Sooner or Later

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As promised here is my final for Visual Storytelling 1, and in my opinion, it is the best comic that I've done all around. Definitely the best coloring. There is still a few tweaks that I need to make, and in fact, I made some on the sixth page already in regards to the shadow on the figures and the balloon placement in the second panel. Originally the shadows on the figures were blue except done in multiply to give them that shadowy look, but it was still too blue that I decided to go back to what my normal shadow color is just tweak it a little to mach the nighttime color that I had given the environment. According to the critique it was difficult to figure out what balloon to read first in the second panel, and so I moved it around to make sure that there isn't any doubt. The other tweaks that need to be made are drawing related, and so it will be awhile before I deal with them.


I was really nervous that I wouldn't be able to finish this story in time, and I was very fortunate that Vis. 1 was a 2 PM class because that gave me a little more wiggle room, not enough to sleep, but to finish it anyway. Aside from penciling over the thumbnails with the lightbox I did something else that was rather unique for me. I didn't pencil, ink, or flat the pages in order. I thought that it would be better if I worked on the easiest pages first, and in some ways, it worked out well. I finished inking the pages on the final Saturday of the Winter Quarter, and so I flatted, colored, and lettered six pages in two days, which is pretty impressive given that it took me close to a week to do three pages for Digital Coloring. This coloring job is much better than that one although I wish that I could have colored certain scenes based off of Pete and Allison's mood. I thought about it, but I just wasn't sure if that would enhance the story or hamper it. I'm still not sure. 


This story had changed a lot over the course of the entire quarter, but fortunately the true meaning never did, which I will get to in a moment. It was always my intent to have Linda break up with Pete at the prom, and the reason behind it always remained the same, but when it was suggested that I add a corsage to it as an important storytelling device I had to figure out what she was going to say when she handed it back to Pete. Although what Linda did was wrong I never wanted to vilify her, and so I had her say,  "I'm sorry, Pete. I hope that we can still be friends after this, but if we can't then I'll understand. I don't deserve THIS," as she's taking off the corsage. It was suggested that she needed to be more harsh, and in fact, my Vis. 1 professor, Doug Dabbs had said that perhaps she should tell Pete to take this ugly thing back. That certainly is harsh. My mom suggested that perhaps I should show how naive or stupid Linda is by telling Pete that she hopes that he can get his money back. I didn't want to vilify her, but I also didn't want her to come off as dumb either. I did take the professor's idea, but went another route with it.  


I had mentioned in the last entry that this was mentally based on a true story, and what I mean by that is that it is psychologically true. The events never took place...for me, at least. I was once told by three friends who are girls that girls are looking for a guy like me, they just don't realize it yet. Of course, I had no idea what they were talking about. However, when my mom told me something very similar it finally made sense. My mom basically told me that girls feel safe around me because I am nice, they don't feel threatened by me. That's what girls are looking for in the end. I don't know if that's true, but this is my response to it all. Pete Taylor is a nice guy who gets used by the girl who he had fallen for the moment he saw her, and the reason that Linda uses him was because he was nice. It is sort of referred in page 3, but it gets talked about more in a deleted scene where Pete mentions to his best friend that Linda's boyfriend is a motorcycle riding bad boy. He rants in the deleted scene that he wishes that he wasn't nice at all, maybe then he would be noticed. The deleted scene ends with Pete telling his best friend that he is just going to accept his role as the nice guy, and he turns around to leave. That's when the final panel of Page 3 takes place.


Pete had just gotten knocked down, and he was feeling rather down on himself, but he rises above it by asking Allison Strickland to a dance. Not only does he find love, but he also finds that courage to stand up for himself when Linda comes over to tell him that she wants him to take her home. After writing down what the true meaning behind this story was I realize that the title Sooner or Later is perfect. It certainly puts this story in a whole new perspective when one knows the true meaning behind it. When I adapt this story to animation it will contain the deleted scenes, and hopefully, the true meaning will be seen a lot more clearer.

A Vampire Mouse Update

Cover for The Vampire Mouse #1

The penciling and inking of my first mini comic is complete, and just in time for the start of the Spring Quarter. So the rest of the work that I have to do is all on the computer. So I can now make this announcement more official. The Vampire Mouse #1 The Price of Love Part 1 of 2 will premiere at the Fluke Mini Comics Festival, which is being held at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia from 11 AM to 6 PM on April 21, 2012. I don't know how many copies I should print out yet, and so it may very well be from 11 AM til supplies last. There will be pin-ups for sale as well, and so far all I know is that the pin-ups based on the covers of issues #1 and #2 will be at the table. I need to deal with a few issues before I can guarantee The Looney Tunes Universe, The Disney Universe, The Hanna-Barbera Universe, and The Doo Family Portrait. The pin-ups will $20 each, but if you're a SCAD student you will get my special discount, which has yet to be determined.

The Forgotten Announcement

It All Started with a Mouse

I never get tired of talking about It All Started with a Mouse, and I certainly hope that you haven't gotten tired of hearing me talk about it. As you can tell, this is the original version except without the dirty colors. I had mentioned that I had entered this into the 2012 SCAD Scholarship Gala, but what I had forgotten to mention was that the artwork sold. I wish that I knew for how much, but they wouldn't tell me since it was a silent auction. If it sold higher than my estimated price of $300 then I would be happy.

The Alienation by the Atlantic Station

Another story that I had forgotten to mention, and this one deserves to be heard by all artists in the Georgia area. Around midterms, my Environments class went down to the SCAD parking garage to learn how to draw vehicles, which is a useful thing know in this business. However, I was a little nervous about it since I had this idea that the owner of the vehicle would tell me to stop, which is completely ridiculous since we are all art students at SCAD. Really the only problem that I had that day were the smokers. I was trying to draw an SUV near the smoking section of the garage, and the smoke kept getting to me that I couldn't finish the drawing.


So that Friday I went out with a few friends from the class to practice drawing vehicles at the parking garage of the Atlantic Station, and that nervousness returned, but this time, we were not dealing with art students. I was picturing that something was going to happen, and I was right, but it was not the way I had thought it would happen. First, the  security guard on a segway told us that we could draw down in the garage as long as we aren't blocking the doors to the offices. That's fine. However, he comes back later completely humming a different tune. Now we weren't allowed to draw down in the garage at all without permission. Another guard joined him except on foot, and he was a lot nicer about it that he was trying to figure out a place that we could go to draw, but that segway officer just wouldn't have it - give a guy a pair of wheels it straight to his head. We were told that we weren't allowed to draw anywhere on the Atlantic Station premises without permission because of recent robberies. For all they knew, we could be drawing schematics of the stores to later rob. Oh, give me break! Though someday I would love to just go down there and sit on a park bench and just draw from my imagination. It has to be something wacky, something not seen anywhere in order to really show the true nature of the Atlantic Station. If a guard tries to get me to stop he has just opened himself up to a smart aleck comment especially if I am drawing vampires. The Atlantic Station has made a very, very crucial mistake. I am a Wright, and us Wrights are all bitter that we tend to hold grudges when angered. I went to the Atlantic Station nervous, but I left it completely angry. I will not forget this.


We wind up going to the Fox Sports Grill to draw the interior, and they didn't have a problem with us at all as long as we bought some food or a drink.

Final Thoughts

Tomorrow starts the Spring Quarter, and it will make the first time since the Spring of 2010 that I took three classes. I am looking forward to that. Sadly, it will also be a very difficult quarter since a lot of my friends will be graduating. That's going to be hard, but I will not say goodbye because that signifies that we might not see each other again, and instead I think that the last sentence of this blog is more appropriate.


Until next time, this is Billy Wright wishing you all a good night. So long, everybody!