Comic sketching

Venus being largely non-linear ment that my first pages for it where largely experimental and more Picture-esque. I wanted to communicate it's surrealist elements via unconventional use of panels.

Early on I explored this with unconventional panels such as ones that are integrated into the environment, and taking importance away from panels all together by reaching out of them, breaking them and making them irrelevant as part as the background.

 

I sort of had this ongoing image of a "double page" spread where the next page would be soaked and almost look like it's effecting the next page. 

 I always wanted Venus to have a high almost, whiplash esque content of high visuals and also drawn out, quiet reality.

Summary of Venus

Though in retrospect the ideas perhaps where a bit too big for me to convey just in just 56 pictures, largely focusing on her first "cycle" as such.

Maria for reasons unknown to the reader, effectively goes though a "Loop" as such, waking in the Nevada desert next to route 66 at the age of twelve, and dying at the age of 24, if not earlier and going back to where she woke up on the side of the road.

While popular works of media including a "loop" Ground Hog day being the most well known, they often centre around some moral lesson.  In the oldest incarnation of this trope, "Doubled and Redoubled" it's be careful what you wish for.

However this is largely a protagonist based trope, this also has a flip side of it being a fate worse than death, that is often left as the fate of side characters and antagonists. I found it kind of interesting being that it is really only a thing that a character is resigned to when it isn't including a moral.

When i first came up it i had only really heard of the concept in Vento Aureo, but upon reading it was an interesting experience to think about a character dealing with.

(there are only rough English translations for this work, sorry!) 

In summary, the main antagonists fate ends up being that they are constantly dying or concious in death, with full memory of what has happened to them in the past.


That's one of the things that sparked my imagination with the project, how exactly does one deal with things from then on?

Though days might be a bit extreme, 12 years in the ages of 12 to 24 are considered largely to be years of change, both very frantic and varied, and full of firsts, so perhaps doing it over again, would it come as first a blessing in doing things better this time around? but ultimately then wouldn't it kind of fade into pointlessness as someone where to realise they are resigned to a fate, not by any mistake or that they are in need of a moral lesson, but the fact that this is just life for them now?

basically just layers of realisation, depression, trying to find out why, realising that's just the way it is, doing good, falling into hedonism, feeling like the rest of your life has been stolen from you, there are a few directions to go with these kinds of ideas and the best thing is you could theoretically go all directions with it, even if that might get long in the tooth.

As a overarching thematic choice within the story, it could result in something interesting.

Araki, h.a. 1999. Sleeping Slaves. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo. 63, April 30. Japan: Shueisha.
Grounhog day, [film]. Harold Ramis. dir. USA:Columbia Pictures
Jameson, M.J, 1941, doubled and re-doubed,  Unknown magazine, 23, pg, 87-99

The Anatomical venus

The anatomical venus is a book where i originally got Venus Anatomic's namesake from.

The Anatomical Venus is a book by Joanna Ebenstein produced in 2016 by Thames & Hudson in London that focuses on the use of female medical anatomical models throughout the ages and their history.

I first came across images of many anatomical and medical models from the book on-line and found it very interesting how these Waxworks where created with the male gaze in mind, how oddly serene they could be or how they are depicted to be in ecstasy despite the fact that their organs where on display.


These mannequins are also extremely detailed, although they may not always be absolutely correct for it's time they offer a level of interesting artistic rendition of organs, veins and nerves, to a fineness that would be considered explicitly violent if it was not considered fine art prior.

I largely brought this book for it's study on fetishization of the female form dispute it's violent nature.

"The Demountable Venus and her other sisters follow a fine line between fine art and Fetishization. Carved smiles and downward cast gazes, toying with their real human hair or clutching at their pillows in ecstasy as they are taken apart some going as far as having dainty silk ribbons wrapped around their entrails, these perpetually idealized women that are perpetually pregnant."

Although it is overall a very interesting read, i bought it more for it's study of it's fetishisim of the female from and it's dissonance between that and it's violent imagery, bringing it more into romantic subtexts.

This was important in Venuses display of body horror, because it's display is so alike to what i had in mind visually, an almost mechanical display of gore.

Artists such as Marc Jean Bourgery, Jacob Nicolas Henri and historical scientific prints of dissection also informed part of Venus.

  

 Ebenstein, J E. 2016, The Anatomical Venus. London, Thames & Hudson
Bourgery, m,j,b. 1797. Traité complet de l’anatomie de l’homme [lithography and hand colouring]. At: [unknown]: [unknown].
Henri, J N H. 1797. Tome 3. Pl. 42. [lithography and hand colouring]. At: [unknown]: [unknown].

Stylistic change

Originally i wanted to have the body of work be take advantage of Risographs, largely due to it being able to print very clean, bright neon colours. This was originally inspired by general 80's inspired, neon light aesthetic, but there are a few artists that informed my original vision.

Röseler and other airbrush illustrators of the 80's and 90's with surreal, but stylistic and appealing works.

Sachiko Kaneoya, is an artist i've admired for their aesthetics since my first year of university. 

The band "Ore-sama" and their animated music videos, with their cluttered and semi-sanrio esque look influenced me too, and i had done a few early experiments in their style. I considered doing a similar style in

Though in the in theroy this my be great, it might be too adventurous in the end, being that risographing even in small quantities might be too costly and time intensive for the project. Specialist printing would not accept anything that isn't a bulk order so going a different direction with this might be the best idea, although keeping the general aesthetic of risographing for separate prints might be for the best.

This also allows it to be a bit more of a fluid project, at least using broader colour pallets and techniques.

So things moved less into bright neon and focused on more comic book-esque looks for colour pallets.

Watchmen's use of vivid flat colour, often creating barriers between hue changes was an appealing idea.

 X'ed out's use of bright colour pallets for some of it's portions was very interesting in leiu of it's subject matter.

Though i didn't go though with what i had originally planned with venus, some of it's original elements are retained through the double page spreads and overall design choices.

Charles Burns, C,B. 2010, X'ed Out. England: Jonathan Cape
Kaneoya, S,k . 2006. Forest of neon like Kowloon. [Online]. [may 5]. Available from: http://yoiko-yokochou.com/index.html
Moore, A.W (w), Gibbons, D.G(a). 1986. Watchmen. USA: DC comics . 
Röseler, PR, 1990, unknown [Airbrush]. Unknown, Unknown.
VAP OFFICIAL MUSIC CHANNEL. 2014. 【MV】 ORESAMA - オオカミハート (F.O.ver.). [Online]. [may 5]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwAgOqNvFGA

Generating idea's for a non linear story can be kind of slap dash.

Like before i would notate down any ideas for pages i had down,

cartoon development