The Nestarican Comic

Changing things...again!

2009-02-25T21:55:00.003-06:00

SO! Starting with yesterday, there are gonna be some big changes around here folks! Alright. So. My big sister has found that college, various jobs, and life pretty much have piled her plate up to the ceiling, and comic pages just aren't ringing her chimes like they used to. Her artsy-fartsy side is so awesome and crazy that she doesn't like drawing in the same style all the time, so comics are kind of liked forced art form. Which is never healthy. Sooooo! Now that this has been revealed to me, we once again refer to the original advice of our father. Yup. That's right. He got us. AGAIN. So, when we were first starting this puppy, he thought that it would turn out better if I actually wrote the story like a novel, and then there would be random illustrations (with words even!) by the loverly older sister splurted here and there in certain parts of the story. Which, is actually a really cool idea. But! We aren't done yet, ( Wow. Now I feel like I'm in one of those annoying, really long bargain commercials for useless products) not by any means. To free it up, the loverly artist can do whatever style she likes. So! It's kind of hard to explain, but she would tell some of the story with pictures, and I would tell the rest with words. But it's NOT illustration. Maybe you should just wait and see wait we mean. ;) Thanks for reading folks!

~That (younger) Lango Girl

2009-01-21T18:26:00.002-06:00

*sputters* Wow. Just wow. A wonderful software program straight after my own geeky comic-ey heart. IT IS SO AMAZING! And wonderful...and pretty...and *sob*. It's so beautiful. No more hours of sizing and resizing and coloring in speech bubbles and all other sorts of nonsense. It does it all FOR YOU! I love technology. It's sooooo awesome. Ooooooooh the glory of ComicLife! Whats that? Oh, we don't actually own it you say? Well uhm...what can I say? We're cheapskates. We got the thirty day trial thingie. But I'm really hoping that we can buy it! Because it is so wonderful.... *wink wink nudge nudge*
-Laura

Ok. She might have been a little too awe inspired. But it IS awesomeness at it's best. I no longer fear speech bubbles. And I LOVE the formats...it makes putting a page together fun! (I didn't know that was possible) I think I'm going to invest thirty bucks into the best comic making program ever. I haven't actually done any Nestarican stuff with it...but I used it for a comic contest on one of the art forums I hang out at...and I can't wait to throw it on my lovely crew!
-Candice

The New Year!

2009-01-03T17:16:00.002-06:00

Weellll...I won't bore you with resolutions that won't be fulfilled, but a New Year's post was necessary. Aren't they always? So here's the scoop for what will be happening in 2009. Isn't that so cool? 2009!

- My last day working at the Children's Center is January 5th. This means that I'll have tons of time to drawr! And color, and update! Booyah.

- We're looking forward to alot of stuff on the site this year. Right now we are trying to get some Character Profiles up, but we are also planning and brainstorming through other stuff too. Maybe a Newsletter, Forums, Fan Art pages, and other cool secretive things we won't tell you yet.

- *Sigh* We still have a whole load of things that are giving us trouble everytime we update. Coloring, and Text bubbles are among the growing members of the "FIX ME PLEASE! List". I've downloaded a program called ComicLife, but I still haven't installed it or experimeted with it yet. I'm hoping it will help me with the demon text bubbles, and maybe even improve the page layout. Here's to hoping!

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and wonderful New Year!

-Candice

We're BACK!

2008-12-06T19:09:00.002-06:00

Hey! Hiatus is over! YeAH!
So happy. I don't feel guilty anymore!
AND a new member appears in this page. You should go check it out. Click the liiiink.
Right there >> LINK

TomGeeks

2008-10-12T21:55:00.001-05:00

Tom Geeks has finally updated...which means we are on the new members list!
This is very cool. Here is the link:
http://www.tomgeeks.com

And uh, YEAH we are on the homepage. Booyah.

Hiatus =(

2008-10-09T23:46:00.002-05:00

October is a crazy month. And our schedules are filled.
Candice has lots of work...parent teacher conferences, 3 Star evaluations, two parties to plan, Child Assessments etc.
Laura has Romeo and Juliet (waay too many practices and dress rehearsals!) Mid terms, Guitar lessons etc.
On top of this we have some amazing friends that are visiting with us from LA. We can't do ANYthing while they are here. We wouldn't want to do anything while they were here. Except hang out with them! (You would understand if you knew them.) They are people that feed your soul with good conversation and understanding and encouragement.
Allll of this to say... (With a great amount of sadness) that The Nestarican must go on hiatus. We have to take a break. It's just necessary, folks.
We're planning on updating, of course! But I won't be making it every tuesday. We have lots of other projects at this time and wish there were 28 hours in a day just to draw pages and pages...but not on this side of heaven. As it is, this post is probably incredibly incohisive because Candice should be asleep instead of rambling about lost minutes. -_-

Here's to wishing for better time management, more hours to a day, and less irritating things that get in the way of drawing,
Those Lango Girls

Oooo Aaaaa

2008-10-07T13:13:00.003-05:00

Well! Page 8 is up on the site, and with it comes some introductions! That's right, you finally get to see some of the cast! The rest will be following quite soon, I'm sure. They're like Cuiaba mosquitoes, for every 1 that you see, there are 4 more biting you. Well anyhoo, we're hoping to get our site on Tomgeeks, a webcomic community for girls, but due to some internet problems (thanks to Ike) it doesn't look like it will be happening very soon. Check it out anyways (link), there's quite a few coolio comics there! Hope you enjoy, and thanks so much for reading, folks!

~Laura

Changing things...(hopefully for the better)

2008-09-20T14:44:00.004-05:00

We have changed how we do things. (what else is new!?) But really...our page making process is drastically different than from what we started with.
So I decided to post a blog entry detailing how I make the pages! There really is no reason for this, except the fact that I'm bored and it could entertain me and possibly some other people. So this is what happens...
--------------------------------------------------------------------

1. I read the page of the script that we are working on. Currently we are only on page two of the handwritten script version of the comic. Here is a sample. (hee hee. Laura's handwriting...)

2. I then go "Huh?" and say "Laura I don't know what you want this to look like, I'm so lost. Why did you say that? I don't get it. Can you help? This is so not cohesive..." Or something like that. So she draws me a sample of what she's thinking the finished panel might look like. So here's that:

3. Of course, I then go "Well!" and twist her ideas (with permission of course) and expanding ideas, change the original script a little, until we get a rough sketch of what the line art for the complete page might look like. The anaotomy and flow might be a little off, and lines are definitely not straight. This is because we are dealing with IDEAS. That, and we're lazy.

4. Then I convert the rough version to the big paper! I draw in a large floor pad so I can have more paper to detail and design. Even at this final stage I change how the page is set up and how it flows, but for the most part...it stays the same. After the pencil sketch is inked over and erased...I cut up the image! Cut cut, snip it up! (GASP!) But no worries, I do this so it can fit on
my scanner.

5. Then I take it into a program and splice all four individual images so it looks like it's whole again. (The wonders of computers...) This is the final line art. Now it just remains to be colored!

Autumn Comics...

2008-09-03T18:34:00.003-05:00

September is here!
It is the first seasonal change since the beginning of The Nestarican! *blows party horn*
Both me and Laura are really busy this fall...she has Romeo and Juliet, guitar, homework...the whole social life thing.
I mostly have work at the Childrens Center. Three Stars is coming and I am completely revamping my classroom before they show up and evaluate my kiddies. Plus I have two new kiddos coming in this month...which is always alot of work.
Goals this month: Improving panel quality, raising the page output per week...
and possibly setting up a newsletter for our readers?? I don't even know if we have readers. Besides Fipi...I know Fipster reads em! *another toot at the party horn*
ANYway...this month is going to be busy and GOOD. Good busy.
-Candice

aherm

2008-08-20T16:14:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder to you lovely readers, we updated yesterday!

http://www.thenestarican.synthasite.com/

-Laura

2008-08-09T17:28:00.002-05:00

DUDE!
Goodbye drunduck and comicgenesis.
I just can't stand the comic hosts. I'm sorry. :(
So I have decided to cut out more work for myself and do my own thing. (Hey, it's worth it.)

But this post, this project, the following link, the dA site, everything must come with a huge
"WORKING IN PROGRESS" warning sign.
It really isn't up to par in any way. But I'm tying to pick up the pace and make our little project look better. Here it is:
http://thenestarican.synthasite.com/

A great friend of mine, Kerry, suggested a book to me to help us along in our comic. Because he's cool and his art rocks, I decided to take his advice and spend a whopping price of 2o bucks to order the book online.
If any of you are comic artists, or any type of artist really, you should read "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. It is an awesome book and I'm pretty psyched Kerry mentioned it to me. And even you if you aren't into comics, you should still read it. It is good for any storyteller to read and it has good insights into art and what makes it and it's creators tic.
ANYway. The new comic is up! Don't read that ole drunkduck stuff. Yuck.
http://thenestarican.synthasite.com/

-Candice

SHE'S UP AND KICKIN'

2008-08-03T19:43:00.002-05:00

It's up!!
We have a comic online. Right now the format is AWFUL and I'm really hoping to get a different site to host our little endeavor. But if you want to read pages and all that, she's up!
THE LINK TO THE AWESOME COMIC!

http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Nestarican/
-Candice

Hey there! The comic is finally up! Hopefully, Candice and I will become HTML literate sometime soon. But for right now, we've got the introduction and the chapter 1 cover up there. Thanks for reading! =)
-Laura

Another Awesome PANEL!

2008-07-28T01:16:00.004-05:00

Decided to ink all the panels now.
It looks much better.
I would write more, but I have a job interview tomorrow and it's already 1:30am. 0_o
Laura helped to color this one.

We also agreed that in order to properly view this panel you must say the word
"TAXI-PORT!" out loud in the "PowerThirst" voice. Cookies for those who know what I am talking about.
For those who don't click the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs
-Candice

Panelllllll

2008-07-26T21:47:00.002-05:00

A nice panel from the first REAL page of the comic. I hate drawing hands, but this drawing actually didn't make me puke! Which is really nice. -Candice

2nd Page and Contract

2008-07-24T23:08:00.002-05:00

We have had a bit of a dilemma.
Yesterday Laura was in a critical mood and I was a complete grouch because I wanted to finish the second page but I had to awaken early for a job interview. So when she mentioned something about a certain panel, I snapped back all snappy like.
"Well, this is gonna take me three years already! So talk all you want about making me redo panels just because Miss-Author don't like it. Ble!" Or something equally nasty and mean. It was very trying.
My dad suggested we do more of a illustrated novel instead of panel by panel comics. This was a great idea! The thing was Laura would have to ditch the script and rewrite EVERYTHING.
Long story short, these circumstances made us worried that the artist would be stuck for eternity drawing and coloring panels and would get bored and quit. =) While the author would sit around waiting for her story to finally be complete...while doing really nothing.
In order to avoid quitting, I have signed a business contract (lasting three months). And Laura has promised to learn basic coloring to help me out.
So the dilemma is over! And the second page is done!!! Hooray for progress! However, we will not post the second page as we did the first...you must wait until I have finished the entire Introduction and it is posted on it's very own site! (WOW, way excited here...)
-Candice

Yay for Comix!

2008-07-23T17:53:00.013-05:00

Well, we got our very first comic page COMPLETED! Oh yeah! Unfortunately it didn't fit on this format. (You fiend, blogger!) So! You must enjoy the doodle from our sponsor o' the day.....KEITH LANGO! *trumpets* You can see the page here

-Laura

Haha! Our dad showed up in the official work space of the Nestarican Crew (a corner in Laura's room...) And we talked about art forms, animation, comic styles and all sorts of things. He sketched the above among other things.
But we promised to put his "Comix are Dweeby!" up on our blog. Yay for comix! And cool dads!
-Candice

2008-07-17T15:12:00.003-05:00

Look! Look! ^ A PAANEL! We flipped out when I finished it. We are so excited that we are actually starting to illustrate it! I mean...it has proof of existence now! So people! We want feedback! Advice, suggestions, pure adoration, (or pure hate) ANY replies or feedback is helpful! Thank you so much! -Candice

YAHOO!

2008-07-16T21:08:00.003-05:00

Yayness! Break out the confetti and the balloons!! Our script is officially FINISHED, revisions and all! *does the dance of extreme joy* I officially started the script in uh.....late march of this year, I believe. (Heh, I'm not good at date keeping....) So all in all it took me a rough 3 months and 2/3. Something like that. However, I shouldn't get all the credit. Candice, with her lovely way with words, helped me with the plot, and with sticky scenes(like romance! It's harder than it looks...) Thank heaven for older sisters. It was kind of hard sometimes, because my characters had changed and developed deeper personalities and mannerisms as I wrote the script, so I had to go back to a lot of my earlier work and scribble whole paragraphs out! But all in all, I'm very very proud of it. Even if it looks more like a secret code than handwriting and has stains and little scribbles on the sides of the half-torn out pages.... Well, thanks for reading!!! =)

-Laura

By the way, Candice has been exercising her awesome coloring skills on the character profiles. Go check 'em out!

http://nestaricancrew.deviantart.com/

Down to business?

2008-07-14T19:10:00.004-05:00

Aherm, since I'm not fond of spoilers, here is a rather elusive plot summary:
A young graduate of a military academy is assigned to an obscure post because of his odd talents and mild temperament. When he arrives, he finds the rest of the unlikely crew almost as strange as him. They were all assigned to the tiny post for different reasons, but it's very clear that the military does not want them or need them, but simply cannot get rid of them completely. However, a political scandal is brewing that would have gone unnoticed, if not for our crew of odds and ends. As they heroically, but not too successfully, try to save the day, they find that maybe they're not so useless after all.

-Laura

Character Outlines!
Kiloh: A young graduate of the Academy, who really doesn't care for the military at all. If he had his way, he'd be a mechanic right now. He's a mild mannered fellow, who'd rather please someone than upset them with his opinion. Quiet, but bright when it comes to mechanics, he goes unnoticed by most. He feels a little weirded out and uncomfortable when first arriving, but fits in like a glove once he gets to know the rest of crew.

Shelty: She originally went into Academy Service (military service) because she wanted to travel, and see the world. Unfortunately, she got stuck in a tiny port instead. She's what I'd call a burnt marshmallow: looks intimidating, but is a real softy. She is often the one to take charge and organize, though she's not the official captain, only the pilot. Out of all the crew, she tries the hardest to make Kiloh feel at home.

Jerev: He's been just about everywhere and knows just about everyone. Different from the others, he actually requested to be assigned to this post (it was the only place he hadn't been!). Easygoing and utterly hysterical at times, it's not hard to see why he has so many good friends. His only quirk is his extreme messiness, and it's a wonder how he ever finds anything. He is the ship's navigator and can be found either eating, or pouring over his maps he keeps stuffed just about everywhere.

Pepper: A firecracker of a redhead. It's no surprise, due to her sporadic personality, that she's the ship's explosive expert. Though crazy and hotheaded at times, the crew would be lost without her quirky humor and odd antics. She is outspoken and the rest of the crew definitely suffers the side affects, but she has an extremely lovable side which worms its way into just about everybody.

Hian (Hianuro): He is just about the most old fashioned fellow around. Instead of guns, t-shirts, jeans and slang, he prefers swords and daggers, kimono robes, boots, and a large vocabulary. Whoever says "Chivalry is dead" has obviously never met Hian! He is reserved, polite, quiet and intimidating on first aquaintance (but not afterwards!). Nobody has quite a knack for breaking through his reserve like Pepper. They pester eachother to death, and he's the only one who dares to use her real name (Olivia) without fear of annihilation. Besides being skilled in swordsmanship and martial arts, he knows eight languages, and serves as the ship's translator apon occasion.

Meercrat (???): This old toughie used to be quite a general back in the day. Now, the Academy has no more use for his middle age, and has reassigned him here. His rigid demeanor has somewhat softened since he's been exposed to the infectious humor of the crew. He's even been caught chuckling once or twice. He is the ship's "official" captain but has long since given over the role to Shelty.

Just Starting

2008-07-12T17:29:00.000-05:00

We are two sisters who often come up with fun and unrealistic projects. Over the years we have tried to write a novel, start a band, cake decorate, sew clothes, illustrate a children's story book, incorporate photo shoots into our everyday life, and other crazy things.Our most recent endeavor is creating a comic. At first, we decided to make it a web comic based on a short story Laura wrote. But the characters and the story were hard to work with. And very cliche. BUT we (unusually) were not discouraged! We scrapped it and went back to the drawing board. Now the story is much improved and we actually have a few good starter designs and characters. Sooooo! We introduce the crew of the Nestarican to the world!
*bow* -Candice

Hey there! Yep, you're going to have to live with the overly wordy-ness of two girls. This comic started rather spontaneously. I was in a science class, listening to a *ahem* very intriguing lecture, and doodled a rough draft of Shelty for entertainment. I wrote down some brainstorm stuff and for the rest of the day (and ever afterward), I was scribbling like mad. My teachers, I'm sure, were rather irritated. =P I finished the script a while ago, and have been toiling and shuffling through revisions ever since. There are 6 main characters (a lot, I know!) who act as our unlikely and rather befuddled heroes. Poor things. I really do put them through the most abominable circumstances. And of course, you need good villains as well. For this, 4 sophisticated (and not so sophisticated) characters have volunteered. This story should be classified as "futuristic", but that just reeks of blue speckled aliens and bad lighting. Rest assured, there are no aliens here. But many guns, swords, explosives, cool technology, and complicated social-political relations. Hope you enjoy! There is a deviantart account just for the comic. The username is Nestaricancrew. There, you can find some character sketches and updates. -Laura
http://nestaricancrew.deviantart.com

About us:
Candice:
I guess you could call me the "artist". But please use the title sparingly...it's a little intimidating. I draw and paint and splatter and doodle and scribble and some people think it looks good. I could argue otherwise, but I like to do it, so I don't.
I'm 18, shy, and currently not studying anything except the real life. All in all, I'm a really normal person.
My favorite character is Jerev. And second comes the Ultarian Prime Minister. I LOVE that villian. But my favorite person to draw is Pepper.
My blog: http://lifeslumps.blogspot.com
My art: http://thelumpy.deviantart.com

Laura:
Er...herm. I'm supposedly the Author. This is only the 3rd time I've actually finished any author-like endeavors, so you can assume that sunbeams are comin' out of my ears. I'm 13, going into 9th grade in a couple of weeks (eek!) and I don't really know if I'm shy or outgoing, or what. =\ I love singing, good music,movies, plays, books, and horses. Yes, I know the horses thing is "so nine-yr old...", but I haven't outgrown it yet...I hope I never do! I offically became a comic/anime nerd a couple of months ago, and my bookmarks list has been bombarded ever since. I'd say that I'm rather odd, but even normal people say that, so I guess you'd just have to know me to understand. My favorite character...hermmm...I can't pick one! My favorite villain is definitly Athalia. What can I say? Lady villians are just plain cool.