I really enjoyed this experiment.  Originally, it was to be a much longer run and the Main Character was supposed to be the bad guy.  He figured it out at the very end when he confronted the Lobster, who was known to drive men insane.  Instead of insanity, the Lobster brought clarity of thought, and revealed to the Main Character that he was indeed the perpetrator.  Because of life events, I had to cut back on my posting schedule and retool the strip.  I still wanted the MC to be guilty, but the more I cut the less sense it made.  I came up with framing him for the Thursday strip, and it’s a decision I am really happy with.

I hope you enjoyed this detour as much as I did.  It’s over, and I will return to the normal course of comicking in the next installment.

I said I’d use the red to tie things together, so I used it to bring the dress and the lobster’s claws to the same level.  This is not how I planned the story originally: I’ll talk about alternate stories on Sunday.  The story line is essentially done, but I will be tying it up in the magical world of color on Sunday.

I tried to leave a lot of blank space in this one, to play around with it. It’s okay, but I like the previous strip better.

Today’s strip was all inked by hand. Every last bit. The color int he last panel, of course, was digitally painted, but all those black fills I did with a brush. I really like the way this one turned out. I felt last strip was too dark. It would probably hold up well side by side with a bunch of strips in similar style, say if it were compiled into book form at some point, but on its own it really seemed to drag the page down. The next installment will also involve quite a few fills, but I think it will look really good.

I felt a lot more comfortable with my inks this strip. I did a lot of the area fills by hand. After a few of them, I realized I was comfortable but stupid: The computer can do the fills much faster than I can! I left out the ones that just needed the magic wand, and it was a lot quicker. If I ever display or sell these originals, I’ll have to go back and fill them in to deliver the full effect. I’ll worry about that if and when the time arrives.

I’m really excited about this story line! I’m also really digging the chance to try something new. I’ll be using the red that’s present to unify some themes and make certain things stand out, so don’t worry: It won’t be showing up in every strip.

This is an example of how a story can just jump into my mind, fully-formed. I desperately try to scribble down every little thought that coalesces before it disappears, fleshing out notes wherever possible, and hoping I get enough to work with. The idea is fleeting, and too soon I’m left with just a pile of barely coherent notes. I spend the next few hours or days reconstructing what I can, as flashed come back to me.