I want to call a catholic priest and tell him to exercise the spirit of a dead chicken
^actual conversation I had
ONTO THE POST
Sadly the image is too big for most places and the only place i could upload the thing is devart so here: https://quonit37.deviantart.com/art/Stomping-is-Bad-743073552?ga_submit_new=10%3A1525233156
ONTO THE BREAKDOWN
Hunter called back to him after some time. She sounded uncharacteristically worried. “…Um. I don’t know if this means anything but…um. Okay. He’s awake, I’m sure of it, but…he’s not talking to me. Or responding. Like. At all.”
Actually, for the first 3 or 4 frames or so i tried to do this in a different comic format (my normal one... just one box, then another box, so-on). I have them saved still.
For the first one I didn't know how to draw him at allI had Juan a lot more surprised than in the final one. I thought it might fit but I was unhappy with it... It just didn't really stick. I didn't like how he looked and the surprise looked too dramatic. Whenever I start doubting myself on art saying "it doesn't look right" I remind myself that it is still impressive and good... but I just wasn't happy with any of the new frames. And this was supposed to be a gift, right? I wanted me to be happy with it. I broke my rule and redrew it all and I am happy.
(I forgot to put back the speech bubble but it was there)
This one has a much bigger change from the original to the final. I didn't like the sideshot (I was terrible at them, DOING THIS COMIC TAUGHT ME HOW :D) and it just didn't feel right. Like, shouldn't hunter be in the frame? what couldn't I do that triangle thing and make her fit in there if i'm going to insist on keeping Juan? why does it look so weird?
I like the new one soooo much more and I was so happy with how Hunter looked in it I actually sent it to Bardic Feline- WHO I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE KEEPING THE FINAL RESULT OF WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE FROM HER. I was very happy.
Neeext
“FUCK.” Juan didn’t wait for her to say anything else, he just ran into the alley and crouched down next to the pair. If Hunter objected to this, he didn’t hear.
Decided not to censor myself. Sorry anybody who gives a shit.
With that third one, I almost actually considered using the original one. Out of the three I drew it looked the best... though after finishing the redo of two of them I decided against it. I could do better, and I've proved myself that.
Also, the little picture in the corner of the first one!
...Notice anything different?
THE LINES ARE COLORED
I actually drew this right as I was coloring the fourth one because I finished reading "Words and Gestures" and figured out more of why Juan was SO DISTRAUGHT about Sha's behavior. I liked that torn pieces of paper memory thing Zarla did and thought it's be cool and easy to add in. I was very proud of the results.
The lines are colored because when I started drawing it I forgot I wasn't supposed to do that, but then I thought "WELL THIS ISN'T EXACTLY WITH THE REST OF THE COMIC AND IT LOOKS GREAT SO WHY THE HELL NOT?". This may be my favorite part of the comic.
Now if I could change and redraw any part of the comic it would be this... but, I don't think it looks bad! Actually, it's really good, it's just my least favorite...
It took me a few refferences to get the running pose right and in the end i think it turned out alright. The tear looks weird compared to the rest, but i think that's alright too... few other minor things but really it looks good.
ALSO THE SPIKES FROM THE LAST FRAME. I forgot to talk about the spikes then. I wanted to make the comic look cool and have stuff like frames that aren't just boxes and stuff in the boxes to make it ~have the right feel~. SPIKES COOL.
Sha was more or less awake, as Hunter had said, and even partially sitting up. His eyes were open, too, but there was no light in them. He was staring dully down at Juan’s jacket, which he was clutching tightly in his mangled hands. It was horribly stained with blood from his right hand; it was still seeping, oozing through the filthy, ragged bandages. He had blood around his mouth, too, though Juan was too distracted to think about where that might have come from.
“No…no. Nononooo…Mage-y…” Juan grabbed Sha by the biceps and squeezed him gently. The cured’s thin arms were cold to the touch. He didn’t look up.
The knot in Juan’s stomach tightened. “Mage-y, no…no…look at me, please, please, say something, don’t do this…”
Sha did not respond.
Scratch that THIS IS THE BEST. Spikes and other stuff, makes it ~feel right~ or whatever. Also Sha. GREEN EYES, NO GLOW, THIS SAD. Juan stressed, tears look pretty good here, SO DO SPEECH BUBBLES. Those look wonderful. This is the point I decided to use my own handwriting instead of a font (I went back and fixed the others to be the same) because 1 i could get the right ~feeling~ across and 2 IT WAS SO MUCH EASIER TO FIT IN A SPEECH BUBBLE. Hunter looked great and I actually moved the speech bubbled so that more of her was visible. I got the spikes and other black stuff to cover up her and her speech bubble because ~it goes with the narrative and presents it well visually~.
It was too much for Juan. Half screaming, half sobbing, he SHOOK the red-head, pleading, begging, ORDERING him to answer. He completely ignored Hunter’s attempts to make him stop, to quiet him down. Juan could not help it. It was just too much…too much like back then. Sha was acting too much like how he acted after Tory died.
“DAMMIT SHA DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE ME AGAIN. ANSWER ME OR SO HELP ME GOD I WILL BURN EVERY LAST ONE OF YOUR BORING ASS TEXT BOOKS, AND I WILL MAKE YOU WATCH WHILE I DO IT.”
WOO i love the paper thing it is great. Sure this isn't a memory but IT FITS AND IT LOOKED COOL.
But aside from that... I'm really proud of these two. I wanted to make that frame look kinda like when your vision is blurry. I even asked a few friends while I was making it. It looks, REALLY GOOD IN MY OPINION. The text also... but Juan also looks good! The tears look sweet and he looks pretty freaked the hell out like he should be so I think I won!
The second one was supposed be like snapping back or something idk but it also looks good. Also at one point I tried to put a font in that speech bubble behind him and died.
Something Juan said or did must have gotten through to Sha. Maybe he wasn’t as far gone as he’d been the last time, or maybe it was simply enough to threaten his books. Either way, he blinked, shuddered, and finally looked up.
“…Juan?” he said, after another agonizing pause.
“Y-yeah.” Under any other circumstance, he would have been tempted to point out the fact that Sha had omitted the ‘Mr.’, but he was still too shaken up for that.
yessss Sha. While drawing both of these I complained so much about "WHY THE HELL DOESN'T SHA THINK HE IS ADORABLE HE IS THE MOST PRECIOUS BABY ON EARTH AND SHOULD BE TOLD SO". He is a princess.
Otherwise, that first one I was trying to sketch it to see how I wanted to lay it out and one of the things I sketched was that, at that weird angle, that all the EXTREMELY EXPERIENCED artists complain about how people do it wrong, everything like that, and I asked a few friends and they ALL said to do it. It looks awesome. I love it.
The only thing I had a lot of trouble with is Sha's month... I just gave up on that.
For the second one: WOOP SHA IS STILL ADORABLE. I am very proud. And Juan looks good... haha. The thing is when drawing him without everything else he did indeed look bad, but I kept at it and SEE IT LOOKS GOOD tears awesome still.
Sha stared at him for another long moment. There was an odd look on his face. Trembling, he reached out (with his less injured left hand), and prodded Juan’s chest cautiously. “Pink?” He murmured, almost too softly to be heard. He prodded Juan a few more times, in an exploratory fashion. The light was slowly coming back into his eyes.
Derp these ones were hard and wow haha. DERP. It looks kinda funny if you don't have the narritive with it but you know what SHA LOOKS PERTY and Juan looks great and it gets the point across and it looks GOOD.
The comic is done
BUT NOT MY RAMBLING
NOW I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE BACKGROUNDS don't worry it's short.
TRASH hehe. Experimented with random tools. I like this one. I even did it before the redraw so extra points.
I also did this was before the redraw. I was trying to draw what was behind Juan because I needed one and sadly there was no trash can. just trash.
Hi trash can! we see this one the least because it only appears in the blurry shots and Juan takes up the whole frame but woop it works. We see it less so i didn't add as much detail. Just the trash.
LAST ONE AND IT'S BORING but it is very useful.
THAT IS ALL PLEASE GIVE ME ESSAYS ON WHAT YOU ALL THINK BECAUSE I WORKED VERY HARD ON IT :D