"Hey, Judy?" Comic (Patreon)

Hey, Judy? / Hey, Judy is a short-form comic I'm currently working on that I hope to be done no later than like June or July. It won't be as long as Cilantro by any means, so I'm hoping I can fully colour this one, especially since it's short and takes place outside (I'm slowly getting out my comfort zone lol).

If you'd rather be surprised by the final pages and don't want to see bts (behind-the-scenes, not the insanely awesome Korean boy band) and possible spoilers, do not keep scrolling.

Okay?

Are all the patience folks waiting patiently now? Right, then for all of you who want to see what former Pixar/ WDAS president Ed Catmull would call my "ugly baby", let's get into the thick of this nursery, shall we? I feel naked showing the initial process behind comic creation, because it is quite messy, but it is quite fascinating and perhaps if you're an artist you can take something away from seeing how a novice attempts comics so you can make a better one!

---------

Hey, Judy? / Hey, Judy that takes place after Judy's departure from the ZPD and before she reunites with Gideon Grey. It's Judy-centric though heavily features her semi-clingy niece Colette "Cotton" Hopps, along with all of her littermates and some of their own kids.

As a reminder, here are the background characters I developed:

I have a hard time remembering Jamie's name is not Jane...I might revert it back to Jane.

This takes place in a field or park somewhere in Bunnyburrow away from the Hopps home. There may or may not have been a request by Bonnie to get a depressed Judy out of the house to have some fun. Below is the "first" page I worked on last night. I say "first" because I originally thought to start the first page at the train station instead. Carrying the original suitcase she left with,  Judy slowly steps off the train and upon seeing her parents she runs to meet their embrace before her knees buckle in, the trio slowly meeting the platform below them before settling on the ground. In the background, a poster is proudly displayed in the station's information message center that reads, "ZPD - Integrity. Honesty. Bravery," with a wide-eyed Judy Hopps featured prominently on the poster.

I may return to that concept as the first page.

I'm drawing in my own shorthand so while this all makes sense to me I acknowledge that it may not to you lol. Feel free to ask questions here or on Discord. I've really gotta work on my gestures - just so you know, I want Jeff (first panel0 to look like he's skipping rocks on the lefthand side, and on the righthand side the two floating heads are one character (Jylian) being held up by Jim.

Now this is a messy page, but essentially the CliffNotes explanation is Cotton wants to leave this area to find Judy (just up an adjacent hill) and is discouraged from doing so. This page is important to get right for me because, though she's not the main character here, this will be our first glimpse into Cotton - and the others - as their own characters and more importantly Cotton's relationship with her family. Won't go far into that in the comic by any means.

[Just for context, unlike Cilantro, this story takes place in my own broader universe of which UN also falls under. #Qal-canon]

There may be one other page between this page and the last because I'm seeing now that one page isn't enough to A) include text, OR B) aide the story. That said, small bun has escaped and is Running Up That Hill (Stranger Things fans, where are you? ToT) to find Judy, who's parked herself away from the warmth and atop a quiet hill. Clouds roll across the moonlit sky to places far beyond her childhood stomping grounds, wildflowers - including Nighthowlers (#foreshadowing) - dance lazily in the wind. Laying in the grass, lost in her own world, she's snapped out of it once she hears a sound behind her though she's met only with a view of the tall grass behind her.

Next page, Cotton realizes she may have blown her own cover by stepping on a twig and holds position before peeking through the grass one more time while she boots up PounceMaster.exe. But Judy's inattentive stature proves to be a rouse and Cotton's attempted sneak attack has failed - one day she'll perfect the art of the pounce, but not today!

These next few are skipping ahead a little~

[Mom's trying to stop me from bothering you. But it won't work.]

Though Judy will appear playful in this end panel and the page following it, this, too, is a rouse. She's attempting to cover up her more sour emotions for the sake of her new visitor. While this isn't the first time she's put on an act to avoid unpleasant emotions or interactions, it could be said that she's adopted a new philosophy someone once taught her whilst riding a skytram after barely keeping her job for another 10 hours. But that's just a theory.

This became a long post XD Again, everything you see is just my current comic-vomit and may or may not be in the final pages. But it's fun to come up with it all!