So we've talked often about how letting a character die in a story is something that should be used very frugally, because once death occurs, it should be permanent. In most settings, death shouldn't be something that is reversible. If not, it will lose its impact, and the ...
Back From The Dead
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 2, 2021Setting goals in 2021
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Jan. 1, 2021
It’s 2021 everyone. Somehow we made it to the end of a strange and often heart wrenching year but we did it. We hit many milestones, particularly on Drunkduck. We now have the lowest amount of spam ever on the site, the anthology is coming along, the Quackchat is ...
Drawing Lies
Banes at 12:00AM, Dec. 10, 2020
Drawing Lies - Deception, Insincerity and Sarcasm
Stories and characters have many contexts where emotion is needed - the happy and sad and angry and scared of it all is a big focus of my own comic drawing - I keep it cartoony (with as few lines as possible) and maybe slightly exaggerated ...
Danko's Flaming Heart
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 5, 2020
I couldn't have been older than 11 when I read The Flaming Heart of Danko by Maxim Gorky. And boy, did it cut me with the finest of fine glass. Even now thinking about the short story hurts somewhere deep in my soul.
And yet, I love it so ...
Hidden Horror - Lifting up the Rock
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 22, 2020
On our last Quackcast I had a realization about one of the recurring elements that shows up in a lot of horror I like.
It's the hidden nature of horror. When someone, or something, appears normal or even extra sweet or appealing, but hides nasty stuff beneath.
It's ...
The Work of the Mentor
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Oct. 17, 2020
Might as well get it out of the way: if you're a mentor in a story, chances are you're going on a boatride over the river Styx at some point.
When a mentor dies it's often the signal that the main character, the one being mentored, is ...
Character Design Brainstorming: The Witch
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 19, 2020
The witch is different than a sorceress, though their affinity with magic and their powers often can overlap: the sorceress carries status; the witch carries fear.
It's not that the sorceress is not potentially feared or the witch is not potentially respected- it's that the core of their ...