#also i want to lock down full refs for important characters to start doing actual consistent art for funsies lul

[khaoticqueer]

Quick rough concept before I do a full-ref real drawing. playing around with some stuff and style and design elements. need to fix like even the hair (and fix some things) and the contrast with the shirt a bit when I do the real drawing but overall I like how the shapes are holding up. Gonna be fixing up my style to have a bit more realistic proportions (closer to this rough, because I need the fact I do horror stuff to translate better), and work on lineart since I wanna try working in trad ink stuff soon so I want my 'main' style to translate digitally and traditionally (though I still will do lineless for some stuff/lots of stuff)

and I need to do like. a ton of fullbody refs for at least a lineup, though I might just stick to 'important' characters since this is meant to be a written novel and visuals are just a fun added thing for me.

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 09/28 NXT 09/30 NXT UK 10/01 Smackdown 10/02 Takeover 31 10/04

Raw:

*bell rings*, *Asuka runs straight at her opponent*, *gets punched once by some weak ass looking shot*, *collapses uselessly* PPPFFFFTTTTTTTT

I hate that elbow kick off thing Zelina does. Becky used to have a hold like that in nxt. Hated it then, too. Awful.

That hurricanrana where Zelina fell on her ass, though. Wow. Okay.

Is it just me that thought the modified grounded octopus took awhile to cinch in? That was in for so long lol.

Why are women barely jumping for these german suplexes lately?

Omg that one-armed suplex by Asuka was great.

That kickout by Asuka was incredibly well done. What a perfect stretch with perfect timing. Zelina even tucked the left arm. Points.

Oh nice didn’t know Zelina could do a moonsault. And right onto the knees so the Asuka lock can be set in. Nice. Good ending.

That was better than their Clash match, and Zelina showcased different things, even if I wasn’t a fan of some of it.

Ah the debut of Mandy and Dana as a tag team.

I really like Lana and Nattie together.

Oh wow decisions that make sense and are building toward something. What alternate universe have I stepped into? Please bring back GMs and stop being so lazy, please.

I really don’t understand why they moved these women like weeks before the draft.

Alright let’s swap momentum... it’s time Dana gets some comeback before tagging Mandy.

That full 180 flip Mandy did to Lana was really cool. Not sure if Lana was meant to land on her left knee or flat, but I think it was supposed to injure her left knee. Beautiful.

Points to Lana for the kickout, negative points to Nattie for jumping in after the three.

I wish Dana had hit a bigger move against Natalya at the end.

The pump knee strike by Mandy was a little messy, I would’ve ended it with her other finisher instead. Good match though. Glad to see Dana and Mandy pick up some sort of momentum, especially on their Raw debut.

Also good for Lana not having to go through the table for a week *applause*

Mandy is fine on the mic. It’s not awful, it’s not super compelling; totally serviceable. Dana though... always comes off like she’s acting rehearsed lines or reading off a script.

Nice transition into the next segment. Quarter point.

Whether I like the Bianca video packages or not, it’s always a pleasure to hear her song.

LOVED the incorporation of the hurdles. That’s what I want to see, that shows me an actual challenge. I have no doubt in her strength or speed; I in fact do believe she’s the strongest and the fastest. They just aren’t showcasing that right lol. Give me something more convincing. Girl was jumping over fucking hurdles, that’s convincing.

Highlight: Dana & Mandy vs Lana & Nattie

---

NXT:

Shotzi has too long of an entrance imo.

Dakota Kai is such a spoiled little shit lmao. She’s so annoying. Big fan.

Really didn’t like Shotzi trying to do her ballpit line so early. I really wish she didn’t take so long to set it up as well.

Wow I hate that submission move Shotzi, I’m sorry. Dakota sells it like death though, so she gets a point.

Dakota’s style is way too fast for her to play a slow, methodical heel in the ring. 

A one count lmao ballsy. Love Dakota’s reaction too.

Such a fan of Dakota’s selling.

Chicken wing german suplex into a pin? That was beautiful Shotzi, I agree. Great near fall. 

A common complaint I have with women - even on the main roster - is how they go to do like a spear halfway through the ropes just to set up some counter to their move (kick, a pump kick, the rope hangup Bayley does, Charlotte shooting through the middle to roll you up) and that’s fine, but it’s always easily telegraphed. Step up please @ everyone.

oof that landing by Dakota; hit her face right on Shotzi’s knee.

What does Dakota call that kick, Scorpion or something? On the apron? Awesome stuff.

Holy shit that... flipping backdrop - (?) I don’t even know what to call that - on the apron was amazing, but holy shit Shotzi that landing was terrible. The concept is there but man you might wanna practice/modify that one a bit more.

Cool Rhea came down to fuck with Raquel, distracting Dakota, but the rollup was weak. Also weak that Rhea merely pushed Raquel into the steps once before walking back. Good match though.

Stalemate after a bunch of pin attempts with zero offense. Could live without these spots tbh.

Very close range kick, could’ve been set up far better.

Li rolls out of the ring, heel 101.

Kacy you can’t just yell at Kayden to get up lmao plz.

This is the first time I’ve seen any personality from Xia Li.

Ballsy one counts, what’s with the one counts tonight lmao.

Kacy is a bad cheerleader, just getting that out there.

I love that roll through + side kick combo Kayden does.

Whoa idk how Kayden pulled that win out of her ass, but good for her. I can see this is pushing Xia deeper into frustration every loss. Won’t complain about it, love to see Kayden win. Good, short match. A rollup works here.

Highlight: Dakota vs Shotzi

---

NXT UK:

I love Xia Brookside’s music, but not with her or her entrance.

Now Jinny’s entrance/wardrobe/demeanor matches her music.

Sure Xia Brookside’s rolls were quick, but I’m not understanding why she rolled sideways lmao it’s like Link in Zelda.

If you’re not going to add an actual crowd or monitors, get rid of the hairdryer fans. If I can’t see them, and more importantly they don’t exist, then I don’t want to hear them.

Too many wrist locks. Also refs getting involved for no logical reason, just so the heel can take advantage, is annoying. 

That back drop onto Jinny’s knee was ugly, hated the collapse. Took the impact out of it for me.

Nasty Irish Whip, points to both.

Nice flip off the hurricanrana.

Botched monkey flip. Perhaps Jinny didn’t think there was enough room for her to comfortably land; had she went for it and tucked her legs she definitely would’ve been fine. Feel like that was an amateur mistake, plenty of women would’ve just sold it with their legs getting caught up.

That was weird. Xia Brookside goes through all that trouble just to make sure she hit the monkey flip, just to lift Jinny’s head so Jinny could punch her. Weak.

Kick out was sloppy.

Xia Brookside is gassed and isn’t even doing any offense. Or selling. This match is odd. This would get booed on the MR.

Jinny stops to talk too much while wrestling. Obviously stalling. The dialogue isn’t even good for all of that noise.

Whatever. A match I could’ve lived without.

Lmao bow down? Queen of NXT UK?? Girl.... uh uh. Nah nah nah Go sit down.

Highlight: There was an Irish Whip into the corner that looked impactful

---

Smackdown:

Alexa’s pyro was better timed than last week, but it could use improvement. This is important to me damn it.

You know Alexa, my spine feels cold and my body goes numb every time I smoke my weed. Has anyone asked this girl if she’s on drugs? Could just be drugs.

Kevin/wwe, I don’t need you to tell me she’s brainwashed. WE CAN SEE that she’s brainwashed. This has been escalating for like... 2 months lmao.

The hairdryer crowd being piped in kinda ruins this. This is set up like a scene from a horror movie and the noise is taking away from it. A live crowd probably would’ve stayed silent for her, you could’ve lessened the mass effect.

Love how she just sits there watching Kevin pace around. That’s good. She’s good. Love how Kevin knew she was calling to the Fiend with that line. That’s good. This is good.

She sits there poised and unafraid, yet intrigued with him. Like his queen.

The power of this angle and the fate of it succeeding lies solely on Alexa and her selling of it. If she doesn’t sell this or believe in it, or fucks up once, it shatters the entire mystique. Man I’m a huge fan of this story rn.

Glad I didn’t bother guessing who this mysterious woman was. The glitz and glamour has got nothing compared to the moonwalking, trashtalking, Princess of Staten Island.

Love the rainbow on the polaroid camera though.

Decent enough promo but that music was awkward.

Why did y’all make Sasha just stand out there shifting her feet staring at the hard cam lol.

This is all solid Sasha but like Bayley already admitted all of this lmao.

Yes, we know you saved her title like 15 times, we ALL agree with you.

I actually like the emotion written all over Sasha’s face that comes across as ALMOST awkward.

What I don’t like about this feud: Sasha’s still an asshole, and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to buy her as a babyface in like 3 weeks. She has the sympathy vote in a meta sense, sure, and I’ve been saying I want her to run SD on her own since November 2019, but that doesn’t mean she’s automatically a babyface within kf. Also annoying that they haven’t had a brawl that ends on equal footing, via interruption by officials or something. Also not sure how much I buy the character of Bayley being “too scared” to come to SD. If I could’ve gotten a quick interview by her, even if it’s her leaving the arena just as she finds out Sasha has arrived, that would’ve tied this together better.

Why she still staring at the hard cam lmao. Walk away. Leave. Make your exit. Alright whatever.

Highlight: Alexa becoming the Fiend’s queen

---

Takeover 31:

Man true, I forget Io has beat both Charlotte and Sasha this year. What a big year for her.

Love how this entire “arena” is set up, but my covid-paranoia does not approve.

Lol that one single guy trying to start a chant, goodbye.

BEAUTIFUL corrected monkey flip by Io

The attempt at the springboard by Candice was there. Could’ve been cleaner.

Good transition having Candice counter Io into a backstabber in the corner, cuz that offense was taking way too long to set up.

Commentator attributed Candice being slow in the beginning because she’s sad Johnny lost. Tired of the Garganos being tied to each other.

Why is every female heel on every brand dragging people’s eyes/face across the ropes all of the sudden?

It was not a nice move, she needs to stop doing her poor woman’s version of Natural Selection. Done.

Y’all are losing me, give Io some momentum plz.

Every single heel wants to go slow and methodical. Ridiculous. Where’s Sasha.

This was not paced well, ESPECIALLY compared to their first match. Their first didn’t breathe enough and was a sprint with not enough selling, but it was still really good. This is paced on the complete opposite spectrum. And not good.

Io has the best dropkick in the division, especially when you consider how safe her landing is for her own body’s longevity.

Totally no sold that powerbomb, Io. That’s a yikes.

Lmao Io kicked out of Candice’s springboard moonsault. Haha.

Got a meteora, 2 backstabbers, and a crossface... again, where’s Sasha???

Lmfao 2 ref bumps and a fake referee. GOD I HATE HOW WOMEN’S MATCHES ARE BOOKED THIS YEAR. The first bump didn’t even look legit.

Io took a title shot to the face yet kicked out, and y’all out here calling Becky “Cena” for kicking out of a chair shot to the midsection? Annoying.

I’m now convinced Charlotte has the best Spanish fly in the entire women’s division.

Rich having Toni do a promo directly aimed at Io, considering Toni beat her to win the MYC. Also rich how unbothered Io seemed lmao.

Ahhh the nxt women’s champion that should’ve won her title by defeating Asuka. We remember her well. Injured herself chasing the 24/7 title back when they were running the Becky/Charlotte vs Sasha/Bayley feud. Good times.

Highlight: Io’s theme song

---

*NXT shined the brightest out of all the other shows, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give major props to specifically Alexa Bliss.

[comicteaparty]

September 14th-September 20th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from September 14th, 2019 to September 20th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What would you consider the most interesting aspect of your comic to be, and is it the same thing your audience finds interesting?

ErinPtah is doing a Kickstarter

Huh, I can't imagine there's any one aspect that most of the audience thinks is "the most interesting." Different people have responded to lots of different things!

Like, with Leif & Thorn (now on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erinptah/leif-and-thorn-volume-2-sparklier-magic-er-funnier-gayer?ref=4l78c3), some readers are always tracking the political or economic worldbuilding -- the things with real-world equivalents (and some real-world commentary). Others mostly ask questions about how the magic works.

ErinPtah is doing a Kickstarter

Some readers get invested in specific mysteries (like Where Did Leif's Debt Come From, or Who Is The Woman In Black). Some are more focused on the main romance, or other relationships or character arcs. In the last couple strips there's been a flurry of comments speculating about the weather! (To be fair, it's magic weather.) Just about any topic can be The Most Interesting to someone.

FeatherNotes

For Ghost Junk Sickness, it's most definitely the worldbuilding we do. There's always planned concepts for every background and how we go about and strive to include objects and characters that help define its individuality. Most of the times when readers point out their favourite aspects, it's always the world building and designs that go with it! http://www.ghostjunksickness.com/comic/12-6(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

For Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/), the main focus from readers is worldbuilding as well. And along with the worldbuilding, lots of questions are coming up about the moral greyness of the main 'good' and 'bad' factions of the story. And that's exactly what I wanted From my own perspective, I get a kick out of the secrets I'm weaving into the story - I wonder if people will pick up on them once the narrative kicks into high gear, and will notice them later on re-reads...(edited)

Nutty (Court of Roses)

So... for Court of Roses http://courtofroses.spiderforest.com/ , I actually asked my discord what they found interesting, and the number one thing brought up was the worldbuilding. It makes me happy that I'm here able to create a world that draws people in, and then populate that world with relatable characters. I do my best to make THEM interesting, because I want the story to feel character-driven, so you root for them and feel for them.(edited)

HiddenElephant

The most interesting thing for The Wide Ocean? (http://thewideocean.thecomicseries.com/) For me, it would be some of the small details, some of the things that only I know, but some of the things can be figured out with the tattoos of the sharkfolk, which I love creating; they each have a meaning to them, which I suppose is worldbuilding. But I'm not sure what my audience considers the most interesting; it might actually be the story.

JUNK

I think for Fairy Fighting League (http://fflcomic.com/), people are curious about the setting the most. Fairy lore and iconography to this day is very nature-based, so having a bunch of fairies interested in tech makes people interested in seeing to what extent.

deo101

I think the most interesting part of Millennium (https://millennium.spiderforest.com/) is the characters. At least, it seems to be what people are most interested in. I've had a lot of questions about my worldbuilding, and I really love my worldbuilding, but I don't think it's what drives my story or my reader's curiosity. I try to have many different kinds of characters, and seeing how they interact is what interests me the most.

seetherabbit

I had to think on this, but I think the most interesting part of Vulperra (https://vulperra.com/) is that it's pretty much a collection of relative short stories set in the same world, where you have one set of stories about a super hero and a set of just regular folks

FeatherNotes

I gotta say how much I love @LadyLazuli Phantomarines worldbuilding and chars, who all fit so gorgeously in with one another . its absolutely rich in its own lore, it reads as a story that's existed forever in a sense of how grounded it is!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

@FeatherNotes I feel like I've only gotten started, too! The world is very real in my head - it certainly helps with getting it on 'paper.' Thank you so very much

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

Very much agree! @LadyLazuli 's worldbuilding is hella, I can't wait to see more.

I don't know which part is most interesting for me regarding http://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/, it's like asking which child is my favorite. I guess I'm really excited to show more of the merm world, but that won't come for... a while. I love looking up the vintage marine stuff, that's always my bag and I'm always fascinated by everything I learn about old ships. I think the dichotomy between the merm world and human world is hella fun and I hope the audience eventually finds it as neat as I do.

kayotics

So I decided to take a note from Nutty and asked my discord readers what they thought about Ingress Adventuring Company (https://www.ingress-comic.com/) for this question. I always kind of figured the biggest pull for my comic was the characters, and it sounds like my readers think similarly. One thing that was mentioned a few times was that they really liked the pacing, which I really appreciate since I try to make the pages work on both on an individual, weekly level, and on a level that's not too fast when you read it in chunks.(edited)

Urbanjawdust

@LadyLazuli What's your favorite aspect of worldbuilding? :D

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I actually really like worldbuilding through dialogue and character interaction! My entire second chapter was meant to be my 'boring worldbuilding chapter,' but somehow it turned out less boring than expected I just follow some secondary characters around on a normal day in the world. They drop a few 'fantasy' terms here and there, mention some historical events and people in passing, and express some strong emotions regarding their individual situations in relation to the world's 'rules' - but it's mainly just them doing their normal thing as normal people. Conversations we'd have in our own world, but twisted to work for theirs. Basic everyday character behavior manages to do a better job at worldbuilding than any big 'Long long ago, in ancient times, there was a big blah blah blah' kind of opening ever could.

If you keep things natural, it's almost like the worldbuilding is silent - the reader feels 'at home' in the world and becomes fond of the characters, but also curious about how certain bits of info will be explained

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I agree, worldbuilding through character interaction is super duper important.

FeatherNotes

@LadyLazuli your lore is so grounded, the worldbuilding just completes itself each panel! I've seen a lot of your concepts too-- how old was the initial draft of Phantomarine?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Started writing in late 2014, started drawing in mid-2015. I had the basic plot down very quickly, but lots of details were very different from the get-go. The first chapter took two and half years to complete (because c r o w d s), but that meant I had LOTS of time to work out the rest of the world while two of my mains had a little underwater chat Still... no full complete draft exists even now. I just know the main beats and I fill in the details as I go along. It's... not very organized But it allows me to improve the story elements as I learn to improve my storytelling.

There's honestly a lot of lore that I still don't know the details of! I keep things vague because I don't want to lock myself in to anything specific yet. Hell, I haven't even drawn a proper map of the world... and that's, like, the first thing everyone does! I guess it's more like a picture that's getting less blurry with each chapter. For the readers, and for me. And maybe that makes it more natural?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Or my imagination is just extra chonky from years of zoning out at school, I dunno. Pretend your world is real, go have a picnic there. What's it like. What are your characters' favorite sandwiches. Who's sitting next to each other. Are there any threats to this picnic. I don't know. IMAGINE IT, DANGIT

I don't mean to be taking over this babble chat, haha. Please keep babbling, all!

deo101

what is babbling if not taking over a chat for a few minutes? we love to hear your thoughts

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

https://tenor.com/view/my-heart-goes-out-to-you-heartfelt-heart-love-touched-gif-9263701

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Yeah! We're answering a prompt, sure, but there's no reason we can't discuss it with each other, so long as we stay on topic, yeah? And man, worldbuilding is just FUN. Making the rules up as you go, making all the connectors and weaving it together... ugh. <3

keii4ii

The most interesting, and the most important, part of Heart of Keol (https://heartofkeol.com/) is the character relationships! In fact I describe my comic as a "relationship comic" -- like a 'romance comic' except the relationships in focus aren't necessarily romantic. As for what the readers think, there seems to be a fairly clear split between readers who focus on the relationships vs those who focus on the worldbuilding. I could be wrong, but I think those who stick around are more likely to be the former.

RebelVampire

Just want to mention as admin, it's 100% A-ok to semi take over the chat, especially if someone starts asking questions. As long as it's not too far off-topic, I'm happy to see discussions going on in this channel!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Roger that! I figured as much, just wanted to be polite just in case Thank you!

AntiBunny

In AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ I think the cast are the most interesting aspect of the comic. The characters grow organically, and develop, and readers become attached to them. I think one of the most important things is that Pooky is a massive jerk, and it's important to establish that Pooky is wrong sometimes. Avoiding the pitfall of protagonist centric morality is crucial to making a more well rounded cast.

AntiBunny

It seems that over time Penelope has become the most popular character as well. Given the setting is a world of gray morality and violence is frequently resorted to, her insistence on not using violence, proves she's willing to change the world around her, and refuses to be changed by it.