Half-Masked

Let me give you guys a bit of an update on how things are going right now:

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*- I am in the planning process for a machinima series utilizing Halo 3. Story outlines, scripts, and even some early filming and promotional materials are already completed. I still don’t know if it’ll get off the ground, I still have to figure out how I would actually get SOUND involved. But this is another reason why I haven’t been updating Half-Masked as much as I’d like to. Even so, it’s not enough of a time-sink that it’s the main culprit for the sparse updates. If I can figure out a way to speed up the drawing process without losing too much visual quality, I’ll be able to work on both. But while I figure out what to do with Half-Masked, I’ll get some more work done on this project in the meantime.

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*- On that note, I’m currently experimenting with new ways to go about creating the comic. I’ve had it with the 4 panels as they are, the needless hours toiling away on art that isn’t “art-heavy”, yet is still unusually demanding and exhausting. I’m trying out new panel layouts, considering making the panels smaller, and I’m even tossing around the idea of throwing out colour. I never wanted Half-Masked to be one of those “Mini” strips, with blank backgrounds and incredibly simple character drawings. You may have seen this latched onto Fanboys Online or (ugh) CAD.

But I’m sick of how I currently make the comics. I get nothing out of it, it takes too damned long and the results are just not worth it. I’ve got a ton of scripts I like and wish to use as soon as possible, but they pile up in the time it takes me to get these strips out the door. I’ve got to find a way to streamline the process and make it a little more fun for me. After reading a large portion of Azumanga Daioh, I’m considering ways to make the comic more efficient and less of a soul-crushing marathon every time.

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*- Speaking of Azumanga Daioh, I’ve done the research and discovered I’ve written over 25,000 words for the series, its characters, writers, directors and its heartfelt brand of comedy. And I am still not finished. So I make this pledge today, to you, the pharmaceutical spam bots that embody my entire readership:

I am going to write a book about Azumanga Daioh.

No, not fan-fiction. Not a novel. A collection of thoughts and feelings and examinations of a franchise that has affected me more than most franchises do. I don’t know how much of it will be lifted from the articles I have already written, or re-worked, or how much of it will be new material. I don’t know if it will ever “happen”, or come into existence. Such are the risks of an adventure in its first act.

I am aware that saying you are going to do something is a sure-fire way to ensure it will never be done. But I am too excited to keep quiet. For whatever reason, I occupy a state of trance-like, determined zeal when I write about Chiyo and Osaka and their pals. I am a better writer in the 30-or-so articles I’ve conceived for the work of Hirohiko Azuma than anywhere else. Some people refer to that as “The Zone“, and I am not willing to leave that place any time soon. That no one may ever read it is a real possibility, but this is an enterprise I am eager to embark on.

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If and when any of these projects are ready to be unveiled, I will let you know. Wish me luck.

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~A.H.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.