Apparently I haven’t posted any art on the internet this week, but I have been drawing, so I’ll put up some photos of pencil sketches I did. I realized that the version of my graphic novel I’ve been planning isn’t what I wanted to do. Like, I could make that book, but I want something else from these characters. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with another outline. At this point, I know roughly how the story will go, so it’s a matter of figuring out what scenes I want to draw. I have given myself room and license to really use space and have fun, and now I need to rise to that challenge; being used to making short comics that have to get to the point, it’ll be a workout to include “nonessential” moments.
-Deep breath- I am allowed to use pages however I want. -sigh-
But yeah, I’m very hopeful about it. As always, I don’t want to get into details about the story itself, but I do want to talk about some of the stuff with the characters I’ve posted so far. Kierra is still going by Kierra, but I did find a way to bring back the source of the nickname Lea. I’m still debating, but she may be seeing some updates to her hairstyle, so stay tuned; we’ll definitely be seeing other hairstyles she’s had in flashbacks. I took this opportunity to redesign Fish, as well. I’ll probably mess with her hair a bit more, but I like the style. Sadly, she won’t have so many scars, but she’s still ripped and has a sexy job. And Walker’s name change is complete: They are now Rain Mayazuki. I had always imagined Rain as being biracial, and so, with the need for their name to be Walker Lamb gone, I decided to put it in their name. Rain is their chosen name, and to me, Rain feels like it works for them for the same reason Walker used to; I took their last name from Jun Mayazuki, author of Kowloon Generic Romance. I also will have their hair be black now. I think it’ll suit them better in the upcoming story, I like black hair, and it’ll allow me to simplify the color palette like I want.
I want to talk about something else, but honestly, I don’t have too much right now. I’m still adjusting to the reality of the world, plus the change in daylight and stuff at work are affecting me. I’m going to be transitioning into a new position this upcoming week that’ll require me to be awake earlier than ever on a consistent basis, which I’m unhappy about. It’s supposed to get me the experience I need to move into a management role in the near future, with store openings planned. Once again, I’m looking at my future with some trepidation. I’ve never wanted to be a manager or be in charge of anyone, I’m just forced to go down this path if I want to make a reasonable amount of money to live on. The early hours will be the norm, and I’ll have to both directly deal with and carry out corporate nonsense.
I just want to make my books, you know? Destressing from work already takes up so much of my time. I want to get myself on more of a routine, and that’s really hard when your schedule is inconsistent. Adding in mandatory overtime and the pairing of really early with really late makes it so much worse. Like…I want to feel in charge of my time, that I’m able to make time and space for myself to do the things I want to do. I do plenty of things I like and have the opportunity to do, but I feel so itchy when it’s not what I want to do. I’m tired of the freedom to do anything; I want the freedom to do something. I’m worried that work will keep me from that freedom, but I guess I have no choice but to figure it out anyway. I should schedule vacation time, even though I can’t afford to go anywhere.
Life in the Gutters 