City of Cards: Blog

City of Cards C3.28-29: HERE!

I assume at some point I'm allowed to say that these two are ridiculously cute, right? I know I'm biased, and I try very hard to keep my comments fairly low-key, but if you're finding your winter weather to be tough this year I'm pretty sure the next few months of updates will warm your weary heart.

I'm also still amazed Ace bothers to attempt to share the mattress considering how much space Plato takes up, but I figure the floor is uncomfortable and it's probably freezing out on the couch.

I posted it a few weeks back, but once again I recommend that before you read this part you read this three page interlude from Plato's perspective.

QUICK NOTE: ASHAYTA has started updating again so go check it out!

I also completed a quick animation of my panel drawing process: HERE.

It goes from thumbnail, rough sketch that I use to make my perspective grid in Manga Studio, that I use to do my pencils (often in multiple layers), that I use to do my inks and then grey tone. I've actually stream-lined the process pretty well at this point so even if it still takes me awhile I'm not having to figure everything out again each time.

I've tried not to over-address story elements on this blog, partly due to the fact that I don't want to spoil the reading experience, partly because when you're working on a project that has such a long development and execution you tend to be mentally consumed by events that are in the far future and you need to remember that your audience is about a 1,000 pages behind you.

At this point, though, I've hopefully established that Ace and Plato's relationship, how it develops and how that effects their personal judgements, is going to play a major role in the story. I've definitely fought to make sure that I maintain a strong focus on the narrative, the world that these characters are involved in and not to overwhelm the story with romance.

But it's there, and it's important, and it's something I've come back around on after originally considering trying to write the story with as little detail on the personal lives of the characters as possible. Plot can be fun and interesting, but what keeps people reading is the characters interpersonal and internal conflicts and how those develop along with the narrative.

I bring this up because even though there is going to be a lot of plot and a lot more to the mystery of the city and Ace's past in the upcoming story, this is also the start of Ace and Plato starting to explore their feelings towards each other. I'll write more about this in the future, especially what this means when your emotions are challenged by the cultural system you've grown up in and what is the value of another human being.