Progress on the graphic novel

[gs_silva]

I have a possible new image host. Cross your fingers that these images will be visible more reliably than the other sites I've tried.

Here's a before-and-after of a panel in my graphic novel. It's Maurice's first day on the job, as Jon's home health aide. He's cooking dinner and Ella comes home with Ren and Christine accompanying her.







I redesigned their flat so the front door is located at an angle distinct from Ren and Maurice's flat. The kitchens still look similar. I should have established the layouts of each flat before I started drawing anything at all, instead of cobbling it all together as I went. Having the apartments be similar when I'm not keeping track is better for continuity; then I won't have to work as hard to remember whose door I'm drawing. But it's terrible for readers.

Comments

[starmouse]

wow the updates look so beautiful! so cool to see the old vs the new

[gs_silva]

Thanks! It's getting there!

[moth2fic]

I love designing houses, flats, any locations really. I don't 'publish' them (apart from the map of Genef's world which is on my website)but they help me navigate whatever 'world' I'm describing. I would have expected an artist to prepare all the designs in advance but maybe that's too mundane a task for those with better graphic skills than me!!

[gs_silva]

It would be a reasonable thing to do! But I didn't start out with a big project in mind. I just started scribbling. thinking, oh, this scene should take place in the kitchen! A fridge over here, some cupboards. When the two American flats ended up having nearly the same layout, I stuck with it. It was continuity, in a way. It wasn't until later that I realized that different layouts would add visual clues to the reader as to whose flat we're in. Kind of like making sure all your characters have distinctive features, but every comic artist/reader will tell you that.

(And it's still not enough sometimes. I had one writer's group member continually ask me, "Who's that? Is that a new character?" even after I told him, "It's Ella! It's always Ella! Ella is my only blonde female character and the only one with long hair." I don't know what was happening there.)

It doesn't really detract from the story, I guess, but it still felt like a problem. Now it's taking me a long time to fix. I have to redraw and rearrange a lot of panels.

[moth2fic]

The person who asked was probably new to your stuff or had just been skimming!
I find I describe places in much more detail than people...