I haven't blogged about the process on Abigail's War for a couple of weeks... sorry 'bout that! Truth is, there hasn't been much drama. Just a steady production process that has now officially produced Page X .
We needed to take a bit longer with it because, well, so many important decisions needed to be made along the way! Through the script and the Vis Doc, I'd outlined all kinds of details... the tone of the book (different in flashbacks and the present time), balloon shapes and colours, general ideas for the various lettering styles, etc. But when it came to actually going through the process... there was lots more discussion still to be had. Who knew slight variations in italicized fonts could make such a big difference? (Oh, right. Probably a lot of you knew.)
Well, I've learned that, vision-wise, apparently I'm no Lord Maim! I confess... I just hadn't thought of it all, or put it all down on paper. But maybe that's okay -- if every writer came on to this site knowing how to write a perfect comic script, then there wouldn't be so much room for some of us to grow.
It also became clear just how tough a Page X we'd put on Sandrine's plate. There's so much variety and intensity on that page. Happily, we're now a couple of pages into pencils on the rest of the book, and the pages are flying -- we've hit a real groove. I hope Sandrine is going to truly be able to have some fun now.
Comments
11:19 Thu Apr 24th, 2008
See? Picky picky bastard. That's the reputation I have. If it's any consolation at all Jennica, I didn't give any thought at all to balloon shapes and colors, or general ideas for the various lettering styles, at all. I pretty much left that up to the editor, and he didn't try to tempt fate by engaging me to choose them. Probably because poor Julian was busy running ragged, relaying corrections to hand positioning or some such trifle. We all have our blind spots, and by their nature they will take us by surprise. I think you and your artist are doing a fantastic job so far.
14:03 Thu Apr 24th, 2008
I'm a huge nitpicker when it comes to lettering, myself. I'm not eager to see what comes out of Deutschmaschine. I have very specific font types lined up and I like INTENSITY when it's in the script. Nothing like a huge font with a drop shadow bursting out of the bubble to show that someone yells like a mad-person.
14:46 Thu Apr 24th, 2008
One tip I learned was not to rely on bold formatting - it doesn't carry over into the dashboard. If you want a word bolded you have to use CAPS. It seems like maybe a small thing, but comics are sort of like scripts, and you sometimes need that kind of emphasis to convey the proper context for the dialogue. example: I'm not going in there with YOU. I'm NOT going in there with you.
06:00 Fri Apr 25th, 2008
I've found that some pages are straightforward, but others take a ton of time - for me, probably because Patricio is creating a look for a futuristic world, and though I think I've described things clearly, sadly, that's not always the case.
06:08 Fri Apr 25th, 2008
His page 3 took me forever to ink. That's partly your fault, Carmen :D But it's okay to add more details while creating the look of the book. We *do* want things to be as close to the writer's vision as humanly possible, no? :)
07:13 Fri Apr 25th, 2008
The other things that's tough, is ensuring things are how they need to be, for continuity. Fett: I can see what you're saying about page 3... from my side, I'm assuming its all going to be time-consuming work for you!! That page did have a lot of detail... sorry in advance, but I'm sure it'll just get worse for you. :)
15:20 Fri Apr 25th, 2008
Gee, I'm glad I mentioned this stuff -- sounds like everyone has had their details to deal with, as well as blind spots... cool! CW, I had a lot of decisions on the caps/bold/italicized front - I wanted to emphasize various parts of dialogue a BIT... but it's also supposed to be kind of an underhanded, subtle read... and the period thing makes a lot of standard choices weird. In the end I went with no bold, just some italicizing. (Though the font we ultimately went with - the italics are pretty darn subtle.) I'm super-excited about Rip Current too... I want to see more!
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Tenzil Kem
04:49 Thu Apr 24th, 2008
Yen, your page X may have been a chore for Sandrine, but I think it's safe to say all of your efforts certainly paid off. The artwork is just beautiful and available for all to see on the corporate blog. Also, on behalf of the entire site let me breathe a big sigh of relief at the news that you are no Lord Maim!