Wednesday, March 26, 2003

I think I can have this baby finished by mid-April. There's just a few weeks left if I do it right.

The strip introducing the trebuchet looks GREAT.

Posted by Shaenon @ 12:07 PM EST

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

So when does it end? No really. I am just asking cause I have to plan serializer. We're bringing Gruber on to replace Trunktown- wait til you see this thing.

Posted by Tom @ 01:31 AM EST

I did three strips last night!

You better get ready to "get your sketch on!"

(I forgot Frick's moon shape on his hat in 112! )

Posted by Tom @ 01:24 AM EST

Monday, March 24, 2003

www.trebuchet.com

Army is great. Exactly what I wanted, and much better than my cruddy thumbnail.

Posted by Shaenon @ 05:37 PM EST

Oh man- I am dreading drawing the trebuchet, cause I lost my reference and don't want the challenge.

The army- I thought it was too slight? It's good?

Sorry about all the spelling errors, etc.

I still have NO IDEA where you are going with this

Posted by Tom @ 04:18 PM EST

Oh man, the Trunktown army is great! I am so pleased!

In 110, the last line should be "...lacking *in* that department."

I can't wait to see the trebuchet. I hope that this whole story wraps up statisfyingly for you. At present I feel a great sense of oneness with the universe, as all the elements of Trunktown converge in harmonic splendor for the finale... but this might be just me.

Posted by Shaenon @ 02:45 PM EST

Friday, March 21, 2003

And why did it take me 5 months to change the header graphic on the serializer archives?

Posted by Tom @ 06:22 PM EST

So like, you sent me two this week and I drew none.

It wasn't a good week.

The point being, that we're a mere 5 strips ahead- should I panic? Or are we so close that we could wing it to the end?

T

Posted by Tom @ 06:19 PM EST

Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Okay, so maybe we're APPROACHING the denounment. Whatever.

Posted by Shaenon @ 04:04 PM EST

Monday, March 17, 2003

We're at the denoument? Did I miss the climax? Ok whatever!

tom

Posted by Tom @ 03:39 PM EST

Yeah, "chibi" is that cute superdeformed look.

I'll send at least one more script tonight. I just drew it. We're at the denoument now.

Posted by Shaenon @ 12:47 PM EST

Love the new rough! I bought an Asterix book this weekend- I'd never read it before- that's got lots of great army shots.

Today is 100!

Posted by Tom @ 09:18 AM EST

Friday, March 14, 2003

"Chibi? " -is that another term for littler or kid version of characters kinda like superdeformed?

Well, personally, like Vernielle, the only urge I got is to get PAID!

T

Posted by Tom @ 08:18 PM EST

I can't believe the chibi urge has infected even Trunktown. It will be great. You have to design mini-Faustine and mini-Vernielle, though.

I poked around the internet and couldn't find any examples of Naughty Pete besides the staircase strip. Boo hoo. You should bring it to Serializer. ;)

Posted by Shaenon @ 07:41 PM EST

Those Naughty Pete strips Chris Duffy had- they were about 2 1/2 feet tall, first off, and a couple had the more exquisite, thick sensual and simple brush line I've ever seen on a comic page. Some looked like the guy's brush was an inch thick, and he would draw these great drawings of kids crashing their toy cars, and color it real simply- the whole background blue and the car just white and orange.

The pages were so brittle, I think we lost half their mass just trying to put them back in their sleeves.

Anyway- Trunktown kids -Vernielle and Faustine -go!

Posted by Tom @ 05:06 PM EST

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Yeah!

The new roughs are great. Swamped, but going to try to get to them tonight.

Helmets were fun. always taking my cues from your roughs is the best idea.

Posted by Tom @ 05:40 PM EST

The helmets are GREAT! I love them! 106 is the funniest damn thing ever.

I think the story flounders a bit in the beginning, but it's got a rhythm to it now. I'm reading Thimble Theater and Gasoline Alley through those mailing lists and really enjoying the ways Segar and King approach doing a serial story. Segar loves to draw a concept out for as long as humanly possible, probably just to drive readers nuts. He did at least an entire week of Hamm Gravy getting tied up by a kidnapper in various humiliating ways. I love that. Can't do it this time, though. Got an ending to approach.

Posted by Shaenon @ 12:45 PM EST

The problem with TODAY'S strip is I re-wrote the joke after I drew it. Then I thought it might be nice toshow her randomly firing in panel 2 just to show how crazy she is, but then I realized she's firing BACKWARDS totally ruining the joke- one of the first we've really struggled over in a long while. So that great drawing of her randomly firing her musket behind her into the air is now lost in the ether....

Posted by Tom @ 01:18 AM EST

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

I'm glad someone does.

People are often surprised, when they read the strip en masse, how well it reads as a story.

What were they expecting?

Posted by Tom @ 02:45 PM EST

I'll send more scripts tonight. I think the rest of the story will come pretty easily, actually. I know what's going to happen.

Posted by Shaenon @ 01:50 PM EST

Monday, March 10, 2003

I love today's strip.

I'm caught up to 106. but today is 94, which means we're 12 ahead- oh that's much better than I thought. I was going to complain.

What a weekend!

Posted by Tom @ 02:13 AM EST

Thursday, March 6, 2003

You have to keep Vernielle's body plump, rounded, and simple. I like her hair in this strip. The ridge on the glasses, I like. In fact, I like the whole current design of her face - you want to keep the little round nose, the big mouth, the big glasses. The eyes inside the glasses can be small.

I'll send you some more scripts tonight. Andrew's been hogging the scanner this week. You hear that, Andrew? This is all your fault!

Posted by Shaenon @ 12:02 PM EST

Shaenon- look at today's strip. What is working and what isn't in Vernielle's design?

I like most of her. I think the ridge of her glasses is unnecessary, perhaps, likewise the pupils don't need to be pronounced; they can just be dots.

I think panel 2 and 3 are good. Would you agree? Where did I go wrong in panel 4 then? Gah! She's the last one that needs to be nailed down (I went looking through the old strips last night- have we really changed that much in 5 months?????!!!! Wow!)

Ok thanks, and anyone else who wants to comment, click Forum and go for it, thanks? Maybe I should start a thread?

PS- Shaenon- I'm pretty caught up. Typically, there are strips I've finished that you haven't seen yet. If I could get a couple by end of day Friday- that would be cool, but no pressure. I'm easily distracted these days by my new project, which will include Fen in a big way, and frankly in a way that draws from Trunktown, so thanks!

Posted by Tom @ 11:12 AM EST

Tuesday, March 4, 2003

Damn, gotta rewrite the old strip. I still like the first panel a lot, and I still want to end on the cliffhanger of the King saying, "You're not going anywhere!" I just don't know how to make it *funny*. Arrrgh.

Posted by Shaenon @ 06:41 PM EST

Well I clearly have to redraw 103 then. Wow! it looks old.

Don't know about the punchline. That's all you. Plan on me redrawing, so all options are open.

Posted by Tom @ 10:30 AM EST

Monday, March 3, 2003

Irish sitcom, eh? Alrighty.... You're the humorist.

Posted by Tom @ 04:23 PM EST

Okay, I'm putting up titles for the next two weeks. I'll send you some more scripts tonight.

I think the Mayor of Cardboard Flats should be eerily similar to the King (up to and including having a Fricklike lackey), and the Mayor and the King should hate each other. I got this concept from the Irish sitcom "Father Ted."

Posted by Shaenon @ 12:13 PM EST

Sunday, March 2, 2003

100 and 101 up. Control panel fixed and awaiting titles. 102 maybe today?

Posted by Tom @ 11:00 AM EST