They Come From the Oddest Places...

Ideas. Sometimes, they spring out of nowhere, just spawning in some back corner of your brain when you least expect it. Sometimes, they naturally evolve out of the story line, a matter of natural progression. And sometimes they are a product of the art itself.

That would be where Chapter 3 of Strawberry Syrup came from. Waaay back in Chapter 1, Hunter needed to save the damsel in distress from Sammy, our young half-vampire extraordinaire. Of course, this all needed to take place in an actual setting of some sort. Since Sammy was luring young Tracy in with a study date, I figured the library would be the logical choice.

Boy, did I not think that one through.

Libraries are huge, giant, enormous warehouses of lines. Lots of lines. Lines for the shelves, lines for the tables, lines in perspective, and most importantly, lines for the books. All in all... a lot of lines.

Witness all the lines. I'm not kidding about that week.

As the pages went on and I drew more and more shelves full of books, I developed a deep, abiding hatred for the Arcadia Sanguis High School Library. I never wanted to look at a library again, let alone draw it. Fortunately, Koni thought of a way for me to get my revenge.

We decided to burn it.

All we needed was a how and a reason why, and suddenly we had an inept wizard in training and candle mishaps and all the fun of everything else that happens in Chapter 3. All from just a strong dislike of having to draw the library. And let me tell you, it was a heck of a lot of fun to watch that sucker burn.

So, it just goes to prove that ideas can come from anywhere. You just have to pay attention.