Graveyard Shift 01

 I've started work on adapting a short story into comic format. The exercise is really just so I can take a stab at doing something that I have not written myself. I also think it would be fun to go back and do some public domain horror stories and try to nail down the style of the old Warren Magazines like EERIE, CREEPY or VAMPIRELLA.

I am starting with a short story titled "Graveyard Shift" by Rex Munsee. He's a member of the Snicker Snack Amateur Press Association (APA), which is a type of fanzine. Rex wrote the story a few issues ago, I read it and decided it would be fun to adapt it. So I wrote to him and he agreed to let me do his story, and the results will be printed in Snicker Snack and the Collectors' Club Newsletter.

The story has simple modeling and set requirements, which is a major criteria for my selection process:

• Few character designs (there are 4)
• Limited locations / sets:
• Exterior:
• Country road a night with a small car driving on it
• Country road leads to a nice house in the woods
• Front of the house as she enters
• Interior:
• Living room
• Bedroom
• Possibly another part of the house, like a hallway or kitchen area
• Props (key items):
• Reclining chair (i.e. La-Z-Boy)
• Lamp, side table, misc. items
• Hospital-type bed
• Hypodermic & medical equipment
• Set dressings (pictures, furniture, etc.)
• Video/security camera
• Video monitor
• Antique mirror

If you're familiar with my workflow, then you know I start out in Poser (a 3D app) and then render line art which is composited and cleaned up in Clip Studio Paint. This makes the first step is to collect the 3D assets I need, and fortunately I already had most of the items above. The exterior of the country road has proved to be the most problematic because I didn't have exactly the sort of hilly environment I imagined when I started to block out the story and make thumbnails.

As for the character design, we'll cover that next time!

Other Posts in this Series

• Graveyard Shift 01 - Project Overview (you are here)
• Graveyard Shift 02 - Character Design Lauren Normal
• Graveyard Shift 03 - Character Design Lauren Transformed
• Graveyard Shift 04 - Lauren's Car
• Graveyard Shift 05 - Character Design Victor
• Graveyard Shift 06 - Character Design Vincent
• Graveyard Shift 07 - Exterior Night