Author: JJA

Accidental Faces

Posted on September 28, 2011 by JJA

I’m back at work on Botaram but still missing deadlines, so here’s some more filler art in the meantime.

The faces that appear in Chimmer are usually created deliberately by me, and it’s an easy process, as the human eye is already predisposed to try to see faces in random assortments of objects. I have a small palette of Chimmer objects, and I usually shift these about until something looks facelike, then tweak it to make it more obvious.

It happens sometimes as I sort through my general shape palette that I find faces already made, which arose without any conscious intent on my part as I shuffled pieces around for other purposes. I have collected a few of these below.

The one by itself on the second row consists of two shapes, one being the most unusable shape in my original palette. I don’t think this face arose by accident, but my sleep-deprived brain thinks it’s worth including anyway. So here.

Recess – Question

Posted on September 2, 2011 by JJA

Here’s a question I missed from Hamachisn’t:

“Why does Chax think the station was protecting Aun alone from the foe? Was not Chax in equal danger?”

Aun seems to have been the target of the attack by the “Nocturnal Migration,” as he attacked them when they scared him out of sleep. Chax did eat of the flesh that Aun cut off, but this probably went unperceived by the N.M.

Additionally, Aun feels that he’s being called by something to investigate deeper. This ‘call’ took the form of a rumbling noise from the ground. Aun and Chax don’t know yet what the source is, but the chances are fair that it’s some part of the station.

Chax does not perceive this call directly – it’s not his fight, though he has volunteered to aid Aun.

Taking all these things together led Chax to assume that the station is more concerned about Aun’s fate than Chax’s.

Recess – Sowth Winds Bwow!

Posted on August 29, 2011 by JJA

I am on dialup right now, thanks to tropical storm (née hurricane) Irene. I should have a proper update ready tomorrow.

 
UPDATE:

Jonas didn’t ask any questions in his comment, but I extracted two that were implicit in what he said.

Will Botaram ever be collected in book form? Probably so. I have kept the layout in a book-friendly format from almost the beginning. At some point I plan to revise the story (more on this in a later update) and I will likely set it up for on-demand publishing at that time.

Will it ever be famous? My guess is that it won’t. Botaram isn’t something I do for notoriety, and i don’t expect to ever make any real income from it. I’m telling a story that matters to me, and I am pleased that it matters to some other people as well. If nothing else ever comes of it, I will be content.

That said, it would help me to know how many of my readers would like to see Botaram in book form, and (while we’re on the subject) how many might be interested in related items. For instance, I have had a pair of Botaram t-shirts in mind for a while, and I considered having a custom set made for me, but if others would be interested, I can alter my plans. If anyone would like to comment on this, please do so below, or use the contact info on my profile page.

As always, thank you very much for reading!

Recess – Planning Sketch

Posted on August 26, 2011 by JJA


Botaram is usually composed start to finish in Illustrator. However, when no computer is handy, I take notes with what’s available. This sketch was drawn on a placemat at the Morristown Diner in early September of 2006. It constitutes very rough layout notes and dialogue for entry 5, “On Deeds”. I apologize for my atrocious handwriting.

This is the entry where I decided on Aun’s name. He appears as “Aut” here, which could mean anything, and I suppose that’s why I changed it. While composing the entry in Illustrator, I decided that something else needed to happen in the background, so I quickly made a flying critter to land on the tree. This is how the khirrik was born, and at the time I had no idea how important it would later become to the story.

In the last panel, Chax reminds me a bit of New Jersey.

Recess

Posted on August 22, 2011 by JJA


I apologize for interrupting the story at this point, which will leave both Chax and the reader in suspense, but I need to take a short break from Botaram to refresh my mind and work on a few story matters.

I will continue to post small updates of Botaram-related content on schedule; these may take the form of notes, drafts, text updates, rough scribbles like the one above, or answers to reader questions. If you wish to ask a question, please leave a comment below, or send an email via the address on my profile page (also below). I expect to resume regular updates on September 8th.

Thank you very much for reading this story!