Inspired by the rage I felt when I read about a new Zorro film (shared by Jon David Guerra), I rant a little bit about the value of the Justice Hero, or better yet, the Smiling Justice Hero. A revisiting of topics first explored in A&S 112 – The Big Good Guy.
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Thunder Punch Daily 119 – Justice Heroes Read More »
Today I share some thoughts inspired by a conversation I had with Dan Mishkin about writing characters and keeping their emotional arcs “honest”. Believe it or not, I manage to tie my points into a common argument amongst cartoonists over “how much is too much backstory?”
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Thunder Punch Daily 114 – Emotional Honesty Read More »
I recently tweeted a bit about my disappointment with the new Transformers TV show, and my specific problems with the show, reminded me of a distinct advantage that comics has over moving visual storytelling. I use the fantastic Manga Twin Spica
to round out my point.
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Thunder Punch Daily 91 – Cooperative Storytelling Read More »
Today I follow up on the last episode with some more ways I look for surprises in my characters, this time focusing on their personalities or inner lives, including the following:
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Thunder Punch Daily 82 – Character Design, Pt 2 Read More »
Today I share some of the means I use to look for surprises in my characters when designing them. This first part concerns itself with the visual aspect of character design, including the following:
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Thunder Punch Daily 81 – Character Design, Pt 1 Read More »
Today I share some more thoughts and observations on the freelance gig I’ve been working on, this time in regards to designing a villain team. I found some surprises in attempting to apply my creative strategy to my bad guys, and that led me to some realizations about making comics for young people.
Get the PDF mentioned in this episode here.
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Thunder Punch Daily 72 – Designing Villains Read More »
Today I share some more thoughts on a freelance job I’ve been working on. We always get client notes, but how do we deal with them properly? How do we tell the difference between insights that are useful and ones that aren’t? Should we take it personally?
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Thunder Punch Daily 71 – Client Notes Read More »
Following up on thoughts I began sharing in Thunder Punch Daily 43, I expand a bit on what I’m discovering about writing good redemption characters. I do wind up talking a bit about Dinobot, but this time I focus mainly on Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender as my basis of meditation. In a flash of inspiration, I constructed a chart to describe my thoughts on this kind of character, but as usual, Sara Turner sums it up even better.
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Thunder Punch Daily 46 – Redemption Characters II Read More »
Today I submit an creative exercise that I think makes for better writing. And the best part? It’s probably something you already do. Take a TV show you really love, and talk to someone who loves it as much once a week. During your conversations you should be looking for character inconsistencies between episodes. As you find these inconsistencies, ask yourself if they suggest some deeper aspect to the character that isn’t apparent within the context of the show itself. As usual, I highlight some of my own experiences to back up my points.
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Thunder Punch Daily 42 – Nerdy Fascinations Read More »
Today I answer a question asked in the forums by Rene van Belzen:
How do I know what a character thinks or feels if it hasn’t been developed yet, nor feel any compassion for it?
The big secret of writing is that it’s what we did on the playground as children. The problem with teaching is it becomes too easy to bewilder the audience with terminology, charts, and definitions.
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Thunder Punch Daily 20 – It’s Only Pretending, After All Read More »