The Flipside

Hi there! I'm Erma, and this is where I'll be posting content related to my webcomic titled 'The Flipside.'

[the-flipside-comic]

This started out as a cozy sketch of Noel and Lillian and turned into a whole concept about Lillian's college bedroom. She rents a tiny room in an apartment with 3 other roommates, within a short distance from her college campus. I wanted her to experience having a space just for herself to decorate and discover her personal style.

Lillian goes from Norwood Heights, where she didn't have a say in anything, to being a guest in Noel's house, and so she's starting college with very few personal belongings.

She'll only be in this room for a couple of years, but it'll hold a lot of memories. Unwinding after volleyball practice, a place to retreat when her chronic illness flares up, weekend sleepovers with Noel, and her very first pet.

This might change later who knows, but I think it would be cute if Lillian gets a jumping spider as a pet! Just a little guy, in an enclosure on her desk. Hopefully readers of the comic are okay with spiders. :') She loves all animals and insects, even the ones typically considered weird or scary.

[the-flipside-comic]

Omg I keep meaning to update this blog, I've done random doodles here & there that I didn't upload yet!! I very much needed a break from drawing the girlies in their Norwood disguises

Mostly outfit sketches here! I went to the waterpark recently and was reminded of those absolutely cursed Spongebob popsicles you get from the ice cream truck and I thought Noel would buy one. Her beach/waterpark days are probably 10% swimming and 90% trying all the food. Then we've got Lillian walking miss Tulip for the third time that day. I've been drawing Lillian in comfier, less restrictive clothing lately because she's dealing with chronic pain. In the comic it will be shared what exactly is going on, and Noel will be by her side as she navigates this newly diagnosed health condition.

I managed to get quite a few pages done recently but getting thru this current scene means drawing backgrounds and it may take a while ;-;

[the-flipside-comic]

It's been a while since I've posted here!! ;w; July 2 is my comic's anniversary, so I wanted to take a look back at how the art style and look of the characters has evolved.

I'll admit I cringed looking at pages from 2016-2017, but I do still have fond memories of working on those pages. That was an era where I'd only just started studying drawing fundamentals and taking life drawing classes, so we've got some wonky anatomy going on... their necks were so long. :'D

Overall I am happy with how things are looking, I've still got proportion and scale difficulties at times, and recently I've been blocking out backgrounds in 3D to help understand the space better. I'm excited to continue Noel and Lillian's stories, we are getting close to the conclusion of the main mystery in The Flipside, and afterwards I'd love to invest more time in how their relationship evolves and what they decide for their future. As always, thank you for reading <3

[the-flipside-comic]

This tweet made me think of Noel :’)

One thing I wish I’d done in the comic was show more of her culinary school antics. Maybe I can do a little ‘extras’ thing of her earlier college days before the main story kicked off. 

[the-flipside-comic]

Some outfit explorations for Lillian based on some Pinterest finds! I could definitely see her explore a soft/vintage look while also collecting a lot of outdoor/sporty pieces as well. She absolutely loves exploring the outdoors and I want to reflect that in her outfits a little more. 

Her style has changed so much ever since I first created her back in 2012! Whew that’s a long time ago, I was only 15. Lillian started out very punk with heavy eyeliner, I should do a throwback sometime. :’)

Comic updates will continue for a few more weeks and then I might take a little hiatus to prep for 2023!

[the-flipside-comic]

Another work-in-progress of a cute little montage!

Lillian’s brain: just be cool just be cool just be cool this is fine i’m totally fine

It’ll be okay Lillian, I promise.

Glad to see Noel has such a wide selection of nail polish shades to choose from. 😂

I don’t have much in the ways of life updates except I dyed the front of my hair orange and now I accidentally look like my Splatoon 3 character

[the-flipside-comic]

these ladies are here to kick some ass! 

concept sketch for the upcoming career fair investigation. i want lillian’s entire outfit for myself. loving how this looks. also i’ve been working in illustrator all week and so i felt an urge to do some loose sketches!

the stakes are going to get higher for their investigation very soon, unfortunately

[the-flipside-comic]

I really feel like this panel encapsulates Noel and Lillian’s current dynamic. :’D

ugh I’m having so much fun with these pages!!

[the-flipside-comic]

Here’s a WIP of an upcoming scene, Noel looks like she’s ready for a cozy night in!

Still managing to update every Thursday, I’m on a roll 😂

https://tapas.io/series/The-Flipside

[the-flipside-comic]

what if my comic was only these 2 panels and was just noel eating pasta for almost six years straight

[the-flipside-comic]

I needed little selfies of these two for an upcoming page so now these exist. 😂 they take photos very differently! Lillian’s are cute and simple, Noel’s selfies look all serious and moody and then in person she’s like “hi!!😄🥰”

Happy to report that I found a job! 💖

[the-flipside-comic]

Happy International Asexuality Day!!

Lillian is on the ace spectrum so I wanted to draw her ^-^

[the-flipside-comic]

New Comic Updates on Thursdays!

https://tapas.io/episode/2479126

I’m back!! The past few months have been super busy, but I’ve been able to get some comic pages done and there will be regular updates for a while! 

Here’s some panels from upcoming pages. Lillian will be looking a little different, she’s cut her hair again!

This next part of the comic focuses on Lillian trying to advocate for herself more, especially when an underlying health problem that was downplayed back home becomes harder to cope with. Noel is getting close to her final weeks of college and is struggling with self doubt. Along the way, the two will discover what could be a crucial piece of evidence in their Norwood Heights investigation.

[the-flipside-comic]

I thought I’d post a little preview of an upcoming page as it’s been a while since I last updated the comic! I’m going through some changes right now - in an effort to improve my health, I’ve started working out, and I am actively looking for a fulltime job. I apologize for not updating the past couple of months!! Things have been hectic.

Here we have a sleepy Noel who went into hyperfocus while sorting through some of the info that Maggie provided her with. Lillian also appears to have cut her hair even shorter.

 There’s a 3-page sequence coming up of Lillian adjusting to life at Noel’s place. I am thinking about doing montages/certain parts of the comic in monochrome for the time being, if everyone is okay with that! It would allow me to get through pages faster, because it’s been like 5 years and I feel like things are going slow ;__;

Comic updates should return in February! Thank you for reading ^-^

[the-flipside-comic]

Do you have a link to your comic? I can't find it on your tumblr.

Ahhh I should probably update the blog layout, here's the link to my comic!

https://tapas.io/series/The-Flipside

[the-flipside-comic]

Here’s a quick doodle for Halloween!

okay so I thought of this and thought it was corny but then I actually drew it-

Lillian borrowed Noel’s glasses for about 2 seconds before feeling extremely dizzy and realizing it was not a good idea...

idk if this will ever make it into the comic, but Meredith throws a huge party every year & I could imagine Noel and Lillian pulling off some great costumes together. :D

Have a happy & safe Halloween, everyone!! I’ll probably be playing Phasmophobia with friends! I did a solo round for the first time since the new update and the first ghost I got was The Twins and I left  ✨immediately✨

[the-flipside-comic]

Here’s some sketches I did a while back of what these two might be up to later on in the comic! Towards the end I am thinking of doing a time jump, or some kind of sequence showing what their early 20s are like. For some reason I just keep picturing Lillian as that quiet kid that sits in the back of the lecture hall alone and then later turns into a badass on the volleyball court. I don’t see Noel having an easy start to her career, but knows her friends & family are going to be there for her. One friend, in particular, pitches the idea of Noel starting a cake decorating YouTube series, where she can be as candid (and unfiltered!) as she wants. 

They’re both gonna cut their hair short at some point. Lillian starts experimenting with her appearance outside of the parameters of the Norwood community’s expectations. Noel has been hesitant about cutting her hair because of past trauma.

 I just finished a HUGE game dev project for my professional portfolio!! It’s project I’ve been working on since last November, that took up most of my time, to the point where if I send even one more “graphic design is my passion” meme to my friends they are probably going to kick my ass.

 Now that it’s done, I now have some time to get back into making the comic and update more frequently!! :”D

[Caption because my handwriting is tiny]

Noel, Age 25: Works at a grocery store, Started a cake decorating YouTube Channel, Convinced her Dad to join a dating app, Attends all of Lillian’s volleyball games

Lillian, Age 23: Plays college volleyball, Can’t stop buying plants, Goes running at 6AM Every Morning, Films and edits Noel’s videos