Legopig's blog

Finally got around to reading Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario and the striking thing is not the ending, exactly — our radioactive annihilation has been played out in countless books and movies, with the Cold War movie Threads frequently hailed as among the most realistic. It’s the beginning of her book that’s scary. See, the conventional nuclear scenario in most works is a buildup of…

they are out of the hole! I had to clean up the final scene from my roughs. I couldn't leave them down there

Perfectly normal train running to greet you cmon give it a hug (FYI, its this guy i drew half a year ago and i still think about it)

Found in a 120 year old time capsule.

"It's hopeless! Every man who has gone in is either too large to fit down the squeeze or they completely lose their nerve and turn tail!"

"Don't despair, we'll get him out. We just need someone small, tough, and with no sense of self preservation."

going fishing - another segment from the beast of loch broom!

Howdy! Here are the three bits of advice I tend to give people who ask me about getting into webcomic-making. Maybe they can help you jump into the fray with a little less fear.

1) Make Your First Chapter a Pilot Episode

You will be told by webcomic veterans to start with a short, simple comic idea first - which is wise - but if all you can think about is your big magnum opus, then you might as well hop in, right? Otherwise you'll just be glancing back at the other cooler project forever.

But if you can't start with a small simple story, start on a small, simple part of that larger story. Your first chapter should be a snapshot of the main conflict - show us a simple scene with few characters, ease us in slowly, keep things clear and focus on emotion/impact/clarity. Get the audience to care by offering something easily digested, but full of promise.

Once you're done with that 'pilot' chapter, and you're feeling more comfortable with the whole comic process, you can open the gates and show us the larger world. At that point, you'll be way more ready.

2) Simplify Your Art Style For Your Own Sanity

Always try to make your webcomic's art style as simple as possible - the standard rule is to use only 75% of your artistic skill for every comic page you make. Otherwise you will burn out quickly and terribly.

But you also need to be PROUD of your art style. If you're really feeling itchy, add a couple bells and whistles to your style so you can look at the finished page and say "Yeah, looks cool." You'll find the right balance the more you draw.

Also, don't be afraid to change your art style as you go along. Ultimate consistency is often impossible in webcomics anyway - so embrace your desire to try new things, streamline your work, whatever you feel needs to happen to be happiest. Sometimes the coolest part of reading a webcomic is noticing that style change - so don't hesitate to embrace it!

3) Resist the Reboot! RESIST!

The curse/blessing of drawing the same things over and over is that you'll inevitably get better at drawing those things. The trouble comes when you look back at old stuff and start thinking "Damn, I could draw that way better now."

You must recognize that this feeling never goes away. Not after a hundred pages. Not after three hundred. Not after a thousand.

I think everyone should be allowed one soft reboot for their first webcomic. Redraw some panels that bother you. Change up some dialogue if it doesn't make sense with your new story ideas. Do maintenance, basically. One of the beauties of webcomics is that they can be easily edited, without reprinting a whole book or remaking a whole game.

But if the ultimate purpose of a webcomic is to tell a story, then constant reboots will just be retelling the same story - slightly better each time, but the same at its core. We've heard it before. Most audiences would rather you save your strength and just keep going, rather than circling back year after year and going "Wait wait wait! I'll do it better this time."

Reboot early, not often, and only when you absolutely must! You're a storyteller, and you're constantly getting better at telling your story. Don't be ashamed of it - look back how much ground you've covered, and keep walking!

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Thank you very much! Every story idea I post is fully plotted out, I just don't have the time to draw out the stories entirely as comics. I do draw out the odd story beat in my sketchbooks - here's Chang and Tintin's reunion at the start of the story I cleaned up.

Perhaps one day I'll draw out one of my stories entirely. I don't want my work to be stolen and sold by pastiche pirates...

Hello all!

Sorry for the lack of posting. I wanted to quickly provide a brief update on the status of the Beehive fan comic. Firstly, I wanted to give a progress update on where I'm at with the comic.

As of right now, Beehive Chapter 2 is still within the writing phase (I originally wanted to write the whole comic's script before starting but at this rate I might have to settle). I had originally planned to start drawing/uploading again at some point in July but various personal obstacles have gotten in the way (It's work, it's trying to sort out work issues, adult business you know.)

So yeah, don't expect any new Beehive issues this month, once things stabilize my end a bit more then I'll be able to more properly commit time towards getting the comic started again. I expect it will be before the winter but I can't give an exact date yet. I'm really sorry for the delay again, I'm working towards getting this to you when i can.

Regarding posting generally, I'll look to try and provide supplementary material while you wait, such as old concept arts I have lying around / a new cover for the comic. For now, here is a small teaser for the kind of adversary Chloé will face in the second chapter (also I'll probably be moving to digital shading in the future, those markers are expensive.)

When Chapter 2 is ready to start, I'll announce a prominent release date. I want to get a head start before I upload so you guys aren't dry on story when there's uploads but I'll make sure you know what date the comic officially returns.

Thank you again for all your comments and support, it's been tricky to keep up the mojo for the comic so hearing the general interest in the story is always lovely! Hope to see you in the future, regardless of whether Chloé is in the show or not!

Best,

Tintin through time! 

Thought it would be fun to have my various designs for Tintin in one post. The canon comics have a floating timeline and Tintin never ages. I think rooting him in a specific time and context makes him feel a little more real (also I am a sucker for historical fiction). Click below for a potted timeline and notes about each design!

More info on page, TLDR; the Missouri AG passed a horrific “emergency” act that will make attaining HRT near impossible without undergoing a form of conversion therapy for months on end. We need out.

Absolutely anything helps. I’ll draw your loadouts if you want. There, now it’s TF2 related.

“Robbie is gone! I’m still here! And I refuse to live in his shadow!”

Rastapopoulos himself may be out of the picture, but his ghost continues to haunt those who were caught in his web.

A collaboration with @aboardthescheherazade using her OC Marlene Katz - an actress Tintin tries to save in Cigars of the Pharaoh!

Five years later and Tintin is baffled to see Hollywood starlet Marlene Katz turn up at his doorstep asking for help. Formerly under the thumb of Cosmos Pictures, Marlene became an unsuspecting witness to Rastapopoulos’ criminal activity and now the mob is after her, seeking to tie up some loose ends. To top things off, she is due to make a public appearance at The Golden Palm, a prestigious film festival. After years of hiding, Marlene is determined to get her acting career back on track, and this film may be her big break.

Tintin is highly suspicious. Chang, on the other hand, is utterly star struck, and after noticing an uncanny resemblance between the two hatches a ridiculous scheme that may finally put an end to this particular problem. It might just work, but Marlene makes the last minute decision to also go undercover, feeling immense guilt over having Tintin and Chang risk their lives for her.

While Tintin is running around in heels and beating up mobsters Haddock is away on a weekend break with Ramo Nash. Before leaving he asked Chang to keep Tintin away from any incidents and to promise not to throw any house parties.

This was my first collab on this blog and I had a lot of fun bouncing ideas off with Vaye. Her blog was one of the first Tintin blogs I followed - definitely check it out, it’s an absolute treasure trove of resources and research! Below are a few notes of stuff we discussed while making this:

tfw you realise you’re in love with your best friend and it’s the 1930s