Aftermath

[rowyn]

Where to start?

One moment I remember from the challenge, in the wee hours of the morning as I was inking the last pages: "24 hours ago I didn't even know their names." By then, I could barely remember what the first pages were like, they seemed so long ago and far away from the ending that I was working on now.

I didn't even know their names. I didn't know the story I was going to tell. I sat down at 6:59AM, and waited for a miracle to happen.

No, that's not true: I sat down at 6:59AM and started working to make it happen.

Even before I started, I knew pretty well how my muse works. I'd done three individual test pages and one mini-comic. I knew if I sat down with no idea what I was going to do, but had the resolve to do something, then something would come to me.

Usually several somethings.

One of the things I consciously decided I wanted was something light-hearted. I wanted playful, funny characters who would be fun to draw.

Various things influenced the process. I got the idea for the character's names from a piece of artwork I'd been looking at the night before that personified emotions. The choice of faeries was doubtless influenced by my first test page. I considered various directions to go with the idea, scribbling down notes and possible dialogue. I used none of the possible dialogue. That's okay, writing down things I don't use is part of the process. I considered various angles for the overall plot, and rejected several. In fact, I almost rejected the whole idea, names and everything, and was in the midst of trying for something else when Lut came over to interrupt me with a question about laundry.*

That inspired the me; suddenly, the characters gelled and I wanted to do my first page.

I took a few more minutes to decide on the overall plot and resolution, then wrote in my little yellow notebook:

"It's been twenty-five minutes, I think this is as good as I get".

At 7:25AM, I started drawing.

*No, Lut and I didn't bicker over the laundry. But it was an inspirational moment: "Do faeries fight over chores?"