Week 1

It's ti~~~me! :D I wrapped up a big project in December, and another last Monday. I have a combination of savings and confirmed near-future jobs to last me through the end of the year, and barring unforeseeable circumstances I am going to spend the better part of this year making Over the Surface book 1.

Right now I am working off of an approved outline and trying to finish the script. Writing doesn't come naturally to me yet, so I break it up with a lot of doodling and reading and listening to good writers talk about craft. On my ideal timeline, I was supposed to send off the first copy of the script by the end of 2011...! x_x
I hope to develop into a disciplined writer through practice.



One thing I'll have to decide pretty soon is which art tools I will use and what aesthetic I want to go for. Most of the comics I've picked off of my bookshelf for inspiration are Japanese and have thin line art and halftones. I'll play around with test pages after the script is done and see what works the best.

That's all for now. Wish me luck writing something great!

Research, research, research, rewrite

Hello! I've gotten some nice notes from people asking about the future of Over the Surface, so I'd like to use this blog as a place to post updates about it.

I plan to resume production in March of 2012, when I finish the two graphic novels I am working on now. I will redraw chapters 1 and 2 with some rewrites, then continue on with the 10-chapter story. I have an interested publisher and it's looking like I can finance making Over the Surface my only project for the better part of a year. I really hope that turns out to be true, because that would mean a) finishing the comic for you sooner, and b) a more consistent end product thanks to the total focus it would allow.

The rewrites are mostly for the purpose of fleshing out Ava's world and foreshadowing a bit better. I don't plan to drastically change anything, but I do want to research topics Over the Surface deals with like war, climate change, aviation, etc. And yes, it's fiction, it's set in an alternate world, and there is plenty of room for fudgery...but I think that more research will make a big difference in the solidity of the story. Disbelief must be suspended! Spice must flow!

I enjoyed this:



The internet is a magical place. Also, the library. There are entire sections dedicated to recruitment and anti-recruitment tactics, military pilot test preparation books, famous aviators (even as specific as famous, female, French aviators in a certain decade!), and all manner of other helpful things.

I can see that there is a potential for over-researching these things, but it's really interesting! I'm enjoying getting sucked into it.

I also hope to do in-depth studies of Isolestra, Solvera, Tolle, the Faucon and other frequently seen machines, uniforms, fictional fashion trends, etc. before resuming work on the comic, and will certainly post those here when I get around to drawing them.

(a la Miyazaki, of course!)