EFTW brainstorming post
... is it just me, or is the opening theme to ChalkZone really awesome?
... errr, no wait. That's not what I was going to post.
Right! So I decided that I'm going to put together a character bible for EvilFTW. The sort you pitch a cartoon series with. The reason for this is, with all this free time on my hands, and my excitement over Adventure Time and Regular Show (and the implication that this means Cartoon Network is going back to their old way of doing things-- that is, making quality cartoons), part of me kind of wants to act on my old dream of making EFTW a cartoon series. On the other hand, I'm not really sure if I'm ready for that sort of thing. But I figure, ready or not, there's no harm in writing up a character bible. Then, when I'm done, I can either do something serious with it, or just show it to people and giggle about it. No sweat.
So first I had to clamp down on a drawing style for this hypothetical cartoon. I figured no fancy stuff with the lines or shading-- as a newcomer to the industry, I probably don't want to strain my hypothetical budget! Plus, let's face it, there's a simple charm to flat colors and thin lines. I also had to find a nice balance between my anime and American influences. Hopefully neither one overpowers the other? Either way, I like this look.
As for the story itself, it occurred to me that the original story from the blog can't really be preserved exactly if I want to make this kid-friendly (and I do-- no Adult Swim for me). For instance, Ipati's whole plot arc would have to be removed because I can't imagine parents (or network executives) would approve of a sympathetic gay character, or of how he dies. And then, certain parts of the Reza arcs would need to change-- Xeno's injury in that one fight would have to be made less bloody, but then that would lose its impact... and so on. So instead of trying to water things down, I'd much rather just start from scratch and do something new.
Besides, who wants to do the same thing twice anyway?
So here's my ideas so far. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
First of all, let's age down the main characters. If I'm trying to appeal to kids and teens, a story about college kids might be too hard to relate to. Instead, I'll put Selan and Selanio in high school, and Xeno can get put back in college. This is one thing that really gets me excited-- it opens up all sorts of plot possibilities, and it's kind of fun to think of how Selan and Selanio fit into high school society. Selanio, I think, would be at the top of the pecking order-- popular and the like. He's student body president for the Junior class, not because he's cut out for the job, but because he likes power and he's popular enough to get votes. Selan, on the other hand, is a nerdy unpopular Sophomore. This lets me work her whole bullying issues into the present, letting me do plenty of character development right in the story instead of it being in the past like in the current iteration of EFTW. Tavvy and Cath go to the same school too. They're Seniors, and kind of exist outside of the popular-unpopular spectrum. They just kind of stay out of the way of that stuff. Tavvy's in the art club, as is Selan, so that's how they meet and become buddies.
I figure Selan probably can't live with the boys in this version. Certain oversensitive parents would probably object to a high school girl living with two men. I'm not going to bother bringing her parents into the equation though, because that would require "let's hide the villain thing from my parents" plots, and I just don't want to do contrived stuff like that. In the current iteration of EFTW it's already canon that Selan spent her Senior year of high school living on her own, as her parents had to move to Los Angeles or Detroit or some such city for a job and they didn't want her living somewhere with so much pollution (they worry about her health more than they really should), so they just paid for her to live on her own. So I'll just extend that to her whole high school experience. So Selan'll have a little apartment to herself. She'll have a cute little cat! Haven't decided yet if Selanio and Xeno'll live together or not. Maybe they will. Cuz they're bros. You know.
Ipati will appear, probably earlier in the story than before. Instead of having his own plot arc, he'll probably just be a character who shows up now and then. Which means he probably won't die, yaaay! I'll also probably vaguely hint at his being gay for Xeno, but obviously I can't state it outright. It's okay though. I know fans will catch the hint. They always do ~.^
I still have to figure out the roles other characters will have to play. I know Clovis will appear-- I think I might convert his drinking and smoking problem into a soda and lollipop addiction. Both because I know the older viewers will realize what I'm getting at, and also because it's kind of hilarious to have the series' most mature character have such a childish addiction. But besides that I'm pretty undecided on everyone.
Oh, and Selan's name'll have to change, as having one character named Selan and one named Selanio is kind of confusing... and they're not even related! I'd like her to have a name starting with a K sound... Kari, maybe? Kari Hagues? Hmmmm.
That's all the ideas I've got so far. Throw ideas at me!
... errr, no wait. That's not what I was going to post.
Right! So I decided that I'm going to put together a character bible for EvilFTW. The sort you pitch a cartoon series with. The reason for this is, with all this free time on my hands, and my excitement over Adventure Time and Regular Show (and the implication that this means Cartoon Network is going back to their old way of doing things-- that is, making quality cartoons), part of me kind of wants to act on my old dream of making EFTW a cartoon series. On the other hand, I'm not really sure if I'm ready for that sort of thing. But I figure, ready or not, there's no harm in writing up a character bible. Then, when I'm done, I can either do something serious with it, or just show it to people and giggle about it. No sweat.
So first I had to clamp down on a drawing style for this hypothetical cartoon. I figured no fancy stuff with the lines or shading-- as a newcomer to the industry, I probably don't want to strain my hypothetical budget! Plus, let's face it, there's a simple charm to flat colors and thin lines. I also had to find a nice balance between my anime and American influences. Hopefully neither one overpowers the other? Either way, I like this look.
As for the story itself, it occurred to me that the original story from the blog can't really be preserved exactly if I want to make this kid-friendly (and I do-- no Adult Swim for me). For instance, Ipati's whole plot arc would have to be removed because I can't imagine parents (or network executives) would approve of a sympathetic gay character, or of how he dies. And then, certain parts of the Reza arcs would need to change-- Xeno's injury in that one fight would have to be made less bloody, but then that would lose its impact... and so on. So instead of trying to water things down, I'd much rather just start from scratch and do something new.
Besides, who wants to do the same thing twice anyway?
So here's my ideas so far. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
First of all, let's age down the main characters. If I'm trying to appeal to kids and teens, a story about college kids might be too hard to relate to. Instead, I'll put Selan and Selanio in high school, and Xeno can get put back in college. This is one thing that really gets me excited-- it opens up all sorts of plot possibilities, and it's kind of fun to think of how Selan and Selanio fit into high school society. Selanio, I think, would be at the top of the pecking order-- popular and the like. He's student body president for the Junior class, not because he's cut out for the job, but because he likes power and he's popular enough to get votes. Selan, on the other hand, is a nerdy unpopular Sophomore. This lets me work her whole bullying issues into the present, letting me do plenty of character development right in the story instead of it being in the past like in the current iteration of EFTW. Tavvy and Cath go to the same school too. They're Seniors, and kind of exist outside of the popular-unpopular spectrum. They just kind of stay out of the way of that stuff. Tavvy's in the art club, as is Selan, so that's how they meet and become buddies.
I figure Selan probably can't live with the boys in this version. Certain oversensitive parents would probably object to a high school girl living with two men. I'm not going to bother bringing her parents into the equation though, because that would require "let's hide the villain thing from my parents" plots, and I just don't want to do contrived stuff like that. In the current iteration of EFTW it's already canon that Selan spent her Senior year of high school living on her own, as her parents had to move to Los Angeles or Detroit or some such city for a job and they didn't want her living somewhere with so much pollution (they worry about her health more than they really should), so they just paid for her to live on her own. So I'll just extend that to her whole high school experience. So Selan'll have a little apartment to herself. She'll have a cute little cat! Haven't decided yet if Selanio and Xeno'll live together or not. Maybe they will. Cuz they're bros. You know.
Ipati will appear, probably earlier in the story than before. Instead of having his own plot arc, he'll probably just be a character who shows up now and then. Which means he probably won't die, yaaay! I'll also probably vaguely hint at his being gay for Xeno, but obviously I can't state it outright. It's okay though. I know fans will catch the hint. They always do ~.^
I still have to figure out the roles other characters will have to play. I know Clovis will appear-- I think I might convert his drinking and smoking problem into a soda and lollipop addiction. Both because I know the older viewers will realize what I'm getting at, and also because it's kind of hilarious to have the series' most mature character have such a childish addiction. But besides that I'm pretty undecided on everyone.
Oh, and Selan's name'll have to change, as having one character named Selan and one named Selanio is kind of confusing... and they're not even related! I'd like her to have a name starting with a K sound... Kari, maybe? Kari Hagues? Hmmmm.
That's all the ideas I've got so far. Throw ideas at me!