Author notes

Behind the Scenes: page 774, dialogue difficulties

usedbooks

on Sept. 7, 2010

When I found all these papers in my yellow folder, I was amused to recall how the dialogue can change with every step of the process.

I lost some cute remarks from the original script. But I gained some too. And the final pages flow better, which is always the ultimate goal. Some things are changed for flow or for characterization. Others are changed to compensate for my limitations in artistic skill. For example, Seiko was originally scripted to be entering the front door of the truck when she got "lassoed," but it was far easier to draw her trying to jump onto the back. – And for characterization, it works out better for Mike to be the opportunistic wingman (sneaking up behind Meredith). He's Fudo's little henchman through and through.

The most challenging thing to deal with, aside from the shifting dialogue, was the visuals in panel 6. Untimely, my finished pencilwork didn't portray what I was going for. I scratched my head for a while, but the nagging "draw the frame before or after the action, not the action itself" rang in my skull. I'm not even sure where I read it to begin with… But, I moved the "bang" to before the panel, and the visuals finally became clear to me. – Creating those digitally was a challenge, but at least I knew what to do. Heh. (I was worried about covering up the knife point. It was the only point of reference in the picture, but it was unavoidable. :P )

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This is a special updates week for UB, and we're having something every weekday! So if you missed yesterday's update, make sure you go back and have a look, and check in tomorrow too. ^_^ We will return to our exciting UB story on Sept. 14th.

Also, I am requesting volunteers for cameos/extras in upcoming chapters. Details here.

Speaking of cameos, there's this.