hi. were a plural system and this is our lives together.
we tried to do this once and it wasnt good. but we all got more goin on now and we kept seein @semiplural and @oursystemblog postin comics and liked it.
so. lets try this again.
far as i know theres four of us. ive changed our names to protect the guilty lmao.
trashcat (me): co-host. musician. game dev. 'evil alter'. system bouncer and cook. metalhead/anarch/brujah. tired of this shit.
scribbler: other co-host. writer. dresses like the goddamn easter bunny 75% of the time. his partner is our roommate. annoys the shit out of me but hes family.
cerwida: passenger. deergirl. really really into esperanto. shes new and still figurin herself out.
chevalier: passenger. knightboy. zero chill and zero interest in bein in front. spends most of his time in headspace on a horse doin quests. horsequest 4000.
no update schedule we die like bucky barnes. no questions about our ~origin~ or syscourse or you owe us $666. no dni just dont clown.
Any tips for making a plural comic? especially for those with higher headcounts (we're currently nearing 100, we have like 81 i think, yeah idk what the fuck happened either) and we wanna make a plural comic but we're worried we have too many people, if you dont know uh just give us general tips and then let the comments + reblogs do the high headcount stuff iguess
Simplify it. However you decide to draw yourselves, you're going to do it repeatedly and from multiple angles. Keep that in mind when deciding how to draw folks. Every bit and bob you draw is going to be a whole thing, and you don't need to draw every link of a chain necklace to get the point across.
Keep a list of comic ideas. If you get an idea, note it down. It doesn't matter if it's ridiculous. Save it anyway. You'll want it later.
If you have different art styles or struggle with artistic consistency, then let the inconsistencies and stylistic jumps happen. It's a plural comic. This is part of the plurality.
Make it real, not perfect. Perfect is the enemy of done.
If you care about making numbers go up: the comics that seem to do best are either about general experiences that many other systems can relate to, or they explain a complicated concept in simple terms that help others describe their own experiences. Hyperspecific comics don't seem to do as well if they don't also provide some kind of educational value, which isn't too surprising.
You will eventually get hate over something incredibly petty. Doubly so if a post escapes containment. Don't respond to it. Just delete that shit and go reread some positive comments to feel better. We keep a "compliments file" of replies and asks that have made us feel like what we do is worthwhile, and referencing that file helps if an internet stranger had a bad day and decided to take it out on us (to all those who send compliments as asks: this is where they end up. Thank you for being kind.). I'd recommend doing the same if you're worried about anon asks tanking your mood.
As for the headcount challenge:
I don't think that's too many people to draw if you're determined to draw them all. It just means that you may need to get creative with adding ways to differentiate them if you want to represent every single system member differently (which means adding the dreaded bits and bobs). If you wanted to keep it simple, colors plus an accessory could work, but the easiest route might be a literal nametag. If you have duplicate names, then a nametag plus a simple accessory could help.
Alternatively, you could create characters that match common archetypes in your system and represent yourselves that way instead of drawing everyone individually. Draw one guy that represents several guys. That's likely to be a much easier way to do this if consistency is a concern, especially for the very large systems out there.
