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# How an FKFD Comic is Made
2020-07-21
2024-02-20: Fixed broken links in footnotes thanks to anonymous reader via
email
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.
- 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].
- 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The ideas can be funny or serious, revolving around an outdated or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.
## Others' Idea -> My Idea
My comics are large influenced by xkcd. A few other influencers:
- SMBC for sociological ideas and single-panels
- C&H for the puns
- Poorly Drawn Lines for the anthropomorphic figures
- Random Reddit posts for random ideas
## 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".
## 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/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).
|
