#riverleyk

[riverleyk]

My sketches always look so silly.

And here's concept art for Emilien's mom, her present and younger years designs.

[riverleyk]

French vs English: MK: 12 Signatures

Part 3! Read part 1 and part 2  The translation differences, a more general look.  First of all, we need to discuss actually speech bubbles. Not all bubbles were changed to fit the French text, but some were. 

unchanged. 

Changed.  These changes were kind of rare and only happened if the text was important and really couldn’t fit inside no matter how hard I tried. And trust me, I tried a lot. Changing sentences so it would have the same meaning but still be smaller of fit different. I came on clutch. Often. 

This translates to the same thing, but here’s a good example of Stella using more Quebec slang and speaking with a joual accent.  Some characters who spoke with English slang had to have it removed or changed. 

“OMG! Really!” Instead of:

All chapters have the same names. Certain names are in English, and others are in French. The thank you note at the beginning of the book, and the origin of the comic pages at the end are both bilingual, as organizing and setting things in different folders is just a hassle. Certain characters had a name change, except for Burgundy who ironically had the name of a color as her name and so it would have translated kind of easily... except...I thought “Bourgogne” sounded ugly.  Andrew became André, a much more traditional French name.  Edwin became Edward. ‘Édouard’ would have been the better French spelling, but in in this context, Edwin is actually anglophone, so have it be spelled the English way, but be more pronounceable to French speakers is the ideal here. Sure, Edwin might be a bit iffy on pronunciation but try Riverley K in French. My own name sounds hideous. I should have changed my own name instead! Dimitri is a pretty name in French, but unfortunately, DIMITRIUS is just a terrible sound in French. Luckily, it’s long and nobody calls him by his full name.

Speaking of Edwin being an anglophone tho, his ENTIRE CHAPTER is different and much funnier.  In the English version, Edwin was a hard ass. Respectful, super Canadian, and polite, but still firm in not wanting to sign the contract, all until... ya know the plot twist. (Read my comic!!!)  But if French, he’s all that and extremely bad at talking in French. Added dialog of him saying as much and apologizing is the icing on top. 

“ I’m happy that you came, but she has passed away. I worry that nobody can sign these papers. pardon my French.”  Notice how he says ‘je worry’. worry is an English word, he’s not saying it right. he should be saying ‘Je suis inquiet’ (I am worried) but even that isn’t right. I payed a lot of attention to my own French mistakes, and my biggest errors were using English grammar structure or sayings and applying them into French, which would create broken syntaxe and bad grammar. Language is complex, but I’ll keep it simple for the sake of this post not taking ages.  Other types of errors/fun details: 

Clearly, he just said an entire sentence in English. That's not French!

“That’s illegal. we are met now. You know me not.” He fails spectacularly to the point of this phrase barely making sense. 

More anglicismes (using English words in another Language). Using ‘caller’ instead of ‘téléphoner’ (the verb, to call) and of course, using smart instead of intelligent or rusé. 

“The money was (was?) - has been stolen.” I know this translation is wrong in English. Saying has is right for the context, but in French, Edwin questioned his own grammar and got it right! There are so many other mistakes he makes, but most of it is grammar related. He only used masculine ‘déterminant’ like Le and Un. In French, nouns have gender, and so there’s La and Une he’s not using. He also gets conjugation mixd up, using ‘est’ and ‘a’ incorrectly. This is basic stuff that’s very hard for new learners, but even then, Edwin is from Ontario, where English is still taught in school. Edwin is a himbo tho.  Other small edits: ..or lack there of. 

In chapter 8, Donovan’s hotel room is the name in either language. Mainly because I edited these directly on the image file itself. The hotel was actually my grand parent’s old folks home hallway. Their hotel room was the basement at my aunt’s house. I needed to edit out their address and names. 

In French, Stella references her ‘info-man’, which is a popular comedy in Québec.

Certain sounds, like a gasp is not translated. Mainly cause I don’t know what a French gasp is...

Dimitri’s slang for ‘get high’ was translated to ‘défoncer’ but actually that means  something much more intense. Basically Dimitri said “I’m gonna go get shitfaced.” 

Beatrice also speaks in slight joual. Also, that’s my bedroom. 

I don’t know why her swearing in French was censored....

“But Dimitri, it’s us the victims. he has abandoned us and our mothers too. Most of these kids don’t have dads and never received a #@$! black cent!”  The world that would named the most sense in her sentence would have been “maudite”. thank you for reading about the translation process for the comic! I’m working on writing more articles. 

[riverleyk]

Dimitri was actually inspired by people in my life at the time. Mostly my first crush, then later my first boyfriend boyfriend. After a while his personality changed a lot. He used to be mute, and have an interest in gardenning. He's named after Demeter, the goddess of nature. His interest in robots came from my 1st ex bf, who was in robotics class at the time. Then his interest in math, and quirky humour came from my second ex bf. His interest in anime and programming video games came from my ex gf. and so far... he's taken no traits from my current bf, but i'll let you know when it happens. here's the oldest digital pic of dimitri. there is paper ones that show me trying to draw him completely, but im too lazy to post it rn. All of this is slight 2016, mostly 2017. 

[riverleyk]

Vaporwave and Outrun references in MK: 6 Rue Victoria

I know the style is a fad now but i wanna give it this love letter of a comic and embrace it for the internet center of art that is kinda characteristic of my culture growing up like every generation has it's thing, and i know vaporwave is small, but i think its a perfect representation of my generation right now. idk. i guess im gen z? but yeah like. references to a past. nostalgia for a past you never lived in. commentary on consumerism, ofc INTERNET, and electronic music. etc etc. it's the most gen z art movement i can think of, and just like everything on the internet, it came and went super fast and got replaced by a new art movement. i guess vaporwave itself is how i see gen z youth which fits for emilien's character 100000%

[riverleyk]

English Vs French Mafia Kids: 12 signatures

My comic, MK: 12 signatures was written first in English as it is the language I'm most familiar with, then translated to French by myself and with revisions from my father and my friend Jo. Jo’s a great guy. Not a creative person or a story writer, but he’s Québécois and knows the slang well which was crucial as my book takes place in Montréal, Québec and I want the Joual to be perfect. :)

Dimitri Edition. 

In English, Dimitri’s well spoken and talks with a mix of internet slang and high end school talk. The academic big boy word language. Dimitri’s a nerd and it fits his character well. For the French version, Dimitri does keep that cadence, but he also switches between using France French slang and joual. He’s not just speaking in a generalized French, but it’s also to show that’s not native to Canada and doesn’t ‘belong’ in this environment, but has adapted to live in it. Dimitri’s mother is a Russian immigrant, and probably learned how to speak French in France before coming here. Dimitri learned from her. 

One of the more subtle changes is that in English, Dimitri’s is much more mild and timid. He’s the same way in French but much less. He’s more direct and tends to say exactly what he’s thinking. Often for comedic effect. 

“Maybe he can let go of fast food?” “He can eat the food he likes!” 

Dimitri is also more political in French. He’s definitely more edgy all around. I’m not sure if this makes him seem like a know-it all dick in French or more honest.  It’s up to the readers. One thing I wanted to come across though is that Dimitri is an intellectual.

“The “trends” are nothing but a capitalist strategy. Why not buy what you want and reuse it?”

Other than being more political in the French version, I just noticed that he can be seen as more rude in English in this instance.  Of course, not all Dimitri dialog is different or more overt when he’s calling out a fellow mafia’s behaviour. He’s still the same guy, but like I said, very very mildly more edgy. 

“It’s maybe a good thing to reduce your spending...”

Pratically the same thing, right?  Well, what’s the biggest change with Dimitri?  Oh um... Well... First off, English internet slang such as ‘simping’ doesn’t translate in French at all. Sure, some frogs know what it means but the average normie franchie won’t know what it means. So chapter 7, with mafia kid Mystery is wildly different.

Instead of explaining internet slang to his hobo sister, Dimitri just.... wow. 

“It’s someone who follows somebody online and defends them from trolls. That’s why you’re liking all their tweets, huh?”  “Yes.”  “I regret those days of my life. Obsessed with Internet personalities. Stalking women...” Yeah, Dimitri straight up admits to being a creep online. I felt like I could get away with that kind of stuff since French culture is a lot more open about sex than English stuff. Dimitri in cannon is a creep and a pervert but that will be addressed in his own comic or when the time is right. In MK, it wasn’t the moment. Doesn’t mean I didn’t drop hints to it. As the first book in the series, I found it crucial to hint and show off every character’s full situations, even if it was just a glimpse. 

“I’m glad I stopped that.”

I know it’s not a big change in dialog here, but the nuance and context really does add to what’s being said. In English, he has this ‘I was a nerdy loser with no life’ vibe going on but in French, it’s implied to be a harmful and more pornographic thing. Either way, I can’t wait to work on the Dimitri comic and to really show what exactly happened in Dimitri’s past. You might be asking yourself, “Which version of Mafia Kids is cannon?” Since both are different in their own weird ways. Usually, translations and localizations aren’t meant to be more cannon than the other version. It’s all supposed to be canon to whatever area it’s in, but MK takes place in the real Montreal, and the main language of the region is French. Because the characters talk in their respective accents and slang, the most canon and true to vision version of the story has to be the French version. Despite it’s loss of Emilien’s British accent... More coming soon!

[riverleyk]

My life, past and inspirations for each of my books (part 1)

This might get ramble but also a warning, this post gets heavy. MK: 12 signatures This is my first comic book, it was produced right before covid started and finished 4 months in. I even worked on it while sick with the disease and during my time working at a hospital during the pandemic. It's a coincidence that some vaguely dramatic event happens during the production of my books, haha. But on the bright side, during produce I started dating the love of my life. This book is my least favorite of the current trio. It was rushed, and the least creative out of my books. Not much of my life is portrayed in this book. There was a heavy use of culture put into tho as the book was made for a government organization. There were plans to distribute the book in youth shelters, have a book signing ceremony and even produce enough copies to sell at my local book store, but due to covid, everything fell thru. For a first book, anybody else with experience would call this a failure or just practice. The book was barely sold, I was to donate to centers by myself and hell, a doctor even stole one of the copies. However, I really appreciated making it. It taught me a lot I needed to know, and would serve as the building block to my Mafia Kids series.

[riverleyk]

All the Mafia kids :) Stella, Donovan, Edwin, Emilien, Burgundy, Lucina, Nico, Andrew, Artemis, Beatrice.

[riverleyk]

Dimitri's life timeline:

0 to 7, dimitri lives happily with his mom and dad 7 to 15, dimitri sees his father leave. Gets abused and neglected by his mom and shows signs of being schizo (seeing ghosts and hearing people call his name outside when nobody is there)

Age 15, dimitri befriends June and starts doing drugs as a child. She rapes him at 16 and he KO’s by overdosing. Sorta dying in his room, being found by his mom and brought to hospital. After 16, he wakes up from the coma of 3 days and begins anew. The symptoms start soon after. He goes back to school in spetemrber, starting over his sec 4, meeting jack and everybody else. They notice and get him the help he needs to to and by 17, he’s sober and on meds schizo