Vynil3D

Psycholonials sprites of @vynil3d.bsky.social.

Bonus point to people that have read all these writeups and can ID the sources of everything, some are moderately niche or so old they've become semi-niche despite once being popular.

Also the comments on this were amusing to see, I didn't even register the levitation part as notable. I just went "well catalepsy on the ground isn't that fun so I need to have her floating... And floating is a common trick so yeah, no biggie"

But it is amusing to go from grounded hypno to FLOATING

let's starting build the house on top.
I did leave it open to other cliches but Mr. eFala stuck with the proposed ones. I just noticed they'd done these two a lot and might be desiring to draw something else and left the option to draw other things.

Behind the scenes posting part 8:

The final page of this comic arrives!
Yes, yes that is the Mass Effect font and that also reveals when I made these (was during work on a ME comm).
Felt that the end page could speed through things to showcase highlight moments. The foundation was laid...

I do think it is a minor flaw with the story... But nothing major. It's just an oversight that is glossed over by most people.

Granted, this criticism was said in jest. It was a jokey joke. It's ultimately fine as-is.

A criticism I've seen from a friend (who only mentioned this afterwards) is... Well what is the audience clapping for? They've just seen Notanna relocate a card! This is only impressive internally to Takemi and the reader!

I agree with that. I would rework this scene if done again.

The split panel for the unfreeze is inspired. The smug overload next to it is the cherry on top.

The second page here returns to "I know about how I want this depicted" with changes from the reference material improving the output, like shifting to showing the audience for the last panel.

The scenario is loosely based off various YouTube videos of people doing similar tricks but none quite did it this simply or to an audience. I mostly just wanted a non-lewd demonstration of hypnosis that uses a freeze command in a creative way.

Behind the scenes posting part 7:

I think I drafted about 12 different layouts for this page before going "I bet... I bet eFala can depict this action in a compelling way without direction" and throwing them all away. Ironically, the end result is quite similar to a draft I deleted.

Etlabs also deserves praise for embracing and showcasing a lot of the physicality of hypnosis, especially with sleep commands.

Wanted to include that element and have the arms doing wild shit or full drop and flop. Either one.

LOOK AT THAT FUCKING CARD SPREAD EFALA DID! LOOK AT THAT! Man's insane.

Anyway, cheek squish acquired. Excellent cheek squish. Takemi go squish. Fala delivered.

Behind the scenes posting part 6:

Mr. Lex UK you are appreciated for providing such a great cheek squish pic reference. Really wanted to get more art of this in the world.
Truly could not figure out a clean way to panel the action of taking out a deck of cards for some reason. Just couldn't do it.

You can also see something I talked about last time: understanding when a tone is desired and when to more directly follow the reference provided. Quite pleased at how this all worked out.

Behind the scenes posting part 5:

Mr. Lex UK references arrive! Not many things to say on these pages, they were just very clear to me while drafting this. Didn't mull too much. Wanted to focus on the eyes doing things without fictional effects.

Can really see the artist fixing up the layouts here

I actually spent a crazy amount of time on the dialog line:

"It'll be fun, promise" vs "It'll be fun, I promise"
Almost entirely just debating if "I promise" is clearer than just "promise" or if the implied confidence by omitting it is better characterisation. Decided on the latter in the end.

You might notice a lack of other Persona characters in the comic. I wanted it to feel like Takemi's story and felt that including others might've distracted from that goal, though I did debate requesting a covert "magazine reading" Makoto cameo at one stage.

A noted problem I had here was my writing failed to communicate that Takemi isn't skeptical of hypnosis as a whole, she just thinks knowing how the trick works means this method won't work on her. I've debated a way to better communicate that in the future but it's situational AF.

has a visual reference or direction attached to it. You can also see a variety of sources used for those references. Use whatever works, that's the play.

But I had a more solid, locked down perspective on how to execute this one and it shows when you compare it to the Frieren comic.

Behind the scenes posting part 4:
Artists, what do you think of this method for commissions?

Going further back in time.
The debut of Notanna!
Compared to the last post you can see I was a lot more direct and hands-on with exactly how to execute the vision here. Nearly everything...

Here are also revisions on pg 9 as I tried to fit everything together, with budget and page count really coming into play.

I think constraints are often a good thing as they make you focus and trim the fat, only leaving the best of the best behind. The original version didn't make sense and was cut

The string section was something I was worried I hadn't explained properly or that my budget forcing lineart only would sabotage but Mr. eFala made it happen. Quality stuff. He gets when I'm seeking a "depict this vibe/feeling" and when it is "pretty much exactly this" excellently, would recommend.

Mr. eFala is better suited to judge how to draw and depict actions in a compelling visual format than me, especially concerning page layout. I trust them to do that. It also helps that I've seen a lot of their work and previously worked with them, so I have a foundation to work off of.

Behind the scenes posting part 3:

And here you see trust in Mr. eFala to deliver the goods with minimal direction. I personally find that if you want a specific thing then be specific (like the prior pages) but if you are TRULY open to and trust the artist then give them the freedom to work.

The star pattern changing from 6 points to 5 IS meant to symbolise the dialog on "remove their reasons to object" being accurate to what is happening. With Ubel's non-reaction to her own actions meant to showcase how smooth Edel is at controlling others: they don't even notice it happening.

So we wound up here as I try to move into more genuine storytelling over just "Mr. Rated M! More pornography please." I also sought to have the mechanics work within the lore and world over just injecting fetishism into it.

Behind the scenes posting part 2:

I found the actual string concept to be simple to verbally explain in the abstract but that others repeating it back to me often found them confused at how it'd be visually depicted. There is also the debate of "how much do I explain and how much do I just show."

more logical that she'd do it just to avoid a scene/the shopkeeper making a fuss so as to not alert Edel she was being followed.

Behind the scenes posting:

While workshopping this plot with other people before sending it over, it was noted that Übel apologizing could be out of character by two people. Though I can see the point (and with more budget I'd likely have added a page detailing this exchange) I found it was...

Very spooky indeed