This is my last week before I go into the second part of my hiatus, which will be three weeks long. We have Friday off so it looks like I’ll be going into my hiatus a day early.
I managed to finish all my board work by Monday. Tuesday, instead of laying out the Couch Gag as I was suppose to do, I was given layout work on Act 2. We do layout on a different program than the storyboards so it took me a bit to get used to working on the program again. Since we have Friday off, I really have to make sure I get everything done by the end of today.
VIDEOS
THE SAGA OF BIORN is a fantastic Bachelor film project from The Animation Workshop. It’s funny, fun, well animated, well acted, with incredible designs. I’m just amazed:
MY WEB COMIC
The finished page 1 of the new Black Terror Kid comic:
Last week, I put up a rough of page one. This week I thought I would show you the tools I use to make my comics:
Well, sometimes I tend to use a regular Color erase red pencil to do under drawing work and a mechanical pencil for clarifying. Other times, I just go straight in with the mechanical pencil (lead 0.7). For erasers I use a white rubber eraser and an ever so useful kneaded eraser (can’t live with one). I also use a green or a blue pencil when putting in my perceptive grid and a transparent ruler to do any straight lines during the penciling stage:
For inking, on the other hand, I use all kinds of fun stuff.
I don’t like using felt tip pens when I ink comics. I use them all the time otherwise, but not on my comics. I like to use dip pens, brushes and my non felt tip brush pen. So here are my tools:
By FAR my favorite tool is the Pentel refillable brush pen. I use it for EVERYTHING. Including field sketching. My comic was 90% inked with this pen. I LOVE IT!
If you’ve never heard of it, the pen has a synthetic brush on it and you unscrew the base to input an ink cartridge. It’s fantastic. I had to put in a new cartridge, half way though my inking. It was half full when I began.
The rest of my tools are a LOT more traditional. Quills, dip pens, brushes, and ink.
1. The ink is Pelikan black ink. It’s not as black as I would like but it’s better than the Higgins ink I was using before. Problem with the Pelikan is that it’s a bit pricey.
2. These are the nibs I use to letter with.
A. Hunt dome point. (which I forgot I had and didn’t use this time. I sure could have used it).
B. Speedball A-5 was used for all the letters in the balloons except for the bold lettering. It’s the smallest Speedball nib and the “A” series has a square tip. Speedball nibs are interesting because they really retain a lot of ink. It takes a long time for them to run out once dipped.
C. Speedball B-4 was used for all the bold text. The “B” series has a round tip.
3. Speedball B-3, I used to draw the border and the word balloons. The Speedball nibs are good when you want your line to stay the same width the whole time. No thick and thin effect. I didn’t use any rulers when inking my work so these came in handy.
4. Gillett #170 nib was used mostly for lettering slightly smaller letters, like the ones on the signs. I also used it when inking a scratchy sound effect in page 3. It unfortunately cut into the paper on a page and caused a smudge to happen when I erased the pencil lines two days later.
5. Not sure what the technical term for this one is, Gillett 291 perhaps? In any case, this tiny little crow quill was the first kind of ink pen I ever used. My parent gave me one when I was in Junior High. I rarely use it now but it DID come in REALLY handy when inking tiny little details. Like The Black Terror Kid’s skull and crossbones logo on his outfit.
6. An old beat up brush I’ve had for years. It’s tip is all crooked. Once upon a time, I used it to ink with, now I all I do with it is fill in big areas with black ink.
Hope you liked the small tour of my tools.
WRITING
Didn’t get much done on my “Illustrated Film” this week. I started revising the treatment but the Magick system I came up is different enough, that I have to really rework some of the fight scenes. Including the first attack upon Rob. He is no longer going be dodging fireballs. I made it so that the Sorcerers now use blood magick and sacrifice animals to make their magick work. It’s a bit less “practical” to do. I’m still working on it. I’ll keep you posted.
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The last show I worked on before I left the show was the show that stars Neil Gaiman. I really like his stories so I had fun working on the show. It’s one of my favorite shows of this season.
I’m now on a one week break and then I go back to work next week. I had originally thought I was going to be out for two weeks but I guess I’m not. When I return to work, it will be for two weeks. I’ll be revising the last show of the season. Once that’s done, I’ll be out of work for three weeks. I might open myself up for commissions, I haven’t decided yet. Especially since I’ve never done it before and I don’t know if anyone would be interested.
MY WEEK
I’ve been very busy this week. Besides working on my new BLACK TERROR KID comic, I’ve also taken on yet another job. This time it’s for my wife. She has an 85,000 work novel manuscript she’s finished and has been sending it around to agents. She’s had a few close calls but not bites yet. She’s decided to e-publish the book herself. She now needs a cover for her book, so I’ve volunteered to help her with that.
Monday we had a friend of her’s come over to model a photo shoot. That took up a lot of time. I hope to get started on that cover soon.
VIDEOS/ART
The very beginning of this video has one of my favorite artists Jean Giraud (a.k.a. Moebius) drawing on a Cintiq. The man is (as of the time of this writing) 73 and is a master of his craft. The best part about it, is simply seeing his process. Being a master draftsman, he could have simply drawn directly what he wanted, but he didn’t. The piece he draws is a bit more involved and so he chose to not only put in a perspective grid, but he also drew a quick, rough under drawing of what the wanted to draw.
Why do I point this out? Because after so many years of drawing and being a master draftsman, he STILL relies on the basics. I’ve experience, to often, fellow artists who have been professionally drawing for over ten or twenty years that seems to scoff at the idea that they need to put down a perceptive grid or set down an under drawing because they think they are masters themselves after so many years of drawing. Yet I doubt anyone of them has as much experience as Jean Giraud and HE still uses them. If it’s good enough for him, why not us? Are we better draftsmen then he?
WRITING
Alright, before I begin, I have to apologize to everyone who has read my treatment so far. I have recently reread the whole thing since I first wrote it and discovered how awful the writing in it is. Again, I apologize. It’s all written in a stream of consciousness sort of way and I guess I hadn’t realized how reader unfriendly it actually is. The problem is that I didn’t really want to labor over it too much, since:
it’s not the final product, just a guide for myself, and
it’s the first draft.
My hope is that the ideas presented are good enough for you to realize what I’m after, even though the prose style is completely awful.
Okay so, on with what I did with this part:
After beating my head against the wall writing action, this last scene was a piece of cake. It was pretty straight forward.
I developed the hot dog vendor a bit more here. Gave me ideas for sight gags.
If you read the synopsis below, you’ll notice it’s a bit different than the final treatment. It’s basically the same thing, just in a slightly different way. There’s only so much planning you can do. You have let the story do it’s own thing:
Scene 9 (Thought/Actuality)
Rob puts down his weapon, walks away. He helps the other Sorcerers up and then starts picking up his things, which are now all over the destroyed area they fought on. By the time he’s done, the Sorcerers are gone. When he begins to walk away, the hot dog vendor calls out to him. He has two hot dogs for him, seemingly bought by the Lead Sorcerer. (Resolution)
Outdoor Shopping Area – Day concluded
The Sorcerer stares at Rob as he walks away. How dare he say those things. Who does he think he is? How DARE he. After the MERCY he has shown to Rob. The nerve. This shall not stand!
The Sorcerer begins to cast a spell. He’s going to strike Rob down once and for all.
Rob kneels down to check on his raven friend. He doesn’t notice what’s going on behind him. The hammer has since returned to it’s minuscule size. The raven seems to just be stunned. It blinks up and squawks happily at Rob. He looks a bit scuffled but otherwise, he’s okay.
The Sorcerer aims and is about to strike. But stalls just a bit too long and sees the way Rob treats his bird. He thinks about what Rob said. He looks around at his companions. One is still knocked out and the other is so self involved with himself sobbing, he hasn’t even checked on the woman he’s supposed to have a crush on. He sees the destruction around him. He looks at his hands ready with the spell. He takes a long look at himself and reflects on what’s happened in the last few minutes. He’s about to strike a man in the back. He drops his hands and doesn’t cast the spell. He hates to admit it, but Rob was right. The injustice was theirs.
Rob gets up and takes the raven over to his backpack. He sets him down and the raven shakes itself. Rob unzips a pocket in his pack and takes out some gauze, tape and disinfectant. He begins to apply the disinfectant and cleans his wounds. Once done, he wraps up the wounds. He doesn’t manage to wrap them all up, but he gets enough of them. He then puts the disinfectant away and unzips another part of his pack. He reaches in and takes out a clean shirt. He carefully puts it on. The process is obviously painful. He dearly wishes the Sorcerers would just leave him alone. He doesn’t have a lot of clothes to spare. When he gets a chance, he’ll have to change his ripped up pants also.
He zips up his pack, painfully gets up, and delicately puts the pack on. He forces himself to look around for the Sorcerers. They are gone. There’s no sign of them. Good riddance. His stomach grumbles and he feels the hunger again. He sighs. It’s bad enough he feels the pain all over the outside of his body, but he still has the pain on the inside and he can’t do anything about it. Maybe he could find a water fountain somewhere to fill his belly. He calls to the raven who gingerly lands on his shoulder and he begins to walk out the of the shopping area.
He hadn’t taken two steps before he hears someone call out to him. He turns to see that it’s the hot dog vendor in his stall. Miraculously, the stall survived the chaos of the fight, unscathed. Rob goes over to the stall. The hot dog vendor hands him two hot dogs on a plate. The hot dog vendor still has the same expression and attitude as he did earlier. It’s as if the crazy fight and the destruction around him, hadn’t happened. He tells Rob that the hot dogs are his.
Rob asks the vendor if it’s a gift from him?
The vendor looks scandalized and denies the accusation as if he’d been insulted. He tells Rob the hot dogs were bought for him by the skinny guy with the eighties pompadour. Rob looks around again for the Sorcerer but he’s no where in sight.
The vendor asks Rob if he’s going to take the hot dogs. If he isn’t, he’ll just throw them away.
Rob looks down at the hot dogs. What if it’s a trap? What if they are poisoned or worse?
The vendor takes them and says he’s tossing them. Rob stops him. He’s so hungry he doesn’t care. He asks for them. The vendor hands the hot dogs over. Rob asks the vendor why he’s so calm after what just happened. The vendor tell Rob he grew up in — El Salvador and that he’s seen worse. Rob just kinda thinks oookay and then turns and walks away.
He looks down at the hot dogs and his mouth begins to water. He wonders what made the Sorcerer buy him the hot dog. Perhaps, this is a sign of good things to come. He smiles. He walks over to the fountain and sits down on one of the walls that surround it. He tells the raven there’s enough for each of them. He hands the raven a hot dog and takes one himself. He takes a bite.
Best thing he’s ever tasted. Life is awesome.
THE END
At this point, it’s tricky for me to say how much out of story “business” like the hot dog vendor should be in the final story. On the other hand, he’s kind of important since he give Rob the hot dogs.
Okay, so the next thing there’s left for me to do is figure out a good magick system. Once I do that, I’ll rewrite the parts of the treatment that are effected by the new system. I’m so glad I’m finally done! At least, with the first draft. I think the reediting will be much easier. I don’t think I’ll post the second draft. I might just make a note of the changes (perhaps).
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Last week I managed to not only rough out Act 2 but also Act 3 on show 21. I spent this week trying to tighten up the roughs on both boards. I managed to finish Act 2, I have yet to finish Act 3. I’m not sure my revision partner will get to Act 4 and I might end up getting it at the last minute. I hope not. We’ll see.
WEBSITES/COMIC BOOKS/CATHOLICISM
I’m usually not a fan of “Catholic religious comics”. The ones I’ve been exposed to have really been way too sweet with Saints that are so perfect they might as well be walking icons. They’re so perfect they’re inhuman and the stories are so preachy and contrived, they are completely unrelateable.
If they aren’t that, then they are so serious, humorless and full of suffering that, reading them is like subjecting yourself to torture.
I myself have thought about creating a Religious comic in order to see if it’s possible to create an appealing, compelling, fun and entertaining one. Well, I’m happy to say that I don’t have to do that, because someone already HAS.
Mitchelle D’Souza, a cartoonist currently (as of the time of this writing) living in Canada is working on a Fatima Webcomic, and it’s exactly that. It’s appealing, compelling, fun, entertaining AND FUNNY. I LOVE it. It hits all the beats I wanted to see in a Catholic comic. If I make a Religious comic, I hope it’s half as good as this. Reading it really made me smile. The characters are human, and full of flaws, which makes you really feel for them.
It’s a comic that retells the true story of the extraordinary events that happened in Fatima in 1917 to three Shepherd children. It’s all told through the eyes of the youngest of the three, Jacinta. Her antics are just really fun to read.
Here’s a sample page from the comic:
If you’re Catholic or interested in history, or are really into Fatima. If you want to put a smile on you face to see Jacinta do silly things, you should read this comics.
It’s moments like these that I wonder why I decided to go with an action story. There’s nothing worse than sitting down, knowing you have to write action and not knowing what the heck to write. Trying not to repeat myself while attempting to write something interesting was a huge pain. Perhaps I was approaching it the wrong way, I don’t know. All I know is, that this was very difficult for me. In the end, I think I DID repeat myself a bit.
It’s hard because the point of the fight was not the fight in itself but the outcome of the fight, namely, the prevention of Rob being able to eat his hot dog and the knocking away of the hot dog from Rob. In fact, I kinda started in the second part of the fight before I wrote the first part. I don’t know why. It just seemed like a way to get started.
The entire fight was just a stream of conscientiousness kind of thing. I didn’t know what I would write until I wrote it. I’m just glad I was able to put something down.
You will notice that the small synopsis below is different than the original I wrote a few weeks earlier. I moved the stepping of the hot dog moment into this act as opposed to next act. I thought it would create a much more climatic low point for act 2.
Scene 6 (Inequity/Projection)
Finding himself friendless and trapped, Rob decides to eat his hot dog there and then only one of the monsters causes the hot dog to end up a few feet from him, safely on it’s plate. The bad guys close in. Ignoring the Sorcerers, Rob goes for his hot dog only to have the Other Male Sorcerer step on it, leaving Rob stunned for a second. They laugh seeing that they’ve won and look forward in anticipation to the glory they will receive. (Act 2 climax).
Outdoor Shopping Area – Day continued
Trapped, friendless and alone, Rob sees there’s no hope for getting away. The Sorcerers and creatures slowly make their way closer, relishing the situation. Rob has reached the point of not caring about anything anymore except getting to eat his hot dog. If they aren’t going to let him leave, and they’re not going to leave him alone to eat his lunch in peace, he might as well eat it in the midst of all the chaos. He’ll eat as he fights. At least that way, he can get what he wants in the end. It may not be the most ideal way to eat, but he’ll get to eat.
Rob expresses this out loud to the Sorcerers, and it actually hurts their pride to be taken so lightly by him. Especially considering the situation he’s in.
He grabs his hot dog, opens his mouth and is about to take a bite. Before he can get to it, he ducks under a Winged Ape’s claw. He quickly climbs over a bench and hides behind a tree putting in between him and the Ape. He goes for a bite but finds another Ape behind him who tries to smash him with both it’s fists. Rob moves out of the way and almost drops his hot dog. He then dodges a tree that was hurled at him from an Ape. The plate was hit off of Robs hand and goes flying through the air.
Rob runs after it and catches it. Before he could catch his breath his looks up to see the Viper Creature’s fanged face lunging at him. He doesn’t have time to leap and he finds himself prying open the Viper Creature’s jaw with one hand and his two feet, while holding on to the plate with his lunch the with his free hand. The Viper Creature begins to fling it’s head around, trying to get Rob to stop. Rob tries to hold on to his hot dog while keeping from being smashed. His strength begins to give out. He could only hope he could let go of the jaws fast enough to not get caught in them.
He let’s go and goes flying through the air. He lands hard on the ground, almost right back where he started in between the creatures and the Sorcerers. The plate gets knocked out of his hand when he lands, flies through the air, bounces and lands safely a few yards away; hot dog miraculously still on the plate. Rob sits up.
Everyone stops to look. They all turn to look at each other for a beat.
Then chaos.
Ice flies toward, Rob who dodges it. Rob runs toward one Winged Ape. The other Winged Ape slashes at him but he was using the other Ape to crawl and leap off of. One Ape slashes the other sending it reeling. Rob sees fireballs coming his way, at the same time he sees the Winged Ape that was left standing coming at him. The Viper creature spins around to get at him as well. He heads in the direction of the Viper creature as the fireballs land behind him. The fireballs continue to follow him landing on the Viper creature’s body and it hisses in pain. He heads toward the hot dog, jumping on the viper’s body as it tries to get him off. Fireballs still hitting it. The Winged Ape flies up to reach Rob, and Rob leaps off the Viper Creature as a fireball hits the Ape which land in the spot he had just vacated. The fireball blast sends Rob tumbling to the ground. He looks up and sees his hot dog a feet away. He scrawls to reach it. Right as he about to get it, a foot slams into it and smashes it. The hot dog is nothing but mush and completely uneatable.
Rob looks on shocked. He can’t believe it. After all that. The ONE thing he wanted. The ONE thing that made the intolerable situation he’s in tolerable. He slowly looks up, his eyes following the foot that had smashed his hopes. The veiled face of the Other Male Sorcerer stands about him. His shoulders chuckling in amusement. Rob lowers his head in defeat. He gives up. They won.
The Sorcerer mocks Rob, like a bully in a playground. Asking him if he’s going to cry. The female Sorcerer laughs. The Lead Sorcerer frowns at his colleagues’ childishness. The Other Males Sorcerer, glories in their triumph over Rob, as he announces out loud to the Lead Sorcerer how they will gain honor and prestige from all the other Sorcerers for doing what no others had been able to do before them. The Lead Sorcerer responds, telling the Other Males Sorcerers that even if it’s so, they should at least behave with dignity and have some semblance of honor in their triumph.
The Other Main Sorcerer, tells his boss that he’s giving Rob all the honor he deserves and proceeds to kick Rob in the face.
END OF SCENE
The last kick to the face was just to add insult to injury (or is it, injury to injury?). At this point in the story, I’m hoping the audience is emotionally ready to see some justice done.
Since I wrote the above, I thought about it a bit, wondering if I could improve it somehow. I’ve decided to leave it that way it is for now BUT it’s not set in stone. I think if I change it, I will go with another version that I thought up recently. I was thinking that, instead of the bad guys trying to hurt Rob, they might just be trying to destroy the hot dog deliberately. That would actually change the dynamics of the fight quite a bit and might even make it more interesting to watch. I’ll think about it some more and decide on what I’m going to do at the storyboard stage.
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Monday was a bit problematic this week. I hadn’t realized that daycare was closed and I ended up getting stuck with the kids. I couldn’t take them home because daycare is half way between my house and work. It had taken me about an hour to drive there and I was running late. I took the kids to work with me after calling my wife. She agreed to pick the kids up. I fed them when we got to my job and they played while I attempted to work. They were very good and I got more work done than I thought I would.
I’m still working on the Halloween show this week. This is our last week on it and things are really hectic. The rewrite was heavy in two of the Acts and it’s all we can do to get it all fixed up on time. As of the time of this writing, we have two days to start and finish the last Act that needs revisions.
Looking up some reference on the internet for the show, I came across the drawing below. It was a drawing I did, for a calendar I drew some art in a few years ago.
VIDEO
Yet another “Gamification” video. I’m fascinated by the idea. It also bothers me a bit because it’s such a manipulative tool. On the one hand, it’s okay when it’s in a game, but I’m not sure I would like it in EVERYTHING. On the other hand, it can potentially make mundane things fun to do.
Still trying to figure out a good way to use it with art.
WRITING
Alright it’s time for the fight. I’m going to try to plan as much of this fight as I can at this stage. If after I’m done with these next three scenes, if I don’t think there’s enough stuff physically going on, I’ll probably add more. I might also add or adjust the fighting at the story boarding stage as well.
Scene 4 (Knowledge/Perception)
Rob is shocked by the betrayal. He attempts to convince the Lead Sorcerer to stop by attempting to call up some sort of evidence that he is telling the truth. The Sorcerer stubbornly refuses, he doesn’t trust any of his evidence.
Outdoor Shopping Area – Day continued
Rob feels the fireball before he sees it. With one swift motion he grabs his hot dog plate and jumps out of the way as the fireballs smashes into the metal chair he was using and melts it.
Rob complains loudly about The betrayal. The Other Male Sorcerer fires again. Rob dodges it. The female Sorcerers delightfully joins in by throwing sharp shards of ice at Rob. The Lead Sorcerer is furious at the other two for having him break his word. But what is done is done. This was going to happen anyway. He will need to deal with the other two later. For now, he has a world to save he begins summoning power for a spell.
Rob reprimands himself. He should have known better. He protects his food as he dodges the fire and ice. He calls out to the Lead Sorcerer, telling him that this is the sort of thing that always happens. That it is the Sorcerers that attack him and he just defends himself. He points out that he didn’t start this and he that he even left himself defenseless.
The Lead Sorcerer, eyes glowing with power, turns to Rob and says, this proves nothing.
END OF SCENE
I have to admit, this is pretty intimidating. I’ve never written action before. I read the description of the scene and I had no idea what I should write. It seemed as if I should have written more than I ended up writing.
There were two problems I encountered in trying to write the scene. The first one was, I wasn’t sure what I meant by:
“He attempts to convince the Lead Sorcerer to stop by attempting to call up some sort of evidence that he is telling the truth.”
I thought to myself, ‘What does he do? Reach into his backpack and take out pictures of the other times this has happened?’ In the end, I think what I came up with was simple enough.
The second problem I had was coming up with a reason for the Lead Sorcerer to attack Rob. It wasn’t his intention for the fight to start so dishonorably, so I thought he might not fight at all. This would mess up the story and take it in a different direction. A direction I didn’t want to go. I then realized he was planning to fight Rob anyway. Rob is still the bad guy to him and that trumps everything. Problem solved.
This scene was the most difficult one to write so far. Hopefully the next one won’t be so bad.
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I started board revisions on the Halloween show this week. I was given Act 1 which had the least amount of re-writes while my partner got stuck with the much heavier Act 3. It has a lot more re-writes and it’s much more complicated. It’s also the act the layout crew is starting on. It’s very funny and it had me laughing so much I was tearing up when we watched the screening.
VIDEOS
I’ve got some videos from fellow CARTOONISTAS I want to share this week.First up is Jim Lujan‘s latest cartoon HARD CRUMBLER. A story of a man searching for what he’s lost. Very funny. Jim has a way of making his cartoons seem so serious but they are sooo not. Great stuff:
Next is Raul Aguirre Jr‘s Act 1 animatic for a project he’s working on for El Padrecito Ministries. It’s a cartoon based on the HOMIES and MiJOS line of product of gumball machine toys, you might have seen. It’s amazing. Raul is the man. He obviously did all the voice work and put together an animatic single handed. Fantastic stuff. So much work. The project needs some stimulus money to continue so you might want to think about pitching in a few bucks, it looks worth it. Have a look:
Scene three is very short. The most significant thing about it, is that I officially pass the “antagonist baton” from the Lead Sorcerer to the Other Male Sorcerer (the guy who has his face covered by his hair). The Lead Sorcerer is no longer both the Antagonist AND the Impact Character. He is just the Impact Character. The way I’ve been writing him kinda forced me to split the role onto the other character. I’m just glad I had another character to give the role to.
As I have been doing, I’ll put the synopsis of the scene and then I’ll expand on it:
Scene 3 (Speculation/Inequity)
Rob hands over his weapon believing the Sorcerers will keep their word leaving him out numbered and without protection.The Sorcerers laugh at the weapon and throw it in the bushes.Just as he’s about to cut the hot dog they attack him. (First Act climax)
Outdoor Shopping Area – Day continued
The Lead Sorcerer takes the little hammer and thinks it’s some sort of joke at first. Then he senses that the thing has power. The others think it’s a trick, until the Lead Sorcerer tells them otherwise. The other two Sorcerers laugh at the puny thing. They both wonder that anything that small could do anything to anyone. They laugh at it and at themselves, wondering how anyone would be afraid of it.
The Lead Sorcerer doesn’t like holding or touching the thing any more than he has to, so as his companion laugh at the little hammer, he tosses it as far away from himself as he can. All the while pretending that he thinks the thing is laughable too. The little hammer lands in some bushes a few yards away. The Lead Sorcerer is relieved, knowing that they just barely managed to dodged that bullet. He hadn’t anticipated such power.
Everything being settled, Rob feels relieved that he’s at least going to get ten minutes of peace to eat. His stomach hurts from hunger so much he doesn’t really care anything about what the Sorcerers are doing. He takes his knife and is about to cut his hot dog again.The Sorcerers look on. The other male Sorcerers looks on as Rob is about to cut into his hot dog and hatred erupts in his belly. He sees no reason to give this monster any mercy of any kind. Before the Lead Sorcerer could stop him, he fires a volley of fire balls at Rob.
END OF SCENE
That last bit with the fireball was new. I didn’t know he was going to do that until I wrote it. I haven’t really worked out the Sorcerer’s magic system yet. Which means I kinda making it up as go. What I DO know, is that they get their powers by creating unions with “spirits”.
I find it interesting that, the more I write the more excited I get about it.
MY WEEK
It was my birthday on Sunday. I’m now 36.
For the first time in a very long time, I decided that I would actually voice what I wanted to do for my birthday. Most birthdays I sit back and let people do things for me for my birthday. This was fine for a while but I’ve gotten to the point where I would actually like to do something I really enjoy. Now a days, what I want to do consists of one thing: playing games.
Things haven’t really changed much since many MANY years ago (high school days I think), for my birthday, I invited a bunch of friends over to play video games with me. Things have changed only in the type of games I like. They mostly consist of tabletop games now. Well, I thought my wife knew what I wanted. When she asked me earlier this Month what I wanted, I told her,”You know what I like”. Thinking that she’d noticed I have a lot of boardgames around and I’m always asking her to play with me (which she mostly doesn’t do). I figured she’d think that I might want to invite some people over to play games for my birthday (because she knows I like that). Well, I found out Friday morning that she didn’t have that in mind at all. She thought I wanted to go to the park for some reason. I don’t know why.
I corrected that assumption and told her what I wanted. I wanted a game day and I thought it would be best to do it on a Saturday since people didn’t have to go to Church and some people had to work on Monday. So at the last minute, Alesha started contacting people about coming over on Saturday to play games.
I got very excited. Not only that, but I started to get a little worried as people started confirming that they were coming. It was going to be about eighteen people or so. This is a bit of a problem since most of my games average about four players, and I only had ONE table. My parents said they weren’t going to make it and my brother and sister-in-law weren’t either. I was counting on my parents coming to bring some extra tables, but in the end, I went over to their place to pick them up.
We cleaned up the house and rearranged the furniture to have the most space possible to have three gaming table ready. Then came the tricky part, what games to put out for people to play. I knew I was going to spend a lot of time explaining games because the games I have aren’t mainstream. Most people hadn’t even heard of them. So I thought hard and came up with some solutions. One table would have the game GYPE which requires you to read three sentences of rules before the game begins. It’s a fun fast game and I would just be able to point to the table and people could get started. It also plays tons of people.
On another table, I set up the game FORBIDDEN ISLAND. This is a very simple cooperative game for four people. It’s very pretty and easy to teach. Since it’s cooperative, it would be perfect as an intro to gaming, since everyone at the table is working together. I also wanted to hook up two TVs. One hooked up to the Nintendo 64 running MARIO PARTY. The other hooked up the my PS2 running DOKAPON KINGDOM (both are boardgame video games). Unfortunately I couldn’t get one of the TVs to hook up well, so that left only one. If I needed another one, I’d unplug the one in my office and bring it down.
For the “big table”, I wanted to put something I really wanted to play. Something a little bit heavier that I can really sink my teeth into. I wanted to play AGRICOLA, but I also wanted to go with COSMIC ENCOUNTER since it was silly strategic fun. I just couldn’t decide.
I forgot to tell you that the day before, Alesha had gone over and picked up her friend Rosetta who slept over. She’s one of Alesha’s best friends and she is one the few who LOVES playing boardgames with us. When she heard we where having a boardgame party, she couldn’t wait to come.
Everyone was suppose to come at two but by two o’clock, no one had come. Alesha, thought we should start playing something while we waited. So I chose DOMINION. I explained the game to Rosetta and we got started. We had fun, in spite of the fact that the kids kept interrupting the game. I was hoping to have other kids or people there already to keep them distracted but…oh well. By the time we finished the first game of DOMINION, we had found out that one group of people wasn’t going to make it because they were having car problems. That was okay, there were more coming. We started another game of DOMINION and finished the game much faster but still had lots of interruptions. Especially since Alesha was cooking as she played. By the time we finished the second game, we had received two more phone calls telling us the rest of the people who were coming weren’t going to make it because of car troubles. EVERYONE had car problems. Crazy.And so ended my big game day. We eat dinner after that. I was sung happy birthday and we eat cake. Rosetta had to go home (forty five minutes away) so Alesha took her home promising me that when she got back, she would play some more games with me. I stayed and played FORBIDDEN ISLAND with the kids (we lost twice) and then we played a game of TABLE GYPE (only using the flame side up).I love playing with my kids because it lets me spend time with them and they enjoy it so much. That said, I don’t actually enjoy any of the games I play with them. I mean, I really can’t be serious about playing against them or anything. They are just little kids. The games aren’t very satisfying and I was really in the mood to play satisfying games. After all, it was my birthday party.Well, I put the kids to bed soon after we where done (since it was their bedtime) and I was left all alone with three tables of games that no one used. I began to put everything away. I must admit, I was heartbroken. I knew it was my fault for not speaking up earlier and letting people know sooner. Still, it really sucked.
My family was going to hold a birthday party for me the next day. Unfortunately, games are almost never played at parties held for me at my parents house. In fact, Alesha even suggested that we should hold the game night at my parent’s but I told her I didn’t like that idea, for a few reasons. 1) It would mean I wouldn’t have access to all my games, since I couldn’t bring them all. This meant I couldn’t cater the games I brought out the specific group that sat to play a game. 2) It wouldn’t have been about the games at my parents house. It would be about the food and the socializing. Socializing would come first, then food and if we had time (which we almost NEVER do) we would play something. The game day, as I had planned it, had NO finger foods (no chips or anything you eat with your fingers), and the food was secondary to the gaming. It was meant to be unimportant. Also, you could socialize all you wanted and not play a game but if you wanted to socialize with me, you had to play a game with me because I wanted to be playing something all the time. I wouldn’t have gotten that at my parent’s house.
Anyway, Alesha came home about three hours later, completely beat. She’d been stuck in traffic for hours in rain and sleet. She was in no condition to play anything anymore and I was emotionally drained and sad so I didn’t really want to play anything either.
The next day was my birthday, I went to Church with Elizabeth and got ready to go to my parent’s house. I brought my games with me along with all the tables and chairs I borrowed. As I usually do, I pack up very specific games that I think the people at the party will like to play. I do this every time I go to a party (just in case someone says to me, “Let’s play a game”). When I got to my parents house, I left the games in the car. I do this because we rarely ever play them so why bother taking them out. Like I said, I bring them just in case. I kinda had the impression that I was expected to bring games since they didn’t come to my game party. I knew better though.
The birthday party was nice. The food was amazing. Eduardo, my Compadre, barbecued the most awesome stakes. I couldn’t stop eating them. I mean, these things were sooo good. They had this fantastic smoky flavor. Yum. The food was great and the kids had fun.
Everyone left early because it was Sunday and no one mentioned games. My games stayed in the car. We left soon after.
When we got home we put the kids to bed, Alesha asked me if I wanted to play something. We played a game of the CATAN CARD GAME and two games of DOMINION. We had a great time and I was very happy and grateful to her.
But here’s the thing. I might be self centered, walking around feeling sorry for myself but in spite of my flaws, something really good happened in spite of my disappointing game day. Alesha’s friend Rosetta had an INCREDIBLE time with us. She couldn’t stop thanking Alesha on the way home for being invited to come. She had been going through a lot of bad things and having come over to spend time with us and playing games had been the highlight of her year so far. She was so happy. So all this birthday stuff, it wasn’t about me. It was about her and what SHE needed. Sometime you have to stop thinking about yourself and see the big picture. I didn’t NEED a game day. I just wanted one. She NEEDED what we ended giving her and you know what? That makes it a great birthday.
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I finished both Acts 1 and 2 for Show 20 last week and now I’m done with Act 3 and working on Act 4. That’s crazy. This will be the first time I was able to revise an entire show on my own. Unfortunately, things are a bit more hectic than they need to be. I needed to stay late all week in order to be able to stay home with the kids on Friday, since day care will be closed that day.
Still, I’m glad I’m so ahead on the work.
VIDEO/GHETTOMATION
Went to the comic store with some pals from work a few weeks back. They met up a with a guy who one my friend Dave knew who had had made a Superman cartoon for fun. He had it on his iPhone and showed it to my friends but I was somewhere else in the shop and missed it. They couldn’t stop talking about it, they liked it so much. Well here’s what I missed out on for everyone to see. It was animated by veteran Disney animator Robb Pratt.
Ghettomation at it’s most fully animated. And by Ghettomation I mean you’re making an animated cartoon with the tools you have on hand, Guerrilla style.
WRITING
This week on my personal project, I’m working on Scene 2 from Act 1. As I did last week I’ll put my Scene synopsis first and then I’ll expound on it.
This one got looong. The purpose of the treatment is to overwrite so you have everything you can possibly think of covered. I was trying to do this which made it difficult to be brief. I think once I’m done with this first pass on the treatment, I’m going to go over it one more time (though I probably won’t post it) just to make sure everything is working the way I want. It’s REALLY difficult for me not to write dialogue here. Especially since it’s my favorite part. I’m not saying I’m good at writing dialogue, I’m just saying I like to do it.
Scene 2 (Inertia/Order)
The Sorcerers confront Rob about his past and his future. Rob defends by explaining the circumstances behind those moments. If left alone nothing would happen. They try to convince him to turn himself over to the Sorcerers so they can lock him up and keep him from becoming evil. Rob tells them he has no intention of taking over the world. The lead Sorcerer tries to convince Rob that his cause is just. Rob just want to be left alone. The Sorcerers won’t do that. Rob asks if he could at least have ten minutes to finish his hot dog. They discuss it among themselves and grant him ten minutes on the condition he hand over his weapon. (inciting incident)
Now, I expand it:
Outdoor Shopping Area – Day continued
Settling himself down and mentally kicking himself for not paying more attention to the people in the area, Rob tries to play it cool. He hopes that if he’s nice, they will leave him alone to eat his hot dog. He smiles up and greets them. Then he asks if it would be possible for them to wait a minute or two while he finishes his lunch.
The Lead Sorcerer doesn’t like the attitude Rob has taken and suspects a ruse. He ignores the happy attitude and asks Rob to come with him and his two allies.
This is new to Rob. He is a bit puzzled. He usually just gets attacked and no one ever just asks him to come with them. He asks them where to and why.
The Lead Sorcerer thinks Rob is playing games so he tells him to stop. He tells him he know where and why.
Anger builds up in Rob’s belly but he holds it back. It is THEY that are bothering HIM. What’s with the attitude. Rob sincerely tells them that he suspects the why but not the where. He tells them that he suspects that they are here because they believe he’s some sort of evil dark lord that will take over the world. He also tells them that since it isn’t true, he doesn’t think he’s going anywhere with them. Especially since they seem so openly hostile.
The Lead Sorcerer is very surprised at this response. He’s angered by the blatant denial of his evil actions. He accuses Rob of lying about who he truly is. He challenges Rob to deny that he has previously incapacitated 30 other Sorcerers that he has come in contact with. He challenges Rob to deny the ruthlessness of those attacks upon them. He challenges Rob to deny that such power should not be considered dangerous and signs of an evil nature.
Rob is shocked at the way this is put to him. ALL does so called “attacks” where self defense. He got attacked FIRST and he defended himself. He can’t believe how out of context the situations are being portrayed. He immediately argues back about that very thing. Rob is outraged by how they’ve twisted what really happened.
The Lead Sorcerer doesn’t believe Rob. Though, he’s impressed with Rob’s very convincing acting ability. He does see a way to manipulate Rob’s act to his purpose. He proposes to Rob that if what he says is true, he would have no problem going with him and his companions to the Sorcerer’s High Tower and face trial. He tells Rob he will be set free and not bothered if what he said is found to be true.
It suddenly dawns on Rob what is going on. He realizes that that’s where they want him to go. They want him to go with them to some tower so he could be judged for defending himself. Rob can’t believe how messed up these guys are. He lets out a small laugh.
The Lead Sorcerer thinks Rob is mocking him and voices his outrage.
Rob tries to calm him down by telling him he wasn’t laughing at him, but at the ridiculous situation this was. He asks the Lead Sorcerer if the Sorcerer’s High Tower is where they wanted to escort him to.
The Lead Sorcerer confirms this.
Rob knows from his dealings with the Sorcerers that they always get the facts mixed up. These guys are only proving his suspicions. Even though he knows what the answer will be, he asks the Lead Sorcerer what would happen if he refuses.
The Lead Sorcerer assures Rob that it would prove he is guilty, evil, and exactly what the prophesy says he is because actions speak louder than words. Since only the guilty run. Having him prove he’s guilty in this way, they would have to kill Rob on the spot, in order to save the world from his slavery.
Rob sees the writing on the wall. This is going to end in a fight. His stomach grumbles with a hunger pain, which only makes him MORE upset. He tries to reason with the Lead Sorcerer, explaining that this was pretty much what led him to fight all the other Sorcerers. He tells him that they are only proving his point. He tells them he absolutely refuses to go with them. That all he wants is to be left alone, and more importantly, he wants to be able to just eat his lunch in peace.
The Lead Sorcerer didn’t want it to come to this, but he doesn’t have a choice and tells Rob this. He tried to reason with him, now it’s time to do it the hard way. He knows his companions where looking forward to this. They are itching to hurt Rob. They all get ready to attack.
Rob seeing this and calls out for them to stop. He’s at the brink of frustration and irritation. He decides to beg. He pleads with the three to let him have five minutes to at least eat his hot dog. Then he’ll allow them to try to kill them all they want.
The Lead Sorcerer considers this. He sees a tactical advantage here but he wants to make sure he isn’t being duped. He tells Rob that he needs to consult with his companions. Keeping an eye on Rob, he steps aside with his companions and tells them what his plan. He tells them that if Rob really wants these five minutes (as he seems to) perhaps he would be stupid enough to give up his weapon for it. If it’s a trick, he would refuse, but if it’s NOT then he’s defenseless. The other agree but the other male Sorcerer thinks it would be foolish to give him the five minutes if he gives up his weapon. He thinks they should attack him. The Lead Sorcerer tells him it would be dishonorable to do such a thing if they bargain. The Other Male Sorcerer begins to argue but the Lead Sorcerer orders him to be quiet. They then turn to Rob and propose to give him five minutes to eat his lunch in return for his anti-Sorcerer weapon.
Rob considers. He’s so hungry. He thinks to himself, why not? If he’s going to die, he might as well die after happily eating his hot dog. Besides, the darn thing always seems to end up in his hand no matter what he does. If it finally stops being attached him, like a curse, it would be a win for him. He looks up at the Sorcerers and agrees but only if they give him ten minutes instead of five.
They agree.
He reaches over to a loop on his belt and removes what looks like a tiny medical reflex hammer from it. He hands it over to the Lead Sorcerer. He warns them that no matter how hard he tries, the hammer always finds a way back to him.
END OF SCENE
My big surprise as I’m writing this is, how honorable the antagonist is turning out. It’s something unintentional but the story needs him to be so. I originally envisioned him as a big jerk. I may need to change his design a little because of this.
I think the next scene will be much shorter. I’m very excited that I’m getting closer to getting to the final art and boards.
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It’s good to be back drawing storyboards again. I’m back on show 20. The story reel screening went really well and the writers and producers liked it. So much so, that the rewrite was lite.
I was assigned ONE shot to fix in Act 1, but I couldn’t help myself and started revising the whole Act. I was done by the end of Wednesday, which hardly ever happens.
Like I said, very lite rewrite. I’m working on Act 2 now.
ART/VIDEOS
One of my favorite artists is Adam Hughes. He’s an incredible draftsman. I’m in awe of his YEARS of finely honed drawing skills. Below are three videos of him explaining some of this thoughts and the way he approaches some drawing problems. They don’t exactly teach you HOW to draw but it’s great to see his process. It’s also great to hear his thoughts on light, tone and technique. WARNING: These videos skip a lot of basic drawing fundamentals and go straight to the flashy parts. There’s a lot of stuff here that is being thought and not shown or talked about. You’ll get more out of these videos if you know what fundamentals are being skipped over. In other words, they are pretty advanced drawing videos. That said, they are really COOL:
WRITING
I think I’m done using DRAMATICA for the time being. I’ve used it as far as it can go. DRAMATICA is good for setting you up to write but now I’m actually going into the writing process itself. Without abandoning the DRAMATICA themes and structure, I’m going to be using Robert Mckee’s book Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting to guide me and compliment the work I’ve already done.
Alright, it’s time to stop breaking things down and time to start expanding things out. This week I’m taking Scene 1 and expanding it into a more fleshed out “treatment” using Robert Mckee’s advice. According to Mckee, the point of the treatment is to create…
“…the subtext–the true thoughts and feeling underneath what is said and done. We may think we know what our characters are thinking and feeling, but we don’t know we know until we write it down”
Keeping this in mind, I tried to write as much subtext as I could.
Below, I put my short paragraph description of the scene:
Scene 1 (Equity/Projection)
Rob waits for his hot dog impatiently as his stomach grumbles. Once he gets it he sits down and to eat it. He decides to share it with is White Raven.He’s about to cut it in half when he sees the Sorcerers coming toward him and gets bummed out, knowing he’s in for a bad time. (Introducing the characters)
Now, I expand it:
Outdoor Shopping Area – Day
Rob’s stomach grumbles. He looks up from his stomach and he sees his hot dogs getting prepared by the hot dog vendor. The ache of his empty stomach is visible in his face. He tells his Raven (who’s on his shoulder) that their wait will soon be over, but it’s obvious that he’s just trying to reassure himself.
The hot dog vendor comes up to the counter and sets down the hot dog. Rob places down some folded up and crumpled bills, and slowly counts out a bunch of change on the counter. He comes up short. He’s shocked. He could have sworn he had enough. The Raven flies off Rob’s shoulder as he searches himself frantically, only to finds nothing. He empties his pockets only to find lint.
Rob smiles pleadingly at the hot dog vendor, hoping he will take pity. The vendor, who’s a bit gruff and burly looking, looks at Rob unamused. He’s not the generous type and won’t give Rob any slack over a couple of missing cents. He’s got bills to pay. The guys seems like the type of person who’s not moved by much.
Horrified, Rob looks desperately around for the last bit of money. He worked so hard to get it and now some of it is missing. He takes off his backpack and starts searching through the clothes inside and the pockets on it. Hearing a squawk he looks down behind him and he breaths a sigh of relief. The Raven stands in front of the missing change he was looking for.
Rob thanks his friend for saving him yet again, turns back to the hot dog booth and puts down the rest of the money. The vendor hands him the hot dog expressionless. Rob smiles at the vendor, gratefully and thanks him. The vendor just grumbles something and walks away. Lousy, good for nothing, lazy kids, kinda of grumble. The vendor thinks kids these days are too sheltered. Rob grabs a plastic knife from the booth’s plastic utensils carries his hot dog to a nearby table, as if he’s carrying something sacred. The Raven follows.
In the distance, three ominous figures stare at Rob and his bird. They then look at each other knowingly.
Rob sets down his backpack on the table and sits down. He then closes his eyes, crosses himself, and says a silent prayer of thanks. Once he’s done, he turns to the Raven, and offers to share the hot dog with him. The ominous figures begin walking up to Rob. Rob doesn’t notice. He happily picks up the plastic knife, glad that he can finally eat. He’s about to cut the hot dog in twain in order to share the food with his bird when a shadow crosses over him. He looks up to see three hate filled people looking down on him.
Seeing them, Rob feels like screaming in frustration. Not again. Not here. Not now.
END OF SCENE
I added a character moment with Rob and his money in order to try to create empathy with Rob. It was one of those ideas that just popped into my head and I went along with to see where it led.
Also, I’m hoping that the whole grumbling stomach bit makes his situation relatable. Who HASN’T been hungry at some point in their life? Isn’t that a time honored plot device? Chaplin comes to mind.
I also have him pray. Not because I want to be preachy but because I want people to know he’s a “good guy”. I’m hoping that a character praying, symbolizes a person who has absolute moral values, to an audience. That way, when you hear the Sorcerers accuse him of being evil, you don’t assume it’s true. This was also an idea that just happened and I went with it. Not sure if it will work as intended…we’ll see.
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Wow, I had a nice vacation in spite of the fact that I spent Christmas in bed. I SOOO didn’t want to come back to work, even though I have a great job. I came back and it didn’t take long before I was under the gun. I was given Act 1 of show 17 to finish by the end of the week. It has the most changes out all the acts on the show. Hurray for me.
In other news, I was asked by Director/writer Luke Gray a few questions earlier this week about the show. One of them being about drawing ourselves or family and friends in crowd scenes on the show. In answering the question, I remembered that a friend of mine had drawn me in one of the shows because he thought it would be funny. He drew me getting pushed down by Mark Hamill in the show he was a guest star in. Here’s the clip where I show up. Look for me at 0:08 seconds. I’m the long haired guy with the brown hair, in the black t-shirt:
Wow, fellow CARTOONISTATed Seko ROCKS! The guy does some fantastic things. Check out all the cool things he makes. He’s a production machine AND he does handmade comics to boot. Sooo cool! Get ready to be inspired:
PODCASTS
So I thought, before I began writing about writing, I would let you know that I was on the COMICS ARE GREAT! podcast. In it, Jerzy and I talk about writing, so if you want to LISTEN about story, rather than read it, I recommend you go over a give it a listen.
(For those of you coming in late to these posts, if you want to read what my project is about, CLICK HERE to learn about the general world the story takes place in, and CLICK HERE if you want to know the story itself.)
Below is an excerpt of what I wrote the last two weeks, as set up for what I’m writing about THIS week, in case you’re interested in following along with more depth:
Right now, the theory of story that I like to use to flesh out my plot is the DRAMATICA theory. Unfortunately the DRAMATICA theory is so complicated and convoluted, that I can’t really sum it up in a nut shell. If you want to get an idea of what DRAMATICA is all about, click the link below:
As I did the last two weeks, I’ll put up the DRAMATICA Table of Story Elements in order for you to understand what I’m talking about and so you can follow along. For a clearer pdf version of the chart (download chart now):
Alright, now that I’ve broken down the three Acts, the next step it so break those Acts into sequences. We do this by looking at our chart and seeing what quad has my theme in it, which is Truth. This would be the Memories quad. Inside that quad is Truth. I’m going to use that “variations” (in this light gray quad) to breakdown my Acts into sequences. I will do this by comparing all the pairs in the quads with each other. Doing so is suppose to get me a well rounded thematic argument. This is what I mean by “comparing the pairs to each other”. I’m going to compare:
Truth/Falsehood
Truth/Evidence
Truth/ Suspicion
Falsehood/Evidence
Falsehood/ Suspicion and
Suspicion/Evidence
How do I compare them? Well, from what I can understand from the DRAMATICA system, I’m going to ask these questions in order to compare these variations:
Truth/Falsehood
Which is better, Truth or Falsehood?
Truth/Evidence
When Truth is the issue, how do we rate Evidence based on those who espouse it?
Truth/ Suspicion
When Truth is the issue, how do we rate Suspicion based on those who espouse it?
Falsehood/Evidence
When Falsehood is the issue, how do we rate Evidence based on those who espouse it?
Falsehood/ Suspicion
When Falsehood is the issue, how do we rate Suspicion based on those who espouse it?
Suspicion/Evidence
Which carries the most weight when it comes to Truth?
Somewhere within the telling of my story, these questions have to be answered. Since they are six questions and I have 3 Acts, I’ve decided to give each Act two of the questions to answer. This is how I broke it down:
Act 1
Falsehood/ Suspicion
Truth/ Suspicion
Act 2
Truth/Evidence
Falsehood/Evidence
Act 3
Truth/Falsehood
Suspicion/Evidence
So that’s going to be the themes running though the three acts of my story. The order is not written in stone so I’ve left myself an opening to change my mind as the process dictates. I’m thinking of keeping these in mind when I actually start writing, but I’m not going to answer the questions right now. It seems better and more fun for me to answer the questions as part of the spontaneous writing process.
Now that I have that done, I have to decide if I want to break my story up even more. It’s a short story and I’m not sure if I can or SHOULD do so. The next step according to DRAMATICA is to breakdown the sequences into scenes. Each Sequence is broken down into four scenes which would leaves me with 24 scenes. That’s 24 scenes I may not have room in my story for. Unfortunately, as of the time of this writing, I haven’t got the slightest clue as to how to breakdown the sequences into 24 scenes even if I WANTED to.
Can you help me out and read pages 138 and 139 in the DRAMATICA book? Maybe YOU can figure it out. I’m a bit stumped.
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Started up on show 17 this week. I was put on Act 3 since it had the most changes. The changes weren’t as crazy as they were in show 16 but, we’ve only got a four day work week, so the pressure is still on. I’m planning on finishing it this week if I can.
In other news, we got a Christmas present from Matt Groening this week. It was a copy of SIMPSONS WORLD: THE ULTIMATE EPISODE GUIDE.
It’s cool because I wanted a copy. I don’t own any version of the Episode guides. The sad part is, that it’s already outdated since it only covers seasons 1 -20. Still, it’s awesome. Thank you Matt Groening.
I flipped through it and it’s sad that I don’t remember all the shows I’ve worked on. I look at some and think, “Did I work on that one? Looks familiar.” On the other hand, some of the screen captures in the book are from scenes I drew, which is fun to see.
VIDEO
Director and co-writer of the Mocumentary STORY OF THE MIMERS sent me a link to his movie. I thought it was great so I’m posting the link here so you can see it too. It’s a pretty darn funny “Mocumentary” of the best Mime artists of all time:
WRITING
(For those of you coming in late to these posts, if you want to read what my project is about, CLICK HERE to learn about the general world the story takes place in, and CLICK HERE if you want to know the story itself.)
Below is an excerpt of what I wrote the last two weeks, as set up for what I’m writing about THIS week, in case you’re interested in following along with more depth:
Right now, the theory of story that I like to use to flesh out my plot is the DRAMATICA theory. Unfortunately the DRAMATICA theory is so complicated and convoluted, that I can’t really sum it up in a nut shell. If you want to get an idea of what DRAMATICA is all about, click the link below:
As I did the last two weeks, I’ll put up the DRAMATICA Table of Story Elements in order for you to understand what I’m talking about and so you can follow along. For a clearer pdf version of the chart (download chart now):
Last week I posted up my breakdown of the OVERALL story throughline. This time, I’ll put up my breakdowns for the MAIN Character story throughline and the IMPACT Character story throughline. Pay really close attention to how the story tends to change, depending on the perspective we are seeing it through. The OVERALL story throughline is a “birds eye view” of the entire story, while the MAIN Character story throughline is what we would see if we WERE the main character. The IMPACT Character story throughline is the view we would get if we were following the Impact character around.
Below is the breakdown of the types followed by how I fleshed them out:
MAIN Character story throughline:
Act 1 – Obtaining
Act 2 –Gathering information
Act 3 – Doing
Act 4 – Understanding
ACT 1
Signpost #1
Type 1.Obtaining
(Obtaining Definition: Obtaining includes not only that which is possessed but also that which is achieved or lost. For example, one might obtain a law degree or lose an election. One can also obtain a condition, such as obtaining a smoothly operating political system or loosing the love of a parent. Whether it refers to a mental or physical state or process, obtaining describes the concept of attaining.)
Rob has happily obtained the Hot Dog he’s been wanting for a day and a half. He looks forward to eating in peace and quiet.
Journey #1
Type 1. Obtaining ======> Type 2. Gathering Information
As he sits down to eat and is confronted by the three Sorcerers. He tries to find out from them, what he could do, in order to have them give him a few minutes to eat his lunch in peace and quite. When they tell him, he gladly does it.
ACT 2
Signpost #2
Type 2. Gathering Information
(Gathering InformationDefinition: Gathering Information describes the process of acquiring knowledge. It is not the knowledge itself. When a portion of a story focuses on learning, it is the gathering of an education that is of concern, not the education that ultimately has been gathered. Gathering Information need not be an academic endeavor. One might learn to express one’s feelings, or learn about love. Gathering Information does not even require new information, as sometimes one learns simply by looking through old information from a different perspective or with a new approach. It is not important if one is learning to arrive at a particular understanding or just to gather data. As long as the focus in on the process of gaining information, Gathering Information is the operative idea.)
The Sorcerers betray him and attack. The Rob defends himself and his lunch while desperately looking around for a way to escape.
Journey #2
Type 2. Gathering Information ======> Type 3. Doing
Discovering there’s no way out. He decides the best thing to do is to eat the Hot Dog, right there and then.
ACT 3
Signpost #3
Type 3. Doing
(Doing Definition: Doing is the process of being physically active. In and of itself, Doing does not require any purpose, but simply describes engaging in a process, task, or endeavor, whether for pleasure or by necessity or compulsion. )
Unfortunately the Lead Sorcerer destroys his Hot Dog, which forces him to pick up his weapon and fight them off or die.
Journey #3
Type 3. Doing ======> Type 4. Understanding
After dispatching all the monster and the other Sorcerers, he has the Lead Sorcerer in a weakend and vulnerable state. Understanding that the only way to show the Sorcerer that he’s mistaken about who he thinks he is. He chooses to let him go free.
CONCLUSION
Signpost #4
Type 4. Understanding
(Understanding Definition: Understanding is different from knowledge. From knowledge one gets awareness, from Understanding, one gets meaning. To obtain meaning requires not only knowing the substance of its nature, but the context of its essence. In other words, one must not only define what something is, but how it fits into the larger picture as well. To this end, Reason describes the function and Emotion defines the purpose. So Understanding is not just an intellectual pursuit, but requires an empathy with the meaning as well. It is useful to note that many Eastern and ancient philosophies define Understanding as “becoming one with” that which is being considered. Until one joins a subject in unity, one cannot understand it.)
Rob realizes that it’s possible to change the minds of the Sorcerers and that gives him hope, that the attacks might stop and he’ll get the peace he wants. He also knows that every time he uses the warhammer, it gets more and more difficult to control himself and it.
Alright, now it’s time to do the same with the Impact character: IMPACT Character story throughline:
Act 1 – Conceiving an Idea
Act 2 – Developing a Plan
Act 3 –Playing a Role
Act 4 – Changing one’s Nature
ACT 1
Signpost #1
Type 1.Conceiving an Idea
(Conceiving an Idea Definition: Conceiving an Idea is the process of arriving at an idea. If there were no artificial light in the world, one might conceive the need for some form of electric torch. That would be conceiving. But the design of an actual incandescent bulb versus a fluorescent one would require conceptualizing a specific implementation of the idea one has conceived. Conceiving an Idea need not come before conceptualizing. For example, a common dramatic technique is to give a character a very clear mental image of an object or arrangement that holds the solution to the story’s problem. But the character does not know the solution lies in the conceptualization. It is only when she finally conceives of the need for a particular kind of solution does she realize she had the answer all along. Simply put, Conceiving an Idea defines the question, Developing a Plan clarifies the answer.)
The Lead Sorcerers tries to convince Rob that Rob is evil. That the Sorcerers are truly the just and justified between the two of them.
Journey #1
Type 1. Conceiving an Idea ======> Type 2. Developing a Plan
Rob dismisses the idea so the Lead Sorcerer then puts forth that he should let himself be imprisions by the Sorcerers, so that he could be watched and not become what the prophesy says he will.
ACT 2
Signpost #2
Type 2. Developing a Plan
(Developing a Plan Definition: Developing a Plan means coming up with a practical implementation of an idea. It is not enough to simply have the idea. To conceptualize, one must develop an actual mental model of how such an idea might be made manifest. In other words, one might have an idea to build a spacious house. But to conceptualize the house, one must imagine everything that makes up the house — the design, the layout, the colors & textures, everything that is essential to understanding what that specific house is. Developing a Plan requires being able to visualize something as a whole.)
When Rob refuses this plan, the Lead Sorcerer say’s that refusing requires them to kill him, because it’s the only way to be truly safe.
Journey #2
Type 2. Developing a Plan ======> Type 3. Playing a Role
The Lead Sorcerer then shows that, by not complying with the reasonableness of the plans he proposed that he’s only showing that he’s guilty of treacherous intentions. He is showing his true colors as the world enslaving overlord he will become.
ACT 3
Signpost #3
Type 3. Playing a Role
(Playing a RoleDefinition: “Playing a Role” is an elusive concept, subject to inconsistent common usage. For purposes of story, Playing a Role is meant to describe the condition of existing in a certain manner. Whomever or whatever is “Playing a Role” a particular way is not truly of that nature; to do so would require Changing One’s Nature. In fact, playing a role may be put on as a deception or because it is necessary to adopt a role in order to achieve one’s purpose. However, as long as there is nothing more or less to the functioning of a person or thing, it can be said to “be” what it appears to be. Stories often focus on someone who wants to “be” something, without actually “Changing One’s Nature”. The important difference is that “Playing a Role” requires that all the elements of what one wants to be are present in oneself. “Changing One’s Nature” requires that there are no elements in oneself that are not in what one wants to become. )
Rob begins striking down the Lead Sorcerer’s monsters and friends, making it easy to prove his point. He drives it home by showing Rob how easily he would strike down a helpless person, by NOT fighting him. Playing the role of victim to Rob’s predator.
Journey #3
Type 3.Playing a Role ======> Type 4. Changing One’s Nature
Rob shows the Lead Sorcerer that he HADN’T been as consumed and rage as he let on. Rob surprises the Lead Sorcerer by not attacking him when he has a chance.
CONCLUSION
Signpost #4
Type 4. Changing One’s Nature
(Changing One’s NatureDefinition:Changing One’s Nature means achieving an identity with something. This is different from “Playing a Role” which merely requires posing as something. To Changing One’s Nature, one must do more than just pretend to be by mimicking all the traits of what one wants to become. Rather, one must also lose all those parts of oneself that are inconsistent with what one wants to become. “Giving up” a part of oneself is always the hardest part of becoming and the reason so many characters spend a lot of time “Playing a Role” without ever Changing One’s Nature.)
The Sorcerer is deeply moved by this example and becomes very impressed. The Lead Sorcerer, makes a gift of two Hot Dogs for Rob out of respect, leaving Rob with a new perspective about the Sorcerers as a whole.
ART
This week I sketched out more of the warhammer design. This time, I focused more on the hilt.
I was looking through a book of weapons and there was a page in it that had combination weapons. I wondered if perhaps I should make the warhammer a combination weapon also. Below is an idea I had to have a blade come out of the hammer by pulling it out by the hilt. Still not sure if I’m gonna go with this idea yet.
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Started on a new crew this week. I was put on Act 2 of this show. I found it to be VERY funny and I like it a lot, but the writers didn’t seem to share my opinion. They’ve rewritten a lot of the jokes I liked. Some of them have been replaced with jokes that aren’t even funny. It makes me sad when that happens.
The good news is that I get to add more action to an action sequence in the show. It’s sooo much fun. I get to riff on just about every martial arts movie I can think of. The hardest part is coming up with new shots that sets up the action, that I haven’t used yet. Still, it’s a blast so I’m not complaining.
WRITING
(For those of you coming in late to these posts, if you want to read what my project is about, CLICK HERE to learn about the general world the story takes place in, and CLICK HERE if you want to know the story itself.)
Alright, so I started to plot out my project’s story. Yes, I’ve written a rough outline of what I wanted the story to be, but now I really need to solidify everything and really add the structure to the plot. In other words, my rough outline is like a thumbnail sketch that needs structure, construction and solidity added to it.
Right now, the theory of story that I like to use to flesh out my plot is the DRAMATICA theory. Unfortunately the DRAMATICA theory is so complicated and convoluted, that I can’t really sum it up in a nut shell. If you want to get an idea of what DRAMATICA is all about, click the link below:
Needless to say, in spite of the fact that it’s really complicated, I like it because it break things down so much, that it gives me a lot to think about. I find it helps me hone down things I didn’t think of and it really gives me somewhere to go. Unfortunately, what I will write below is going to sound very confusing because of the oddity of the theory I’m using. I’ll attempt to explain myself a bit but really, you need to familiarize yourself with the theory to get the most out of what I’m writing below. It’s also going to look really mechanical and unintuitive. This is a method that works for me. It might not be your cup of tea. That’s okay, at least you’ll see how someone else approaches writing a story.
Okay, so first, I chose to use DRAMATICA to break down my story into four points of view or “Viewpoints”. The four “Viewpoints” DRAMATICA puts forth are: MAIN Character, IMPACT Character, OVERALL Story, MAIN vs. IMPACT Story. (These are explained in the What is DRAMATICA? link). You are to assign a characters to the first two view points (if you can). If you have an idea for an OVERALL Story, you assign it at this stage if you want. You may or may not know what the IMPACT Story will be so you might leave that blank. This is what I did:
MAIN Character – Rob
IMPACT Character – Lead Sorcerer
OVERALL Story – Sorcerer’s attempt to kill Rob
MAIN vs. IMPACTStory – ?
Next I needed to match the “Viewpoints” with an “area of conflict” thereby giving each one a “throughline”. (If you’re having trouble following the terminology, you can download the DRAMATICA dictionary on this page HERE. Sorry for all the extra work).
I’m going to be using the chart below so you could get a sense of what I’m doing. For a clearer pdf version of the chart (download chart now):
The four “areas of conflict” DRAMATICA puts forth (as seen in the chart above) are: AN ACTIVITY, A SITUATION, A FIXED ATTITUDE, MANIPULATION OF OTHERS OR YOURSELF. This is how I assigned the “view points” and the “areas of conflict” to my story:
MAIN Character (Rob) – SITUATION: This basically means Rob’s personal point of view will be about dealing with his fixed state of affairs. The situation he sees himself in.
IMPACT Character (Lead Sorcerer) – ACTIVITY: This basically means that the lead Sorcerer’s point of the view will be his dealing with how his on going endeavor is constantly changing.
OVERALL Story (Sorcerer’s attempt to kill Rob) – FIXED ATTITUDE: This basically means that the plot of the story, the structure of the story itself, is dealing with the effects of bias and prejudice and whether things can change in regards to it.
MAIN vs. IMPACTStory (Rob’s attempt to convince the Sorcerers they’ve got the wrong idea about him) – MANIPULATION: This basically means that the relationship in this story between The MAIN Character (Rob) and The IMPACT Character (lead Sorcerer) is about changing the other or manipulating each other.
Everything above is ALL supposed to happen all at once as the story progresses. Notice that, because I applied an area of conflict to the MAIN vs. IMPACT Story, I was able to come up with what it was suppose to be about.
The next step in the DRAMATICA process is to breakdown the story into “Types” which essentially breaks down the story into four Acts or four “sign posts” that must be reach. In the chart above, this will be the dark gray areas. What is labeled “Concern” in the legend at the bottom of the page. Since I chose the FIXED ATTITUDE conflict for the OVERALL Story “Throughline”, the story breaks down into the four quad “Types” within FIXED ATTITUDE. They are: Memories, Impulsive Responses, Innermost Desires, and Contemplation. Since I get to choose the order of the four “Types”, I put them in this order:
Act 1 – Memories: This means that subjective concepts or ideas from the past will be influencing the forward momentum of the story in this Act. This will cause…
Act 2 – Impulsive Responses: which will influence the forward momentum of this Act. This will lead to…
Act 3 – Contemplation: on behalf of some or all the characters in the story. Something in this act makes them consider something which will leads to someone reaching their…
Act 4 – Innermost Desires: thereby ending the story.
Next, I needed to choose a “Thematic issue”. In the chart above, it’s the light gray area labeled “Issue” in the legend. I’m only suppose to pick it from the FIXED ATTITUDE quad and I only need to chose ONE of the 16 issues that are light gray. I chose “Truth”. The reason is because the problems in the quads (the white squares) under “Truth” are the problems I want to explore.
The “problem” under the “Truth” quad are: Knowledge, Actuality, Perception, and Thought.
According to the way DRAMATICA works, by choosing Truth, the underlying “elements” of the story would deal with the exploration between “Perception” and “Actuality”. Bad perception is the “problem” and actuality is the “solution”. The symptom of this problem, according to DRAMATICA, is the false “Thoughts”, and the treatment is relevant “Knowledge” (as seen on the chart under “Truth”).
Now that I have all those things from the chart picked out, it’s time to use them to put together the story. Beginning with Act 1, BUT I’ve written enough for this week. I will show you how I start roughing out Act 1 next week.
Please let me know if this is too confusing to follow. I know I didn’t explain the terminology and it can be as if I’m speaking gibberish. If you’re confused this week, perhaps next week when it starts coming together, it will all start making sense.
The drawings below are just a few quick exploration sketches for Rob’s War Hammer and a few sketches of Rob. They where specifically drawn to be put up on the blog so that I had a drawing to put up for the week. That said, I DO need to finalize the design of Rob’s hammer:
VIDEOS
More GAME OF THRONES videos. This time, it’s an inside look at the show. Looks sooo cool!
For inking, on the other hand, I use all kinds of fun stuff.
