catharsis, page 19

EDIT: as suggested, swapped the palettes, so the alt palette is now the "official" palette :)

okay so, i've been dealing with a lot of health issues with my dog, so the commentary on this page isn't going to be impeccable. today was the day where i finally could not keep it together and started crying inside the vet clinic so i think it might be impossible to not be at least a little preoccupied.

the second version you see of that page is because i was really conflicted about the palette for this page. i like the second palette more, but i had an issue with the expectation this would set for the rest of the comic.
i wanted to help elevate the inner world part of this page to something more "real" by making it more colorful, and giving it shading. the outer world would be hazier, unshaded, and with less contrast. this is setting the understanding of these two "worlds" juxtaposed next to each other for the rest of the comic, though, and the alt palette looked a lot like sepia tones in a way i didn't like. i don't want every scene where simultaneous things are happening to be half greyed out and half colorful. so, i ended up going with dulled normal colors. there's also a transition "back to reality" that is easier if the colors aren't so far off from what they'd be without any dulling.

anyway, we get a little taste of felix's inner world and dissociation starting on this page. i noticed that it's probably very confusing for someone who doesn't know felix at all due to a rapid introduction of unreality, but i think it's alright to leave the audience a little confused; it's what elicits curiosity.
i also noticed that this scene really doesn't give the audience a good idea of what felix's personality is LIKE -- it's built to frame saga more than anything else (obviously, she's the first thing you see on this page), and felix has many things on his mind besides charlotte that set him up as a foil to saga. i was more concerned about the long-term reception of saga than felix, so it's not really a mistake, but it jumped out at me a lot more when i have to see felix acting it out instead of just writing him to be passive here.

the thumbnail was large because of all of the small components going on in the composition here, like the tiny sagas, which are simultaneously supposed to evoke imagery of mew (the pokemon, yes) and birds spinning around someone's head while they're disoriented. drawing it out kinda felt like performing open heart surgery, but it's over now.

on felix's keychain, there's a 4-leaf clover encased in acrylic as a lucky charm. it was supposed to just be one key initially, but i was like... that does not make sense. why would he only have a loose key to his apartment? he would need to at least have keys to his store, too, and he would obviously try to keep those together.

as another note -- you're not going to see saga float at any other point in this comic because saga can't float. that's not a power she has even in her own head, but i thought that only made this scene funnier. i've been trying to add in smaller gags or details i find funny when i can for this comic.