FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, OBSTRUCTION THE THIRD

OK, now I’m under constraints of time and end-of-day loaginess, but
here’s what I’ve come up with for your third, three-part obstruction:

1. you cannot draw anything in this strip. You can only use lettering
(along with balloons, etc, and including sound FX), panel borders
(and shapes, but they can’t be representative), solid black (a whole
panel at a time, all or nothing), or emanata. The strip must have a
reason for not showing any figures, and it can’t be a snowstorm (the
classic cop-out for cartoonists on deadline).

2. Text must only use monosyllabic words. (You can use multiple words
but none can be more than a syllable.)

3. Since you mentioned Brian Eno in a recent post and since we both
share a longstanding interest in him (I believe he was one of our
earliest points of connection when we met in Austin back in the
mid-90s), I want you to incorporate a line from a song of his in this
strip. It must play into the narrative of the strip in some way and
it must also observe the mono-syllable rule (Ooh, I just thought of a
great one, but I’m not going to tell you). Whether you signal it as
an Eno quote or disguise it is up to you.

Buena suerte!

Second Obstruction: Tom’s Response, part 6

Well, here is the final, the first panel.

I’ve made a mess of it, but it’s not unsalvagable. Of course, “salvagable” was not the challenge here, so we’l have to see let a dialogue about it ensue.

Here is the final strip.

I forgot to mention my one Mulligan I was going to ask for was a character flip in panel 3- which isn’t even essential, it would just read more easily.

So I negelected to be rigorous in my pursuit of the color constraint. It fell away. If I reworked this to ink (ideally) I would add a gentle flip to the ending somehow to bring this stuff more around. Not sure yet.

It’s a strange enough strip- as a sort of adventure, between point A and C strip- so that I don’t dislike it, but it’s not wholly satisfying.

I’m awaiting the 3rd Obstruction. I’m sure there will be some negotiating, advising, thoughts from all around on how to proceed to in finishing this.

Matt- have you written backwards like this before? I’ve done it from the last panel a million times, but never one panel at a time, diligently trying NOT to engage with the previous panel before finish the later ones.

Second Obstruction: Tom’s Response, part 5

Ok, here’s the 2nd panel of the strip, second to last panel to be completed. I worry Oswald’s line is a waste here. I toyed with the idea of “my yellow tea cup”- to add this leitmotif to the strip, but I didn’t like that either. Also thought of Oswald’s line being an answer to panel one, to add to the series of questions and answers in the strip, but dropped that too.

Ultimately, this will be a simple strip about a harried rescue that winds down into drifting. It’s like an Eno song.

There will be a bird in the first panel.

TH

Second Obstruction: Tom’s Response, part 4

Ok I banged this one out. I’m running out of room, but think I like where it’s going. I won’t be able to address all the issues I thought I would be able to, and it certainly won’t read as a traditional strip, but its mysteries and rhythms might work in the end.

It’s shaping up to be a strange strip that just winds down, that goes from wild to gentle…

Second Obstruction: Tom’s Response, part 3

Here’s my third panel, probably the 4th going forward. I really wrestled with this one. I realized that I’m now trying to add conflict where previously I had created flippancy (the last panel.)

My main concern (and I might have to concede failure) was wanting the thread between the eventual panel 1 of this strip and the final panel of the abduction strip. Trying to give myself enough to work with to go backwards to panel 1, trying to link to the last panel of strip 1 and 2- it’s too many balls in the air.

Matt might be right- maybe I’m in a panic.

The original version of this panel read: “He won’t shut up about having to come out here/Do you have of those colored valium?” You can see a bunch of notes and the strip in progresshere. I giggled myself silly when I introduced the idea of the gun. This project was already worth it, if just for that.

Second Obstruction: Tom’s Response, part 2

Ok here’s the second to last panel.

I’m already steeling myself for comments about the dolphin not really relating to the idea of backwardness enough. I should have chosen an animal that walks backwards. You’d be right!

Second Obstruction: Tom’s Response, part 1

Ok here’s the final panel.

Yes, that it a teacup they are in in the last panel. It won’t be explained (I suspect); Jessica will have to deal with it.

FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, OBSTRUCTION THE SECOND

Tom

Your second obstruction will consist of two constraints. The first
constraint is related to the
writing process: I want you to write the last panel first, then
retro-write the panel from the penultimate back to the first panel. You
can use five or six panels total.
Your second constraint: this last panel that you begin the story with must
contain the following elements:

-an animal of some sort (but not a bird!)
-Hutch and only one other recurring character
-use of or reference to at least two of the colors of the rainbow
(ROYGBIV). these could take the form of text in the dialogue, in
narration, or incorporated in the image; or they could appear in the
images (you could even use your spot color, as long as it’s deliberate and
intentional, that is, if someone has a red shirt on it must be relevant to
the outcome of the strip, like say they’re at a White Stripes concert…)

Ideally, you would also connect this strip to H’s abduction in the first
strip. However, the backwards composition is the most important thing, so
the first thing you should do is concentrate solely on the second
constraint and the generation of your last panel. Only then, as you start
to write the story backwards, should you think about bringing the birds in
somehow. (that’s why there’s a “no birds” rule in the last panel.)

In fact, now that I think of it, to ensure that you are truly writing
backwards, I think it would be best if you were to draw that last panel
and post it on the blog for me to see before you do the next one, then you
should do the same with each successive (or, rather, preceding) panel.

Bonne chance!

Matt

First Obstruction: Tom’s response

Click to enlarge in new window

Hi Matt,

I’ve finished pencilling my first obstruction, and am posting it then running out the door. I will post some sketches, notes and other parts of the process later. This was tough!

I’ll say briefly that this was my immediate first idea for a layout, though the content of that initial thought was wildly different. I tried other layouts and then returned to this, then found the story idea.

I’ll add that I’m frustrated that the “bottom” tier might not be a seamless read.

But in the interest of time, I’m posting it. Your ball.

FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, OBSTRUCTION THE FIRST

Matt says:

Tom,

My proposal to you is that I give you an increasing number of constraints for each strip, in other words I’ll give you one constraint for the first strip, two for the second, and ultimately five for the fifth one. I will also try to make the constraints more complicated and perverse as I go.

I think I should give you the constraint and you should ask questions about it if you need to, then at some point you should show it to me so I can critique it (final say, though, being yours), either in pencils or in a decipherable thumbnail form. I would like to have the opportunity to take you to task if you’re not engaging the constraint enough, or if I feel you’re taking the easy way out.

I also like the idea of having this dialogue on line, so if you still want to do that, why don’t you make a post announcing this on your blog. Then we can continue the dialogue in the comments field…

I want to keep your first constraint pretty straightforward and limit myself to the formal material of the daily strip. You’ve already provided me with a direction in your repeated caveats that it’s “only” a strip of four or five panels. Your anxiety makes an obvious first choice for me to tell you to make a strip using 20 panels. How you arrange the panels, what size they are, etc., is up to you.

Two additional advantages of this constraint are that 1) it will signal to readers that a change is afoot in this week’s series and 2) it has a faint echo of Lars Von Trier’s requirement of Jorgen Leth that his first re-make of The Perfect Human contain no shots longer than 12 frames (consider yourself lucky in comparison!).

Good luck!

Matt

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Matt and I will continue on the comments thread, until there is a new obstruction waiting to be posted by me or posited by him.