Straight!? Revamp v12 Before/After: Teasers 1 (Patreon)

Hey all,

Today we're back for a first look at the highly anticipated Chapter 6 Revamp. I already talked at length about some nerves related to this chapter here. So if you were a fan of Chapter 6, the visuals, the dialogue, and all the heavy shit that comes with it-- hopefully I do this thing justice.

As always, if you're interested in the more in-depth discussion about these pics, you can check out the higher tier with the video slideshow where I ramble on unedited (there's a reason I go through dozens of drafts before the story starts making sense, lmao).

So update 12 is gonna be the first half of Chapter 6 (maybe slightly more). I'm planning on cutting this update off right before the park so that I can focus on those scenes separately (however, I've already started mock-ups for them and they look pretty good).

Today we're going to be taking a look at 3 sets of images for the first part of v12 so let's jump in.

Reminder: v12 will pick up after Braden overhears the shower lie. Let's jump in.

Pic 1: This first pic is from the original version and depicts a very angry Braden. This scene was pretty tense in the original so I really wanted to keep that but in this version, Braden is mostly sat on the bed, waving his arms around and stuff. This scene also has a lot of the problems that we saw in the original with lighting direction. The original scene also pretty much uses the same "angry" face throughout the conversation. I wanted some variance here because during an argument, your facial expression changes depending on what you're saying or reacting to.

Pic 2: This is the Revamp replacement. Now, this isn't a "wow" picture for a Before/After but I do want to use it as more of an example for intent. In the Revamp, we're going to see Braden sorta lose control a bit. Not in a violent way or anything but he's going to overtly get up and start pacing-- much more of a "Zack" sorta reaction because his emotions are overflowing and he's not really sure what to do with them so his body sorta short-circuits. We'll be seeing variations in facial expressions, pacing, staring out the window-- he's gonna be all over the place really. Meanwhile, Zack's expression is going to be just standing there. I think the frantic pacing of Braden looks even more serious when it's paired with Zack standing like a depressed statue. No real dialogue changes much here but hopefully you'll see more poses during this argument in the Revamp to make it less like a sitting person is yelling at a standing person.

Pic 3: Ok, I've talked a ton about how bad these night shots are. This is the scene where Zack just freaks out and walks out of the Dorm room-- his head shuts down and he just bolts to go sit and be emo. Same old trees in the background and all I did for it to be "night" was just make them darker. Zero clue what i was doing here. I think the tone of the pose here is important though so I really wanted to keep that to some degree but also expand on it. I'm not gonna talk about how bad these night time shots are but Revamp v12 will be the first time we see it dark outside in the Revamp so I had some work to do.

Pic 4: Boom. This shot is a visual wrecking ball and is one of the most staggering Before/After shots we've seen so far. Say hello to the new night aesthetic. So right now, I have this entire scene done and it's really a different vibe. The problem with this scene is that it's long and there's no other characters. This means that I had to visually try and keep things interesting while Zack mulls shit over in his head for like 30 lines of text. Well... that was the goal anyway. visually, this scene looks waaaaay better. We have massive lighting changes here and we're still using the actual Revamp campus rather than a static image in the background. This gives it depth and life. This scene is also going to expand from just this pose. We'll see Zack squirm around on this bench, slumping down, rolling around, etc. My inspiration here was someone stuck in an airport and trying to sleep in one of those chairs or benches. There's some fun shots here including one where Zack throws his leg over the back of the bench that very much is based more on how I would spread out on this thing. Anyway, hopefully you enjoy the upgrade and hopefully you'll enjoy seeing Zack squirm a bit in this bench. It may sound dumb but i think that discomfort really adds to this scene. Tons of new pictures during this scene so stay tuned.

Pic 5: Alright, last set. This original shot focuses on the scene where Zack goes to the clinic to meet with Mikhail and talk about the lie. This original image isn't horrible but does suffer from the lighting issues. It's also fun to make fun of the phone in the background, which was a stock phone and has a bunch of information on it that contradicts the entire story, lmao (who the fuck are those people listed on the screen? lol). The Revamp has already corrected that during the physical but it's still fun to laugh at my mistakes. The problem with this scene is how rigid Mikhail is. When we talk with Mikhail in the pool, he's always got swagger. He's relaxed and always leaning back on something. This scene doesn't really portray that and while he's technically at work right now, he's already pulled the tie and coat off just to be his regular self with his friend.

Pic 6: Here's our replacement. The Revamp will have Mikhail walk in and peel his coat and tie off and toss them on the chair beside him. I also like the idea of him kicking back in this rolly chair ( I call them rolly chairs-- idk what normal people call them). This pose really captures the same Mikhail we see in the pool even tho he has work clothes on. The original just felt too rigid for him. Mikhail's character was never going to look right with stock poses. We'll see various reactions and stuff here, leaning back, leaning forward and stuff like that. Just to make the conversation feel more organic.

So that's all for today. I'm going full steam ahead on the next scenes now-- including that animation from the original pool shower so stay tuned for that. Chapter 6 is looking good so far.