27: Later, Elle!
Jeff: This strip is a prime example of the level of collaboration that exists between Jeremy and me. When I had written it, panel 3 originally featured a bird’s-eye-view of the alley behind the club, with the van peeling off into the distance, and Stan’s shadow fanning out from the doorway. I hadn’t realized, though, just how difficult of a “shot” that was to draw; mostly because my drawings are simply quasi-refined chicken scratchings, and I’m regularly wowed by the artistry in Jeremy’s stuff – so I shot for the moon. After further conversation with Jeremy, though, we revised the panel to pretty much the way it looks now. It’s not nearly as cinematographically dynamic, but it’s much more immediate, I think, and potentially more intimate and effective. Kudos to my partner for pulling it off!
Jeremy: …which is a nice way of saying I struggle greatly with perspective at this point in my comic strip drawing abilities. I soooo wanted to pull off Jeff’s original vision for panel 3, but I think I was asking too much of myself at this stage of the game. I would rather output something that I felt confident about, than do a shoddy version of something that is supposed to look really cool and dynamic. Well, I will get there, I promise you all that. I really want to pull off more cinematic and grandiose stylings in this strip. I just think I need to continually work on my perspective until it gets up to par with what we see in our heads when we come up with ideas for strips. For now, it works.
And in conclusion… Oh no! What’s Elle gonna do now?!
Added 12/26/10: I’ve been holding off on actually giving descriptions of many of the visual shout-outs I draw (via wall posters, etc.), but I figured that maybe I can start describing what you see a little more. The first appearance of the wall in Panel 2 was in this comic. There are two bands represented on that wall. Two of the posters are of the band Slimfit, which is made up of some very good friends of mine who play really excellent country rock, a la Garth Brooks. Okay, they’re gonna kill me for saying that. They actually mix a little country twang with a little bluegrass, a taste of Southern rock, and a healthy dollop of punk rock. Please check out Slimfit, and if you’re in Lancaster County and have a chance, their energetic and fun live shows are not to be missed.
The other poster (with the righteous coat-of-arms) is taken from the album cover of my own recording studio project The French Revolution. We write and record albums, and then give them away for free on the Internet. Just a group of retired touring musicians that wanted to keep making music, without being a part of the music industry. Our debut album The Letdown, released last Fall, is available for free download here. We are currently in the midst of recording our sophomore free release, which should hopefully be finished this winter. The music is simply enough categorized as rock music. If you’re curious enough to give it your own genre label, feel free to head on over and download it!
Okay, enough pluggage. Thanks for reading the Ouro Bros.!
Discussion ¬