Progress, Writing, Art, & More

I haven’t posted in awhile so I thought I’d chime in on where I am with the new comic.

I’ve finished the first ten pages (five spreads), three of which are already posted to the site. I’ve faced some unique challenges with this book; first, I’m not used to drawing this large. Everything in this book is huge! In my last comic, I was known to pack 7-10 panels per page with detailed backgrounds galore. With Aurorae, I’m doing the exact opposite. No spread (two pages) has more than ten panels combined and most sit somewhere between four and six panels per spread. Why the change? Well, I wanted everything in Aurorae to feel big. Large, open areas of the page that give the eyes a moment’s rest from the characters and drawings. I’m rendering far fewer backgrounds for that very reason as well.

The writing process has been excruciating, for lack of a friendlier word. I’ve revised volume one at least two dozen times already and continue to edit more on a weekly basis. Without a doubt, this is the best writing I’ve ever done but there’s still a lot of improvement to be made, particularly in the script’s brevity (or lack thereof). One of the characters is a bit long-winded and while I love most of the dialogue, some of it needs to go. I’ve worked extremely hard on giving each character his/her own voice, where you could read a panel and know who is talking without referencing the art. Am I at that point yet? Probably not, but I’m working at it. My biggest failing with Variables was my lack of focus on a greater story and how each character fit into it… I’m not making that mistake again with Aurorae. There are far fewer characters and each one is going have their own voice.

The site is done for now. I’m satisfied with how the comic presents itself and the bare-bones design elements work well with what I’m trying to accomplish with the comic. One of my pet peeves in comicking is how little hierarchy is used in the site design. I want the reader to be able to tell what they should be looking at in order of importance. I think that has been accomplished and while I will definitely revisit this in the future, things look good for now.

One story element that Aurorae will use extensively is flashbacks. Most (if not all) will be dialogue-free and writing through them can be a pain in the ass, to put it frankly. So much is dependent on the art and any failings there will destroy the entire page. On the other hand, it is fun to draw large, dynamic pictures without fear of text bubbles encroaching on the layout. My last page features one of those flashbacks, which you’ll see in its full glory in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

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