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Post-Story Analysis
12 years ago
So it's the end of another glorious storyline and time again for my somewhat self-indulgent analysis of it.
As per usual with me, the ending shown was not the original ending written when I started the story - this is a very common thing with me, in that I do edit the scripts while I produce them. Indeed, the last three strips were rewritten pretty much a day before I started them. In the original ending, instead of the strip focussing on Jess and Reuben after Pytor leaves the story was originally going to cut to Isabel over-reacting to being shot in the tail and believing she was dying a "hero's death" until Reuben arrives and mocks her for being so dramatic, then compares her to Captain Ahab before they chastise her for being reckless.
This I changed for a number of reasons, chief amongst which being that it's kind of against Reuben's nature to gloat over someone getting hurt, even if that animal is Isabel. Also, I feel that Isabel is not the sort of animal to let any wound be the end of her – she's more like the Black Night from Monty Python's Holy Grail, constantly coming back for more despite bits being hacked off.
Also the whole side of Isabel's story is already obviously an Ahab parallel so actually referencing it would be a redundant piece of lamp-lighting so I changed it to a much more "Woods for the Trees" ending where Isabel somehow manages to avoid learning any lessons at all despite the fact that her arse will now make metal detectors beep whenever she's nearby.
So away from the storyline, this was also an exercise in how colour affects the cartoon. And all reports are good. I think I've developed a "style" now that's pretty easy to do fast (I can colour the strips in about an hour if I concentrate and don't fuck about) and personally I like the style of the later ones.
So there you go, a storyline I'm pretty bloody happy with all things told as it leaves possibilities and advances some of the characters a bit. For example, we now have the possibility of Pytor being in future strips, and we also learned about Bosco's sexuality and Jess's genuine respect for Isabel's abilities as a wild animal.
We've also learned that I write too much waffle on journals….
Like Woods for the Trees? Check the latest cartoon here - www.woodsforthetrees.com - Do it or I kill a puppy with a hammer.
As per usual with me, the ending shown was not the original ending written when I started the story - this is a very common thing with me, in that I do edit the scripts while I produce them. Indeed, the last three strips were rewritten pretty much a day before I started them. In the original ending, instead of the strip focussing on Jess and Reuben after Pytor leaves the story was originally going to cut to Isabel over-reacting to being shot in the tail and believing she was dying a "hero's death" until Reuben arrives and mocks her for being so dramatic, then compares her to Captain Ahab before they chastise her for being reckless.
This I changed for a number of reasons, chief amongst which being that it's kind of against Reuben's nature to gloat over someone getting hurt, even if that animal is Isabel. Also, I feel that Isabel is not the sort of animal to let any wound be the end of her – she's more like the Black Night from Monty Python's Holy Grail, constantly coming back for more despite bits being hacked off.
Also the whole side of Isabel's story is already obviously an Ahab parallel so actually referencing it would be a redundant piece of lamp-lighting so I changed it to a much more "Woods for the Trees" ending where Isabel somehow manages to avoid learning any lessons at all despite the fact that her arse will now make metal detectors beep whenever she's nearby.
So away from the storyline, this was also an exercise in how colour affects the cartoon. And all reports are good. I think I've developed a "style" now that's pretty easy to do fast (I can colour the strips in about an hour if I concentrate and don't fuck about) and personally I like the style of the later ones.
So there you go, a storyline I'm pretty bloody happy with all things told as it leaves possibilities and advances some of the characters a bit. For example, we now have the possibility of Pytor being in future strips, and we also learned about Bosco's sexuality and Jess's genuine respect for Isabel's abilities as a wild animal.
We've also learned that I write too much waffle on journals….
Like Woods for the Trees? Check the latest cartoon here - www.woodsforthetrees.com - Do it or I kill a puppy with a hammer.
Your art has definately improved, too, so you're on an upward path. :D I think the only thing I can really criticise is that this arc feels like it ended far too suddenly, though that could easily just be the pacing of the overall arc anyway.
*nods* Keep up the good work, Roo!
Thanks Conn :D