stasisdelirium
patreon
A New Territory of Old Terrain.
🕑 Added 2019-05-15 21:56:13 +0000 UTCI was doing some warm-up sketching (Which will be posted in short order once I can sit still again) that involved a goofy comic with Cinders and Berrand (which also will be posted soon). A thought hit me as I was drawing both of them, however.
I have so much story and material on the pair of them, yet I've actively avoided doing a graphic novel/paint series on their story.
There were a lot of reasons and justifications I'd make to myself for this. The fact that it would be 'too much work' or that 'I'd get to it someday'. I worried that I was somehow exploiting them as characters somehow, and even telling myself that 'people wouldn't be very interested.'
It was all completely wrong, of course, but I think the prospect of doing a story of their travels through life in my own world was terrifying in some respect.
Well, that's going to change.
I thought about this for the last couple of days, bounced some ideas around in my head about where I could start, what I'd have to (collaboratively) write and even planned to bring this up with someone who's characters are actually a large part of their story as well (I'm nearly certain they'll be on board with this). I'm going to start doing a long form, non-traditional 'comic' of this story.
I used to tell myself I'd get to it someday. Well, I'm in my forties now. This kind of has to be 'someday' or I just will never get to it before my limbs and eyes fail me enough to where I can't draw anymore.
I thought I'd announce it here first. This is still in the ephemeral stages of concepts, and the project doesn't even have a title yet. But the story is already there. This is simply a matter of adapting it to the best medium of storytelling that I can.
What to expect
The comic will be in colour. It won't follow traditional formats of having 'pages' in sets of 32. These days everything is digital, long-form comics are becoming more and more abundant, and it leaves a certain open feeling to how a story can flow. There will be chapters, side-stories, and other structures to keep it from being a 'run on sentence' of art however.
There will be a LOT of concept art. Some of these characters haven't been drawn in over a decade. Others are merely in written form and have never been drawn out. I need to get comfortable drawing to a certain style that I want this whole thing to appear in.
All of this, of course, will be posted here without watermarks and at 150DPI and up for the concept sketches, with the comic pages themselves being at 300dpi for all tiers.
What will happen with the Tides comic
Tides has been a tricky bear over the last year to pin down in terms of story. I can state emphatically that I'm not stopping or cancelling it, but its going to be a side-project to this one. Its actually a great 'test bed' for practicing comic-work. But its a story that I still haven't finished figuring out from where the last page stopped.
Still doing Patron Sketches?
Oh indeed! Patron Sketches are a 'guarantee thing' for folks at the $10 tier each month. They aren't a hassle, they help me keep sharp, and I like seeing all the character stuff you all come up with. Those will indeed continue.
That said, there will still be some random 'world' art here and there along the way. I still love the tribal wolf-folks of my world (I love all the varied people in the world, really) and the moos, and the birds, but I'm happy to say that many of those creatures will factor into this story project as well. Its a win-win in terms of world development. It means I can go in and fine-tune things about the places in this journey out of sheer interest to make sure they feel alive.
I'll admit to being a bit daunted and terrified by the thought of doing this story. But I'm excited as well, almost giddily, and I know this won't be something I become bored with. The sheer amount of story is going to mean that this is my project for as long as I'm able to put a stylus to a screen.
Expect to see a lot of concepting going on over the next while, as well as colour treatments and ideas for places and environments. The comic itself will be posted to all galleries I'm in, but a fair amount of these concepts and treatments probably will only be posted here.
So, one footstep onto the new territory, walking old earth as I go forward.
-T.J.
Comments
Tygepc
Congratulations on getting started on the comic. I can't wait to see it. I love your characters and the story hints you've been dropping. Good luck and all the best.
Tim J.
Sometimes the Journey is the biggest part of a passion project. I can understand how a story just keeps going, and branching and to be honest, I kind of like that. It means that in some way that project is alive. The story has a life and wants to tell itself through your keyboard. I don't know if I'm going to ever finish this project. There will be a lot of branching stories. A lot of discovering and fleshing out locations and ideas from the smallest town on some coast to the Gods themselves and what happened to them. It might sound like the ravings of a madman to want to start detailing out that kind of broad reaching story, but sometimes that story isn't just a product to put before an audience, its a being that wants to sing. The 'end' may be just that the song stops having words, instead of a hard conclusion. Not that having a finite story is a bad thing, mind you. Fantastic stories have been told that had a clear ending to them. But with this one.. I don't know where that will be. There might be one! There might not. But there will be a beginning, and I'm both terrified and excited to see how things go. And really, no worries on reading back through the posts I have here. Patreon, while decent for posting in a Blog-like way, isn't the best when it comes to going back through older posts. I believe its still based on a scroll-system that means it would take ages to find the start of all of this. Heck, I myself don't look for old posts here, and instead just rummage through my archives of art when I need to find something. Here's to the tales and songs to be said going forward, for both of us. May the earth rise up to meet us.
Tim J.
Very kind of you! Right now its just a matter of getting the decade or so of material (or more.. Yikes, time flies) into an adaptation that can be told via graphic novels. I'm still kind of lost in the whirlwind of things going through my head that all want to be told. Moments that want to be seen. I'm looking forward to see where this goes! :D
Tim J.
That's the hope! I'm going to try and not get too far ahead of myself, and instead just write things in a smaller scale manner for each 'chapter'. :)
Perfesser Bear
I shall await these developments with bated breath. I keep promising myself to read through your archive, but I just as often forget. Whatever you give us will be most welcome. I started a 'furry' novel over twenty years ago. Today, the novel is still incomplete and I'm in my sixties. I have posted a few excerpts on <b>Fur Affinity</b>, but most of what I have produced lately have been spin-offs and tales of the present. I don't know if I'll ever complete the original tale.
Soba
I'll be very happy to see this come to fruition! Set realistic goals and I'm sure the result will make you quite happy.
Sylvian
This is excellent and exciting news. I'm already looking forward to seeing what you come up with. My offer from a few months ago still stands and I'd be more than willing to help you write this, if you so wish it.
