Some of you have questions. I may have answers. Try these on for size.
WHO THE HELL ARE YOU.
OH yeah. I kind of forgot that my name is NOWHERE on the site, way to go. I’m just Tessa Stone, a girl who tries to be a comic artist really DESPERATELY HARD and has a lot to learn. THE END.
Is there a regular update schedule?
Actually, as weird as this sounds. No. The idea of a updating schedule sounds kind of blahhhh to me. I hate sitting on strips and at the same time I hate missing days that I officially said would have a strip. So instead, I offer you the promise of “whenever one’s finished”. I know that sounds flaky, but quite honestly I aim for one page a day even though (as you can see) that RARELY happens. It gives me freedom in when to post too, and it encourages me to get as many up as possible. At the very least I try not to go long bouts without updating (meaning longer than four days that feels like an eon to me). I personally want to get these strips out as fast as possible, there’s this HUGE story I want to tell and I can never seem to make my hands work fast enough.
Regardless, no updating schedule. I realize that’s sort of inconvenient as you don’t know what days to expect one, but hopefully at the same time you’ll feel the excitement of each strip like I do. <3
What the hell is this comic even about?
Hanna Is Not A Boy’s Name is what I would classify as sugarcoated horror. It takes horror subjects and situations and puts them in an odd and a somewhat stupid light. Mostly this is because I fail completely at taking myself seriously. As for what it’s about, the best I can sum it up is it’s about Hanna, a guy who desperately wants to be a paranormal investigator but kind of sucks at it and has a handful of his own problems told by a guy who died ten years ago and seems very lukewarm about it all. That was totally a run on sentence. Mostly, this is about Hanna and his failings and (sometime) successes despite the zombie guy being the one telling the story. It is kind of a story about a person finding themselves because we all have to at one point.
Okay, so it’s about a tweaked out fifteen year old.
Actually Hanna is twenty four at the start of the comic. Shocking, I know.
So if it’s really about Hanna why is the dead guy telling the story?
I felt if Hanna told the story it would be too energetic and you would learn too much about him too fast. Plus, I really liked the irony of a really deadpan person telling a very high energy story and the narration contradicting with what was actually happening appealed to me.
Why doesn’t the dead guy have a name?
He forgot, man! Give him a break. Dying takes a lot out of you.
So is this only available on the internet? Are there any hardcopies?
Why THANK YOU for being interested in purchasing something! In fact, after each chapter there will be a standard hardcopy available at all times and I do have plans to make a limited amount of handmade bound copies that will range in price that will be a little more personal and special. When this time comes (seeing as when I wrote this the first chapter is not done yet) there will be more information on this page.
How long is each chapter?
I don’t like to limit myself with a certain amount of pages, so it’ll vary from chapter to chapter.
Do you have this all planned out?
Hmmm, no. Not really. I know certain aspects and have ideas, notions and feelings for a lot of things but as to how I get there or what happens in each strip is pretty much a mystery to me until I actually write the strip. It’s very much an experimental comic and I am flying by the seat of my pants, mostly because it helps me maintain interest. Plus, the characters tend to drive themselves and I have little say in what happens. I do know the goal, I suppose. Where I want the story to eventually get to and what I want to accomplish, but other than that…
How long does it take you to do each strip?
The writing part varies. Sometimes I can belt out a strip (pencilled) in thirty minutes, and sometimes it takes me several hours just to figure out what a character would do or say or how to best present a situation. As for the actual coloring and inking, that part usually takes me 2-4 hours. On average.
What program do you use?
Photoshop CS. It’s pretty good for me, mostly because I’m so comfortable with it. I’ve heard of other great programs but I know where everything I need/want is in Photoshop, so it stays.
What brush do you use to ink it? It’s so crisp!
I totally cheat. I use the pencil tool at a ridiculously high resolution (300dpi) at a ridiculously large scale so there is no aliasing and I can use the fillbucket to my hearts desire. Then when it’s done, I shrink it down with the aliasing turned on and it creates a crisp looking line! CHEAT CHEAT CHEAT.
Where do you get your textures?
I really like your typography. Do you do all your fonts by hand?
Some of it! Fonts I use frequently for the comic is Webletter from blambot.com and Miserable from acidfonts.com! All sound effects are drawn by hand and a lot of the larger, angrier words are too. If you’re interested in typography, something I might suggest is the Typographic Work Book: A Real World Guide In Using Type In Design.
You must really like boys in glasses with sideburns and large foreheads.
Why, YES I DO.
Where do you get your inspiration for the visuals in your art?
A lot of places. Music. Real life. Other artists. Some of my favorite artists are Mike Mignola, Jamie Hewlett, Doug TenNaple, Mike Krahulik, and there are more but the names have fallen out of my head.
You must really like Ludo. I keep hearing about them from you. DO YOU EVER STOP.
I REALLY DO. Andrew Volpe and Tim Convy are kind of my heroes, as are the other members of the band. So if you’re not sick of hearing about them yet, then you soon will be.
Is this your job?
I’m trying to make it that way. Right now though I’m working part-time at Starbucks. Barista by day, wanna-be comic artist by night!
Did you go to art school?
I went to the Art Institute of Dallas for two years before not finishing. I rule (not). I was in the Graphic Design program, not animation. I can’t animate worth crap, I’ll have you know.
Do you go to cons?
Not really right now. But I want to start. If I do, I’ll let you know so you can come punch me in the arm. I mean. Love me, right?
I want to give you fan art or just a general hello! Where to?
I love any contact! Except hate mail. 8C You can send it to withoutvoid@gmail.com!