Event Reminder: 24 Hour Comics Day

So this Saturday, October 18th, is the official 24 Hour Comics Day and I’m one of many webcomickers out there participating. The goal is 24 pages in 24 hours with absolutely no work done ahead of time. That’s the tough part, of course, because I’m just dying to at least get an outline or page-map going, if not the bones of a script. But I’m also a Rules Girl and so will be good and not think too much about the actual content for another couple of days.

Now, remember, I’d decided that this could be a great way to get 2 months of updates for Random Acts… done in one(ish) fell swoop, so it’s a story of my own. I’ve got a couple of working titles in mind (Wedding Bell Hell or, slightly more topical, Rings on Her Finger(s)) but I’m hoping something even better clicks in the process. It’s going to span a bit more than a decade of my person history and I’m not opposed to there being some very narrative bits, but I am going to try to keep things balanced. We’ll see how it turns out, right?

And speaking of seeing, you can actually do just that! If you’re interested in keeping up with my progress over those 24 hours, there are a number of ways to do that:

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scrapsoflife
I’ll probably be micro-blogging frequently (at least hourly) so if you twitter you can follow me either on my page there, the twitter box on the Random Acts… homepage or get my updates sent to your phone. Whatever works 🙂

The Blog here at Random Acts…
If you already subscribe to the RSS feed for the comic then you’ll automatically get the periodic updates I post in the blog in your aggregator of choice. If not, simply check in when you think about it, if you think about it.

Fly on the Wall http://www.ustream.tv/channel/random-acts
And if you REALLY want to watch my progress in a very literal sense, I will be broadcasting live from the drawing board over at ustream. I think I’ve pretty much figured it out and made sure the camera and mic all check out and work as intended (the lag amuses me, it’s like the delay in Scream, only not as long or deadly… poor Kenny), so come check it out.

I’ll be starting at Midnight, Eastern on October 18th and running (hopefully) all 24 hours with very few breaks. In order to facilitate this, I’ll be going to bed as soon as I get home from work on Friday, waking up at 11pm to get rid of the groggies and get something to eat and then starting on my outline as soon as midnight hits. My plan of attack is

• Outline, hit the highlights of the story (30 min)
• Quick page-flow, not really thumbnails, just dividing the 24 pages into the Outline, there may be a dummy involved (1 hour)
• Scripting, in Celtx, as complete as possible; if nothing else I need to work out the narrative before starting the visual assembly line (3 hours?)
• Layout and letter all 24 pages in pencil (2 hours)
• Pencil in all the foreground people and props, roughing in backgrounds for placement (8 hours)
• Ink letters, panel borders and foreground elements (4 hours)
• Detail main figures, add backgrounds (5.5 hours)

Granted, I have no idea how realistic those time estimates are (obviously I can’t work at my usual 4-6 hours per strip rate) but I’m hoping that if I do it like this I can get the important bits down in the alloted time. Honestly, it’s the scripting and penciling that I may have underestimated and that’s why the detail inking that I do (the extra interior lines that provide a bit of shading and depth and sets the scene with backgrounds) is the last step and the one that, for the purpose of the challenge, can get shortened if necessary. Of course, before it goes live with page 1 on November 5th, I’ll have done the detailed inking to make it “right” the way I want it but I think I’ll make a reference copy at work to show how much really got done in the 24 hours.

Heaven help me if I get sleepy, though. Especially since, as many of you may know, I can’t have caffeine!