Thursday, August 19, 2010

This page is the key to the future. Maybe.


Yes, yes, I know I should be working on commissions today. I finally got my comic buffer large enough to cover my move and that means the only art things holding me back ARE those commission. BUT, there is one complication: I AM A ZOMBIE! I pulled an all-nighter last night to help reset my wayward sleep schedule and that means I am completely worthless today. This is bad news on many fronts, as I had lots of errands to run today too. Oh well, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TOMORROW!

So anyway, I had to do *something* today to kill time while I wait to collapse at a suitable hour. At one point I chose to take out my weariness on the sketchbook. It just so happens that the current Precocious arc's scripting is hung up on Yvette's entrance. I could go a few directions with it. The *fun* route involves dragging her entrance out over a few days, but I'm getting very paranoid about how long this arc is taking to develop. (Things move so slow when only going MWF!) The efficient route is to just plop Yvette in there over the course of one strip. The compromise route is to make the extra strips into vote incentives, I guess. Point is, while I debated my pacing I began drawing Yvettes.

As I draw, I start thinking about other plot points and how the arc is going to play out. Right now, it's wide open. I know where it's all going, but I'm uncertain as to how long it will take to get there. Obviously, I've been taking my dear sweet time so far - and something tells me it's pissing people off. This pacing works when it's daily, allowing me to see all the sights as I go, but when three strips take a week I HAVE TO MOVE FASTER. Right?

When I have some difficulty with the sketching, I realize I have to nail down at least one important plot point. I go through all the permutations that had been in my mind before and I reject them all. So I look at one sketch, think about what it takes to make it possible, and ideas start to form. INSPIRATION! Suddenly a throwaway gag has turned into a plot point! Ideas are pouring out of my pencil as I jot strip idea after strip idea down. At the end of the session, I have potentially added a MONTH to the length of this arc, assuming MWF updating. Even better, this plot point provides the perfect transition to the NEXT arc. Victory!

Or is it? I love this new plot point (in my weary brain dead state, at least) but wasn't the point of sitting down to script to MAKE THINGS MOVE FASTER? This drags the birthday party out for potentially another month! What do I do? This plot point isn't *needed* to advance things, but it could have great long-term payout. On the other hand, I don't have anything solidly scripted for the main party, so I could just gloss over THAT in a "I can't believe it was so uneventful" letdown way. That's totally lame, but it could save a few awkward weeks.

The plan right now is to use the little free time I have over the next two weeks to script as many party strips as I can, so I can sort through and pick the best of the best when it's time to produce again. (It could potentially give me some bonus vote incentive strips as well!) The arc might still take forever to finish, but I'm hoping people won't mind if the comedy increases. Granted, I have no idea what you guys actually like, as my favorites and your favorites rarely coincide. Ahhh, I don't know! I'm so scared of losing everyone with my MWF update schedule, I second guess every strip!

Ugh, I'm rambling because I'm so tired. At least I'm blogging. I might even blog again tomorrow! With commission progress. (OH GOD I HOPE SO.)


1 comment:

Iron Ed said...

I don't think you have to worry about losing too many folks by switching to a MWF schedule. That's still several strips per week, plus, we have an extra day to do commentary! Precocious gets a lot of good and entertaining commentary and I always look forward to reading it.

I can understand the idea of possibly wanting to adjust the pacing of the strip, but I don't think it will need -major- adjustments. When it's reasonable to do so, I think each Friday's strip should give sort of a mini conclusion; although I rather enjoy the occasional cliff-hanger too :-) but they might be better for Mondays and/or Wednesday.

This is still my favorite strip! I continue to look forward to it even on the abbreviated schedule and encourage you to put your best efforts to SCAD.