Hi, here is my quick note (as usual now). This episode follows previous episode of the magic challenge and focus on the result one week later. It's the last part of the trilogy. It splits a bit more the relation between Pepper and Saffron. This episode clearly shows now the position of Pepper in regard to the the tactic used by Saffron (and undirectly Spirulina and Camomille) to win the magic challenge.
To compose this story, I worked around the theme of chance, success, effort and merit: how many opportunities did we missed because they did not conformed to our idea of effort? to our idea of merit? Does it make the actions "too obvious/easy path to success" the harder things to spot and grab? It is also a parody of the Deus ex Machina ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina ) in ancient Greek tragedy, and a sweet arc to remotivate our Pepper to go further in her mastery of magic!
Hi, I read it on deviantArt (about adding a warrior boy in the Universe of Pepper&Carrot, if I remember correctly). I receive many ideas and concept; but rarely "stories". In general, if you want to help me and propose story elements in Pepper&Carrot (new character/creatures/magic/etc...) ; it's better to wrap them in a single episode story and propose it here: https://github.com/Deevad/peppercarrot_scenarios
Hey Alex, Thank you !
I don't have any fixed date for next episode 24, I'll try to have something this autumn. Maybe October? The making of an episode usually takes 1,5 month to do mainly because I have pretty heavy constrain with my free and open-sources tools ( eg. no text tool for production in Krita, unstable operating system, huge database of translation hard to maintain ) but also because I like to interact with community during the production and I try my best to produce high quality artworks.
Also, I'm not drawing and painting Pepper&Carrot full time because of money; I never really met the goal I fixed on Patreon; so I prefer to still work for clients, doing Freelance between episodes ( book cover, teaching, conferences, concept art) to keep out of the 'starving artist' area. I hope I'll be able to do full time Pepper&Carrot soon :)
Doing P&C as a part time could be better actually. You are not driven by any deadline like "release one episode every month". Then you can afford release your episode when it meets your quality standards, in other words: "when it is done :)". And I more likely wait a few more weeks instead of having to read comics in some beta stage.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the genious of success." ( I like it a lot )
Most artists good at art but no experience at sales and marketing ( business tasks ).
I'm not an pro artist. ( I can't even draw a circle at good shape).
I researched a lot how to make money by do what i love to do. I found a lot of ( really a lot ) magical success maker , blog post, video tutorial, seminar....blah...blah....
They work in following way....
1. You are the one who want to make living by doing what you love , right? ( I agreed )
2. Currently, You can't make enough money by do what you love , right? ( of course, I can't make a penny)
3. You can make a HUGE amount of money by making what you love. ( Wow....interesting...)
4. Mr.Average Joe already did. I'll prove his testimonial. ( Then he prove Average Joe making money a lot by using his methods)
5.Here is some method to make money by your art. ( do blog, post in dribble/behance, make your art great, do time management, blah ....blah...)
6. Do you wanna know more the magical way to make money by your art?
*BUY MY COURSE.* at 999999.9999$
-----------------------
There are very few good blogs but most of them don't work.
-----------------------
Artists are different then normal people. They making money in very different way then normal business.
I do sample photoshop. That's all I can do. I want money ( a bit ). I learnt to sell. I sell my photoshop effects to Advertising company. I got a little bit amount of money. My photoshop effects are look good but not useful in most case. Business man don't buy art, they buy something that will help them.
They buy art when art help them. My creepy photoshop effects help my client's product to get more notice by his customers.
--------------
I saw a lot of woman selling adult content on Patron. I shocked when i saw them.
I don't know Patron before PepperCarrot. I thought Patron is for creative people who wanna make some money by their creative staff. But.......I was wrong....most of them don't make money in good way.
---------------------
Marvel & DC making a lot of money by producing same movies. They also agree they are not making art , they are making money. What about La La Land?
------------------
I agree to David Revoy. There is no magical way to success. Work smart, work hard. You will success one day. No shortcut.
Great story, David! The ending is funny and thought provoking at the same time.
I think there must be a catch to that wish from the Genie of Success. The line, "Limited to available stock" meant that only a certain number of people (and animals) can wish for the "success" marketed by the genie. The clause "Excluding weekends and public holidays" felt suspicious to me too. Does that mean whatever you wish from the genie won't work on those rest days?
I feel the Celebrity poster of Ms. Pigeon's "Faced Paced Life" is a critique on what it takes to be successful in this modern age. Many of us seem to glorify this kind of busyness all in the name of money-making. It doesn't help that society and media feeds us with limited notions of what success means (fashion, fame, instant gratification, get-rich-quick schemes, etc.).
In any case, Ms. Pigeon looks funny rather than fashionable to me. She's not someone I would look up to as a role model, seeing as she made her wish out of jealousy and a desire to get ahead from the other pigeons.
I bet there are very, very tiny printed (and outrageous) terms and conditions somewhere on that contract that have to be examined thoroughly with a magical microscope!
For the list:
- Saffron → Magmah
- Coriander → Zombiah
- Camomille → Hippiah
- Spirulina → Aquah
- Shichimi → Ah
You can find more info about the magic system, and the characters in the menu of the website "Wiki".
I've binged your comic series today. I'm in love with your skill as an artist and story telling. I've picked up digital art recently and you're a great inspiration. I hope to able to support your art one day.
Hi Hajar,
I'll give news soon for my patrons 'heroes' about episode 24, it takes me time because I'm managing a lot of activities in this autumn 2017.
Big and fun side-projects. It will be a surprise. Be patient ;-)
Hey, I went back and started rereading some of the comics and noticed that Pepper was really short in he beginning, almost as if around 10yrs old. In the current last one out, Pepper looks about the average hight of a teen. I want to know, am I looking too far into this? How much time has passed (in Pepper's world) since the beginning and right now?
Hi Alex,
Good question, thank you.
Yes, in episode 1, she still even has her 'Hippiah' dress ; so it's right after getting adopted by the witches of Chaosah. She is around 8 to 10 years-old. At the start she has 13 y/o and turn 14 at the birthday party. In recent episode she is almost 15.
This episode could be that much more powerful, if not the fact that:
1:Pepper had already won the previous contest, with the SAME amount of cash prize (50,000KO!)
2:She does not seem to be financially unstable, and looks to be getting along alright. As far as food or basic necessity concerned.
At this point, she shouldn't have to feel THIS down (She broke down and crying). It kinda make her seem like a... spoiled child just because she cant win this time round, or being hypocritical on criticizing Saffron of her "tactics" (She doesn't actually win by skill last time.)
Now, if she has lost or disqualified on the last contest, or there's a reason that she desperately need that money, we could at least empathize with her better.
Forgive me if this seems negative, but it just nags at me the whole time to see Pepper sulk like that. She might not have won this contest. Yes, her friend use an underhand tactics to win. But she accomplished so much wondrous feat during the past episode!
Story aside, your art, as always:C'est magnifique!
That's a lot of fair points Sergei ; thanks for sharing them. True, Pepper is a spoiled child and it's probably harder and harder for me to manage her anti-heros side after so much micro victories in her recent past. I hope I'll keep surprise for next episodes , feel free to always express your full point of view here ; feedback helps me to get a large picture and take distance with the story. It's very precious :)
Wow, very precise indeed. I did not realize anything like that until I had read your post.
The "spoiled child" + teenage girl age might be truly an explanation for it :)
1) Saffron doesn't need the money. She's already successful and living in the poshest part of Komona. Pepper however has no visible means of support and could use that money.
2) Eight Pumpkin Stars = 60 Ko. One pumpkin star is around 7 Ko. So unless Pumpkin Stars are really expensive (which they might be) that's likely around $10 - $20 USD for eight of them. So figure that her winnings of 50,000 Ko are likely around $5,000 - $10,000 USD. That's not a whole lot of money to tide her over between contests.
3) The potion contests are also about prestige for the school. That she wasn't able to compete in the competition meant that Chaosah couldn't demonstrate their skills. Pepper hasn't been able to show what she's learned yet in a public forum. So to the rest of the world she's just a lucky hick from Squirrel's End who hangs out with some evil witches.
It's not about the money, so much as it's about the recognition that seems to elude her. Pepper isn't as motivated about money (Saffron is); she's motivated about being the best witch she can. And this latest contest showed her that noteriety is not something that's earned, it's something that happens to people who are lucky or somehow game the system.
And Pepper doesn't like that game so she's trying to change it as best she can. :)
Recognition and Prestige!! Thank you for pointing that aspect out... Arghh... How did I not realize THAT before?! Now I can fully empathize with her situation :D
The only thing I wanted to see now is someone to go up to her, show her all the previous episode and say: "Uhh Pepper? See all the wonderful things you've done on your adventures before? Don't feel this down, cheer up!" XD
@David Revoy
My apologies, David. Calling Pepper a "spoiled child" might be too strongly a word. There are other, better words to describe her attitude, it was the only word that first came to my mind when I read this episode.
In the end, you are more familiar about your own characters and story to come in the future, far than I will ever do, and you might have already planned something awesome to offset Pepper's failure. And that, I am excited to see ;)
Thank you Craig & David, for taking the time to read and reply to my comment! Cheers to you both!
P.S: In hindsight though, Corriander and Shichimi never gets lucky with the contest, I'm sure they are both decent magician, but circumstances always let others win. And I find that hilarious XD
I can't say what's in store for Pepper but she may very well get that sort of recognition sooner than later.
And in some ways she is a spoiled child. She's still learning what it means to be a responsible adult. She's also learning what her role as a Witch of Chaosah is, and how she can help form that. It's a huge responsibility and I'm sure she will still throw fits and tantrums along the way. And her godmothers are going to be very cross with her when she does and will try to discipline her as best they can. That's how children grow.
Seeing Saffron's face all over the place can be a huge self-confidence destroyer. Pepper constantly gets told by the Chaosah Witches that she isn't measuring up to their expectations so going to Komona and seeing Saffron's face everywhere is just another dagger in Pepper's self-confidence.
It doesn't have to make logical sense: She's a young girl who know that she's being denied the glory that she feels Saffron got wrongfully.
Who knows? Perhaps Pepper's photo was up in Komona for a hot minute for the potion contest and Saffron felt the same way about it being an undeserved win? :)
Thank you Craig Maloney , you wrote good point too about this thread. True, Pepper as a "spoiled child" can't explain everything; and your answer help me to connect to Pepper again even more : she is of course very driven by recognition.
HD
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Hi, here is my quick note (as usual now). This episode follows previous episode of the magic challenge and focus on the result one week later. It's the last part of the trilogy. It splits a bit more the relation between Pepper and Saffron. This episode clearly shows now the position of Pepper in regard to the the tactic used by Saffron (and undirectly Spirulina and Camomille) to win the magic challenge.
To compose this story, I worked around the theme of chance, success, effort and merit: how many opportunities did we missed because they did not conformed to our idea of effort? to our idea of merit? Does it make the actions "too obvious/easy path to success" the harder things to spot and grab? It is also a parody of the Deus ex Machina ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina ) in ancient Greek tragedy, and a sweet arc to remotivate our Pepper to go further in her mastery of magic!
Did you see my earlier comment and what did you think of it?
Hi, I read it on deviantArt (about adding a warrior boy in the Universe of Pepper&Carrot, if I remember correctly). I receive many ideas and concept; but rarely "stories". In general, if you want to help me and propose story elements in Pepper&Carrot (new character/creatures/magic/etc...) ; it's better to wrap them in a single episode story and propose it here: https://github.com/Deevad/peppercarrot_scenarios
Hey David, any idea when the next episode might be out? I really love these.
Hey Alex, Thank you !
I don't have any fixed date for next episode 24, I'll try to have something this autumn. Maybe October? The making of an episode usually takes 1,5 month to do mainly because I have pretty heavy constrain with my free and open-sources tools ( eg. no text tool for production in Krita, unstable operating system, huge database of translation hard to maintain ) but also because I like to interact with community during the production and I try my best to produce high quality artworks.
Also, I'm not drawing and painting Pepper&Carrot full time because of money; I never really met the goal I fixed on Patreon; so I prefer to still work for clients, doing Freelance between episodes ( book cover, teaching, conferences, concept art) to keep out of the 'starving artist' area. I hope I'll be able to do full time Pepper&Carrot soon :)
Doing P&C as a part time could be better actually. You are not driven by any deadline like "release one episode every month". Then you can afford release your episode when it meets your quality standards, in other words: "when it is done :)". And I more likely wait a few more weeks instead of having to read comics in some beta stage.
True Hagus! I also like to keep experiences outside of doing only the comic. It's good food for inspiration. Thank you for your encouraging words!
Ahhh... finally its up! :)
Honk :o)
AnOtHeR mIrAcLe StRiKeS aGaIn :o)
Well done, good job! :D Longue vie à Madame Pigeon :P
👏👏👏👍
its awesome! i love the way you painted the rain and water! i see your awesome rain brush!!!
Beautiful: simply beautiful; I love the way you showed her not giving into temptation even though it was the worst time for her...BEAUTIFUL !!!
Ever so beautiful, David ! That drawing of Pepper crying in the rain is really amazing. Keep up the good work, l'ami. La bise.
Haha, j'aime beaucoup le design du génie
Really feeling this right now. Love the artwork and the story. :)
Bravo Clap-clap beau travail.....sourire assuré.....offre cumulable sans limite de stock! :-) j'aime.Bisous Dad (clap-clap)
Nice episode! Also funny to see Pepper showing some serious genre savvyness <3
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the genious of success." ( I like it a lot )
Most artists good at art but no experience at sales and marketing ( business tasks ).
I'm not an pro artist. ( I can't even draw a circle at good shape).
I researched a lot how to make money by do what i love to do. I found a lot of ( really a lot ) magical success maker , blog post, video tutorial, seminar....blah...blah....
They work in following way....
1. You are the one who want to make living by doing what you love , right? ( I agreed )
2. Currently, You can't make enough money by do what you love , right? ( of course, I can't make a penny)
3. You can make a HUGE amount of money by making what you love. ( Wow....interesting...)
4. Mr.Average Joe already did. I'll prove his testimonial. ( Then he prove Average Joe making money a lot by using his methods)
5.Here is some method to make money by your art. ( do blog, post in dribble/behance, make your art great, do time management, blah ....blah...)
6. Do you wanna know more the magical way to make money by your art?
*BUY MY COURSE.* at 999999.9999$
-----------------------
There are very few good blogs but most of them don't work.
-----------------------
Artists are different then normal people. They making money in very different way then normal business.
I do sample photoshop. That's all I can do. I want money ( a bit ). I learnt to sell. I sell my photoshop effects to Advertising company. I got a little bit amount of money. My photoshop effects are look good but not useful in most case. Business man don't buy art, they buy something that will help them.
They buy art when art help them. My creepy photoshop effects help my client's product to get more notice by his customers.
--------------
I saw a lot of woman selling adult content on Patron. I shocked when i saw them.
I don't know Patron before PepperCarrot. I thought Patron is for creative people who wanna make some money by their creative staff. But.......I was wrong....most of them don't make money in good way.
---------------------
Marvel & DC making a lot of money by producing same movies. They also agree they are not making art , they are making money. What about La La Land?
------------------
I agree to David Revoy. There is no magical way to success. Work smart, work hard. You will success one day. No shortcut.
Great story, David! The ending is funny and thought provoking at the same time.
I think there must be a catch to that wish from the Genie of Success. The line, "Limited to available stock" meant that only a certain number of people (and animals) can wish for the "success" marketed by the genie. The clause "Excluding weekends and public holidays" felt suspicious to me too. Does that mean whatever you wish from the genie won't work on those rest days?
I feel the Celebrity poster of Ms. Pigeon's "Faced Paced Life" is a critique on what it takes to be successful in this modern age. Many of us seem to glorify this kind of busyness all in the name of money-making. It doesn't help that society and media feeds us with limited notions of what success means (fashion, fame, instant gratification, get-rich-quick schemes, etc.).
In any case, Ms. Pigeon looks funny rather than fashionable to me. She's not someone I would look up to as a role model, seeing as she made her wish out of jealousy and a desire to get ahead from the other pigeons.
"excluding weekends and public holidays..."
lol
"what's up with this deus ex machina?!"
lol
maybe if she signs the contract she would become an magic girl?
(i hope you get the reference)
this end was funny too.
btw, one question, pepper will ever get older?
Great job as always! I love the way your comics are always so meaningful and visually stunning. Keep up the great work! :)
This is one of the best articles I have come across. Keep up the good work.
I bet there are very, very tiny printed (and outrageous) terms and conditions somewhere on that contract that have to be examined thoroughly with a magical microscope!
Can these comics be considered a fandom yet?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fandom ? No idea :) I guess it's something up to fans to decide.
I know how Pepper is a student/witch of Chaosah, but what are her friends and Saffron students of?
For the list:
- Saffron → Magmah
- Coriander → Zombiah
- Camomille → Hippiah
- Spirulina → Aquah
- Shichimi → Ah
You can find more info about the magic system, and the characters in the menu of the website "Wiki".
Thanks
Dear Deevad,
I've binged your comic series today. I'm in love with your skill as an artist and story telling. I've picked up digital art recently and you're a great inspiration. I hope to able to support your art one day.
Thank you for the comment, and good luck in your training as a digital artist!
Any news for episode 24 ???
Is it going to be out soon ??
Hi Hajar,
I'll give news soon for my patrons 'heroes' about episode 24, it takes me time because I'm managing a lot of activities in this autumn 2017.
Big and fun side-projects. It will be a surprise. Be patient ;-)
Hey, I went back and started rereading some of the comics and noticed that Pepper was really short in he beginning, almost as if around 10yrs old. In the current last one out, Pepper looks about the average hight of a teen. I want to know, am I looking too far into this? How much time has passed (in Pepper's world) since the beginning and right now?
Hi Alex,
Good question, thank you.
Yes, in episode 1, she still even has her 'Hippiah' dress ; so it's right after getting adopted by the witches of Chaosah. She is around 8 to 10 years-old. At the start she has 13 y/o and turn 14 at the birthday party. In recent episode she is almost 15.
Haha, this is cute. Nice work, made my day :)
This was a charming episode. You are very talented.
This episode could be that much more powerful, if not the fact that:
1:Pepper had already won the previous contest, with the SAME amount of cash prize (50,000KO!)
2:She does not seem to be financially unstable, and looks to be getting along alright. As far as food or basic necessity concerned.
At this point, she shouldn't have to feel THIS down (She broke down and crying). It kinda make her seem like a... spoiled child just because she cant win this time round, or being hypocritical on criticizing Saffron of her "tactics" (She doesn't actually win by skill last time.)
Now, if she has lost or disqualified on the last contest, or there's a reason that she desperately need that money, we could at least empathize with her better.
Forgive me if this seems negative, but it just nags at me the whole time to see Pepper sulk like that. She might not have won this contest. Yes, her friend use an underhand tactics to win. But she accomplished so much wondrous feat during the past episode!
Story aside, your art, as always:C'est magnifique!
That's a lot of fair points Sergei ; thanks for sharing them. True, Pepper is a spoiled child and it's probably harder and harder for me to manage her anti-heros side after so much micro victories in her recent past. I hope I'll keep surprise for next episodes , feel free to always express your full point of view here ; feedback helps me to get a large picture and take distance with the story. It's very precious :)
Wow, very precise indeed. I did not realize anything like that until I had read your post.
The "spoiled child" + teenage girl age might be truly an explanation for it :)
I'd like to address the points brought up:
1) Saffron doesn't need the money. She's already successful and living in the poshest part of Komona. Pepper however has no visible means of support and could use that money.
2) Eight Pumpkin Stars = 60 Ko. One pumpkin star is around 7 Ko. So unless Pumpkin Stars are really expensive (which they might be) that's likely around $10 - $20 USD for eight of them. So figure that her winnings of 50,000 Ko are likely around $5,000 - $10,000 USD. That's not a whole lot of money to tide her over between contests.
3) The potion contests are also about prestige for the school. That she wasn't able to compete in the competition meant that Chaosah couldn't demonstrate their skills. Pepper hasn't been able to show what she's learned yet in a public forum. So to the rest of the world she's just a lucky hick from Squirrel's End who hangs out with some evil witches.
It's not about the money, so much as it's about the recognition that seems to elude her. Pepper isn't as motivated about money (Saffron is); she's motivated about being the best witch she can. And this latest contest showed her that noteriety is not something that's earned, it's something that happens to people who are lucky or somehow game the system.
And Pepper doesn't like that game so she's trying to change it as best she can. :)
Recognition and Prestige!! Thank you for pointing that aspect out... Arghh... How did I not realize THAT before?! Now I can fully empathize with her situation :D
The only thing I wanted to see now is someone to go up to her, show her all the previous episode and say: "Uhh Pepper? See all the wonderful things you've done on your adventures before? Don't feel this down, cheer up!" XD
@David Revoy
My apologies, David. Calling Pepper a "spoiled child" might be too strongly a word. There are other, better words to describe her attitude, it was the only word that first came to my mind when I read this episode.
In the end, you are more familiar about your own characters and story to come in the future, far than I will ever do, and you might have already planned something awesome to offset Pepper's failure. And that, I am excited to see ;)
Thank you Craig & David, for taking the time to read and reply to my comment! Cheers to you both!
P.S: In hindsight though, Corriander and Shichimi never gets lucky with the contest, I'm sure they are both decent magician, but circumstances always let others win. And I find that hilarious XD
I can't say what's in store for Pepper but she may very well get that sort of recognition sooner than later.
And in some ways she is a spoiled child. She's still learning what it means to be a responsible adult. She's also learning what her role as a Witch of Chaosah is, and how she can help form that. It's a huge responsibility and I'm sure she will still throw fits and tantrums along the way. And her godmothers are going to be very cross with her when she does and will try to discipline her as best they can. That's how children grow.
Another point:
Seeing Saffron's face all over the place can be a huge self-confidence destroyer. Pepper constantly gets told by the Chaosah Witches that she isn't measuring up to their expectations so going to Komona and seeing Saffron's face everywhere is just another dagger in Pepper's self-confidence.
It doesn't have to make logical sense: She's a young girl who know that she's being denied the glory that she feels Saffron got wrongfully.
Who knows? Perhaps Pepper's photo was up in Komona for a hot minute for the potion contest and Saffron felt the same way about it being an undeserved win? :)
Thank you Craig Maloney , you wrote good point too about this thread. True, Pepper as a "spoiled child" can't explain everything; and your answer help me to connect to Pepper again even more : she is of course very driven by recognition.
Lord knows she doesn't get recognition much at home. She's constantly trying to prove herself. :)
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