More about inspiration and Estreya
Inspiration hits me alot during this time of the year. About March up until July, there's a drought of creative ideas that happens. I think I've admitted that.
Everytime it hits, I don't feel the urge to do anything creative. Not even lift a single pencil. Heck, the only reason why I think I passed my Drawing 1 class this past Spring was because I forced myself to go to class and do most of the exercises. No rest for the wicked I'm afraid, but nevertheless, after the drought, I always feel that I want to come back and do creative things again. The creation of two comic ideas and storylines this month, for instance, is a good example.
I usually listen to a lot of non-American songs to get inspiration, and that's how Estreya was born. I was listening to "All The Things She Said" by t.a.t.u. many, many times while in the car. Then, all of a sudden, a vision occurs to me that fleshes out a little bit, but wanes away. During this time, I try to figure out what I saw and its potential for interest and there, I usually write the rest of the story down when I get home. But the shift from this song changes as soon as I listen to Shiina Ringo's Shuukyou, which fit Estreya's very mysterious, deceptive feel.
I mostly listen to only ONE particular song based on what the comic is. For Xanny's Curse, I love listening to "Rainy Days Never Stays" by the brilliant green. It is a song that reflects most of the moods that XC evokes, but not necessarily all of it.
Estreya is a departure from both XC and VSB in many, many ways. I think most of my work really revolves around "What if a certain movie idea was taken quite a bit further than what they could show on the movie screen?" because my work seems to not be confined within a two hour setting. Like the audience, I try to dwelve and live in the lives of my characters. In this, I am creating a world that I and everyone else reading my material can enjoy. Unfortunately, we're only human - and to reitterate what I've said earlier, you can only handle two comics at a time... with a weekly update for both.
So now, I shelve Estreya in the hopes of reopening the pages and designs to be able to do them later. I love Estreya, but I feel that though I might wanna shop around for a good artist for it, that I'd much rather do it myself. I must learn the fine art of webcomicry and not rely too much on other people's help.
Don't worry, for people interested in Estreya, I will introduce its main characters, Martika and Saya, fairly soon... not in XC, but as a temp update probably for VSB while you wait for the site to update.