Zeppelin doesn't rule.

Hiya.


Prepare yourself for the latest update of "Saturday" the book.  I don't really know HOW you should prepare yourself.  It's not really my business in the first place.  But there's no wrong answer.  This is a safe place.  I want you to feel comfortable preparing yourself in whichever way you feel most accurately represents you and your spirit animal.

I'm still working on edits.  I'm actually re-drawing certain panels on the very first page.  Pretty sure I've said this before, but the older a page or panel is, the more likely it is to need a bit of gussying up.  So the first several pages of "Saturday" will need some heavy editing (at least in terms of the illustration), but the editing will probably be less and less severe as I get deeper into the book.

I may also go back and re-do the cover.  I haven't decided yet.  Something about it is kind of bothering me.  My illustrator-sense is tingling.  Although it's possible it's just fallen asleep like when you've been sitting on an airplane for too long.

In the meantime, here are a couple more rejected panels:

The idea with this first one was that India is sticking her head out the car window and imagining she's in a zeppelin.  I rejected it for a couple of reasons: First, it's not very clear that's what's happening.  I suppose I could have clarified the imagery somehow, but I didn't bother because of the second reason.  Reason the Second: It's not very interesting, either conceptually or visually.  The human brain is an amazing thing.  You can literally imagine anything you want.  And the premise of "Saturday" is that India's brain is particularly vivid.  And in this universe, we're supposed to believe that the best she can come up with is that she's riding in a zeppelin?  What kid would ever imagine that?

Reject number two:

The premise of this one is that India's in a spelling contest with a student who particularly dislikes her.  India imagines the contest as an old west duel.  I can't actually remember which page this was slated for, but I figure I rejected it because I thought up something better.  But I'm glad this one got the axe, too.  India dressed as Blondie is pretty fun, but the rest of it...meh.

Almost every panel in this book had multiple alternates (different angles, expressions, or different concepts entirely).  Fortunately, I didn't draw all these variations.  Most of these alternates were discarded in the writing phase.  The problem is that I do some of my best thinking while I draw, which means sometimes I don't think of a better idea until I'm already finished drawing a mediocre one.

Aw, well.  It's good practice, I suppose.

Cheers.