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+++ b/docs/random/how_fkfd_is_made.md
@@ -2,26 +2,48 @@
2020-07-21
-I don't consider myself a cartoonist, let alone good cartoonist. I am unqualified at comics in all aspects, you know? I can hardly draw anything that's not a rectangle, circle, or straight line; for every final stroke you see on the canvas, I have undone and redone three times; my update frequency is like `abs(tan(x/k))` where k is around 10 days\^-1 [1]. One day in May I pushed 4 comics. And then I completely skipped June.
+2024-02-20: Fixed broken links in footnotes thanks to anonymous reader via
+email
-Let me keep it short and talk about how an fkfd comic is made. Not technical details (i.e. export as webp, then png, then run `./submit.py`...) but how I come up with ideas and express them in comics.
+I don't consider myself a cartoonist, let alone good cartoonist. I am
+unqualified at comics in all aspects, you know? I can hardly draw anything
+that's not a rectangle, circle, or straight line; for every final stroke
+you see on the canvas, I have undone and redone three times; my update
+frequency is like `abs(tan(x/k))` where k is around 10 days\^-1 [1]. One
+day in May I pushed 4 comics. And then I completely skipped June.
+
+Let me keep it short and talk about how an fkfd comic is made. Not
+technical details (i.e. export as webp, then png, then run
+`./submit.py`...) but how I come up with ideas and express them in comics.
## Life -> Idea
-However boring your life may be, you always find ideas bumping from inside your brain; they may just be a little dull. I catch my inspirations right away when I come up with one. Here is a list of common ideas.
+However boring your life may be, you always find ideas bumping from inside
+your brain; they may just be a little dull. I catch my inspirations right
+away when I come up with one. Here is a list of common ideas.
- I look at things that vaguely resemble others, and make fun of that[2].
-- I ask myself questions "what if we...?" and imagine the possibilities in the wildest way[3].
-- I contemplate about today's society and world, and when I cannot squueze jokes out of them, I make them look thought-provoking[4].
-- I voice concerns about today's technology and its relationship with human life[5].
-- Also comics that are straightforward xkcd parodies[6], or even ones that reuse xkcd graphics[7].
+- I ask myself questions "what if we...?" and imagine the possibilities in
+ the wildest way[3].
+- I contemplate about today's society and world, and when I cannot squueze
+ jokes out of them, I make them look thought-provoking[4].
+- I voice concerns about today's technology and its relationship with
+ human life[5].
+- Also comics that are straightforward xkcd parodies[6], or even ones that
+ reuse xkcd graphics[7].
- Giant buildup for giant fun, like flowcharts and tables[8].
- Irony pointed at one certain type of person[9].
- Inevitable graph jokes[10].
- Personal rant[11].
- Puns and wordplay[12].
-The ideas can be funny or serious, revolving around an outdated or emerging topic, whatever. Apply the craziest spices until the idea is hot enough to attract a handful of people. Avoid *really* niche hobbies, and definitely don't go to depths (i.e. inside jokes), for the sake of audience coverage. As a side note, I never deliberately check if my idea has been taken. Too much trouble. I do avoid copying ideas I know to exist, though.
+The ideas can be funny or serious, revolving around an outdated or
+emerging topic, whatever. Apply the craziest spices until the idea is hot
+enough to attract a handful of people. Avoid *really* niche hobbies, and
+definitely don't go to depths (i.e. inside jokes), for the sake of
+audience coverage. As a side note, I never deliberately check if my idea
+has been taken. Too much trouble. I do avoid copying ideas I know to
+exist, though.
## Others' Idea -> My Idea
@@ -34,19 +56,70 @@ My comics are large influenced by xkcd. A few other influencers:
## Idea -> Comic
-There are certain periods when I was super innovative and others super productive and/or artistic. The best scenario is when these overlapped, and I was able to commit my ideas on the canvas on the fly. That was definitely efficient, but later when I reflected on comics produced over this period, I would often sense creeping embarrassment for lack of due thoughts before submission, or regret over some imperfections like a forgotten punchline. The second best is those moments when I had a genuinely great idea (at least to me at that time), and had a notebook handy. Once I would jot down a few hint words, like "dead kids sent from heaven to haunt their anti-vaxx parents", but turns out I was terrible at remembering details. Soon I learned to draw a rough sketch, and continuously iterate, fixing grammatical problems and pruning unnecessary words (canvas space is precious). Occasionally, I do it on a whiteboard. Finally, I boot up my lappy, draw what's on the paper/whiteboard through my wacom tablet into krita, sometimes verbatim and sometimes with a few minor adjustments, then re-orchestrate the elements so they fit on a digital canvas. Behold! Digital "art".
+There are certain periods when I was super innovative and others super
+productive and/or artistic. The best scenario is when these overlapped,
+and I was able to commit my ideas on the canvas on the fly. That was
+definitely efficient, but later when I reflected on comics produced over
+this period, I would often sense creeping embarrassment for lack of due
+thoughts before submission, or regret over some imperfections like
+a forgotten punchline. The second best is those moments when I had
+a genuinely great idea (at least to me at that time), and had a notebook
+handy. Once I would jot down a few hint words, like "dead kids sent from
+heaven to haunt their anti-vaxx parents", but turns out I was terrible at
+remembering details. Soon I learned to draw a rough sketch, and
+continuously iterate, fixing grammatical problems and pruning unnecessary
+words (canvas space is precious). Occasionally, I do it on a whiteboard.
+Finally, I boot up my lappy, draw what's on the paper/whiteboard through
+my wacom tablet into krita, sometimes verbatim and sometimes with a few
+minor adjustments, then re-orchestrate the elements so they fit on
+a digital canvas. Behold! Digital "art".
## Footnotes
-[1] Which means my update speed peaks about once per month, while somewhere in the middle it's zero.
-[2] Notable examples: [Heroic Ball Pen](https://fkfd.me/13), [Chihuahuatamayo](https://fkfd.me/74), and [Keychane](https://fkfd.me/93).
-[3] Notable examples: [Night Plane Spotters](https://fkfd.me/70), [Soul Counter](https://fkfd.me/79), and [Amazon Ring](https://fkfd.me/87).
-[4] Notable examples: [Intolerance](https://fkfd.me/65), [Zeta-373](https://fkfd.me/77), and [Stray Cats](https://fkfd.me/90).
-[5] Notable examples: [Innovations](https://fkfd.me/73), [Intended Internet](https://fkfd.me/86), and [JavaScript](https://fkfd.me/101).
-[6] Notable examples: [Code Quality](https://fkfd.me/10), [Technology, Inc.](https://fkfd.me/11), and [Irrelevant xkcd](https://fkfd.me/67).
-[7] Notable examples: [Python](https://fkfd.me/6), [Entropy Harvesting Daemon](https://fkfd.me/81), and [Childhood Misconceptions](https://fkfd.me/92).
-[8] Notable examples: [Partitions](https://fkfd.me/16), [X-over-Y](https://fkfd.me/53), and [Python Code With No Documentation](https://fkfd.me/55).
-[9] Notable examples: [Flat Earthers](https://fkfd.me/21), [Blogging](https://fkfd.me/26), and [Wish](https://fkfd.me/71).
-[10] Notable examples: [Time Consumption](https://fkfd.me/9), [Turning Point](https://fkfd.me/59), and [Graph Nerd Sniped](https://fkfd.me/89).
-[11] Notable examples: [Smart Home](https://fkfd.me/46), [Middle Button](https://fkfd.me/52), and [Grades](https://fkfd.me/96).
-[12] Notable examples: [Wheeled Armchair and Armed Wheelchair](https://fkfd.me/54), [One-Letter Modifications](https://fkfd.me/69), and [Company Rules](https://fkfd.me/88).
+[1] Which means my update speed peaks about once per month, while
+somewhere in the middle it's zero.
+
+[2] Notable examples: [Heroic Ball Pen](https://fkfd.me/comics/13),
+[Chihuahuatamayo](https://fkfd.me/comics/74), and
+[Keychane](https://fkfd.me/comics/93).
+
+[3] Notable examples: [Night Plane Spotters](https://fkfd.me/comics/70),
+[Soul Counter](https://fkfd.me/comics/79), and
+[Amazon Ring](https://fkfd.me/comics/87).
+
+[4] Notable examples: [Intolerance](https://fkfd.me/comics/65),
+[Zeta-373](https://fkfd.me/comics/77), and
+[Stray Cats](https://fkfd.me/comics/90).
+
+[5] Notable examples: [Innovations](https://fkfd.me/comics/73),
+[Intended Internet](https://fkfd.me/comics/86), and
+[JavaScript](https://fkfd.me/comics/101).
+
+[6] Notable examples: [Code Quality](https://fkfd.me/comics/10),
+[Technology, Inc.](https://fkfd.me/comics/11), and
+[Irrelevant xkcd](https://fkfd.me/comics/67).
+
+[7] Notable examples: [Python](https://fkfd.me/comics/6),
+[Entropy Harvesting Daemon](https://fkfd.me/comics/81), and
+[Childhood Misconceptions](https://fkfd.me/comics/92).
+
+[8] Notable examples: [Partitions](https://fkfd.me/comics/16),
+[X-over-Y](https://fkfd.me/comics/53), and
+[Python Code With No Documentation](https://fkfd.me/comics/55).
+
+[9] Notable examples: [Flat Earthers](https://fkfd.me/comics/21),
+[Blogging](https://fkfd.me/comics/26), and
+[Wish](https://fkfd.me/comics/71).
+
+[10] Notable examples: [Time Consumption](https://fkfd.me/comics/9),
+[Turning Point](https://fkfd.me/comics/59), and
+[Graph Nerd Sniped](https://fkfd.me/comics/89).
+
+[11] Notable examples: [Smart Home](https://fkfd.me/comics/46),
+[Middle Button](https://fkfd.me/comics/52), and
+[Grades](https://fkfd.me/comics/96).
+
+[12] Notable examples:
+[Wheeled Armchair and Armed Wheelchair](https://fkfd.me/comics/54),
+[One-Letter Modifications](https://fkfd.me/comics/69), and
+[Company Rules](https://fkfd.me/comics/88).