Behind the Scenes of Warning label, Chapter Four

First off, yes, I got the math wrong! Six bucks times two is twelve. The discount is wrong. I originally priced the burritos at eight bucks, so it would have been $16.00, and the ten percent discount would have been $14.40… and yes, I still got the math wrong, But only by forty cents. I apologize to all of you, Mr. Yanosko my high school algebra teacher, and numbers in general.  

After the dramatic ending of Chapter Three, Chapter Four needed to be a little more low-key. And, as much as the last one, this one sets the parameters for the story. I’m going to reveal some stuff I haven’t revealed before, and while they’re not spoilers, they are very specific.

The important takeaway from this chapter is this: Danielle doesn’t have to change her mind, she has to change her attitude. I thought this through a lot in the concept for the strip. She doesn’t have to become a different person, but hopefully a better one. It’s all about broadening her horizons.

The burrito truck setting came about because my Man on the Ground in Austin Bill told me that these trucks are very, very popular. So, when I had to have them spend a little extra time, a burrito truck was so much more interesting than a coffee shop. (But, for those of you who know my work, don't worry, there will be coffee in the strip.)

This one’s kind of light on detail. There’s no clever reason behind the name Deja Baja, other than I thought it was funny. Their discussion i pretty straightforward, and the biggest challenge was making the visual of two people sitting and talking funny.

Behind the Scenes of Warning Label, Chapter Three

Sometimes It’s Just Staring You in the Face From the beginning, there was always a moment where Jeff would give Danielle a warning label of his own. It’s one of the things that hopefully makes it more than just about one person changing for another, it’s going to go both ways. But, I didn't always know when. It was a generic “at some point he’ll do it”.

Webtoons encouraged me to think of the first three chapters as one larger block, since they'd release at the same time. Once I realized that, I realized Jeff would have to do it on their first date. It’s the big gesture that Danielle responds to. How I didn’t see that before, I don’t know.

I Love Digital Art

The chains for that cool scene on the swings? I drew it once and then reused it over and over. That would have taken me forever if I was drawing in the real world.

A Question from the Message Boards

One of the things I saw on the Webtoons message boards was this: Didn’t Jeff get her number? So let me answer that right now. Yes, he did. There’s a jump in time from when they leave the park to when they’re kissing in front of her door. Lots of stuff happened there. And he got her number.

So why does he run back and not text her? He’s caught up in the moment. She’s right there, he’s barely crossed the street and he can just tell her. How can he not tell her?

Also, let’s be honest, it’s better visually and romantically for him to run back as Lifehouse or plays in the background of the scene in the eventual movie of this strip, right?

Behind the Scenes of Warning Label, Chapter Two

Once again, I wrote myself into a corner. “They have an awesome date.” Easy to write the sentence, hard to write the story. But, I’ve been to a couple gaming bars here in town. I like them a lot. Side Quest and Tabletop. But since I was setting Danielle to work at a Cards Against Humanity type place, going to a gaming bar made a lot of sense. Jeff figuring out that she might like going there would score him points with her. And since she works at such a place, it’d give me the opportunity to have her show him up and have Jeff just roll with it.

It’s fun making up the names to the games, too. Fortress Unicorn is just supposed to be silly. Sohmer’s Day is named after Ryan Sohmer of The Least I Could Do. Zoe’s Quest is named after my friend Kara’s daughter.

in Long Distance, the lead characters have a lengthy geek-tastic conversation. I don't want to cover the same ground with this series. So, I tried to keep the references to a minimum. But the warp/impulse line was too good to pass on. Not that I don’t want to write banter, though. I’d say the closing walking line covers that.

You’ll notice Jeff mentions watching movies when he grew up. That will be touched on again.