Timelapse & Thoughts #140: "Monika's Memoir"
(Click here to view timelapse!)
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Getting a liiittle late in the day, BUT I ain't forgetting to post the timelapse this time!
Gotta be honest, I'm expertly proud of that bonus panel for this one 😤 Out of all my characters, Monika packs the most belly and I've never drawn a squished-up tummy in as tricky of a position as that before. If it was Victoria, that whole region would just be two giant milkers, but with Monika, I was like, "...it's time. I gotta make something for the pudgy-tummy lovers out there." It took a surprising amount of trial-and-error to figure out how it should be shaped before I finally settled on that "folded across the middle" look. I think it came out well! I've always wanted to try my hand at drawing that "chin straight-up with the tongue lustfully sticking out" trope too, so yay! Also, first impregnation piece! A lot of firsts going on here - Monika certainly likes to make a grand entrance (as long as she manages to squeeze through it)
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Back when I typed up that big ol' blogpost in the Layliana piece, I mentioned I was having difficulty with the idea of adding new characters, because then I'd have to juggle their screentime(paneltime?). But when I saw this old doodle in the Rework folder, I realized I wouldn't have to worry about that with Mona's dad, because... well, y'know, Monika's "widow" status.
I knew from the get-go that someone's dad was going to have passed away, but I wasn't sure who. At first, it made the most sense for Layla's dad, but I enjoy the trope of "supernatural worldeater wife and regular everyman joe husband". So I thought, "Maybe Veronica?", but honestly, that girl has enough bad luck already - the universe has to throw her a bone sometimes; let Veronica have a compassionate smothering father who loves his little girl more than life itself. Which left us with Mona, the bundle of joy (and ass) to have a small splash of tragedy in her past. It works out, I think - adds a bit of variety to her story. When it came to thinking up designs for the dads, I knew I wanted Mona's dad to be the strongarm firefighter archetype, and Layla's dad to be a modest emotionless bluecollar worker, but I still feel like I'm not 100% settled on Veronica's dad. I'm torn between:
Towering apocalypse of a man who barely speaks; the only man tough enough to endure Victoria's treatment, and secretly, the only person Victoria becomes submissive towards. Despite his imposing stony aura, Veronica treats him as if he's sweeter than a basket of sugarplums.
A stout "Al Capone"-esque mafia boss that runs the underground syndicate; the only thing he fears is the wrath of his wife. Always in the middle of committing some vague crime, but will pause everything to hug his sweet, cinnamon-roll pookiebear daughter. Is never seen without a cigar in his hand.
I'll probably sit on these ideas for awhile (it took until comic #140 for us to see one of their dads lol), but at least I'm inching towards more of that sweet, sweet LORE.
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In other news, I might be doing another collab soon with an artist I've seen on Instagram and Reddit:
They often draw comics about wrestling (and butts), which works out because I've got a bunch of wrestling-themed ideas on my ideas notepad, so maybe we'll be seeing that soon! :)
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Oop, this is going on a little longer than I expected - if I keep typing, it's gonna go past midnight and then I actually WILL have been late on posting the timelapse lol good night, everyone! As always, thanks so much for being here and supporting my work - I say it a lot, but I really do appreciate it 💚