Semester 2 Week 2 27-29/07/16 Wednesday-Friday

More work-in-progress updates for this documentation. I adjusted my timetable a bit, and reduced my work load from 3 pages/day to 2 pages/day. I am very slow at drawing these pages (around 2 hours or more each), so I figure it is a bit more realistic to produce 2 each day.

Work in progress of page 18. Should I elaborate on my process, I usually figure out the layouts first. I have my layout guide beside me all the time, but I make adjustments as I go along. The layout really needs to flow with the eye as it reads through these pages; so even though I have already planned my layouts beforehand, it is still open for improvements. When the layouts are done, I draw extremely rough sketches to indicate the action and dialogue in each panel. When this is done, I then go in and sketch out the smaller details; the facial features, environments, etc. Then, I use a very fine brush to create clean lines on top of the rough sketches (these are on a new layer in PS). Lastly, I fill in the speech bubble with dialogue. I believe I have mentioned before that I have hand-written every word in this comic, as this creates a more authentic feel.

In the typical me fashion, I made a mistake here on page 19. In the third panel where Nelly's dad points out his left hand, he is wearing a glove; but in the fifth panel he isn't. I spotted this after I did the lining.

Obviously I went back to correct this mistake. I was fortunate enough to spot this myself, and it also is something quite minor. But I need to keep everything consistent throughout the comic, and pay more attention to those smaller details.

Rough sketches for page 20.

Semester 2 Week 2 25-26/07/16 Monday-Tuesday

My developer has started working on my app already, and I talked to my supervisor briefly about my project. I also got my contextual review and methodology results back; and I am quite happy with them. Basically, my project is on track, I will just continue to draw the pages of the comic until I finish.

Work in progresses of page 13 and 14.

Completed pages.

Semester 2 21-22/07/16 Thursday-Friday

Not much to say at this point, I am still just trying to complete the pages for my comic. I have made a timetable for myself. According to the timetable I need to complete 2-3 pages every day to keep on schedule. I don't think I can do that. I usually spend one and half to two hours on each page, and there are always other things at home that I need to help out with, so I may need to change that number.

Anyway, for the past couple of days I have been working on a cover for my comic.

Work in progress of the cover.

Completed cover; I am actually quite happy about how it turned out.

Semester 2 19-20/07/16 Tuesday-Wednesday

So I had my first class on Tuesday, and there are a few more things I had to add to my to-do list other than be in full production mode. I need to make a timetable for myself for the rest of the semester, and I need to fill out a progress report, as well as get ready to write an exegesis.

All is well and good at this point, and if my developer does not have the time to make my comic into an app, I will just have to make do with Madefire and create a traditional comic, and also edit my animated comic pages together to play as a video. The interactivity part would have to be cut out for the worse case scenario, but I can still discuss the fact I still attempted to create a comic using animation elements, and also made it into a readable experience on portable devices. For this result, I may also need to explain in-depth the obstacles that I had with creating the app, and why I failed to do so. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Anyway, I've decided to crop all of my comic pages into the individual panels so I can assemble them together using the Madefire Motion Book Tool. I guess I can work in some sort of interaction with the tool, but I will not be able to create interactions with the narrative directly.

Page 11.

Panels 1 and 2 of page 11.

Panels 3 and 4.

Panel 5.

Panel 6 of page 11.

Semester 2 18/07/16 Monday

The semester break is over, and I am having my first class of Semester 2 tomorrow. I have a total of 11 pages done, so there is that I can show my supervisor. I also have the new sketches of Nelly, her family and the monster's belly that I will be able to present, as well as all the diagrams of the branching narrative structure I did, and the script (although it is not complete). I don't think I am able to finish the whole comic, so I'll just have to stick with the story line with the most branches.

 I might use Madefire and make a single linear narrative motion comic if I have time.

Page 8 with animation loop.

Page 9.

WIP of page 9. 

Semester Break 14/07/16 Thursday

Here's the GIF version of the first page of my comic.

Page 7.

Work in progress of page 7. I talked to the person who is going to help me build the app, and according to him video files and GIFs can both be included in the app. But video files allow the user to control the play/pause with taps. I am exporting every animated panel in both GIFs and video formats just in case.

I have begun making a motion book with Madefire. Compared to Eletricomics, it has more features and supports many different file formats. However, the GIFs I uploaded still won't play; so there's the down-side. Comic in Madefire are also easier to access: once a motion book is downloaded, you can read it anywhere and any time. With Eletricomics, the process is slightly more complex, as you would have to know the URL of the comic, type that in, and then the download commences. Madefire also allows tap areas to activate panels, and it also supports sound files. It is more versatile than Eletricomics, so I am choosing it over the latter (if I cannot make my own app).  

Semester Break13/07/16 Wednesday

The break is nearly over, and I have made it my goal to draw at least 3 pages of comic everyday in order to move ahead of schedule. If my coder cannot make time for my comic app, then my last resort is to go for Madefire Motion Book Tool and make a comic app from that. I haven't tried loading GIFs or videos in the tool yet, but if it can feature these files, then it would be a big leap from Eletricomics Generator. Though EG is still in early development, I hope it will grow to something more powerful.

I really enjoy drawing comics, so the process of making these has been fun. But I am always feeling the pressure of the examiners' expectations; I don't know if what I like making will impress them. Anyway, here is what I did today.

This is the rough sketches of page 3.

Page 4.

Page 5.

Semester Break12/07/16 Tuesday

So I have finally begun drawing the actual comic. I also tried using the Electricomics generator app. But here are the first two pages of my comic and some WIP.

The process of drawing the actual comic is quite simple once all the planning is solid. I have my script and layouts beside me as I sketch the rough drafts for each page. I then go and tidy up those rough sketches with a smaller brush. I am keeping my brush strokes quite loose, and I am not worrying about making the comic look very neat. This is obviously intentional as I am trying to go for a care-free style like my artist models Chris Riddell and Gris Grimly.

These are the first two pages to my comic. I have made my brush strokes quite messy, and I did not use any guides for the straight objects (windows and bed, etc) so the comic looks loose and imperfect. This is appropriate as it fits the story about fear, as the lines are naturally shaky, just as fear is a natural emotion and may cause shivers. It is also what makes us human. And humans are never perfect.

I finally got the chance to try out the Eletricomics generator app. It is very straightforward to use, but it does not yet have features that control touch zones nor can it play GIFs. I am a bit disappointed about this, as I have seen examples of Eletricomics using GIFs. There are some parts that need clarifying. 

Semester Break 06-11/07/16 Wednesday-Monday

This is the last week of my Semester break, I really haven't done a whole lot except write parts of my script and actually begin the comic. I also talked to my sister a bit more regarding her fears, and had some feed back from her as I was writing the script.

So here are just some updates of what I have been doing.

My sister got over her fear of White Eyes as I am progressing with my project. I believe that talking about her fears openly, and addressing it in a casual, relaxed attitude helped her deal with those things easier. Also, she told me before that she felt embarrassed for being afraid; I tried to let her understand that it is completely normal for people to feel fear. Perhaps the most difficult part of children getting over their fears is the embarrassment, and people (grown-ups) unwilling to believe the monsters of their imagination. We all had our own monsters when we were young, and I think we should let those who are still going through that phase realize that it IS just a phase, and it will past.

Here is the beginning of the script I have written. The numbers indicate the panels on each page.

I designed some creatures for the belly of the monster. I might just end up using one of these in the end or a modified version of one these.

Behold I have actually begun to draw the comic. I start with a rough sketch and then add the panels and line work in.

Semester Break 04-05/07/16 Monday-Tuesday

Sorry I didn't post on Friday. I was busy helping the farm and I also went to a friend's house for a sleepover.

On the project's side, I have finished the layouts and I am moving on to develop a simple script to figure out the dialogue to the comic. I am getting more and more excited about it, now that I am almost done with the pre-production. I have laid out all the rough sketches for my comic in the branching narrative format to help me understand the flow better. It also gives a visual indication of where the narrative is going, and the points of interaction for programmer (I found someone who can help me with this; I hope he has time for me).

I also made some more sketches of what White Eyes' belly looks like.

As an overview this does not look very complicated. But I hope I will be able to work with the

coding in order to make this into an APP.

I tried creating light and a sense of depth using just monochromatic colours. It sort of works. But in the real comic I have decided to just use lines and only black and white for the imaginary world.