11-16 Update Artist's Commentary (Patreon)

Chumi, Tri-Slosher Nouveau Main, if you even care: This Update! Jake English! Meenah! Some exciting lil’ tidbits for us to munch on! Let’s get down to it!

Kim, of homosexual inclination: WWWWwwwwwhat’s up, patrons!!! I hope you enjoyed November’s update! Though I’m the Art Director for Beyond Canon, this update in particular is the first one where I’m spearheading the art. Technically, this isn’t my first-first rodeo making panels for this project as a whole. If you’re attentive, you probably already know of the few updates I’ve worked on before the hiatus–notably Chapter 9, Chapter 13, and the Commander Karkat update! I can’t believe it’s been three whole years since those dropped… WROW. But, anyway, on to the exciting stuff!

The juicy bits you’ve all been waiting for…….. unfinished drawings. 🤯 For this production, I made a unique template for the artists to board our updates so it can be convenient for us to reference and pass it down the pipeline. Here’s an early iteration of the storyboard thumbnails for this update:

Chumi: Thank you!!!

Kim: You can tell it’s an early iteration too by the fact the numbers are a bit off, some compositions have changed, and how there’s actually some panels in the final that are missing from this early draft of the boards. Comes to show how much changes within the production over time! I hope you enjoy my funny thumbnail scribbles and my notes talking to myself.

Kim: The first couple of panels, I wanted to emphasize on drama. This is the point where Jake is finally being pushed back into being the man of action again! The whole reason why Jake came back to Jane in the first place finally coming to fruition, and he knows he needs to do SOMETHING!

Chumi: I love the dramatic angles going on here. Kim’s da bomb… I love Kim!!!!! 😀

Kim: There’s something funny to me about putting in these little teaser shots, because it’s like “oooOOOoooo Who could it POSSIBLY be….? What will her new outfit look like? oooOOOO” as if the reveal isn’t immediately on the next page... But, y’know what, sometimes it’s just about keeping the audience on their toes. 😏

Also, I thought I would impart this very important information to you guys, but every time I draw Jake’s face I always think to myself he looks like the Pringles guy.

Kim: THAR SHE BLOWS!! We finally got to see a clear view of Meenah, so I wanted to give her the money shot she deserved for her big reveal! Her look was technically already designed pre-hiatus, but with the new art direction we wanted to make some subtle adjustments to her design! Below is the first iteration of her design made by our fantastic artist, Andi R.

Kim: Which, might I say, Andi did a STELLAR job on designing her outfit for the Resistance. The next step was simply, “how do we make Homestuck designs feel more like Homestuck,” y’know what I mean? I think one of Homestuck’s strongest charm points is their extremely simplistic and streamlined designs.

Kim: There’s not much change overall, but I like to consider this drawing an exploration of sorts! It’s me feeling out quicker ways to draw her side hair tails, how to draw her face, drawing her pants in a quicker motion, etc. I also don’t doubt as we go further making this comic, the way we draw characters will adapt and evolve with the story as well. That’s the beauty of Homestuck, yeah? It’s an always evolving living piece of work, and we all evolve with it. :-)

Chumi: I’m quite excited to see Meenah again, now in a sick new outfit. What’s her deal in the rebellion? When can we get more rebellion info?? I, like the rest of the crew and surely the entire audience agrees, am chomping at the bit to see Commander Karkat again!!! I see your tweets, guys.

Kim: A secret between you and me, I very specifically wanted these panels to be in sprite mode because I had no idea how a spy crab phone would functionally work, so I let the magic of abstraction do its wonders for me. Also, this is the first time Candy Jake would have appeared as a sprite! There hasn’t been a sprite made for this particular design yet, so I had to make this one from scratch.

Kim: Look at him. Just standing there.

Chumi: Dorky mustache…

Kim: This reminds me about how I’ve heard back then that apparently there were very mixed reviews on Jake having a mustache LMFAO. I personally love it. It tickles me seeing a little Homestuck sprite guy with facial hair LOL. Doesn’t he look so cute?

Chumi: Jake’s little sprite-mode leg kicking and screaming and lil bounce… Love it. I’m re-reading HS proper and this brings back the warm fuzzies of early HS sprite silliness.

Kim: I am very amused by the idea that I have a whole ass college degree in Animation and I’m putting it to good use making shitty little Homestuck gifs for work. And Caramelldansen parodies.

Kim: A probably easily missable detail, but Dirk’s grayed out handle on Jake’s phone makes my brain SPIN. Jake has always been a character that’s stuck in the past and has a hard time letting go, and the idea that even though Dirk has been dead in the Candy timeline for so long by now… Seeing Jake can’t even bring himself to delete Dirk’s handle when there’s really no point in keeping it other than sentimentality… PHEW. This one’s for all the dirkjakers out there to simmer on.

Kim: Gotta give creds to Haven for this visual gag specifically. The fucked up flat jpeg suddenly going in perspective Killed me. I had to be sure I retained this gag At All Costs.

Kim: When I made this panel I kept thinking to myself “God, I hope people make transparents of this and put it on the top of their blog layouts like ceiling cat.” If blog page dolls are even a thing anymore. Or ceiling cat. ):

Kim: Originally I was just gonna leaf (heh) the leaves off Vriska for the remaining panels, but there was just something so funny to me about them just sticking to her LOL. Nothing amuses me more than subtle visual gags remaining consistent.

Chumi: Seeing everyone (especially Vriska) rendered in the HS:BC style… Something about that tickles my heart HEHE. Like whoa, so much has changed and were making it hapen…

James, Director: This is the old panel before the correction. Can you spot the difference..?

Kim: It’s funny because I got it right in an earlier panel and it glossed my mind for this panel… lol oopsie *taps a fist to my head* xP

Chumi: Is the Thanks for Playing just burned into the sky? Is it like an actual structure or…

James: Yeah it's just there all the time. You can go visit it like the HOLLYWOOD sign.

Kim: Aaaand, that’s all I got for this month’s commentary! Remember to like the video, subscribe the video, comment the video, and I’ll be back with another Five Nights at Freddy’s Lets Play next week thanks. : )