Comic Report #86 - Lunch Date

Coming off the conclusion of the 100 minicomic run, I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders.  I don't have the additional project to budget my time with.  And just in time, as we've finally arrived at a long-anticipated scene for many readers.  Between finishing up the 100th mini and today I was able to get the next main-comic page sketched.  Since I don't have my huge other-project work crunch with my gamedev stuff right now I feel like I can get these next few pages done in fairly quick order.  

Also, speaking of gamedev: one of the projects I'm planning to pick up in replacement of the minicomics is to stream colorizing the pencil gamesprites I have drawn, to try and make the Dead Winter game look a bit more complete and presentable.  But for now, let's talk about this new page.

This page starts the culmination of a very long thread, with Alice and Lizzie meeting up by the river.  You can probably tell from the way the page is laid out but this intro page is going to be a lot of Lizzie internal monologue boxes- those are usually useful for framing a scene before actual talking takes place.  This scene is going to take a few pages to get through so I want to set the stage just right.

The way I chose to lay this page out is to have two columns of panels that lead down into a joining final panel.  In each column of panels I want to have the camera rotate around the subject and each column reflects the other, to try and convey both Lizzie and Alice either moving towards or looking forward to if Monday actually delivered that note or not (spoilers: he did).  I wanted the layout to feel like two threads intertwining, I think it might have come across.

For the setup, Lizzie has taken her lunch break from the Jade Garden, so she's got a little takeout box of something to eat.  Importantly, though, she has another food container next to her penciled in in blue, this will be important in a moment.  Alice's route to the riverside can go a few ways, so I'll be consulting my handy Town of Tombstone Map Panel to pick out background details for that fourth and sixth panel:

I've been drawing those minicomics for so long I have to sort of remind myself I need to draw noses and fingers properly again, since in the minis I just drew circle hands and no-nose faces.  Drawing the very cartoony minis will probably have had an impact on how I draw my main comics but I do need to maintain the correct level of detail for this part of the project.  It's a little thing but it's something to look out for.

That's it for today.  Thank you as always for the support of my work. I hope you enjoy the next few pages.  I'll have more to share later when I flesh out my game sprite streaming process.  Until next week, take it easy.