Untangling the Knots

 Hello Readers!

From the comments it became clear that last week's installment was a bit confusing.  Hmm... Dang.

Well, maybe this week's pages will clear some things up or move the story along so the confusion is quickly forgotten. Here we go...

Page 71

Page 72

Ok, so, let's go back a bit.  Fancy, Marcel and Jake were in the flight simulator, Dave was watching out the window as they piloted the real jets through the flight simulator.  Fancy's foot suddenly hurt while doing a maneuver. Dave suggested Fancy look out the window at the remaining flying jets.  Moments later, Lawrence took over and ended the simulation. At least that's how I'd hoped the scenario would play out.  Maybe I mixed up the last page's panel order a bit.

I like all these panels, all of them... except maybe the last on page 72. It's cute, it's romantic and I just don't like it.  Maybe it's too "cute-sy". It's a drag because this is one of the first moments we see how the characters feel about one another. 

Jake and Marcel are funny and well drawn in that first panel, Lawrence and Fancy are pretty consistent throughout.  The jets look really good in all but the last panel.

But that last panel... maybe it's the flat perspective or that the jet looks so boring and not really like a jet.  I dunno.  What do you think?  Can you suggest a better angle?  Maybe some better, less obvious action that still shows how they feel.

Back And Forth

 Hello Most Faithful Readers (Yes, I mean you, IG!!),

Yes, I missed last week and yes, it is because I was busy and yes, I know that's a terrible excuse considering this single blog is the reason why you get up every morning! 

And yes while I have just one page to show you, I have some behind the scenes missteps to show.  How exciting is that!

Page 71

Perhaps you recall on the last page, Fancy had some sort of problem with her darned foot, when sent her jet into a bad turn but she recovered. So we're picking up from there.

I like the first panel here, with Dave and Fancy considering Fancy's bum ankle and the message on the last panel is good - it shows what she's feeling and thinking deep inside.  The expression is pretty good and wistful, even if the drawing is off model.

Now that I look at it, Lawrence on the first panel is too static.  I wasn't quite sure how Lawrence felt when I drew him there, which is why his posture is pretty un-remarkable.  Ah, but there is a reason for that... a "behind the scenes" reason, and nothing so interesting as subtext or something story related, something more mundane!    

You might need to click on the image below to see it larger.

Ok, so like I keep going on about, I don't really know where I'm going with this story which means I sometimes take the story into a knot or dead end and I thought that was happening in the first two pages.  

On the first on the left page, we see Marcel Jack expressing their excitement about the simulation and then their incredulity with the real jet when they see it.  On the next page we see their refusal to fly inside the jets. 

Part of my interest in this story is seeing these particular jets in action and piloted.  If these pilots refuse to fly in them, it is conceivable that other pilots might also, which could knock that bidder out of consideration. And then if he and his jets were out of consideration, they would move to the story sidelines, and I wanted and needed to keep them more front and center.  

We'll see how this goes... there are so many directions one could take this story, and I'm trying to find the path through it. There is another BIG hurdle coming up in your viewing pleasure, so hang on tight... or get ready... or... stay tuned!

Showing & Telling

 Hello Friends, and welcome to another installment of... FLIGHT OF FANCY!!! Whoo!!

Oh, yes!  Page 69 and 70.

Page 69 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page70

I think these pages turned out pretty well... I must have had a good idea of what to do with them which might account for them looking good.  I think these pages flow together nicely.

On page 69, yes, lots of exposition, and not all of it clear, but the purpose of it was to tell and show what the jets are capable of. Also, that page was also drawn out of order, but easily sorted thanks to the Sanity Saver (Photoshop!!).

The little middle three panels on page 70 look a bit tight, but I think they work, and look good.  They were fairly challenging to draw and, again, are there to show how one might fly one of these. Not sure why that is important, but my goal was to make the action more fun, more visceral for the reader.

Disconnected Reality

 Hello Faithful Readers.  Yes, I missed last week, but lucky you, my miss is your gain - two pages and some pretty good ones at that!

So here they are:

Page 67

Page 68

Mr. I.Ghost, I recall you wondering if the planes would actually fly or if it was all a simulation. 

The planes can and do fly without there being a pilot inside!  WOW, it's like MAGIC!!

I hope it is clear that Lawrence can either let the pilots see a simulation or what is actually visible out of the jet's cockpits.  It's not crucial for understanding the comic, but I think it is important because with this ability, he can make the pilots believe or disbelieve what they see, but also he can manipulate and reposition the real jets without confusing the pilots. We'll see more of that on the next page.

So, about these pages. Like I said, I think they're pretty good.OOH, and you can see I'm playing with slanted panel edges on the first page! I wanted to make them a bit more dynamic and this was an easy way.

I think the drawings turned out well, all except for Dave on the bottom left of page 67 - his neck looks too big or too craned back. 

And as requested, you can see another pilot in the simulator on Fancy's left.  With the pilots so close, they can easily talk to one another. They're sitting so close together, but their experience might be quite separate.

I like the panel on the middle of page 68, with the hand on the see-through control stick. I'm imagining with the augmented reality (AR) goggles, the pilots can see some real things - like their own hands and the view out the cockpit windscreen but then other things, like the control stick are semi-transparent.

And what's Dave talking about with these relays again?! I wonder if I'll ever get round to explaining that, or perhaps, as they said on Hammy Hampster... "that's another story!"

Simulations

 Hello Readers!

Summer is winding down a bit and the sun has started to take on the tired cast of Autumn, but fear not, our story is still going! No closing down yet. I've got two pages for you and a bit of extra stuff too!  

 

 

 

Page 65

Page 66

Another pair of pretty good pages. The characters are drawn well and the dialogue and action is good too.

I really like that first panel on page 66 where you see the flight simulator that is has small seats close together and is perhaps low tech, but then again, maybe it breaks the mold and is higher tech in ways other than just using AR goggles. I made a mistake in that there are four seats and we have four pilots (including Dave), but Dave declines to participate. I don't know how I figured there weren't enough seats for all participants, but, well... I needed Dave to see what is "actually" happening, not participating in the simulation so you, the audience, have a better idea of what's going on and what these jets are capable of.

The middle panel on page 66 is also pretty sweet in that it helps show how big the simulator really is.  Yes, I didn't draw the other pilots beside Fancy, but... well yes.  I didn't!

I thought you might like to see this stuff that got nixed and changed.

 

At the top left was my first stab at drawing the simulator.  I was imagining four large rooms or bays, each with it's own screens and then the person who is operating the sim sits in the middle of the cross.  

I rejected this idea because, as you know, I don't like those big wide shots where you can see a whole room. I've seen it done in older comic books like seeing the inside of the Bat Cave with a HUUUGE screen and cars etc. and all the wasted space.  When I looked at those drawings I always felt they were done that way because it was easier for the artist, but I thought they looked cheap.

Also, I knew I needed to use AR goggles, so with that in mind, why bother with the big screens, and then I figured, why bother with big cockpits for each pilot. Plus, I love small tight spaces like this, so I drew what I'd like to visit.

Below that are some other designs for Red's jets. I like the one on the right.  I might still change them, but I figured not to just yet.

On the right side of the image you can see I had to swap the position of the top panel with the ones below it. I drew it as is shown and I confused myself with the order of events and tried to fix it with the dialogue. 

Also you'll see there is another drawing of Dave looking out the window that is absent from the "final" page above. I thought we needed to see Dave's reaction more clearly and in a more interesting way, so I just tried it below the first and liked it well enough to put it in.