(no subject)
Yeah, I decided to work on restarting UA. I got an idea for a beginning that would better encompass the point of the story and decided to go with it. Yes, for once I said "fuck the time of night" and "fuck not having paper nearby", and just sat down and put the planning process into action. Apologies for the fucked up colors, scroll down past the comic for the dialogue.
Dialogue:
P1: U: Yo wubdog! You're home early today! W: and I can see you've been working hard as ever.
P2: U: What can I say? I work hard at having fulfilling relationships, and you work hard at being terminally lonely.
P3: W: ... where are your glasses? ... ... does he know you wear glasses?
P4: U: W-well, you know, I don't really NEED them, it's uhm, nice to go without sometimes... RG: You wear glasses? That's nothing to be ashamed of! I actually think glasses are cute! U: err, y-yeah... W: How long have you even known eachother?
P5: U: uhm... a few days now, maybe? W: Fucking WONDERFUL, when's the wedding? Next THURSDAY maybe? Does he even know you just got out of a relationship? You're a MENACE to geeky men everywhere, you know that?
P6: RG: Is everything okay? we weren't making out on his couch or anything, were we? U: Everything's okay, but you should probably take this time to leave. RG: Okay, but, you will call me later, right? U: Of course I will, you didn't do anything wrong here.
P7: RG: you still have my number, right? U: Of course. RG: If you need to call, don't worry about the time. U: thanks, I will. RG: I can get back here within 15 minutes if necessary. U: Good to know. W: I'll be in the kitchen.
P8: RG: I can bring a shotgun if you need me to. U: I appreciate it. RG: I've also got a few big friends- U: thank you. RG: stay strong. U: seeya.
I'm trying something different, of course. I decided that I wanted to give the story a more direct premise in some ways, to keep it running smoothly. The actual events of the page were pre-planned, then I forgot them after the first two panels, and so I made them up as I went along. I do enjoy the characterizations here - no one is outrightly shown as malicious or dysfunctional, and yet it becomes obvious as the comic goes on what the situation is from multiple perspectives. I don't know if I'll have time, but I will try to get this to the inking stage tomorrow, as well as plan out the next few comics, hopefully.
It's weird, but while some things are blatantly fictional for the purpose of showing the difference between the characters and their real counterparts(I have never tried to hide the fact that I wear glasses, for example), these representations are also more similar to the real incarnations than they've ever been in previous comics.
My biggest qualm is that I want UA to stay light, and so I wanted to begin it with something wacky. This is very much non-wacky, and I don't want people to assume that relationships are the major focus of the comic. Though they are part of it, it's mostly about the weird messed up shit that happens when things go sour. We'll see. Aaanyway. Most of this is temporary and just basic laying out the layout, laying out the basic contents and angles of each panel... still have a sketch phase or two to indulge before inking.
Yes, the "movie" style panels as you get further on are intended, I'm thinking about trying them more often. As I started getting towards the end, I began to run out of steam and couldn't focus on what I was doing. C'est la vie. Yes, I know that's an uncommonly large amount of panels. I rather like it, though, and I'll see how long it lasts. I want to draw them like an actual comic book, so that each page follows the next and looks like it does, instead of each page being its own contained story. Not sure if they'll be in color, though I imagine some kind of shading might have to be implemented... These're only meant to replace the original 5 or so pages that began UA, anything from the killing game arc done is still canon and may get redrawn, but will still be the same story-wise. If you don't know what I'm talking about... guess you'll find out.