a-flyleaf’s toyshelf
comic thumbnails

Thumbnails for a four-page comic; full description on the final version. Thumbnail notes transcribed below:

  • [first panel] gotta go fast
  • what [is happening in the second panel]
  • WTF is it [the eel-horse-raptor, “ehr”] eating
  • [speech bubble tail] points left or change next page
  • [two side-by-side panels are] too similar?
  • [last panel on second page could be] more dramatic; upshot?
  • zoom on related item
  • slight downshot [on last panel of third page]?
  • [panel of ehr glaring down] not necessary?
  • [ehr’s] tail prevents [person on back from] fall[ing]

comic thumbnails

July 6, 2017

Assignment: four-page comic, completed over several weeks at the end of the semester. Related: a full-page version of a panel, character design concepts, works in progress, and the final.

I also found the full original concept while file-scrounging; at 3 pages and 1,434 words it’s a bit unwieldy, but here’s a snippet:

comic concept (2017/7/3)

premise: A starving child wanders into an alley in which the creature hides. The creature attempts to scare the child off but the child is delighted. Some type of hostile character (not necessarily human) enters the scene, suggesting that the child has stolen from it, but the chimera puts the child on its back and flees.

  1. The child, apparently on the run, takes refuge in an alley. They’ve stolen something but stash it away. The smell of food tempts the child further into the alley – only to come face to face with the creature [end of page].
  2. The creature, who’s eaten most of the food, seems hostile and tries to scare the child off. Though the child is surprised, they’re not really phased and assume the creature is playing a game. It’s quickly established that the creature is all “bark” and no bite – it doesn’t make any attack and its motions aren’t aggressive. A third character (not necessarily human) calls out from the entryway of the alley, looking for the child.
  3. The new character explains that the child just stole something very valuable and if the creature could just step aside they’ll stop causing so much trouble. (They may beckon the child a bit before this point, cooing but no more trustworthy to the kid.) Though this person appears unarmed, even calm, the child is terrified. The creature hesitates, as if considering whether to attack the little thief. The child only seems concerned with the third character. The creature reaches out to grab the child—
    • Third character could be a human? The kid’s not afraid of a chimera monster but an unarmed human being scares them. The reader can draw conclusions from here. The stolen thing isn’t food, but the humans know each other and it ain’t pretty.
  4. —and puts them on its back and runs, having decided it doesn’t trust this new person. Within seconds there’s no hope of the third character catching up. The child is bewildered, having anticipated punishment because okay sure they stole something valuable belonging to a deceased loved one but they were being bad and—the creature gives them a stern but sympathetic look, slowing down, and they just hug it in silence.
  • The setting is vaguely post-apocalyptic. The three illustration ideas can be thought of as taking place chronologically; the first at some point when the XRF (Xenobiological Research Facility—remember this from the trifold?) was still running and not that many creatures were loose stop worrying shush, the second from when these creatures were starting to be “normalized” but then disaster struck, and the third (this story) from some point after humanity realized “well, we’re screwed.” That said, humanity’s survival struggle isn’t at the forefront.
XRF trifold is referring to a previous assignment.