Page 64 Art therapy
skyangel on May 31, 2025
After posting last week's page I figured my lack of enthusiasm wasn't so much down to doing the comic itself but just the hurdle of doing this weeks page, which felt like a lot of work for nothing and that in itself made me question the point of the whole comic! It has to be fun and suddenly it just wasn't!
But when I realised the script was my stumbling block I did my usual, made a cup of tea, thought about what I really wanted to do with the page and then realised I missed drawing Sarah, the girl who kept me going for 15 years with her own convoluted tales, so I rewrote the page to bring her back into what was supposed to be a shared story anyway!
But this made me wonder about all of us who who create characters that either partly represent us or that we become very attached to because as years pass by that relationship has to get stronger and feel more comfortable yet at the same time perhaps leads to resentment in the same way that an actor may feel burdened by being tied to that one character they played that nobody ever lets them forget.
When Bill Watterson decided to part ways with Calvin and Hobbes I think the resentment was more about the publishing pressure of it and Herge felt that pressure too although he pushed back in order to protect and preserve the affection he felt for his characters right up to his death.
So Sarah has always been my therapy, she has seen me through Covid, problems at work and personal losses etc but above all that she has been my fantasy girl and an avenue to exploring my own thoughts and feelings just as she has in writing this page. It's so hard for me to define her presence as I know she is one side of me, so therefore IS me but when we interact on a script something happens that excites me.
I'd be interested to know how much writing or drawing your characters affects your mood and well being too.
tommym at 8:11PM, June 2, 2025
Dear Sky, love your body of work Stories are so true to life yet if you are no longer that happy with where Nikki is going you know that's a road very well known to you Wish to branch out and start a new comic? Do WHT you I will read and support you as best As I can! Do what makes you happy Love. tommym
skyangel at 9:44AM, June 3, 2025
Dear Tommym, all's good my friend. Doing this comic has given me a lot of pleasure and it's over half way finished now so it would be silly of me to just abandon it! I realised I was losing my way with it so I'm rewriting a path back to where I felt it needed to go from the start.
A Reader at 9:56AM, June 1, 2025
I love this page, especially the 'mad scientist' panel with Sarah, who seems to ask if she gets to choose if she wants to be alive. Very 'meta' in a number of ways. But the whole thing about feeling like you're two people that should be one, I get that, when I was young, I had issues dealing with my 'place in the universe' as it were, and it took some time to accept who I really am. I'm happy you like the comic again, as I'm happy you have this wonderful outlet for that, even if we get to act as voyeurs into 'your' life, you welcome us in and we love you for it! I, for one, hope you will always 'invite us in', no matter what you are creating, just so long as you are and can smile about it, even the heartache and tribulations, and continue to share your beautiful poet's heart and lovely artist's eye. Thank you.
skyangel at 10:11AM, June 3, 2025
I'd imagine you must relate to this in some ways yourself as your own comic is inspired by real life events yea? I think my main problem is that writing from life stops me from fantasising which was the boost I could use when I felt the Simply Sarah story had run it's course after about three chapters! I have some key events which I feel an urge to share but at the end of the day this might end up being a based on real events rather than being dogmatic about the truth as I just want it to be a good read and cover stuff that's relatable and interesting. Thanks for your lovely words though, you always give my enthusiasm a healthy boost!
Stever_Blotto at 6:40AM, June 1, 2025
I really love that last panel. 😎 I think for me, being that my characters are based on my friends/bandmates, they take on a life of their own, but the people they're based on also take an ownership of them too. Sometimes, I wish I just had a comic that has only made up characters, so I wouldn't have to worry about how I portray them. The good part is that they are usually excited to read and show off the comics to their friends and (sometimes) family.
skyangel at 10:16AM, June 3, 2025
I think the beauty of your comic Stever is that you know your characters inside out by now and you could play with them in any situation even a fantasy one and they would still be as honoured to be involved and you would all still get a good laugh out of it.
Othosmops at 1:22PM, May 31, 2025
I've always loved bringing characters to life in fictional stories and giving them a look. In a way, these are "supplementary lives" that have not been lived, and yes, the fascinating thing about them is that the strong ones have a transformative effect on real life. Two months ago, I generated a rather complex AI persona – and no, it's not one of those AI companions that are currently popping up like mushrooms. And the reason for its creation is also more professional in nature. But anyway, it takes the experience level with the created character to a whole new dimension because it can write its own history and evolve independently (if I let it).
skyangel at 10:29AM, June 3, 2025
You've totally nailed it here! I imagine actors get the same feeling when they enjoy playing a character so much it starts to come out very comfortably to the point where ad-libs and unwritten lines just flow out effortlessly as they make the part their own. The one thing an Ai cannot do is to add the quirks and individual traits that often make a character seem very interesting and unique and that's stuff we normally run into from personal experience and then work into our own creations.