The Last Day of Rain Update: 6th of April 2024
An alternative Carol, and also a family tree. š²
A version of this post was originally published on the 6th of April 2024, in a private newsletter to my Kickstarter backers. Iām now making all the updates available to the public, so you can see how I create my comic books.
Hi there!
Hope youāre doing well! Iām running out of weather talk after many weeks of nonsense, so Iāll crack on with the update. š
Progress
This week, I didnāt do much. I decided to take a break, as the line art for the characters was a bit tiring, and Iām just beginning to work on the backgrounds. Iām painting them as Iām drawing them, so Iāll have at least a complete page to show you in the next update. More than that, hopefully!
For the last three weeks, Iāve been drawing on my old, slow iPad while travelling with my partner and a friend. Iām looking forward to working on my large screen again, now that weāre going home. šŗ
Carolās Family Background
A few months ago, a friend asked me a question over lunch: āWhatās Carolās ethnicity? Iām curious, but I canāt tell by looking at her.ā I answered him with a vague āExactly! Sheās a Londoner. Thatās the effect Iām going for.ā
But this reply feels a bit lazy to me. I know exactly what her origins are, but I didnāt go through the trouble of writing it down properly. So letās do that here!
When I first thought of her, I knew her family background would be important: it would affect parts of her personality, and of the story. People donāt exist in a vacuum, and we all carry influences and trauma from previous generations.
I wanted her to look like a Londoner. Because she was born in London, and her genes are the result of many cultures and ethnicities coming across each other throughout the years. Thatās why itās difficult to pinpoint her origins. If I had made her similar to what people outside the UK imagine Londoners to be, then perhaps sheād be closer to this instead:
But I think that wouldnāt be faithful to the world of my story, and I wanted to pay tribute to the multitude of people I see walking the streets of London. Sheās the result of many generations of immigrants who worked hard to create a good life for their children.
Hereās a breakdown of her family history quickly put together:
This said, I imagine her family sort of descending from my own, so I donāt think we are different at all. Weāre both Londoners, just living in different times, and we share a megacity brimming with its very own culture.
After all, if we go back far enough, each of us is a bundle of mixed genes and influences, and thatās part of what makes humans fascinating.
See you soon, and thank you so much for reading!
Thank you for reading! The four chapters of The Last Day of Rain are available in my online store at shop.claudiamatosa.com.
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