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Well, it's 1:50am and I'm in my pyajamas, sitting at my computer, binging the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai soundtracks. At this moment I'm actually replaying the track, 'You're The Champ' while putting the final touches on a very special scene in the finale graphic novel to That's How Sally Walks. Before I describe the scene, I'll say a few things on what I've taken away from that particular scene from Cobra Kai:
I believe the most valuable intangable thing in life isn't love, or peace, or companionship. I think it's time. Time is the most precious thing for all of us, because it encompasses all the things I just mentioned, and gives a field to have it in. People underestimate what they can do in 5 years. A lot of people tend to give up on things, after accepting their situation as the new status quo forever. Well, no. If you've got more than 3 days of life left, you have time to change things. You can change your life with enough time. You may already be planning to do that now, but you keep pushing it back. Why? Your time is finite. Don't assume you'll live to be 100, and wait 99 years to save yourself. Do it now, as precisely and hollisticly as you possibly can, with your time.
[pauses for breath] Yeah I've been in a very contemplative mood for the last few weeks. The impending ending (!) of Sally's story is affecting me in some ways. The comic series has been a big part of my life for a good three years. It's been there for me at the end of a long day, where I may want to visually rant about something I probably shouldn't be blaming myself for. Sally as a character is an absolute pleasure to write and draw, and she definitely deserves the star spot of Orbus Studios in this current period. She is a character who has made parents think twice about how they talk to their young adult kids, and made young people know they're not alone in being s**t at adulting.
Yeah, at the still very young age of 26 I still don't know how to organise my taxes (very low income, haven't needed to yet!). I've heard people say that our modern 21st century society makes it almost impossible for people our age to grow up as fast as we'd like; economy, Covid, job market, etc. But, while it may be largely true, I won't make a point of blaming society for our issues. To blame anybody is rarely a healthy mindset, unless it can actually help you change things. What am I even talking about? Oh yeah, the Sally scene...
I won't post the pages, as I want the whole first chapter of the finale book to be uploaded and absorbed as a whole. But... for those who have read the whole series (here at https://thatshowsallywalks.wordpress.com/), particularly the 2018 volumes, you'd know that Sally's friend, mentor and partial mother figure June knew Sally's grandmother from childhood. They had a friendship that started in the '60s as kids, lost touch for most of the last 30 years, and are now back in each other's company (poignantly brought back together by the star character). But it is no secret that the finale graphic novel, Pale White Face, will begin with the death of Maria, Sally's gran. The scene I made today, while repeating 'You're The Champ', was the final goodbye between the two of them.
Now, as a young whipper-snapper and rambunctious yahoo, I can never really know if I write older people well or not. I often get along well with elderly people, I like to listen to them, and there are some I would consider friends. But I like to believe that I did June and Maria justice in this scene. It's only 2 pages and 18 panels long, but I was very careful with the drawings and lighting. I had to capture the colour keys of warmth, use the blue, green and teal colours that remind me of Ireland (Maria's home country), and express the hell out of their faces. Ah screw it, have a sneak peak:
In Other News!
Orbus Studios will release a product as its first collaboration with another small studio, very soon! Ladies, gents and fancy NBs, I present to you... an upcoming 2D platform game! Below is the first attempt at the cover art! I can't describe the game as well as I did over Messenger with my creative partner Massimo the other day. So I'll just quote that:
"I'd like to make a 2D platformer game with 3 or 4 playable characters, which is a homage to the styles of 90s cartoons, 80s and 90s suburb culture, with elements of synthwave mixes. I want to create the Sega Megadrive game I always wished exists"
Ladies, gents and fancy NBs, I, Orbus Studios and K-Storm Studio present to you all...
