So This Is What George Lucas Felt Like…
May 27th, 2008
I believe very strongly in improving my comics by writing, drawing and “publishing” them (to the web). I am not one who spends days and days sketching and designing characters. I’ll do a few quick sketches (if that) and then up goes the comic. I figure that while it may make for rougher artwork, at least in the meantime I’m getting strips out there and there is no question in my mind that I continue to improve over time. Just have a look at my early strips for proof.
A couple of months ago, when I redesigned the Crown Prince to look like a 2-year old rather than a 1-year old, I was not at all happy with his look. The sketches I had on paper looked fine, but they didn’t translate to the screen. I told myself not to worry about it, that he would evolve over the course of the strip until I found something I liked. But after seven appearances in his new incarnation, I was at the point that I hated drawing him.
This weekend, I was drawing with my kids and I started drawing the prince. Well, sure enough, I come up with a design that I love. I couldn’t pass it up. I scanned it in and tried it out on this week’s strip. It looked as good (to me) as it did on paper. I decided to go crazy and modify all seven strips since the prince appeared in his new form. For those who have forgotten what he used to look like, here is a “before and after” comparison:
So what do I like better? The hair is the most obvious to me. Next is the roundness of the cheeks and chin. This shape reminds me much more of a 2-year old’s chubby face than the earlier design. Next is the nose. While ultimately, the prince will have a real nose like other grown-ups, for the time being, he keeps his little button nose like when he was a baby.
I use the reference to George Lucas because of his “revisionist” ways (Han shooting second and the digital effects of the Special Editions) and this is the first time I’ve gone back in time to change something that I consider major. I’ve corrected minor gaffes before but never a character’s complete look. I’m still curious to hear what people think (a) of the change of character design; and (b) the fact that I went back and changed earlier strips. The bottom line is that I want to draw a strip that I like and that’s why I made the change.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:41 am
I thought something was different with the prince, but I could not tell what you were referring to on Monday because there was no change from this strip and all the preceding strips because they were all the same. So, clearly, there was no change. And thus your comment made no sense, especially since you called the changes obvious. If you are the person drawing it, what seems obvious to you is not as obvious to the rest of the world.
As to preference? The first one looks younger than the second. Or at least with a new haircut. Personally, I think it would be cute if the first look was in the first two panels and the new new look showed up after the “Quickest Delivery Ever”. By the way, I just noticed the not-quite-deleted-prince-what-is-that-star-on-the-king-for first panel of 162.
But as long as there’s no Jar-Jar, it’s your world, and you can do whatever you want! (Though adding a Jar-Jar could lose you viewers. =)
May 27th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I like the new look of the prince, I bet he princess really loves her bother.
So do they ( the prince and the dragon ) always standing there and look at the princess all day?
What happen to the Witch and the newt ?
May 29th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Rosebud: this is a real revelation to me. I am clearly too close to the issue as I thought this would be a revolutionary change that readers would find distracting. As for which one looks younger, if you look past the length of the haircut, I think the first one looks older because of his more defined nose and his less-rounded chin and cheeks. Oh well.
As for the first panel of 162, that star has nothing to do with a “not-quite-deleted-prince” but is rather meant to indicate some pain in the Queen’s lower back. Take another look and let me know what you think.
I’m glad you feel I can do whatever I want because I have some other “revising” to do that will happen in a few weeks. I don’t feel it’s as major as this (and so people may not even notice) but it’s not something I plan on doing regularly. I’ll mention it when it happens.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Yeah to both! I love the change and I think it’s good to change past images if you can.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I’m the type of person who’s fascinated by how changes in a given body of work affect the final product. In that regard, I like seeing the “history” behind the process. The new prince looks good and it’s your strip to change as you see fit, but as a matter of “historical trivia” do you think it would be a bad idea to have a link to the original, non Special Edition versions of the strip?
June 16th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Andrew: interesting idea. I think I’ve seen that done on other sites. I’ll see if I can cook something up along those lines…
June 30th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I think Leonardo captured that George Lucas frame of mind best, in his famous quote: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
So you fit into a long history of revisionism, with some great predecessors.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:34 am
David: Wow, I can’t tell you how true I feel that quote is. Hard to believe one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had such profound thoughts!