Welcome to my Underground Layers
-Banes, your pop culture references are as on point as ever!
I've talked about story structure here many times, normally in similar ways.
A different approach to character and story, one I haven't used much personally, is what we could call the “onion ...

Layers in Character
Banes at 12:00AM, July 8, 2021QUACKCAST 537 - Historicity
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, June 29, 2021 LISTEN on our new player!
Listen on Stitcher - https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/drunkduck-quackcast
Or TuneinRadio - https://tunein.com/podcasts/Books–Literature/Drunkduck-Quackcast-p1150194/
We have a chat about historicity in this Quackcast. What IS historicity? It's historical authenticity basically but a nicer way of saying it! It's pretty ...
On Using 'Shortcuts'
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 26, 2021
One of the latest twitter dramas seem to be around artistic shortcuts, and how consumers of comics and webcomics (often non-artists) tend to scoff at any artist that dares admit they use them.
Comic shortcuts could include pre-rendered backgrounds, using 3D programs to arrange spaces or make sure perspective is ...
Follow the Yellow Brick Layout
damehelsing at 12:00AM, June 20, 2021
Last week, errrrrrrrr… the week before that, I talked about frames, the magical use of frames, the emotion you can give them, the shapes, sizes, how that can all add to the story you’re telling.
Kind of like how music can really be important in movies, it just gives ...
Madness Powerup
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 19, 2021
So you have this badass character, who is usually a gentle soul, or affable, or kind and easygoing. They fight efficiently and are formidable as they are.
Until they meet someone who is their better.
He/she can meet all their attacks, break through their defenses, wears them down to ...
Different Variations of Protagonist
Banes at 12:00AM, June 10, 2021
When we think of a Protagonist, the standard type that comes to mind is the underdog, maybe a young character who goes on a difficult journey and learns some lessons and faces many challenges, or a capable person who gets in way over their head in some kind of intriguing ...
WHY you should STOP CARING.
damehelsing at 12:00AM, June 6, 2021
What is one of the big things that holds us back? Normally it’s us caring too much, caring about what we do, how we look, what others think and more.
Last week, while writing the article The Magic of Frames I was talking to PIT_FACE about it and she ...
Color Theory as a Rewind Machine
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, May 31, 2021
It is evident, when training the eye for color theory practice, that decades and movements in the twentieth century captured color schemes that exuded the vibe and mood of the time. The above photograph is taken from the chapter titled “The American Dream” section of Pantone’s 1940s collection and ...
The Problem With Forgiveness
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, May 29, 2021
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. It's an emotion, it's a state of mind, it's a process.
It's a process that takes at least two parties to even begin to happen.
The problem is that in life and in fiction, this is often misconstrued as something that ...
Balancing speed and detail
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, May 28, 2021
It is a balancing act when it comes to the level of detail we comics artists like to include in each page and the speed at which we can complete said page. Sitting back and seeing a beautifully coloured render of your work may be satisfying, but is the level ...