Gawain comic: first thumbnails (G)

[sigune]

"'Tell us about Lot,' [the King] said. 'I want to know about him, if I have to fight him.'"
- T. H. White, The Once and Future King. Book II: The Witch in the Wood (1940)



A week ago, I drew my first thumbnails for the Gawain Project, because I had finally figured out where to start my story. This week, I have drawn new ones, because it struck me that I really couldn't start where I intended to start :). - Yep, that's me...

I have an awful lot of backstory for Gawain's parents and grandparents, and important backstory at that. If I draw it all, I'll never get round to Gawain's own story. So I decided to start with Gawain's own first adventure, a quest for a white stag. I would add bits of backstory as I went along. But I soon realised that there was some vital information that really needed to be passed on first. One of the elements that I missed most keenly was Gawain's early history with Morgana the Fay. This part of my story is not in the legend. That is why I decided on a Prologue. An extra advantage of this Prologue is that I get to introduce King Lot, who is already dead by the time his son has his first knightly adventure.

A note about the thumbnails:
My 17-page Snape comic was the first comic I ever finished, despite the fact that I had been working on several comics projects before. So far I have always started drawing in earnest, producing finished pages, often without a written-out scenario. I got stuck for weeks, for months, or forever, because I improvised and didn't anticipate specific creative problems.

The main problem, I think, is that writing scenarios is just not my kind of thing. But I do want to tell my own story. When I met Cecilia "Cabepfir" last year, she told me that she has her entire epic comic ready - in thumbnails. They are mainly talking heads, but the entire story is there. Me, I have painfully little to show for all the ideas I have had.

Laying out, or writing down, a story in thumbnails is much more attractive to me than typing a scenario. It's drawing, which is finally what I want to do. So I have decided to go about my Gawain Project that way. The drawback for you is that you will get to see the story in a basic, rough form first. It doesn't look pretty, and the dialogue's not polished. But it's on the move. A thumbnail is produced quickly and in circumstances that aren't ideal - those that I am about to show you were drawn on the train. It shows, but ... they are thumbnails. ;)

Because they are drafts, you are very welcome to offer suggestions for improvements.

Well, here we go then.

Comments

[lunafish.livejournal.com]

Yay, I've been admiring all your new, non-Snape art over the last months, and I'm so glad you're working on a new comic (I still totally wish I could have a copy of your other!)--plotting it out this way is a great idea and, as you say, probably so much more fun than trying to write up some kind of outline. I really like the free flowing style of this; it's different from your other work, but still distinctively yours. I like it very much, esp. the close-up of Gawain's face in that last frame!

P.S. I don't remember now if I thanked you for the Christmas card, so thank you! I love the little splashes of color in the scarf and the red and gold gloves (a little intriguing back story there, I'm guessing! :). And the flair of his coat--squeeeee! :-D

[sigune.livejournal.com]

The backstory of the card is really up to the viewer :). I'm glad you liked it!

It's great to hear you are enjoying the non-Snape art too :D. It's making me do new things - very different from the Snape stuff - but at the same time I couldn't do it without all the things I have learnt while Snapeing. I think a similar spirit will be there in the new story, too; some of my themes always come back...

The free flowing style of the drawings is due to the fact that they are entirely spontaneous and unstudied. It is quickly obvious what I can and can't do. This is what my drawings look like when I can't erase anything :).

I didn't get to continue on the train today :/. Must mend tomorrow...