I finally posted the comic that I've been describing as a digital zine/comix. Titled I Do Stuff it's up on the platforms NamiComi and Comic Fury.
I'm also posting it on BlueSky. I'm doing this because I know audiences do NOT migrate nor do they stick around in the odd chance they do click a link. Social Media and image hosting sites are all effectively gated communities.
Well, closer to Megacity One blocks like in Judge Dredd. Where people are born live and die in their building. Only leaving when it is destroyed. (ex- Twitter)
This is all ramble though. I'm writing this as another art improvement diary. Where I take a hard look at what I made, red circling things that I think need fixing, and making a plan on how to fix it.
1. "Liam & Mei Are Lost" Was Rushed And Looks It.
I was putting inking the comic off for well over a month because I wasn't feeling confident drawing PoC. Once I decided it was going up by the end of July I forced myself into doing it within a single afternoon.
I rushed it. It can be seen in the lettering. It can't also be seen in the backgrounds because I literally forgot to draw them until the pages were scanned. I added what I could in Krita but overall I find it to be the weakest entry in I Do Stuff.
The obvious solution is to slow down and lock in. I'm pretty happy with the story itself and want to share it.
2. "Expat Tales" Won't Work For Long As It Is Now
Conceived as a mix of drawing and photograph I decided the single photo with a few lines worked beautifully and dropped the drawing part.
It's there to tell stories about my 21 years peddling EFL in East Asia. I got a LOT of them, yo.
While I do fear creating a series of Grandpa Simpson-style "Ferry to Shelbyville" rambles, sometimes an event can only have its importance made clear if it comes with context.
It has been suggested that it would work as a concept if it were a lot more like the webcomic classic A Softer World. Even if I were to make something a lot less poetic the comparisons will come. I can't allow that to stop me however. You need to know about the ferry to Ulleung-do.
Right now my only solution is to take each installment and just format it according to the story I want to tell. If it needs more than one image and a few lines, I'll do that.
3. The Internet is Not a Zine
In a Comix zine it's easy for a reader to recognize that they've moved on to a new story. They just have to look back one page. Not so easy for a click-a-page format like Comic Fury, and definitely not for a scroll like NamiComi.
NamiComi... I like them. They and Comic fury are big on artist rights. BUT~ it's a platform for weebs and my stuff does not fit in there at all. They're cool so I feel obligated to post there out of support. But what I'm trying to do simply doesn't work there, IMO.
I need people to pay attention and phone scrolling is not built for paying attention. It's about shoveling slop down your gullet until you puke.
Since I can't go back in time and make the iPhone a failure, my current solution is the divider that goes between stories that you see above. I made one for Comic Fury as well. It's not optimal and kind ugly. I did think of something similar this morning and sketches seem to suggest it'll be doable;
A black bar like the above but with headshots of the characters of the next story. I won't know if this will work until it's drawn and posted but I feel confident it'll work and look good.
But will it be good enough for two formats that aren't built around what I'm trying to do?
4. The Remainder
- The intro and outro image pairings are good and will stay. They'll be their own little two part tales.
- The Necromancer comics worked just like I wanted. I'm pretty happy with them and with the necromancer's character design, which was a last minute replacement for the original because the original lacked life when put in motion.
- Digby is what it is because I already had several stories done before I pulled it. I do plan to move it to something akin to a Japanese 4-koma: A short story told four panels at a time. How is this different from the necromancer comic? Necromancer will have as many panels as I need for each strip. Digby will be locked in to its formalism.
5. If Wishes Were Horses Beggars Would Ride
I want to get I Do Stuff 2 up at the end of August but chronic ailments being what they are I can't promise that to even myself.
There is a chance I'll do some more Eternality comics for it. I have a few stories laying around.
There's a small chance for a fan art page where I take suggestions for subjects. I'm more likely to use that space for some old illustrations I've made over the years that I think deserve more eyeballs.
I'm also thinking of a wee blog entry because it's a classic part of the Comix Zine format, but people don't like reading at the best of times so likely not.
Otherwise it's just a lot of keeping on and keeping mindful for Project Git Gud to succeed.
