(Didn’t leave myself enough time before work, so here’s an “I’ll Finish It After Work” comic again. Seriously, I am speed-typing and about to dash into the shower right now) Todd’s been talking with his father. I am also going[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Excessive media references are excessive. (Director Commentary clarifies this for the non ATLA fans.)
Considering this list of baby names, I may as well and just go ahead and officially confirm the fandom speculation that, yes, Suko is named after Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. XD For this reason the baby's name was originally going to be Asu La, but... well, it's an unlucky name. XD For those unfamiliar with the Last Airender franchise, the names listed are all sarnothi pronunciations of ATLA character names. Suko = Zuko Tai Li = Ty Lee Kio Shi = Kyoshi Bei Fon = Bei Fong (Toph's surname)
Sorry for the lateness. I accidentally set the comic to go live at noon instead of midnight. XD Today’s Director Commentary (under the Transcript) discusses Suko. Also, got a new Fan Art update! Courtesy of Jado: Thanks for the silverfishies.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
When Suko was originally introduced, I mentioned in commentary (but not at that point in the strip) that he was 4. I wrote him with the intent of "toddler-speak" initially but upgraded him to 4 later without modifying the dialogue for reasons I can only describe as "making sense at the time". Readers with more parenting experience than me were quick to point out, however, "4 year olds don't work that way". I'm willing to admit a mistake when it happens, and I'd rather keep the toddlerspeak and make him 2 than change the dialogue I envision for him. So I'm canonizing him at "2 and a bit over" now.
In my internal backstory, Pohl did some preparatory Wikipedia research on handshakes beforehand. Also, if you don’t usually read the Director Commentary (The Transcript button below), make sure you check it during this arc. Today I discuss some additional background[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…
My initial concept for the sarnothi's mode of greeting was an east-asian inspired hand-clasp and bow at the waist. I wanted a sarnothi greeting to be something that disabled or impaired use of the hands/claws as a sign of trust. But the use of a bowing gesture didn't make sense to me. The act of bowing doesn't "feel" to me like something an underwater culture would develop. So it makes more sense to me that, since sarnothi are hunters and predators by evolution, a sign of trust in their culture would be to blind yourself and "sheathe" your weapons. Although the premise of "lowering yourself" before a superior does exist in Sarnoth, in a fashion. Culturally, it is rude to float or swim at a higher elevation than a social superior. If traveling together the social lesser does so at a lower elevation, and if addressed or summoned the social lesser must be the one to take initiative to correct any discrepancies in elevation (for example, if a social superior addressed Pohl while Pohl was currently swimming above him, it would be Pohl's social obligation to swim downward and place himself at a lower elevation while addressing his social superior.) Backstory bonus extra: During his first year or so on the surface, while taking medical school courses, Pohl had to learn not to be very uncomfortable with being taller than some of his instructors. He had a lingering social obligation impulse to "swim lower".
And now we have all four members of the De’Madiea family in one strip: Pohl, Sai Fen, Suko, and… infant. XD
I was gonna do the desert panel in color but then I got to thinking of Sai Fen's silliness as having a really really hokey and bad "spaghetti western" dialect, hence the sepia. XD
Crazy-black-and-green-laser-knives aren’t meant to be handled by little ones. Also, another Video Game Kickstarter a reader reminded me of: Shantae, Half-Genie Hero. Looks fun!
The sculpting tool only LOOKS like a blade. It's blunted, and lighter than it looks. Also, hitting or trying to carve something with it would probably chip and break it. It can also be difficult to control properly for the inexperienced user, but at a certain level of craft you can make both big sweeping cuts with it as well as smaller fine-tuned polishes.
