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With The Shifter (aka Jenny Everywhere) or any other characters we start with, it should be agreed that there are certain signifiers that would identify the character, like a costume. Example, in the sketches for the Shifter you will notice she has short hair, goggles on top of her head, and a scarf. If you have the goggles and/or the scarf on the character, there would be a good chance that no matter what style of drawing you use, or what other clothing you put on the character you decide upon, she will still be recognizable.
Please don't just shoehorn the character (or characters) we create into a story you have in mind. The character and the story should complement one another, to the point where you the character used affects the storyline and vise versa. Again, we don't have to start this up right this second. Give it at least another week for all of us to come to some sort of agreement on what this is going to be like.
So far as the story within the story idea, or any other idea for that matter, this will be the decision of the individual creators. The point of an Open Source Character is that at some point there may be people who will be using this character without any consent from any of us. Therefore the same would apply to anyone on Barbelith. All the above are guidelines which I expect to be broken. Somneone could very well create a Shifter (or whatever) story where she doesn't look anything like the character. It could turn out to be a plot point, or it could just be that the artist wanted a new look, or was lazy. That's out of our control.
However, I think it would be good if, at the beginning, our stories firmly established the character. That's the only reason I'm bothering with this nearly needless (and no doubt annoying) editorializing. I want to give this baby a decent push out of the nest. After that, it's on its own.
If you have a story which doesn't involve our initial character, I would suggest creating a character that you would like to use and place her in one of your first stories. After that, the character will be established as a part of the shared world and you can do whatever you please, while still being a part of the project.
It'll be like a family tree, with our first character as the trunk, and all others as branches coming off of her, or off of the branches she has created.
Lastly, continuity. I would suggest avoiding it as much as possible. Consider your story to be the first anyone has encountered. Me, I'm thinking in terms of Indiana Jones. You don't really need to know much about the first three films to enjoy the third, though it might help. Self-contained stories that have fun, push the boundries, or offer up ideas you have that you wish to express. Or any and all of the above.
Man, I'm long-winded.
Lastly, feel free to collaborate in any way you want. Talk to other teams about creating separate stories with similar themes. If you're working with partners, let them offer you insights on your aspect of the project (example, don't just hand an artist a script). Blur the lines between duties to the point that no one knows who's doing what.
And, with that said, although I plan on doing my own comic, 4 pages sounds about right. I'll take you up on your offer, Zoom. Check the first three panels of the Barbelith Corpse to see if you like my artwork.
[ 24-01-2002: Message edited by: moriarty ] |
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