Strip XXII: Meeting Up at the Party
J_Scarbrough on Nov. 16, 2022
Yes, I just had to make that painfully obvious joke, didn't I?
Well, unlike the previous strip, I'm not too thrilled with how the layout and composition turned out with this one - especially the panel with everyone gathering at the party. In my mind, the scene gave us a much broader look inside the cafeteria, and a look at more attendees arriving, but as I started drawing, this is how it turned out instead: the framing is much tighter than I wanted, with fewer people . . . sometimes, things don't always turn out exactly as we plan them, but I suppose that's art for you.
Speaking of which, the guys dressed like Rod Rescueman and Patrick Star are a couple of friends of mine who I gave cameo appearances to - I'm sure they'll enjoy them.
On another note, some of the locations depicted during this season have been inspired by real-life locations from my hometown. In this strip, the hospital where Levana, Laura, and Dr. Charmin work was inspired by an old hospital tower that was pretty well known around these parts (especially the way they used to light the tower up during Christmas), however that particular hospital shut down a few years ago, and the tower has remained unoccpupied ever since, although the city has had some proposals of what do do with it.
In the previous strip, Levana's apartment building was inspired by an apartment building I used to live in briefly for a few years, and yes, it was very much rather delapidated and run down as you saw what the inside of her apartment looked like, with cracked walls, and floors that didn't even meet the baseboards in several areas (not to mention gross berber carpeting). Incidently, it was in this apartment where Levana was first conceived.
Also, I just wanted to give a shout out to Jay Bradley, aka artdude2002, who recently paid tribute to VAMPIRE GIRL in his amazing comic, DANIELLE DARK! I very much enjoy the comic myself . . . not so sure if Levana would, but hey, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. Thanks again Jay!

Zero Hour at 11:11AM, Oct. 17, 2024
i like this doctor, i will trust him with my spleen
HawkandFloAdventures at 7:18AM, Nov. 16, 2022
Love the costumes in the party :)
J_Scarbrough at 10:30AM, Dec. 27, 2022
And the costumes weren't even chosen at random; they actually all have very, very specific reasonings behind them.
artdude2002 at 7:02AM, Nov. 16, 2022
Personally, I like this page. I understand how you feel. Quite often, I'm less that thrilled with how my drawings turn out. Artists are their own worse critics. Thanks for the shout out to Danielle Dark. I really appreciated it.
J_Scarbrough at 10:18AM, Dec. 27, 2022
As they always say, "One good turn deserves another." Or, "Turnabout is fair play." But either way, you're very welcome, and yes, I know the feeling. I'm such a perfectionist with any of my art, that I am rarely ever 100% satisfied with the final results, and I always find myself in a position where at the time, I may feel like I've really improved and my work is the best that it has become . . . then years later, I'll look back on that and wonder how I even thought it was such an improvement, because my then-current work will be even more of an improvement than what I thought was an improvement at the time. Ugh, I'm giving myself a headache!