sisari trapped Niixa and myself in the mindscape, trying to figure out who Aisha is. And it seemed to zero in on Kate."

[19:45] [Tunc] "...When? When you guys were all passed out?"

[19:46] [Lasthowl] "Who is Kate?"

[19:46] [Niixa] "If she controlled your 'mindscape,' wouldn't know know that the woman was named 'Kate?'"

[19:47] * Endymion nods to Tunc, then looks to Callie, "My ex... trust me when I say I'd rather deal with an army of Kaetif than speak with Kate." Then he looks to Niixa, "Not necessarily. Obviously she's given us some kind of false names, it might mean she doesn't quite know who she's looking for. She kept calling me Fahrook."

And here's an example of how we edit the lines:

[17:04] [Ringtail] [19:41] [Lasthowl] "You have a name," Callie says, suddenly focusing intently on Endy.

[17:06] [Ringtail] Looks like you can skip some lines by mashing together these two lines:

[17:06] [Ringtail] [19:39] [Endymion] I saw Lorelei, in the mindscape. She's the one that warned me about Sisari.

[17:06] [Ringtail] [19:42] * Endymion glances to the others and then back to Callie, "Lorelei said her name is Sisari. She's desperately trying to find someone named Aisha."

[17:06] [Ringtail] And remove the lines in between.

[17:07] [Ringtail] And Callie's line following that can say something like, "If that's her true name, I might be able to track that."

[17:07] [Ringtail] So it not only makes it a significant discovery, but gives Callie a function.

[17:07] [Endy] yeah

So the first round of edits:

[19:39] [Endymion] I saw Lorelei, in the mindscape. She's the one that warned me about Sisari. [[ADD IN]] She's desperately trying to find someone named Aisha.

[[REMOVE]][19:41][Lasthowl] "You have a name," Callie says, suddenly focusing intently on Endy.

[19:41] [Tunc] "That's...an unexpected breakthrough. Mindscape?"

[[REMOVE]][19:42] * Endymion glances to the others and then back to Callie, "Lorelei said her name is Sisari. She's desperately trying to find someone named Aisha."

[[REMOVE]][19:43] [Niixa] "I know of no one in the town with that name."

[19:44] [Lasthowl] "[[REMOVE]]I'm drawing a blank as well, but [[/REMOVE]]Getting a name is significant. [[ADD IN]] If that's her true name, I might be able to track that."

[19:44] * Endymion looks back to Tunc, "The mindscape is a visual representation of the mental and physical states of a person, like a dream. Sisari trapped Niixa and myself in the mindscape, trying to figure out who Aisha is. And it seemed to zero in on Kate."

[[REMOVE]][19:45] [Tunc] "...When? When you guys were all passed out?"

[19:46][Lasthowl] "Who is Kate?"

So it went through more revisions:

Rethinking this log a bit, I think the part where Niixa asks what they want with Endy is a good time for Riley to burst in. So I'm thinking that the original log should get turned into this:

*Niixa walks in. Callie waits to be filled in.

[19:39] [Endymion] While we were unconscious and trapped in the mindscape, I met someone named Lorelei. She's the one that warned me about Sisari... the woman in white.[[ADD IN]] Sisari is desperately trying to find someone named Aisha.

[19:44] [Lasthowl] "[[REMOVE]]I'm drawing a blank as well, but [[/REMOVE]]Getting a name is significant. [[ADD IN]] If that's her true name, I might be able to track that."

[19:41] [Tunc] "That's...an unexpected breakthrough. Mindscape?"

[19:44] * Endymion looks back to Tunc, "The mindscape is a visual representation of the mental and physical states of a person, like a dream. Sisari trapped Niixa and myself in a mindscape simulation, trying to figure out who Aisha is. Lorelei said it would be someone from my past, someone I'm connected to.[[REMOVE]] And it seemed to zero in on Kate. ...My ex-girlfriend."[[/REMOVE]] [[ADD IN] And if she finds this Aisha person, she will be able to move on with her plans to eliminate all the people here.

[[REMOVE]][19:46][Lasthowl] "Who is Kate?"

And this became page 14.

If you guys like this, I can make more of these.