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soft-pedaled thumbs & summary
🕑 Added 2020-06-24 02:53:52 +0000 UTCmy computer gave out on me at some point so i don't think i have the completed file anymore, since it would have had to be saved by a periodic data sync with the cloud (i don't let my cloud data sync automatically anymore because it corrupts the fuck out of my files if i access them while it's syncing).
there was only one more page thumb anyway. here's the summary:
the language is a little brusque, because i write my side comic idea summaries by pitching to my wife first. the highlighted bits are what i considered thematically relevant moments or lines that needed to not be removed for continuity purposes. the green circles on the thumbs are marks to remind myself of continuity errors in the sketches or things i commonly forget.
if i could describe in short terms how i changed the direction of the story, it would be going from "what do we do about THEM (abused kids)" to "what do we do about US?"
something about the original story is that it never addresses felix snapping at one of their coworkers earlier, which the rewritten plot does. both of these characters are having distressing, somewhat inappropriate (and we'll say it's inappropriate for their intent rather than socially inappropriate) prolonged reactions to triggering circumstances and it seemed more well-rounded to have the end of the story focus on that rather than lofty concepts -- an issue with my writing that i've still been working on getting under control.
is it good to rewrite a comic in the middle of working on it? no, i don't think it is. the whole comic is going to be weaker for it. anything i planted in the early half has weird tonal dissonance with the new ending and i don't need to have drawn it to already be able to tell. the main reason i changed it was because reconsidering the ideas of the comic, i wasn't liking the lesson or implications. i'd rather just make a bad comic than a bad idea in a good format and i wish that was a mindset i adopted earlier.
some of the issues here that i wish were different because the story was rewritten in the middle of itself:
-if i'd planned an extended IW sequence i would have built the palette to accommodate it
-izzi's rant could have been cut off a page earlier if it wasn't adding up to anything
-quinn's presence in the co-front is just kind of weird now because there is no infodump about child psychology coming
-redesigning the characters in the middle of the story means i have to draw them in the old way while being influenced by the new way more, possibly dragging some of the old flaws that got worked out back into the designs by habit
overall i would not recommend reconstructing a comic midway through. it would've been better to start from scratch, but i just don't have the time or energy.
anyway, i think that's about it. it'll be in the new ending, but you can see izzi grab her own handicapped placard -- izzi has had some heart issues, which the scar down the center of her chest on her ref might make obvious. it also means she shouldn't be binge-drinking or consuming energy drinks, but she has a very "if i die, i die" attitude that has thus far gone unchecked but been alluded to.
Comments
SharkSnek
Super happy to see more insights about Soft-Pedaled! In art imitating life, before I found your stuff I actually had a very similar argument with a friend about obligations around protecting children: in the context of myself also having had child services invoked on my childhood home (for the better). I'm super invested in this one, so I'm excited to see the direction that this new rewrite goes. Thanks for this by the way!
