July '05 Issue 3
Welcome All!
It's that time once again where Quodd gets all too bored and posts on his live journal.
In this issue Quodd posts a short teaser of his up and coming 'Final Post' special (yea you UBSAD people know what I'm talking about). He also talks in third person simply because he's dosed up to his eyes in Flu tablets and a whole lotta Energy drinks (You know the sort that make my legs hurt like hell when I overdose on them). Finally, he may bitch about his life (HA! You'd need a team of genetically engineered steers to drag it outta me!).
Did I mention he was dosed on Energy drinks? EXTREME!
I suppose most of you are thinking 'Oh man! Quodd's going finally post some of his art! Sweet Beans!' Well just to let you know in advance, I'm not. I am, for one -not- an artist, at least not in the traditional sense. Although doodling is a hobby of mine, I've not bothered to do anything serious about it -yet-. Especially when I have talented friends to mooch off (Some, at a price).
No today I am going to post a little written teaser, a morsel of information that hints to bigger and greater things and that morsel is:
"There are those who aren't really alive"
Yea all that build up for one vague crummy line, I'm such a bastard. However to make it all up to you UBSAD people I'll give you all the following report:
Project 'Final Post' Report 09/06/05
I have discovered of late that trying to Draw up a storyboard with no real written down plot or script as reference can be quite difficult. Don't get me wrong it can be done that way no real problem, however you tend to run into problems with flow and scene confusion quite easily and without any real reference you find that you are chopping and changing far more then when you actually having a written reference. So after my rather spirited jumping into storyboarding I decided that I would actually need some sort of process so that I could avoid the majority of problems I was facing.
(Tip: Thank the lord I had the incite to use post it notes to scribble down frames on post-it note, it's saved me a lot more grief then if I did all the frames on a single A4 sized piece of paper the ability to easily move frames about was heaven sent - Thank you Genndy Tartakovsky and the Star Wars clone wars DVD extras for that wonderful idea.)
The process I decided is as follows:
1. Write a plot - since this little project is an adaptation of the currently on going (but presently paused) Ultimate Misadventures of Screaming Apocalyptic Doom! (Formally known as the Bish story). Pages and pages of plot is unnecessary, however this isn't called the 'Final Post' for nothing so it is a 'Post' that has yet to be 'Posted' so a small 'Post' would have to been written first to see where in the world was heading. To say the least this small 'Post' turned out to be something huge. This is the point I am presently stuck on, I've started writing this thing as I would have normally if I was going to post it, only to realize a paragraph in, that it didn't matter how I wrote the thing since I was the only one that was bloody well going to see it. So after wasting a good hour or so of my time, I scrapped it (by scrapped I mean save to disk and open another document) and started a new one, which I'm about an eighth of the way through. Go me!
2. Write a Script - pretty self explanatory, with what notes I wrote as the plot I turn it into a script format. I don't exactly have to do it this way and could completely skip the step had I wanted. But I like structure and processes and damnit this will make the transition from text to pencil and ink so much easier!
3. The Storyboard - aka the thing I jumped into head first without thinking (I tend to do that a lot). At this stage of the project I doodle tiny little badly drawn scenes or frames if you will, on a bit of post-it note and stick them in some chronological order on a bit of A4 sized paper. Why do this you ask, simple; it makes life easier. Rather then go straight to drawing a rough of the comic, and having to redraw it over and over again when you make a mistake or there's a scene you don't particularly like\need. Whipping up a nice little storyboard helps you see the comic before it is a comic, you can quickly mix-match frames as much as you like, remove a whole frame if you don't like it and it doesn't impact the storyboard as a whole. Definitely a time saver.
3.5. Hire an Artist - For Great Justice (aka my laziness)
4. The Rough - well now that we have some idea on how the comic is going to look like plot wise it's time we got into the rough layout of the comic. This is where you make those tiny square frames into something fancy with, like, fancy border shapes and stuff, as well as having things out of frames and speech bubbles! Like, totally awesome! Since we already have the frames drawn down on a bits 'o post-it note it should make it a lot easer to visualise how the comic is going to look, and flow. As well as how the frames will be organised, decided how much space a frame should take and how obscure you decide to make it. This is the point where you can get away with adding a little detail to the comic as well as final changes and editing. Come up with something reasonably presentable and continue.
5. The Final Product - Get out your copies of Photoshop boys and girls (OMFG Grrls!!1!) Because this is where the fun begins, you make a really good copy of you rough and, however you like to do the inking -Photoshop or the good old way with pens and brushes-, ink it. Scan. Add speech bubbles (for the love of God and all that is holy remember to leave adequate room for the speech bubble in your rough) and the speech, post and enjoy. Funnily enough the final is probably the easiest step in the process since you've done the majority of the hard work in the previous steps.
Well other then that and playing PSOBB; that is where I'm currently at. Yes I know it may not seem much but making a detailed plan of what you are doing and actually writing it down can take a bit of time. That and I am a perfectionist that has a habit of constantly scrapping things and starting from scratch.
END Report\What turned out to be a guide
And now for what you all are really here for, me bitching!
I want a Girlfriend because I need a cold beer.
Thank you and goodnight
P.S At the end of this post like I predicted my legs began to hurt.