Comic Sketches: November 2019

Been way too long since we did one of these! Xam wasn't feeling up to it this time and I don't blame them. So you're stuck with little ol' me again. Don't worry, I won't interrupt your meal too much here.

But I will say to start out with that this was a very fun update to plan. We had a variety of different art styles at the ready from the more basic to the obvious and distinct. The latter of which being related to a number of things which have inspired VE in some way (Simpsons, Evangelion, Homestuck, Scott Pilgrim and Bojack Horseman).

I also think it's worth noting that WN himself, The Static and Gaiaeon also change in style when the TV is hit. There's something to be said about how if this is how things actually look, or if this is just how we're simply being made to view them.

This one went unused, because while Dangan Ronpa has had a notable effect on VE as an inspiration, we already had one anime-centric style and we wanted all of the variations to be distinct.

The guy on the bottom right ended up being yet another cameo from Repitonian Reigen Arataka, who made his first appearance in SBB Vol. 3. I hope we see him again sometime.

The gate design was purely Xam, but I love it as an aesthetic choice. Originally, all of the gates to the different players planets were going to be the exact same with only slight variations between them. But we all agreed this was the better outcome. 

The bridge popping up was a last second detail as well, we added it in to further show how certain facets of LOMAM function. Also, confirmation that Taz also sees the land in black and white as well! So it currently seems that only the snakes view it in a different way.

This scene was actually written almost a year in advance! As you can see, we take our Tazjec very seriously.  

Originally it was supposed to be a part of Act 3, as the sequence is notably non-linear from where EOA2 left off. But we decided to put it here after deciding that it worked best coming after the various Act 2 developments, and also because Taz didn't really have too much to do in the act proper. She is a main character after all, and she's the only one who hasn't really been able to have her time in the developmental suns just yet. We had to change that.

If you want to see the full concepts for Neilna, Keiksi, Pozzol and 4 sweeps Taz you can peep them over on Heather's Twitter account. The EOA2 storyboards have their own post, which you can find here. 

Let's do this again next month around New Years, yeah? No more overlong hiatuses for a while. 

- Austin