Overview:
I'm writing this page as an addendum to my Larry & Daryl comic. If you are looking to create your own script, or are just curious as to how this whole thing got started, then please read on.
Someone suggested that I write this to help give a background to why and how a comic is created.
In doing this comic project, I have a lot of respect for playwrights and comic strip creators.
Background:
I started Larry & Daryl on a whim. I had a guy at my job (that will remain nameless for his privacy), that I was friends with, that used to come into my office and tell me these odd storied that happened to him.
These were not just a "Hi, how is your day" kind of stories; they were in-depth accounts of some pretty weird stuff. I used to look forward to talking with him to see what would happen to him next. I asked if I could write some down and use them someday (always ask for permission).
He has since left the company and I miss his stories.
The comic started out to be just a few panels each week/month
showing off some humor.
I had not intended to create all that it has become today. Today it has a full storyline with backgrounds and character development.
When you think about it, a lot of really funny things pass your eyes each day, and if you try to remember the circumstances, it can make for a really funny comic.
The company where I worked one Christmas was purchased by a larger corporation, and as with most companies, they laid off some people.
This guy came into my office and said, "Well I see some more people got the Christmas Goose, eh?"
I almost fell off my chair. When I thought about it, and the other stories he told me, as well as my own experiences, I wondered what it may look like in a comic. What about the story line? A sitcom (Situation Comedy) type could work.
But what about the characters? Male and female? Two women?
Then I remembered a friend I had back in high school that I really liked hanging around with, and I wondered what it would have been like if we both never got married. Yeah, we'd be miserable. :-) Yes, that would work! Two guys that grew up together trying to find themselves and also girl friends and maybe future wives.
My comic was coming into existence. But what to call it? What would these two look like?
Character Conception:
I fired up Poser and brought in Michael from DAZ3D.com and started spinning the dials. "One guy is handsome, no. One guy is just ok looking". "Maybe he is cute (to the girls) but shy". I came up with something I liked and saved "him" off. Then another Michael character was created, and this time I wanted someone different looking, but how. I think it's important to say at this time to think about the personalities of your characters before you create them.
Will he be a womanizer? Will she be a Barbie doll type? What nationality would they be? I'd also like to mention that you may want to shy away from stereotyping any nationality. You don't want to offend your readers if they happen to come from that country. That is unless you make it so far out that it could be anyone.
Case in point, I needed a boyfriend for one of the characters that I will get into later, that cared more about himself then her. What nationality should he be? I knew a guy like this back in school. He was Italian. Since I don't want to offend anyone and I married and Italian girl, I decided to not stereotype because I also have a lot of Italian friends who are NOT like this. What would I do? I will break my rules on people from cities though. New York people tend to be tough people. That is a good quality.
New Jersey people tend to be rude drivers. No offense to the nice people who are left in New Jersey.
California people seem to stereotype as beach boys and surfer dudes, although the ones that I know never surf.
So sometimes it's fun to play around as long as you are not trying to hurt anyone. I thought about my second character for a few days and also remembered someone I knew back in school that was a bit slow. He was a good guy though, but "not the sharpest knife in the drawer".
So now I had a personality for both of my leading men. The second guy needs to have some feature that sets him apart without looking ugly. So I gave him a large nose, and eyes that were close together, but what to name them. I have a friend named Larry. I always liked that name. I tried it out: "Hi I'm Larry". Ok, that worked.
Someone in work suggested "I'm Larry, this is my brother Daryl, and my other brother Daryl" from the Bob Newhart show.
Ha-ha. Daryl it is! I liked that name too. Larry and Daryl were born.
Story Line:
I was going through the stories I had written down and turned them into scripts for these two guys. Done!
Where would they live? In a big city? In a small town? Not much happening in a small town but it could make for some funny moments when the nosey neighbor lady comes over. But an apartment would be better!
What if they got laid off and decided to move to the big city? Yes, that would work.
Next you might want to do backgrounds for your characters. I did and it was a lot of fun.
Episodes 1 and 2 - Introduction of characters
This is basically how the comic got started. Now I'd like to go into a bit of detail on the characters and how they were created. I will try to write this as thoughts instead of like a tutorial or a document.
The first 2 episodes were to introduce the characters and the circumstances of the whole comic. Didn't I tell you need a back story? Larry gets canned and both decide to move up to the big (nameless) city. The next character I created was the homeless man. By the way, he is not Jesus, but I wanted him to be a Jesus freak that spouted Bible verses and yelled at people. He needed to look dirty and unshaven, but not horrifying. What if I needed him later in the story, so I left things be. Maybe I could use him to help the guys out once in a while. What motive would he have for helping 2 strangers? The guys could be kind to him and give him some money to eat with? The next character I created was the nameless "mean" lady who showed the boys that filthy apartment room. I went to great pains to create her character. I wanted a character that I would not use again and I could whip up really fast. And she needed to be mean looking. Judy Poser would do the trick.
I lived in Philadelphia when I was younger and I remember seeing sewer rats as big as cats.
Maybe Daryl gets a pet? Ok, rats it is. The first 2 episodes were finished.
Episodes 3, 4 and 5 - Apartment Hunting & Christmas:
Why not use the homeless man again to help the guys find a place? Christmas was fast approaching and I had no storyline to update my comic. Would I skip Christmas all together? Would there be snow where they were going? How to learn to set up snow in the scene and still keep the comic on schedule (that I set for myself).
I haven't liked Christmas for a while because I lost my Dad just before Christmas and then 2 or so years back I lost my Mom. My Wife no longer has her parents either so the holidays have been tough.
But we were blessed with some wonderful friends that are truly family. This year was a year to give thanks for what I have and look forward to the future.
So I got all caught up in the Christmas spirit (as much as I could be), and thought I'd do a Christmas story. Something really spiritual, with a miracle.
Our Pastor was speaking about Saul from the Bible who later became Paul, who was a key figure. Interesting character, he was. I started reading his writings and decided the homeless man would be modeled after Paul.
But would he be real or a spirit? Himmmm, interesting concept. A guy who could be the real deal, but travels through time? Too science fiction for you? Maybe, but it may work for a Christmas story.
Remember the great Kazoo from the Flintstone's? I lay in bed one night and thought out the whole story. What if Paul was to help the guys find an apartment? The guys have nothing. But why not be thankful for nothing special?
The Christmas story was born. And in the end, Paul goes back to the time of the shepherds to spend Christmas with them. So what do 2 guys do in a fancy apartment building? Back story time: Larry's a master carpenter and a mighty fine builder. Why not hire himself out to pay the rent, and Daryl who has never picked up a hammer could help. This could get really funny.
I pictured Daryl coming out in a gas mask to help Larry unclog a toilet. The Landlord.
He needs to be a regular character, so I had to take my time with him. What's he look like?
He should have a suit, and a good character background, but what's he like?
As I was creating him, I started thinking of what kind of personality he should have. Was he a grump, or a wimp? Since he has the responsibility of the whole building, then he needs to have a good personality and not be stressed out. I love a good joke so why can't this guy? Maybe he tells really bad puns? "You can call me Reggie, or you can call me ReggieO, but never call me late for dinner".
Reggie was born.
Episode 6 - The south side of town:
Larry needs a girl friend. Why? So he'll be able to have some interaction with falling in love. Finding a true love is a really hard thing. I tried for years until a lady walked into my life and I tripped over her. It was the easiest thing I ever did.
So I got to thinking about Daryl. It's not fair that Larry should have a love. It may be pretty funny to see who would fall for Daryl. Who could it be?
My first thought was Becky. A name without a face. I was going to create a red haired, freckled, check out girl from the local food store. This may still happen but as I was going through my DAZ figures, I came across "The Girl". Wait a minute?. A bad girl! What a cool idea.
Daryl would seem the type to fall for a bad girl, huh? Innocent Daryl? Since The Girl looks like a call girl toon, (wonderfully so), I decided to create a "lady of the evening" for her character. If you don't have The Girl character, I recommend her as a model. She is great to work with, and has a lot of clothes. I remember going out for my bachelor party with my soon to be brother in law to a local place that I'd rather not discuss (it was raided and had to close).
"You want some company", I was asked by a hot looking lady. "Sure, I said. Sit down".
When I found out she worked there and "some company" costs money, we left.
When I got home I told my best friend about it, who just happened to be my Wife to be.
I almost did not get married. So I created a sharp looking call girl named Colley. Why Colley? Because it sounds like Collie dog, and I was going to make one of the characters joke about it. And it could also be short for Colleen. I named her after no one in particular, but I wanted her to be hot.
I used a real skin texture so she wouldn't look so "toon", and Colley was born.
Episode 7 - The Spittoon:
I was looking for some furniture on some web sites and found this spittoon. What the heck?
Maybe use this in a western movie or something. Hey wait a minute. If Daryl saw this, what would he think?
I had this dialogue running through my head so fast I hardly had time to write it down.
I had wanted to go into the story line that I am using for episode 8, but this was a perfect time to introduce this spittoon thing. For those of you who do not know what this thing is, they used to use them in saloons (bars), for the people who were chewing tobacco to spit into.
When they spit into this thing, it made a ringing sound. Hence the name spittoon.
Episode 8 - Wrong Place at the Wrong Time:
I was looking to introduce a few new friends, and there it was. Episode 8 just waiting to happen.
I had just bought Hiro. What a great character to work with. Almost as nice as Aiko, but then again I'm partial to the Aiko model. Could Hiro be the gang leader? Why not.
This was really a cliff hanger but in the middle I removed the it and continued the story for space sake.
So are these 3 new characters going to be back? I think so. Snake, Tiny, and Bull were a lot of fun to create and they need bio's too, but it's going to take us a bit to develop their characters.
What is next?
So what's next in this back story? You'll just have to wait and see, but I will be updating this page as time goes on.
I will give you a hint though. I just bought a DAZ product called the Deco Club. I must admit that the DAZ promo shots helped me decide on this part of the story.
So now there is 4. Yup, I now have 3 people on this project as well as myself.
Larry & Daryl are in for a major facelift.
Would you be interested in a tutorial on how the scenes are put together and postworked?
If you have any ideas for any of the characters, please feel free to e-mail me or PM me at DAZ3D.com
Look me up as Gary_P Happy rendering! |
