The Writer/Artist Feedback Loop
The Clear Skies one-shot continues to move forward at a pleasing pace.
Hey folks, thanks for reading.
To give you an idea of what you can expect from future posts. I'm going to put a quick summary of where my different projects are at.
In Production:
- PuddleJumpers - Clear Skies 1-shot
Working On:
- PuddleJumpers - Flotsam 1-shot (Outlining)
Thinking About:
- PuddleJumpers - Long Narrative
- Tumult - Issue 1
If you see anything mentioned in the summary or have any questions about what I write, feel free to drop me a message and ask!
In Production:
The Clear Skies one-shot continues to move forward at a pleasing pace. Vicky has made the process very accessible and the concept art she's produced has me really excited to see what she does now we're moving into sequential pages.
Vicky's concept art for PuddleJumpers
This is my first time taking concepts in a script and having someone else convert them to actual accompanying images, and I'm learning a lot from the process. One of the most pleasing parts so far has been how interactive the process feels. Not just in the literal back-and-forth with Vicky about small changes, but also in the way that an artists impression elicits new creative responses from me about the work.
For example: When working up concepts for one of the character's plane (an important extension of their personality) Vicky drew several planes with a line running from the tail to the cockpit. I said it looked cool, and that the pilot in question would probably run some flags along it. Vicky obliged with the second drawing but added light bulbs as well. This immediately made me think of night market stalls and I started to think about how gathered PuddleJumpers could form bright, temporary markets together where they promoted their individual specialities.
This kind of world expansion feels really warm and alive to me. Probably because it's the result of a collaborative relationship. I've had dozens of these small interactions and learning moments in the short time I've been working with Vicky. It is tremendous for both keeping my energy up with the current project while also generating ideas for future ones. I already have a second short in the works as a result of some other concept art that I'll show off in a future post.
Thinking About
There's a longer script already in the works for the same PuddleJumpers setting. But I anticipate it being a longer project which builds on the world and characters which I introduce and explore in the one-shots. This is partially a practical exercise. The outline for the longer narrative is already suggesting it'll be over 100 pages long (though I will find economies as I write it I'm sure). And, honestly, that represents an expense I cannot take on in the same way I can with these shorter-one-shots. So I've turned that work down to a simmer while I focus on getting stuff done and out in the world.
On a similar backburn because of its scale is the conversion of my prose manuscript set in the city of Tumult. I talked more about it in a previous post:
I love this story and the setting is one of my favourite I've ever come up with. And on top of that I'm finding the practical exercise of converting prose to comic script to be the best kind of challenge. I'll write more about that once I'm a little further along. Hopefully with some side-by-side comparisons (if I can bring myself to share the prose).
Lots more concept art to share, and next time I post I'll possibly have some sequential work to hand as well. So if you'd like to follow along and learn with me, sign up to get all posts straight to your email.
Until next time!
Alex.