Chapter 5 pencils done

Chapter five pencils done (it's only 22 pages total), time to move on to chapter six. Chapter five is full of dramatic dialogue-driven events that are highly emotional. I realize when things get really emotional in a comic, it's really difficult to keep it "scripted". Normally, I script my comics in a fairly detailed manner, like a screenplay. I treat the comic page as a stage of sorts, with my actors trying to express properly what's being said and the panel layouts/compositions acting as a supporting soundtrack for rhythm and atmosphere.

However, in chapter five the emotions are really delicate since it's all about the subtext of what they're saying. I kept rewriting the last two chapters over and over in script form, getting stuck in the script stage until I found something at least mildly satisfactory, but there were still problems. Now that I'm pencilling, I can play off the visuals and the characters are guiding me through any kinks that are in the script, and the solutions tend to be so simple. In other words, I'm learning not to get too stuck in one stage of production. I'm learning the importance of allowing yourself room to figure things out and grow as you create a final product.

By the way, so you know how late/early I'm writing this:

That's outside my window. Some of you might be like "how can you stay up so late!", but if I sleep without meeting my quota for the day I wake up with a huge ball of stress in my stomach. I'm trying to avoid ulcers. Do they ever talk about that in "how-to draw comics/manga" books? Tomorrow I get to tag along with Kazu at the Animation Show opening. Hope I can squeeze some work in before that... Until then, I'm going to enjoy a nice, long, stress-free sleep. :}