Spring Break Update

Frankly, I didn't spend my Spring Break as productive as I should have.

I was away until Wednesday, which meant I still had a couple of days to work on the graphic novel, but I struggled to get much done. I was a bit sick then, but it was mostly a lack of inspiration and motivation for me. I was stuck in a tough spot, where I had to transition scenes from the airship to the base. I then tried to skip a few "pages" in the plot, but I had another problem: the way I portrayed Terry in the first few pages is incredibly dull. He should've been a quiet, thoughtful guy, but now he's just a quiet guy. Anything that comes out of his mouth seems out of character.

I don't know what to do right now.

Modified Plot

I've said before that I was getting frustrated with the way my plot was working out. Well, now I feel like I have one that makes more sense, without really taking away the fundamentals or anything.

Here's a summary that I just wrote:

A background of Mr. Hart and the Time Beacons


Professor Max Hart was the world's leading chronologist*. He was invited into the Tempus research and development team to engineer a creation known as the "Time Beacons" - which were giant structures placed all over Tempus that would stabilize the length of day on Tempus. While the beacons were set up on Tempus, Hart chose to remain home with his family during the construction (which wasn't a problem because of the ease of communication between Hart and the crews on Tempus).


Construction finished on March 25, 2031, and Hart and his son Morgan embarked on a trip to Tempus to inspect the beacons shortly after, planning to stay for three months. The voyage to Tempus lasted more than one full month, and they arrived on May 1st, 2031.


Eleven of the time beacons were fully inspected before a catatrosphe occured at the base, where strong, unidentified animals began to attack the base. In the process, Morgan and many others were killed. Hart, with his extensive knowledge of time flow, modified the beacons to warp the entire planet back in time two months, back to May 1st, 2031. Any research that had been done in that time were preserved by being transmitted to Earth.


Hart and the rest of the residents of Tempus were then informed of everything that happened in the next two months. The residents agreed to let him re-modify the time beacons so that it would allow them to loop back two more months in case another catastrophe occured. It did, and this time it was even stronger - everybody was killed. Thankfully, the beacon sent the planet back in time, reviving all of the residents.


Hart decided that he would keep looping the planet back in time until the creatures had been identified and eliminated. But the creatures attacked so close to the last day that not much could be researched about them. After a year, Hart resolved to keep the beacons permanently in loop mode, and plans were made so that it would be as effortless as possible to modify the time beacons after each loop.


(graphic novel starts here)


It's now May 1st, 2032 on Earth (May 1st, 2031 on Tempus), and the first group of researchers are arriving on Tempus - among them is Beryl Hart, Professor Hart's daughter. Beryl then mysteriously disappears, which triggers a series of events that causes the creatures to come well before their expected arrival... meanwhile, Terry and Beryl are stranded at one of the time beacons, Morgan is dead again, and it's a difficult choice for them to either destroy the central time beacon and potentially save the rest of the students, or preserve it but leave Morgan forever.


*When I say "chronologist", I do not mean in the sense that he is a historian (more or less the actual definition of "chronologist"), but rather one who studies and manipulates the passage of time (which is completely possible in the scope of this fictional universe where a planet such as Tempus exists).


Probably the first thing that might come to mind is how confusing it is. I understand that, but I think it'll be a lot more clear when I can take the time to explain through the graphic novel.

The two differences in this and my original plot (which I don't think I've posted, so don't look for it) are 1) the backstory is much more developed here, and 2) it actually has a conflict now. I have to admit, my original plot was rather aimless and didn't really have too much of a struggle going on anywhere.

Mentor Meeting (Journal #3)

On Monday Ms. Backus and I met to discuss my plans for the next week. We've agreed on this: by this Friday, I would have a total of ten pages of the graphic novel. I'm on my fourth now. It's important for me to work up to this pace because I want to get several dozen pages (at least 50) done by May 1st.

Speaking of which, because I didn't have so much time last week, I might postpone my May 1st deadline for penciling a week or two; details on Friday.

In-class journal for April 5, 2011

I'm looking at a book excerpt called "Happiness Revisited".

Happiness, the author claims, doesn't come from pure self-indulgence or hedonism. Instead, it comes from "flow". Flow is an experience that results when one is so involved in what he/she is doing that he/she has no reason to stop or give up. I completely agree with this idea - nothing makes someone like me happier than accomplishing something difficult, or meeting a goal. Sure, I'd be glad to play video games and eat junk food all day, but after a short while I think the guilt of not doing anything overcomes any bit of happiness I might have felt before.

Flow is illustrated on a graph comparing skills and challenges. In a situation where one has "high" skills but is faced with "low" challenges, he/she experiences "boredom". In a situation where one has "low" skills but is expected to confront "high" challenges, he/she experiences "anxiety". But flow is different - it's when the skill level is roughly equal to the challenge level, forming a line with positive slope on the graph passing through the origin. (The graph is below.)

It seems logical, but my classmate Tomer has a slightly different model in mind. He believes that "flow" is achieved when the challenge level is above one's skill level, forming still a line with positive slope, but situated higher up on the graph. Not too much of a difference, but I agree with Tomer's interpretation.

Where am I on the flow chart? Skills I'd say a quarter of the way from the left, and challenges probably three-quarters the way up. Not really set in stone of course, because it's not like drawing a graphic novel with ease takes exactly three times more skill than what I have right now - but that would drop me on the "anxiety" side of the graph.

From this point, there are two ways to achieve flow. I can either decrease the challenge level or I can increase my skill level. I could try a little of both. But really, the best to do by far is to increase my skill level. Lowering the challenge is almost like giving up, which I'm all for not doing at the moment...

The Weekend

Like last time, this weekend I had a lot of commitments, so I couldn't work on my graphic novel.

I knew that the graphic novel would be a lot harder than one would expected, but I definitely underestimated exactly how much harder. It really takes a lot more than the ability to draw to draw comics - the biggest barrier for me is to illustrate interaction (person-object and person-person). Drawing someone sitting down is challenging enough, but drawing them while leaning back leisurely on an office chair is a lot harder. Similarly, drawing a person walking can be pretty difficult to execute properly (without making the character look stiff or awkward), but what if their arms are wrapped around someone else? Or if they're giving someone a piggy-back ride?

I'm also getting frustrated with my plot. I read other graphic novels and their plots are so... interesting. I feel like mine isn't so much, and is rather inconsistent when it comes to the placement of action scenes and dialogue. I need to give it more thought.

Red Flag Journal Entry #4

This week I've spent quite a bit of time working, now that I've started the graphic novel. I know it's at least eight hours, that's for sure. Most of it has been illustrating the graphic novel itself but I also took time to read a few more graphic novels like the Bleach series and American Born Chinese.

I haven't met with my mentor this week (because my mentor meetings are usually on Fridays but this week our red flag day is also on Friday, but I will be meeting with her on Monday.

Since the last red flag journal, I've had six entries, though two of them are just images. I should have an in-class journal which I still have not gotten to, but I'll be doing on right after this.

I think my fulfillment of WISE requirements has been very good this week, and I hope to keep this up for the weeks to come.

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. I discovered the novel while compiling my annotated bibliography before the start of the project, and this resource was an especially exciting find because of my own experiences as a Chinese-American.

ABC has three plots - and the novel cycles between chapters of each plot. The first plot is a brief retelling of the classic Monkey King legend that almost all Chinese know: the story of a monkey, ruler of his mountain of monkeys, who wants to become a god, and ends up helping a monk deliver scrolls to India (the fable itself is called "Journey to the West").

The second plot revolves around a Chinese boy named Jin Wang, who attends a school in California. He is stereotyped by his classmates as a classic dog-eating, buck-toothed Chinese kid. He then meets a Taiwanese boy named Wei Chun who becomes his best friend, and later falls in love with a white girl named Amelia.

The third plot is about an American high school student named Danny. Although he is white, he seems to have trouble with his cousin - a hilariously exaggerated Chinese stereotype named Chin-Kee, complete with buck teeth,  braided hair, and a generous reserve of spittle.

Though I can't reveal more about the plot, I admire how well-devised it is. I would definitely recommend it to anyone for a read - it's quick and simple, and I know that any fellow Asian-American will have an easy time relating to it.

Begin

I began the graphic novel today - just penciling the first two pages so far. I'll probably be sharing them tomorrow in English class.

 

Full Metal Alchemist Series

Over the past week I began reading Full Metal Alchemist, a manga series by Hiromu Arakawa that follows the adventures of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Edward. They are both alchemists, which are in the context of the manga people that can create and destroy material on the principle of equal exchange. After a horrible alchemy accident, Edward loses multiple limbs and Alphonse loses his entire body, so the former utilizes prosthetic limbs called "auto-mail" while the latter manifests his soul in a giant suit of armor.

Though not the first, this is the first mange series I've read in a long time. I've started a few manga series like Hikaru no go, Death Note, and The Prince of Tennis, but that was a long time ago and I don't exactly remember much about them or the medium itself.

I admire many things about the series, including its complex yet intriguing plot, its uniquely designed characters, and the artistic style. I experimented with drawing Japanese style back in eighth grade, when my father bought me a guide book. I think that has had a huge imfluence on the way I draw now, as with each new face I still start out with the basics as taught in the book: lines that define the middle of the face, the brow line, the nose, and the hair line. I have deviated quite a bit though, especially with the eyes.

Characters die all along the way in Full Metal Alchemist, so it would seem like a pretty somber series if I had just told someone about the general plot. But really, it's not. There's plenty of comic relief: for example, there exists what's called a "strong-arm (?) alchemist", named Major Armstrong (pun intended), who frequently flashes his enormous bulging muscles, though he is also comically shown to have a weak spot when it comes to tragic, moving stories. Edward's height and seniority to Alphonse is also a running gag: though Edward is older, Alphonse is much taller and bigger so many of the characters believe at first that Alphonse's that Full Metal Alchemist. This is a huge thing: I'm trying to find ways to implement comic relief into my own graphic novel.

I am really enjoying reading FMA so far. Also, I just started Bleach today, so a journal for that will come up in a bit.

In-class journal for March 29, 2011

The highlight of the class period: a voice recording of Bryan Grazer talking about stepping out of one's comfort zone. It's interesting; nothing I haven't heard before, but he makes one very good point: being a film producer he could retire immediately and have enough money to fund a comfortable life, for the rest of his life. But is that really considered living? Sure, it'd be great to spend your life in your lavishly decorated, air-conditioned living room watching TV on a flat HD screen with surround sound but it'd be much more interesting, say, to travel across the country by foot, or to perform music on the street, or in Grazer's case - experimenting with surfing, a pastime usually left for a younger generation. I really admire the author for taking purposely taking a more difficult path in order to expose himself to life's full potential.

Busy Weekend...

I spent most of my weekend on a math team field trip, so I haven't had time to start the graphic novel. I have read a few volumes of Full Metal Alchemist, however.

Though, since tennis is effectively canceled tomorrow afternoon, I will start it on Monday.