I think I got the shading right nicely on this one.

I'm starting to think the four panel format is too constricting, but there's not much I can do about it. If I enlarge it, I won't get my work done on time, so I'll just muddle through until I become proficient enough to actually draw six panels on time.

I know the story may seem a bit slower than the last time around, but it needs to be that way. This is, after all, going to be somewhat of a romance, despite the sci-fi setting. The first envisioning of the comic made me rush. I wanted to introduce too many characters at once, and I was pandering to what my friends wanted. I can't do that anymore. That's not to say I won't listen to advice, or occasionally make a little allowance for fanservice now and again, but I won't be as submissive about my own work.

I've been watching Haibane Renmei recently and I'm very, very happy with it. I'm on DVD #3 right now, where Reki's childhood is revealed and Rakka gets her first real job. The way it's done so far has been a real treat, and I'm happy to say that I think Yoshitoshi ABe has finally found out what storytelling is. To say the least, I was not pleased with Lain or Niea_7. Niea_7 had its charm, but it wore off quickly, and the loose storytelling didn't appeal to me. Lain was just a mess. It went nowhere, said nothing significant, and wasn't even fun to watch. I know its fans can go on for hours about how much symbolism it holds, the meaning of things, etc etc, which is fine. But I really don't like it. There's no need to be so vague and backwards about things, especially when you create something for the mass market.

Anyway, that's all for now. Episode 5 will be a bit delayed I think due to school resuming, but I'll put up some nice Hoshi art as filler.

Saturday, March 20, 2004 # posted by <$BlogCommentAuthor$> : <$BlogCommentDateTime$> <$BlogCommentDeleteIcon$> | Archived Commentaries