This scene from the front room of the house where Ine was staying with his Aunt and Uncle was lifted directly from the home I lived at during my own first couple semesters at school. In fact, several of the early chapters of the comic are very closely based on my own experience attending college. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 😉

Ine’s head-feathers used to give me trouble early on. Sometimes I would draw them and they would turn out just right on the first try. Other times–like this page–no matter how many times I tried, they would come out like a few random jagged lines sprouting from his scalp and I’d eventually just have to accept it as good enough and move on. I remember one day though I unintentionally drew them with a certain sweep to them, and from that one “happy accident” I figured out how to give them the length and curve I was looking for.

Speaking of Ine’s feathers, they aren’t large, distinct feathers like the kind you’d find on a bird’s wing, even though they sometimes turned out looking that way when I drew them. They’re actually very small and close together, almost like hair but with more thickness to them. Together they form a sort of crest or “mohawk” on top of his head. I don’t mind when people draw him the other way though; I’m honestly very flattered whenever anyone depicts my characters through their art. The latter is just the canonical way.

Man, there are so many other little things about this page that jump out at me now that I have years of experience drawing comics, like the way the text sometimes touches the edges of the word balloons, how the tails of the balloons nearly touch the characters faces, and just how skinny I drew everyone! That’s the gift of hindsight though. After working at something for so long, it’s much easier to see just how far you’ve come!