FaD strip: heart-to-art [part 1/2]

this folie a dupe strip is a bit less conventional than usual.
on some level, i wish that i'd not done the effects to the edges of the panels; the comic would have been completely finished by now if not for them. every panel is brushed around the edges by hand with multiple digital brushes in clip studio paint. i'll post the entire comic without the border effect in the second part.

this comic also forced me to try to tighten up drake's dragon design. i just couldn't capture the feel of the first time i drew xem as a dragon. still, it's adequate. you will consequently see xyr face shape change through the comic quite a lot. here are the final sketches i drew for the design:

it was based on this sketch i drew earlier:

the wings are obviously most natural with all of drake's phalanges involved in their anatomy, but in the script of the comic, drake must make a case that xe is sane by demonstrating that the medical transition would not disable xem from participating in vital parts of society, despite drastic changes.
this means that the layout for drake's final design needed to incorporate enough fingers that xe could still use implements. despite my best effort, using pterodactyls as a model did not yield palatable results.

there are a couple of important things that add to a more accurate interpretation of drake's worldview here:

1) the post-transition body that drake is drawn with in this comic is very dissimilar to the body drake has in xyr own mind as xyrs.
when drake refers to not being a dragon, or wanting to be one, this carries both the sentiment that xyr post-transition body is not a real dragon, and the fact that xe wasn't born as a dragon, even if xe could transition to a perfect body, carries philosophical and ontological significance.

2) drake has obsessive compulsive personality disorder. to go over the symptoms:
-a preoccupation with rules, and drastic reluctance (usually including indignation) to bend those rules
-an extreme, polarized moral values - in themselves, a set of rules. most rules will be moralized as a mode of rationalization. much like how there is a most efficient way to complete a task, the morals carry a belief that there is a best answer to morality, and all other ethical structures are therefore wrong
-perfectionism that interferes with completion of goals or tasks - the perfectionism is fueled by the rules, which indicate that you are evil if you break them
-detachment from relationships and hobbies due to a devotion to productivity - again, usually due to moral beliefs that productivity is virtuous
-unwillingness to let go of objects or money, even if they are worthless and even if they have plenty of it, respectively - it is wrong to be wasteful, and a lack of efficiency is also wasteful
-inability to cooperate with others unless others approach tasks exactly the same way
-stubbornness, rigidity, and distress at a perceived loss of control

with that out of the way... only a few other notes of interest.

dupe mentioned that they are supposed to be asleep, implying that they are doing drake a favor by entertaining xyr thoughts. later, dupe mentioned that they were now waiting for a physical therapy appointment for their dog. this challenged the continuity of the conversation, how many times it had been repeated, and implied that they are completely beyond drake's sense of time. as only flavor dialogue largely stated to gently manipulate drake's responses, these were removed for the sake of brevity.

dupe also told drake to be grateful xe isn't jasper, and only explained that jasper is the dragon they made to "get their kicks" from when prompted. same as above - removed to streamline a large comic.

dupe comments that if hell really is only a little vacation to purify the soul before going somewhere better, that they would be leaving drake in hell as well. drake is a manifestation of hatred for the body and a lack of power in existence, which would be incompatible with a purified soul at peace.

dupe words the comment about not being able to change species a little differently and makes it clear that it isn't just a societal limitation, but a limitation of reality. they mention that everyone is this way in their reality and describe their body as a "big, stupid, pink ape" to liken it to a pathetic pink worm.

drake is a staunch atheist canonically, and to get past something xe would probably never concede on, it was basically handwaved away by writing that it had already happened when it never did. drake otherwise needed to act in a way that was completely believable to dupe in the comic.

tangentially, a lot of psychic moderation of drake's emotions were performed through the conversation -- only the snap is very obvious, and a lot of the moments weren't portrayed at all. they were largely executed via a direct stare, pointing at drake or touching with a claw, or just directly stating the change. drake is a very measured (or repressed) character in general, and most of this moderation was only to assuage distress, anger, panic, etc. that drake would feel in this particular situation.

drake is allowed to ask questions both for believability and to build a specific impression of dupe, and xyr relationship to dupe as the one who made xem. it seems like an odd and somewhat superficial exploration of mortal existence through a character, but the second half of this comic swings to dupe ending the game and pressing drake for answers instead. because the thoughts expressed in the second half are a little more unique, i prefer that half, but it might be a while before i can finish coloring all of the panels.