WC: 5,000 words. Halfway written?
I’m going to test out a change in style to display more regular prose around dialogue. Some of my instinct is to describe facial expressions that could be drawn onto the sprites, but I’m also dealing with an imbalance between short one-liners and full paragraphs that shouldn’t be broken apart.
Sprites: ~5/5
All characters who will appear in a side view have sprite bases, which I’ll continue to work on to match the style, plus one effect layer. Facial expressions will likely be added later.
About the style mismatch: I don’t make each character the same way. I need more experience to develop a consistent process.
So far, in general, I prefer to start with a photo, or from a composite of photos, that are in the public domain or have permissive licensing to block out shapes with approximate colors in a digital painting program. The eyes are my first focus for fine work, and those set the initial shadows and highlights for the face and visible parts of the body. Other references on screen, in books, tactile objects, or from live models are used as I make changes to clothes, posture, coloring, etc.
The sprites remind me of Frankenstein’s monster in progress.
By the way, do you know the original book version (by an 18- to 19-year-old woman inspired by the best known bi disasters in modern history (her friend)) was very different than monster movie depictions? My memory from when I last read it was that Frankenstein’s attempt at the most perfect, beautiful man was made with the purpose to help him feel love and acceptance. He immediately ran away from when faced with his creation as a living person. The ugliest feature of the “monster” was implied to be an unsettling gaze. Like a newborn’s before it developed into the gaze of a neglected kid who doesn’t know how to hide their hurt?
Anyhow, he had super healing that might have covered any stitching used to hold his disparate stolen parts together.
Somewhere out there must be a gay Frankenstein where the creator wasn’t a flighty jerk afraid of his homoromantic urges, and he spends the years raising his strange son with his wife, husband, or a group of friends while he continues to grow himself. That creation is as beautiful and happy as the rest of Doctor Frankenstein’s family is. That derivative story would be directly about naturing, not predominately about the horrific consequences for being an arrogant tech bro with too much hubris and an inability to learn from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
There are reimagined tellings where both Frankensteins don’t need to be yeeted off a cliff.
Backgrounds: roughly half done. More research is needed on lighting for tent interior scenes.
Audio: The musical selection is lacking. I’m considering adding vocal effects to fill in silences for auditory lovers.