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genericpuff · 10 months

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How long do you usually take to plan for a really long story/comic? Do you do a rough plan or a fully detailed one? Any apps you use for planning?

Thank you in advance!

It depends on the project. For my long-term series, it definitely takes me a good while to finalize everything from start to finish, but as a general rule, I try to keep my writing one step ahead of where I'm drawing, for two purposes: so I can have a goal in mind to propel the comic forward (I don't want to be writing or drawing on the fly more than I have to), and so I can have enough planned ahead for editing, because by the time I get to the thing I've planned, my writing has likely grown more and my perspective on it has shifted, so I'm not releasing "first takes", so to speak.

Usually I use LibreOffice and just sort of keep a few separate files for different purposes. I always have a "[story] shit" file of some kind where I just dump thoughts and notes that I don't wanna lose lmao but then I usually also have a file that's meant for outlining. I think Rekindled is the first comic where I haven't employed my spreadsheet method, which is when I'd use Excel/Spreadsheets to lay out panel descriptions and dialogue. So like this:

(Episode 14 of Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH])

Rekindled is more just note-taking, what I want to happen in each episode, and if there's any dialogue I come up with that I definitely want to include, I write it down in there. I've done all of Rekindled's process through Scrivener, which I learned how to use shortly before starting it. IDK yet if I like Scrivener enough to use it for my bigger projects, but it's been helpful for organization and keeping my files all in one central "hub" area.

So right now I have up to about Episode 70 drafted out like that ^^^ but things do change during the actual production of the episodes. Sometimes I'll write something in my notes that doesn't flow well in actual comic form. Sometimes I'll write dialogue during the sketching stage that I don't like anymore by the time I get to the final rendering. It's all a stage-by-stage process from drafting to final release.

The question of "how long" really just comes down to the note-taking process. I tend to work in bursts, the last time I did any written episode layouts was a few weeks ago and that was because I got like, 40+ episodes done in a day LOL So I'm all set for the next little bit, but I'll have to get back to planning by Episode 50 if I haven't done any before then. I'd like to have the entirety of Rekindled plotted out by the end of the year so I can get a more exact answer of how long Rekindled will be :' )

When it comes to software/apps, keep it simple, use what you know. I've been using standard word editors and spreadsheets for years now because it works for me. Scrivener's been fun to learn but as I mentioned, IDK if I'm gonna be able to stick with it for bigger projects like Time Gate because it feels like I'm wearing different shoes that I'm not used to lol But that's just me, feeling "at home" with my software is just an important thing to me, for others it might not matter so much. Scrivener definitely has the most features for drafting/writing/editing, but it's also not very beginner-friendly and there's a huge learning curve to really understanding how the software is designed and what it fully offers.

There's also Plottr which I've been using for [AFTERBIRTH], it's really helpful for people who need visual aids because it allows you to lay out story timelines through imagery. But I really only use it for laying out story beats from end to end, I don't use it much beyond that, any extensive note taking or scripting happens in actual word documents.

(idk if this is how you're actually supposed to use Plottr but it's how I use it so w/e lolol)

Ultimately it's all up to you, what works for me might not work for others so don't be afraid to try things even if it ends up not working out for you. Obv that might be a bit more of a "nah" when it comes to paid software like Scrivener and Plottr, but there are loads of tutorials on Youtube that teach you how to use the software that you can hopefully use as a glimpse into how they work to see if they'd be up your alley before paying money for 'em.

Hope that helps! ˋ( ° ▽、° )

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled comic #projectreaper #projectreapercomics #writing process #writing tips #ama #ask me anything #anon ask me anything #anon ama

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beltransadie · 1 year

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A Chat Under the Haitang Tree

Happy New Year! I've been practicing on my samsung tab for the whole past week and I wanted to show the culmination of what I've made with this new years art. This is based off of chapter 58 from 2HA where ranwan spent the entire night chatting under the haitang tree for the new years. I'm still not as good on this tab compared to how I am with the Huion, but I think this is pretty satisfactory. The approach is more painterlike in comparison. I do not have the patience for lineart (I've tried) on this, so it's mostly draw loose then clear it up.

The Journey to This Illustration

What else have I done while practicing? Honestly, most of them are ranwan art. Animatic making had made me proficient in drawing Chu Wanning and Mo Ran gahahaha and they're both fun to draw anyway.

At first, I wasn't used to drawing on a samsung tablet, so most of what I've done are doodles. I also spent majority of my time traveling (like since I got home which was an 8 hour bus ride, I had to go travel again for Christmas and back again, and then the day after I had to accompany my mom for another outing).

Day 1 (12/22)

Here, I slept for 4 or so hours, and find myself having to leave at 5AM. I managed to catch a bus ride home (where, unfortunately, one of my friends weren't able to ride because they waited at the wrong stop), and overall the ride was pretty chill. I spent most of my time chatting with my cousin, sleeping, and drawing. Here's some of what I did during the time. Most of it are Chu Wanning because I feel really comfortable drawing him.

Day 2 (12/23)

I didn't have any place I have to travel to yet, so I went out of the house to draw at a cafe. I still didn't feel comfortable coloring so there's none yet >_<

Day 3 (12/24)

Most of Day 3 was spent outside too coz I had to travel again to visit my grandparents. It was also when I started Yuwu (it has been chill so far, and I'm leisurely enjoying it). I didn't draw anything on the tablet.

Day 4 (12/25)

Back to the drawing grind here. I figured it was about time I try out coloring and I did two! While I had to commute again early morning, the whole of my afternoon was spent chilling at home. The notable stuff I did on the tab is this cute animation of Wanning finding a tiny Mo Ran in his gift, and two colored pieces.

The one on the top right I think was a failed attempt. The colors didn't turn out as well as I wanted, and concluded that it was probably because of the background (which was pure white). I changed it to gray and colored like I usually did, and I think it turned out really well.

Day 5 (12/26)

I had to go out and travel again. Most of the stuff I did during this day were doodles.

Day 6, 7, and 8 (12/27-29)

Gonna compile coz I think most of what I did were at cafes and it all blurs together.

Here's where I actually start getting into coloring. The first thing I colored was the bottom left one. I really like how curly the lineart of Mo Ran's hair is, and the individual groups of hair on Wanning's ponytail flow together. Next is the middle left one, which was just me thinking about how ranwan had 8+ years together idk lol. I drew Mo Ran as a midget there, I didn't know he was actually almost the same height as Wanning by book 1 (179 vs 181) so that was uhh lol.

The sketches for the top left and the right image I did the same day, but the coloring for the right image I did last. Top left uses some rejected designs I had back when I was reading 2HA. I thought it'd be a fun creative exercise if I derive myself of official character designs, and create designs based on how I imagined them while reading the book. (That's something worth making a post about.) Specifically, the designs are post-story. That was also when I started rendering a bit.

It was at the right sketch when I thought I could try a rendering a bit more. Like clean up the lines a bit. Still the same process.

(This wasn't done on the Samsung tablet, but here's the height comparison). Mengmeng and 1.0 are a bit out of proportion i know lol.

Day 9 and 10

All of it leads up to the new years drawing at the top. It was tricky trying to render the two characters, because I had to tilt my pen a certain way so the lines made won't be too broad. I spent day 9 doing the sketch and the rough color, spending time on the background too and Day 10 on rendering the characters and polishing the background.

The app I use (Infinite painter) has a built-in playback function which is pretty neat because I always forget to record my drawing process. I ended up changing the background a couple times because I misread the actual scene lol. But yeah here's the process.

Overall, drawing on this tablet is more painterly compared to how I color on PC gahaha. So many brushes to choose from, and almost no keyboard input >_< it's a bit tedious coz I like having my brushes binded on keyboard, and here I have to move my hand around on screen and sometimes I end up pressing the shortcut for the undo button. But yeah, I think I can make more colored art outside now. Learning to get used on this is fun.

Happy new year, guys!!

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