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Oly-RRR — The Origin of Houston

#comics #houston #leicester #originalcharacters #copstory #spacecenterhouston
Published: 2015-03-27 05:09:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 1524; Favourites: 20; Downloads: 1
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Description My response to Thought-Up 's prompt 'Beginnings' and also a sequel to this -


Maybe you should keep that last part to yourself, Leicester...

But on the upside now you've all seen that Leicester's family is alive and well! They appeared in a few doodles already but I kept getting questions if Houston's mother is dead. So. She's not! Her name is Anne. She's also the nicest mother you'll ever meet, sometimes maybe too much so!

This is also the first in the series of hopefully many random traditional comics I kept meaning to do for a while. I'm still working on the main plot and Piss Business of course but those involve a lot of planning (the script written months ahead and so on) and I've been missing making more spontaneous and random comics, kind of like my doodles. That and I want to show lives of characters currently not involved in neither the main story nor Piss Business so expect lots of short comics about the kids from Houston's school.

Read Cop Story on Smack Jeeves:

MAIN PLOT
SHORTS

Cop Story © Oly R.
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Comments: 45

SweetsAndCharades [2015-06-12 19:48:58 +0000 UTC]

I really like this XD

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Oly-RRR In reply to SweetsAndCharades [2015-06-12 21:28:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! And it's good to hear from you, I didn't know you were still around!

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SweetsAndCharades In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-06-29 11:10:10 +0000 UTC]

Not really, but I pop by once in a while

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GeekyReverie [2015-04-06 20:17:52 +0000 UTC]

)) Внезапно!
Мне так нравится их комната, кажется, что кресло и диванчик очень мягкие! Я думаю, прикольно, когда люди вешают рамки с фотографиями, у моего дяди много таких уютных уголков, и мне вот всегда хотелось, но почему-то как только появлялась рамка, я вставляла туда какой-то рисунок. XD И в итоге нет у нас таких уголков, а если где фотки висят, то хаотично и без рамок.

А что написано на подушке? Мне по первости показалось, что ты написала там ZIM. XD 

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Oly-RRR In reply to GeekyReverie [2015-04-06 20:41:40 +0000 UTC]

У меня тоже как-то особо фотографий нигде нет (вот у деда есть чуть-чуть, у родителей тоже нет). Мне кажется, такие штуки здорово смотрятся в больших семьях, когда фотографии - память о других местах и любимых людях, а вот фотографию самого себя на стену или стол это имхо как-то черезчур. У Лестеров (Лейчестров? сыр в русской транскрипции "лейчестер", но графство как и в английском, Лестер) с этим все нормально - они смотрят друг на друга.

А на подушке написано AMA-ZING и большой восклицательный знак на обе строчки. Я тут тебя вспоминала, когда рисовала следующий комикс, у тебя в комиксах всегда такое разнообразие одежды, а мне надо себя пинать, чтобы они не носили одно и то же.

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GeekyReverie In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-04-08 21:40:35 +0000 UTC]

Ага, себя любимого видеть как-то не очень хочется. )) Но вот брат вешает мои фотки, причем отбирает по собственному вкусу, и часто я его прошу снять, а он не хочет, говорит, что отличное фото, что я. Ну и, в конце концов, я махнула рукой. Все равно они прилеплены магнитами к холодильникам. XD Снять просто, если понадобится. )

Ого! Я б хотела себе такую подушечку! )

)) Мне кажется, у тебя тоже большое разнообразие! о.о

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Oly-RRR In reply to GeekyReverie [2015-04-08 22:15:57 +0000 UTC]

Ну с братом все понятно (хотя я и тебя понимаю - я тоже не в восторге от моих фотографий у деда). X)

Ага, я тоже! К вопросу о подушках и неудачных фотографиях - JUST NO И спасибо, я таки стараюсь!

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GeekyReverie In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-04-09 12:26:35 +0000 UTC]

Да уж, подушки вынесли мне мозг! XD

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the-art-of-B [2015-03-30 00:45:06 +0000 UTC]

Houston we have a problem?

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Oly-RRR In reply to the-art-of-B [2015-03-30 02:11:48 +0000 UTC]

Pff, I bet Houston gets to hear that more than necessary. But his was was more of a reference to Houston Space Center itself, it is pretty well-known even outside the US...

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Pikku-Piru [2015-03-29 13:13:30 +0000 UTC]

Hhaha I don't know if I told you but I was slowly liking Houston's Dad more and more and here we go he's just too much I LOVE HIM silly copper. And the Mom looks so cool too, I love this family (it all started with the Wonder Woman costume...).

BTW nice colors and atmosphere in the last panel ! we can tell your dedication to research is GREAT. 

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Oly-RRR In reply to Pikku-Piru [2015-03-29 21:10:54 +0000 UTC]

Awww, I'm glad! I'm also getting really fond of drawing them all together, I NEED TO DO IT MORE! Families are generally surprisingly fun to draw, just mundane daily stuff (I wouldn't say it a few years ago). Just not looking forward to drawing some ACTUALLY bad parents, I mean way worse than Mrs Barker ...

And thank you! I still feel a bit guilty I don't know how those machines in those units actually work (aside from obvious stuff)...

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Leonca [2015-03-28 22:42:56 +0000 UTC]

That would actually be a really neat story if it wasn’t for the obvious disappointment Leicester shows. I’ve always wondered about the origins of place names, like Asia for a first name, or France for a last name.

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Oly-RRR In reply to Leonca [2015-03-29 00:16:33 +0000 UTC]

It's not so much disappointment, it's feeling awkward about the possibility of explaining he named his only kid randomly - Leicester didn't have much emotional attachment to Houston back then but he has now. Names of places and people mix a lot, actually Leicester is also a place name.

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Leonca In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-03-29 01:05:04 +0000 UTC]

Interesting. I guess I got the initial vibe that there might be some shame involved in having a disabled child, but thankfully that has become less common.

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Oly-RRR In reply to Leonca [2015-03-29 03:54:00 +0000 UTC]

Some parents are more prone to the pressure of society than others but from what I can tell there are more good parents out there (at least it's the impression I get from my research and I'd like to believe it)! You're right - it got better comparing to the 50s or even 70s. I think there are always going to be a certain percentage of awful parents but as our society learns to value any life and not weight up people based on their job or their car less people will be pushed to being ashamed of their children.

Leicester does worry about how his colleagues might react to Houston but in his head it's not being ashamed of him, it's protecting him.

Now that I think of it, most of parents of disabled kids in my comics are good parents (not perfect, not without errors but genuinely loving their children). I'll have to introduce some bad parents eventually and honestly I'm not thrilled about it... I usually try not to be judgemental but when it comes to treating someone vulnerable badly - fuck that, I WILL be judgemental. Sorry about the rant, I've been thinking a lot about it in the past few days.

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jessomie [2015-03-28 13:06:19 +0000 UTC]

haha! love this, i had a feeling there would be a story behind it

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Oly-RRR In reply to jessomie [2015-03-28 16:40:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! There's usually a story behind most things, I just don't always know how to tell it!

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jessomie In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-03-28 17:50:36 +0000 UTC]

well you did a good job in this case

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Oly-RRR In reply to jessomie [2015-03-28 17:53:34 +0000 UTC]

D'aw, thanks. More to come - I'm really happy with this idea of short random traditional comics, feels like a nice addition to my longer digitally coloured stuff.

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Phraggle [2015-03-27 22:43:29 +0000 UTC]

Those are some fine colors you've got here.

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Oly-RRR In reply to Phraggle [2015-03-28 01:39:01 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! There's more to come, I missed colouring comics traditionally so much!

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alicelights [2015-03-27 22:30:05 +0000 UTC]

This cracked me up! I love the way you have created a quiet family moment here - the warmth and intimacy is lovely.
When I first read this I thought Leicester was referring to the look of the baby (since all babies actually look pretty space-alieny - all shrivelled and the like. I was a premature baby in an incubator and since I was so early I was covered in hair like a monkey). Also liking the look of Housten's mum - her hair and glasses are really cute. Housten looks very much like his dad.

"You dad came up with it"-  was that an intentional error? (instead of "your"?)

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Oly-RRR In reply to alicelights [2015-03-28 01:38:30 +0000 UTC]

Babies are probably the most alien-looking living beings on Earth! I dunno, maybe it's some mothering instinct kicking in but I don't imagine looking at a baby and not thinking "Welcome new family member I'm sure you'll eventually be an adorable toddler but aren't you one butt-ugly maroon wrinkly thing right now..." Leicester didn't have much emotional attachment to Houston during his incubator days (is it an awful joke to call it a 'blue period'? yeees...) but Houston won him over by the time he could be taken home. And he does look a lot like his father, though I see some of his mother's features there too. Relatives are hard to design - you want them to be a bit similar but not TOO similar (though of course it varies).

It was a typo (I always re-read speech bubbles but this happens to the best of us) and I can't believe nobody else noticed or bothered to tell me! Thank you!

Also he's Houston exactly like the city not Housten - I usually don't mention this stuff because I don't expect people to remember all the names of my crowd but while we're on typos... I notice people also often misspell Philip (it's one L, one P, well, two Ps if you count the first one) - initially his name was spelled this way just in honour of Philip Glenister but it actually turned into a story device since Philip HATES it when people get his name wrong in any way and it's easy to get it wrong... And I think at least a couple of people spelled Robbo as 'Robbie' and some might argue that he wouldn't even know the difference but his name is the only word he can somewhat pronounce and everyone who knows him well starts calling him Robbo sooner or later (he's obviously Robert but nobody calls him that either except in paperwork or when really annoyed). I usually notice these things (and do my best to play attention to names of other people's OCs) but like I said, it wouldn't be fair of me to expect readers to remember all the names!

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alicelights In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-04-01 14:46:20 +0000 UTC]

It is true. As weird and alien-y as they look... I know my first reaction upon seeing my nephew was a sort of marvel. I mean; this thing was living inside of somebody and now it's out... and it will become a fully fledged human. It is an awe-inspiring thing...

Ah, about Leicester taking a while to warm up to Houston; you DO hear of men who take a while to warm up to their children. I think it's generally a bit harder for men than for women. I think the actual 'act' of carrying and childbirth creates a bond which the dad doesn't have so immediately (especially if he was a bit of workaholic like Leicester). It's lucky that his mother has such a warm personality to balance it out for while - ha ha.

Now you mention it, his face shape does seem a bit more like his mum's than his dad's (it can be hard to tell because his expression often makes his face seem longer). However, I think there is a distinct lack of roundness there like his mums.

Glad I could help, but sometimes people do use improper grammar to represent how people speak (I know some people do sound like they miss out the 'r' when speaking). Thats interesting about the spelling - some names are hard to remember. I think I should have some guy at my police station who always calls Olivier; Oliver AND has no idea he's getting it wrong.... The woman at myu old work place always used to to mispronounce my name - she used to say lay-la and not lee-la which is correct.

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Oly-RRR In reply to alicelights [2015-04-01 20:06:33 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it's one of amazing things about life! I mean I see it not only in babies but it's probably easiest to see in them. Like, it's obviously not a perfect world but so many things about it are so intricate and beautiful...

That makes sense about childbirth! I think some men tune into parenting pretty fast and become REALLY dedicated (often when the mother is absent in one way or another, which is good since it also balances it out) but some men can't really interact with anyone who doesn't understand words so they don't pay much attention to babies and treat children like tiny adults which is not quite fair even when they do love them.

Yeah, Houston is generally more lanky - both because of being a teenager and because of his condition (he's not going to gain much muscle mass even when he's older, in fact he has to keep being active to keep it as it is).

It's interesting about how female features are generally a bit rounder they are not as round as we are usually taught - teenagers of both genders can look really lanky and angular. I've been slowly developing some girls (the next comic I post won't have any new characters but maybe the one after that) and it feels so good to be letting go of all those bullshit rules - I think we discussed it before but I realised that a lot of my reluctance to develop female characters comes from the times when I did try to develop them and got told "it's unclear it's a woman!" (or worse, I once got asked "is it a man with boobs?", such funny much joke very humour) and that always felt oddly personal since I don't look particularly feminine either (and neither does my mum). But I guess by now I've heard it all so it's sad it took me so much time but I'm glad to finally get over that. Not that I go out of my way to develop only female characters (or only non-white characters) because I really don't like the idea of doing it to "tick a box" so if a character ends up male or white I don't go against it but I get a sort of warm glow when I realise I just drew a character I wouldn't draw a year or two ago just because of some stupid mental barrier.

I'm definitely going to use improper grammar to represent how people speak, it's just that Mrs Leicester is not one of them (not like she speaks in Received Pronunciation but I imagine her speaking kind of like a primary school teacher, simply but intentionally clearly and correctly, comes with raising Houston too I guess). Though I don't want to go for the stereotypical 'foreign' errors because they usually sound too exaggerated for me as an EASL speaker (like 'how you say', I never met anyone saying 'how you say' when they can't remember an English word) so I'll probably just invent patterns for characters if I can't find someone with their background to suggest something. Which reminds me of 'Mind The Language' - it was an old British show about an English teacher and an adult EASL class. I can never make my mind about if it was racist or not - I know some people call it racist but while all characters were pretty stereotypical for their nations they were also very endearing and the Brit was the butt of the jokes just as much if not more often... I dunno, I guess I enjoyed from the perspective of a foreigner looking at British perception of foreigners, even thought it WAS kind of outdated (I imagine a similar show would have more multidimensional characters these days).

And yeaaah, people do get names wrong! And I bet people get Olivier's name wrong a lot just because Oliver is a more popular name. So many people get Chauncey's name wrong the first few times that I start thinking I should have characters failing to remember his name more often. I always mentally pronounced your name as lee-la though, I'm not sure if you told me or I just got it instinctively.

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alicelights In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-04-02 00:22:19 +0000 UTC]

I got my grades! I basically got a C for every section and there were 16 marked sections. I'm not that impressed but I realise it's our first grades of the year (also I heard that A is basically impossible). Still... I'm not sure what to think about it. I think I'm still too knackered from the hand-in to care too much.

My name is phonetic so it might be easier to get right if you read it (my parents choose one like that was deliberately because... you know the English and foreign names  ). The problem is when somebody reads it, forgets about it and tries to say it. Also, Layla is a name that is sometimes used... and Leela just isn't common so... people go with what they know. It's just like what you were saying about people misspelling characters names.

Actually, I'm no good with kids for that reason. I can do two modes: I can do talking to a fellow adult (and variations thereof) and talking to a baby or a pet. I find it hard to know how exactly how to behave in the middle of that. I do honestly believe in taking kids seriously and It makes me feel bad talking down to them. I need to get better at it since it's bad for them (I don't do it much when when I do: so much awkward).

It's true, women can such a variety of shapes and the media doesn't display it as well as they should be (VERY much an issue in comics actually). I actually decided to make Rosa a little more feminine than she used to look because I felt that being above 30 shouldn't mean she isn't attractive any more. I think you managed that very well with Houston's mum - she's very much a yummy mummy AND she has grey hair (double points for GOING THERE)! I want to make Helen chubby too but it's hard to do consistently (I guess I'll use myself as reference for that). I want to make each of my characters to have some appeal - because I HONESTLY believe everybody has some kind of charm and will be attractive to somebody! I don't think I've ever met anybody I've really thought was ugly - although I do find too much make up actually does make people kinda ugly or REALLY weird hairstyles. Basically, I like my characters to reflect that.

I know we swapped photos and I keep meaning to get back on you about it - but.... it must be still underneath several million comments...   I finally found it on PAGE 3 ( ...so many comments to go).... I think you look kinda feminine actually - roundish, smallish hands, cute nose and you seem to have quite a small mouth (hard to tell because of the angle though) which is also considered feminine. Also, you have a really nice smile!

By this; I'm not saying that traditionally feminine features are superior - far from it. BUT we have a big society issue where even traditionally feminine features are not even considered as such. With make-up SO being so much the norm; regular and quite beautiful features are considered weird or unattractive or....manly....or something else.... There is a very limited window of what constitutes feminine-ness. Make-up gives people a way to cover up the features they dislike most.

I am kinda jealous of your natural smile - I never smile because when I do I literally look like a shark going for the kill (actually, I look SLIGHTLY less sharky than usual here so it's not the best example but I erase the really bad ones on sight - i.imgur.com/Lf2cEak.jpg ).

If you are concerned about creating a character 'just to tick a box' have you considered creating the role that character is the play first? Or looking up some issues that are going on with particular minorities - and find a way to connect it with your main plot (that is you don't need to discuss that issue directly; but it can help stop the character being just a white person 're-coloured' if you see what I mean. just some random ideas here; So there could be a character whose grandma was beaten up buy some UKIP voters. Also; in the UK we now have a lot of Polish (and some Romanian) migrants and there is a stenotype that because they work harder and for less money; that they are stealing all the jobs from the ENGLISH people (have we heard this before?  ). So you get a lot of Polish food shops about (maybe a character could own such a shop?). Also the Asian (Indian) corner shop owner is totally a stereotype but there is TRUTH behind it (there are, in fact, a lot of Asian newsagents and pharmacists and the classic doctors). I imagine people with those backgrounds could come into the story. Since doctors will clearly come and visit the care centre.

I think I should look up 'Mind the Language' - sounds fun but it might be a bit old fashioned now. However, much stuff gets labelled as racist for no good reason. For some reason unbeknown to myself The Guardian have a THING against The Exotic Marigold Hotel franchise. They also seem to be the only newspaper who do.... which is really weird. I was put off it for a long time because of the bad review but I am so glad I gave it a go this year. I really like it because it's a really wonderful and very positive representation of old people which happens to take place in India. Both India and the Indians in it are shown realistically enough for my parents to recognise the streets. It's like Guardian thinks everything set in India has to be an radical apology for colonisation (it's the sort of thing that Indians don't care about but irritating Brits get all funny about). I see it as 'we live in England and we have a relationship with India (due to both history and migration)' and so thus 'cool, lets make things in India! Yay!'  - simple, right and good for both parties.

Oh, I recommend you NOT see Indian Summers (a recent show). it's obviously targeting the American market - it's basically downton abbey in India. And what really takes the cake, they FILMED it in Malaysia. Now I like Malaysia (great food) but it looks nothing like Shimla (where the program is *supposed* to be set). The difference is really obvious (Malaysia is kinda tropical like some of the Indian plains BUT Shimla is in the mountains (that's why the English went there). It's not hard to imagine how a town in the mountains looks utterly different from the jungle?. The producers just reckon their audience is too ignorant to know better which I find offence. Also; there are about 5-million other inaccuracies that my mother keeps noticing (we have actually dropped the Show and it takes a lot for us to drop a show). Guardian should be ranting about this junk... NOT poor Marigold Hotel.

Apologies for a crazy long message; I just had some extra time this evening.

Btw, Heres some lawmen for you!  - zimeta.deviantart.com/art/Jupi…

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Oly-RRR In reply to alicelights [2015-04-02 06:07:08 +0000 UTC]

It's okay, Cs happen. I've been told that people who learn the most aren't the ones that start brilliantly - they get used to their success and relax too much and people getting Cs get used to challenges and working hard (now that I think of it, I was initially crap at most classes I was later at my best at). Let that motivate you!! In a way I'm glad my art education wasn't comic-centred (and in case of many teachers just openly against cartoons) - I feel like I've walked against the flow of water so I can deal with more (and then sometimes I wish it was different because I think I'm too used to the expectation of disapproval, it's not a good thing to be, self-victimizing).

I think I'm reasonably okay with kids - the ones I know seem to like me. I've always hauled off to entertain them at any gathering with kids since my teenage years and I can't say I complain - kids never ask stuff about studies or work or boyfriend and even if they do they don't dwell on it. But I guess I was somewhat laid-back about mental abilities even before Cop Story - just be honest and tweak ways of communication depending on if the person on the other end (this said I'm not good at social situations in general and spend too much time alone so it's weird of me to give advice). For the record teenagers don't like me, hell, all my childhood friends ditched me around the time we were teenagers, a kid who was a few years junior walked off a few years later. I'm probably a more pessimistic version of Arthur Shappey there - as long as you're happy playing with tangled cables and puzzles and not planning to enter politics at cabinet level yet I'm good company.

It makes sense for Rosa, she always felt very genuine to me! I don't think women shouldn't be pretty, I just always gravitate towards writing outcasts in one way or another but women seem to get more openly negative reactions there... I invented an entirely women-centred arc to deal with it once in for all (I mean with my own fears, I really doubt I'll change much generally) but it still needs a lot of time and attention before I can talk about it much. (And yes, chubby people ARE hard to draw, well, I guess as much as anyone with body types that aren't covered in usual art instructions, I have some chubby characters but I could use more.)

I agree - I don't think there are ugly people. I think the word 'beautiful' is distorted by fashion industry and so on but I don't think any of my characters are ugly, I enjoy drawing their features and figuring out how people express their feelings with bodies they have (like Houston's huge grin there and his balance changing when he's excited, though I don't expect readers to pick the balance thing up, it probably doesn't read well enough in static images). It sounds very preachy but I think it's attitudes that make people ugly - when we don't like someone we try to read the confirmation in their appearance somehow... Listening to Harry Potter audiobooks I didn't like how laughingly the Dursleys were described (though yeah, it is the kind of stuff kids do like, 'haha this guy is so fat he has no neck') but when I thought of it more I thought they look ugly because they are obviously hostile people - Hagrid can also be called fat but when you look at him you can see he's a kind bloke so he gets a description emphasizing different things (and in the second book the trope subverted with Lockhart anyway). So I think it's about demeanour? I think makeup and hair sort of reflect that too - I usually notice heavily permed hair only in mean old ladies and don't seem to notice it with kind ones, it becomes just hair. I'm a bit intimidated by people with a lot of make up at first but similarly it's mostly because of experiences with other people, when someone is friendly I don't mind.

Aww, thank you! Dunno, I'm still confused for a guy sometimes and I kind of like dressing like that, it's comfy. About the smile - to be fair, I was talking to the person next to me at the time, when I have to look at the camera I look either insincere/sleepy/nervous or somewhere between Houston's grin and John Finnemore's grin when he's playing Arthur (but less adorable, though I still enjoy suddenly smiling like that if mum decides to take a photo). Looking at the camera is hard but I think you look fine there - everyone there has 'say cheese' sort of smiles but nobody looks very uncomfortable, just slightly awkward as all big companies are I guess!

It's not so much about roles (obviously I know some roles to start off with even if sometimes it's something vague like 'a neighbour of ___' and then that character suddenly develops family, occupation, interests, plans, etc). And we're not talking about 'recolouring' existing OCs, I'm uncomfortable doing it to characters I developed for a while (slight changes would be fine though, like what you did with Rosa), since I have this crowd anyway I can bite the bullet and add more characters and find ways to connect them. Like right now I'm trying to develop more kids in Mikey's class and their families (really, it's the best figuring out whole families, I didn't understand it before I started writing characters who need carers, now I need to go back and figure out families of the few character who never got them developed at all, like DS Parks or draw families I haven't drawn yet, like Teague's mother whom I imagine very clearly) so I'd like to throw in more varied ethnic and professional backgrounds of the families (ditto for Teague's class and a class of younger kids but I'll get to them later) and I have some ideas of personalities of specific kids or parents... But sometimes I try to imagine a character and it's like it feels right for them to be a certain way and I'd rather develop two characters than force one into something. Like I can't imagine making Mikey white and Donny black without it affecting their stories in some way since it's a part of who they are just like everything else... So I'm working towards that but sometimes it's like 'okay, dammit, you won't be a family of immigrants from Afghanistan, I give up, your family moved to London from Cork in the 60s, I don't imagine it happening another way, let's see if any other imaginary people will be more agreeable' - like I can change something only if it's not working for some clear reason. And this is why it's good I'm not writing for a living.

Thanks for the ideas, I'll see if I can work it into anything! I know I want to have someone Polish in the story - I imagine myself being in the same shoes if I ever moved, from the Polish characters I see in UK shows the perception of all Slavic countries is more or less the same (and I have some Polish friends and watchers so I know the disability situation in Poland is similar to Russia... AND we have the same disgusting 'they are taking our jobs' attitude to immigrants here btw - I don't see people saying that wiling to sweep the streets and do other necessarily but ungrateful, undervalued and underpaid jobs! I need to pick your brains about an Indian family I have an idea of but I need to have something more solid before that. And I know about corner shops, I've seen a lot of them on google maps! A really existing shop across the street from the station is called 'Oriental Chef' and I was like "Hang on, didn't I hear that 'oriental' was offensive? Oh well, if the owners called it that..." though it's blurred in the page simply so the logo doesn't 'jump' to the foreground. Also I'm sure that some of Chauncey's colleagues refer to the place in CLEARLY offensive terms before buying food there...

I definitely need more medical/educational, all the stuff I have so far is structured the way I couldn't fit more characters in backgrounds if I wanted but I wouldn't want to do a Rugrats sort of thing with them conveniently out of frame at all times (it wouldn't work in long term with a huge interconnected story though I'm doing a page like that now). So yeah, lots of possibilities there too... So all I can say is that the next time I upload doodles with new characters you WILL see some female characters and more varied ethnicities but I can't tell how many yet! Back when I was figuring out Teague's class (it's always easier for me to think of multiple characters connected so I like drafting a bunch of new characters and then slowly refining their stories) there two more girls planned aside from Emma but because of stuff I mentioned before ('do my female characters look obviously female or will people make fun of them?!') and I felt so pressured they never felt believable enough to share sketches and write about them? I don't get that feeling now or when I do I can make a pause and it goes away. And it worked naturally for Emma anyway - Alan always was her closest friend and she feels more comfortable around boys (and has too high expectations for girls so I know her social circle won't change after I figure out more girls in that class). I think the only girl Emma knows personally and likes (excluding family) is Wynne. And in a way Lori and other girls in that class - generally their groups don't mix much but unlike some of her classmates Emma is mature enough to not make fun of learning disabled kids, it's like, we could be in each other's places if things turned differently and we are in the same boat anyway so she says hi when they do meet. I like that Emma got that to work through because I was kind of bothered she was turning out this perfectly smart and reasonable character and for someone that smart she actually has a lot of prejudices and unreasonable expectations about her own gender (let's just say she's different with guys and learning disabled students for more or less the same reasons).

Good thing you told me about Indian Summers - I think I saw a snippet of trailer on youtube and thought it looked interesting enough to watch (though I might be confusing it with something else). I know what you mean about inaccuracies being annoying enough to drop the show so even though I doubt I'll spot any of them I still won't watch it, I know some shows make me feel like with themes I do know of. And man, I feel kind of sad when the BBC does a piece that's supposed to be set in a specific place but films it elsewhere - it's like most of Shetland was filmed on the mainland. I MIGHT BE USING THE FOOTAGE FOR REFERENCES THIS IS IRRESPONSIBLE YOU PROMISED TO EDUCATE AND ENTERTAIN I SHALL WRITE TO- wait- *is not even eligible to pay the tv fee, doesn't get a sausage*

No worries about long messages (though I might take more time reply to the rest)! And I follow Jupiter here and on Smack Jeeves (webcomics are a small world)! To be honest I'm a bit confused by the recent arc so I'm waiting to see where it leads to (not fond of cop killers but also not fond of readers judging too harshly before they know where the story leads to, I have characters doing all kinds of stuff myself). Love the flashbacks to Otto's childhood though.

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alicelights In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-04-08 15:33:41 +0000 UTC]

I am quite used to getting C's, but I am not used to working myself raw for them... Unfortunately, we got so little feedback I am really unsure what I did right and what I did wrong. I am hoping to arrange a tutorial to figure this out. I am trying to be encouraged but I am so stressed right now even though it's supposed to be a holiday...

I think there can be an thing with comics trying to tackle too many issues. I don't think you're at that point yet but I think it's always worth remembering   I find the issue with the 'unconventional' body shapes is they end up being inconsistent... I've seen it in comics a lot. I guess it's not bad because people are trying - it's just a shame.

Actually, I see see what you mean. it's true. You try and find other reasons to dislike people you already dislike (*guilty* totally done that before).

Oh, I didn't literally mean 'recolouring' an existing character. I'm not sure how to explain it. Like when somebody writes a TV show but does not consider minorities in the cast. However, when it comes to casting they decide to make somebody Indian. So you have a character who has not been written with his ethnic background considered. This CAN work but it can seem a bit odd for a minority character to just behave really 'english-y'. This was embarrassingly noticeable in 'The Last Train' if you ever saw it (where they had a whole Indian family - which made it far more obvious). Any of this ethnic/ cultural stuff can be awkward to do though. I know very few black people so I find them hard to write and I would hate to just add them at random like the Americans do.

I had no idea 'oriental' was offensive. I use it and you see it on the high street (and you pointed out with oriental chef which I recognised by the way on the page when you put it up ). I've said before but mostly when people say 'asians' they are referring to Indians. However, I think these categories are changing to follow the American tradition (However not all forms reflect this)... then people from the far east need a term; I tend to use the exact country (chinese/ korean/ etc) where I know but where I don't I use 'oriental'... I hope I am not offending anyone! I guess calling people 'far-eastern' would work but it sounds a little unnatural to me. OH, apparently; Peter J. Aspinall of the Centre for Health Services Studies recommends using the term "South Asian" over the term "Asian", since the term "Asian" is a "contested term".

Anyway, I think Emma looks feminine enough to me. The colours you use enphasise it and also the shape of her face and her mouth is smaller than the guys (etc) seem to imply it to me. It just occurred to me that perhaps you could try putting some more fashionable clothes on characters? Maybe Ms Morinelli when she appears? (I feel like she might be a fashionable sort) A lot of jeans are worn in public but... also women frequently like dressing up (especially to go out and spending time with friends). I think many of your female characters are tomboys which is, of course, fine but some variety is nice Also since you're considering adding some minorities a lot of black women (often Indians too) wear bright colourful clothing. Also especially in a place like Edmonton people wear clothing from their country of origin - you see this particularly on black women in that area  

On the subject of colourful minories. See this freaking amazing Notting Hill carnival poster they had a few years ago. I love this SO much.
londonsvenskar.com/michelle/fi…

I can guarantee you that the REAL Shimla mountains would have been amazing location for the show. See here:

www.google.co.uk/search?q=kasa…

Now exactly HOW did they conclude they could film it in the hot Malaysian plains and get away with it? I'm sure even you can see it, right?   

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Oly-RRR In reply to alicelights [2015-04-08 20:36:46 +0000 UTC]

Little feedback sucks but unfortunately it's really common - this is one reason why good teachers should be treasured, bad ones tend to only through a couple of vague phrases at you and expect you to guess it.

Yeah, I don't know, I'm not aiming to cover everything for the sake of ticking a box - like I know I don't represent LGBT community much but it's not like my comics are centred on straight relationships either (unless showing married couples occasionally counts for that these days?) so I'm not saying it's never going to be mentioned but I'm not going out of my way to point out orientation of my characters. It's good to push yourself and consider depicting traits you never did before (from facial features to bigger aspects like impairments or ethnic backgrounds) but I guess it's reasons that matter...

I never saw 'The Last Train' (wanted to but couldn't find it) but I know what you mean! This is exactly why it's tricky - minorities deserve to be represented equally but you also can't 'swap' backgrounds without it affecting characters. Some families might act 'english-y' (or in case of here 'russian-y') but it's also their background - how exactly that particular family is assimilating, where they draw a line with traditions, how they feel about it. I can't suddenly decide that Chance grew up in a family of Chinese immigrants without it changing something about who he is (and this is what I mean when I say I can't shoehorn particular characters into something because then they just become a different character). Some people might say it's racist but idk, I think acknowledging differences and respecting variety is respectful, and that whole 'we are all the same same same' mantra leads to discrimination sooner or later. All people are people and everyone is similar in one way and different in another and that's GOOD.

And yeah, terms are tricky as well. Obviously some words should be avoided but any term offends someone out there and they change meanings over time too. In the worst case you apologize - if you genuinely didn't mean any offence people usually know it.

Hehe, well, you say I look feminine and I never feel it! But then you also have characters with realistic appearance, I think it's people who always draw 1-2 body types only who are harsh about how other people's characters look. Or maybe it's a cultural thing - some people here see a woman always wearing trousers as crossdressing (not that there's anything wrong with crossdressing, I just don't know how to describe that attitude). And everyone I know here usually confirms it (not that I mind not being feminine but I wish people said it without negative connotations)... Thanks for the tip about colourful clothes (not like I have to be asked twice to make something colourful, gotta look up ethnic clothes more)! I knooow I should do something about fashionable clothes and I will but it's hard - it's probably funny when I say it with my cast and the amount of research I do but even Gerry's outfit took research... I kind of envy people who draw clothes naturally, for me anything other than jeans/shirt combo takes observation and conscious effort (especially when it's supposed to look fashionable).

Speaking of Morinelli I came up with a short comic about her but I should sit on this idea until she is introduced in the main plot or ideally longer.

The first link is not working for me but the mountains are beautiful, it's the showmakers' loss there!  

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SaskiaDeKorte [2015-03-27 09:58:34 +0000 UTC]

Whoo the colours in this are amazing What tools do you use to make these comics?

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Oly-RRR In reply to SaskiaDeKorte [2015-03-27 17:37:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!   I use liners (Micron, Copic, Faber-Castell), Copic markers and Derwent pencils (usually Coloursoft and Watercolour but basically any soft waxy pencils)! And Photoshop for speech bubbles and editing, though I rarely drastically change something about the colour (like blue to green), I just try to tweak the scan closer to how it looks irl (like the last panel was actually drawn on blue paper).

With my digitally coloured comics it's more or less the same except I scan inks and colour them in PS.

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SaskiaDeKorte In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-03-30 08:07:58 +0000 UTC]

I see I really need to get myself a box of decent pencils!

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B00Rx [2015-03-27 08:22:29 +0000 UTC]

My name's Houston

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Oly-RRR In reply to B00Rx [2015-03-27 17:30:38 +0000 UTC]

Surname or second name? I think it's a pretty cool name, come to think of it I often like names that are also names of places.

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B00Rx In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-03-27 17:44:36 +0000 UTC]

me name be Rae Houston
I agree, location names are pretty neat sometimes

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Oly-RRR In reply to B00Rx [2015-03-27 18:36:06 +0000 UTC]

Ah, I knew you were Rae but Houston either slipped my mind or I just didn't know. I have a friend whose surname is Jarvis and it's also a first name of one of Houston's classmates and also accidental other than it seemed like a right name for him.

I just thought that 'Houston Leicester' doesn't stand out that much but if he were 'Houston Texas' he'd be teased at school.

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ExplosiveCoffee [2015-03-27 06:33:31 +0000 UTC]

The mood-whiplash here is amazing. I mean the coziness of the first three panels and how eeriness of the last one. Really did think something bad was going to be found out or something (then again being in ICU's already bad as it is), but nope definitely none of that, just those moments where your brain just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

I love the name association. Think it's quite sweet, then again I'm a sucker for people with interesting stories behind their names.

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Oly-RRR In reply to ExplosiveCoffee [2015-03-27 06:45:55 +0000 UTC]

I kept meaning to draw something about the Leicesters for a while - people tend to remember comics better than doodles and the first comic about them was really sad and their life might not be perfect but it isn't that sad either. The first comic about them was about finding out something bad but back then Leicester was more worried about his wife than his newborn son so when he found out she wasn't dying he was sort of dazed. I think people often notice and/or point out odd things when shocked, like something big is happening in your life and you can't stop looking at that wallpaper pattern you just noticed.

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ExplosiveCoffee In reply to Oly-RRR [2015-03-27 08:20:59 +0000 UTC]

Well it is definitely a great continuation to what happened, you do these character explorations so well. But I agree, I mean the Leicesters' story it's not excessively tragic or sad, but got a pull to it that you want to see more about them. Bad things do happen to people and it's more of how they go about after it's happened. (I kinda have no idea what that sounds like outside my head).

Couldn't imagine how out of it Leicester would feel in that moment. But it's true, the brain does pick out really funny details that you wouldn't expect to be anything of significance. I remember the time I got hauled to the ER and the first thing that popped to mind when I came to was 'there's a French guy screeching next to me'.

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Oly-RRR In reply to ExplosiveCoffee [2015-03-27 18:47:45 +0000 UTC]

It makes sense to me! I mean I think similarly - stuff you didn't wish to happen happens but there's no way of knowing what kind of person you'll be after you go through it.

Yeah, I had a similar experience (not ER though, psych waiting room), it's funny how brains are.

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Sleyf [2015-03-27 06:23:18 +0000 UTC]

Awww I thought something had happened to her, you're very sneaky, and I have to say that I also thought he was called Houstan because of that one famous line XD, so surprises all around! Thanks for entering the promot and doing such a great job of it!

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Oly-RRR In reply to Sleyf [2015-03-27 06:34:15 +0000 UTC]

Nah, Houston, exactly like the city and the space center! And his mother appeared in a couple of doodles, she's just usually quiet so I guess she's not very noticeable (considering that half my characters can't shut up).
 
Houston is probably the most talkative out of the three of them (though he isn't very fond of his AAC device and would rather communicate with grunts if it's not PRESSING QUESTIONS).

And thank you! I'll probably finish the AMA thing in a couple of days too though I'm already considering doing a second page of that.

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sn0otchie [2015-03-27 06:11:56 +0000 UTC]

ahaha How to dad, step one: panic when faced with having to name your newborn child and blurt out the first thing that came to mind. Apparently that's exactly what my dad did, cause my mum had a name all picked out for me, but it was dad who had to go and register my birth and let's just say it didn't quite go according to plan   It was a bit of a "Wait, what??" moment for mum. I wonder what Anne's initial reaction was.

I LOVE ALL THE COLOURS!  

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Oly-RRR In reply to sn0otchie [2015-03-27 06:25:29 +0000 UTC]

Haha, pretty much! That and Leicester wasn't very fond of his son back then (it's okay, Houston won him over pretty much as soon as he could be taken home). I think Anne was like "Oh, okay then... weren't we going to name him after your grandfather??" but between Leicester and Houston you sort of have to get used to something unexpected happening all the time.

Thanks! This was really fun, I want to colour comics traditionally more! I'll probably end up finishing another one soon.

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