"We have decided to open a comic studio. What do you think?"
"It's good. Such a big garden is half empty. Firstly, it's a waste, and secondly, it's a bit deserted."
"It's just that you will have more work in the future."
"That's not a problem, leave it all to me."
"I think I should find you a helper?"
"No, no, I can do it alone."
"Uncle, it's better to find someone else. It's too hard for you alone. After the studio opens, you have to be on duty during the day, and then the children come at night and you can't stay idle."
Lao Li was stunned. Zhang Tan hadn't called him uncle for a long, long time.
I often shouted this when I was a child, but as I grew older, it gradually stopped.
He was touched in his heart. After a moment of pause, he took the lead and said, "Okay, I'll do whatever you want."
Zhang Tan: "Do you have anyone to recommend? It's best if it's someone from our village, everyone knows everything about it."
Lao Li said he would think about it and write it down.
Zhang Tan took out the key and opened another three-story red brick building in Hexiaohongma Academy. A musty smell hit his nose, and the choking flying dust was sucked into his nose. Zhang Tan sneezed twice.
He and Lao Li quickly took a few steps back and waited for nearly a minute before entering the house.
Lao Li said: "It has been unused for too long. This building is only cleaned once a month. During this period, it often rains and there is little sunshine, so the musty smell is so strong."
The room was dark, so Zhang Tan turned on his phone and used the flashlight function to find the light switch.
Da~~
Da da~~
I pressed the switch, but the light bulb didn't light up.
"The light seems to be broken." Zhang Tan said.
After trying a few times, I determined that it was not the bulb that was broken, but the wire that was broken somewhere.
"Come back during the day, it's not easy now."
The two of them exited, and Zhang Tan looked up at the building. The structure and style were exactly the same as the one already in use. If it wasn't used anymore, it might turn into a haunted house.
The next day, Zhang Tan found a decoration company and spent three days renovating the inside. Of course, this was not enough. There were also decorations, furniture purchases, etc.
Zhang Tan didn't have much time to do this, but fortunately Xin Xiaoguang took the initiative to take over these tasks. He took two other cartoonists and worked hard, and it took another three days to finally organize the building.
The office space was set up, and the studio Zhang Tan was also registered. It was called Little Red Horse Comics Studio. The logo was the same as the logo of Zhang Tan, a galloping little red horse.
"This place is really a good place. It is next to West Chang'an Street and is hidden away from the city."
"I never thought there would be such a place on West Chang'an Street. How could such a good place be left in this area? Aren't developers rushing to take over it?"
…
On this day, all the staff of the studio were in place. Many people came in for the first time and looked around curiously.
"?Is it right next to it? What is it for?"
"There is also a kindergarten?"
Zhang Tan clapped his hands and said: "Everyone, please be quiet. Let me introduce to you first. Our place is next to West Chang'an Street. The CBD and bars are nearby, which is very convenient. But as you have also seen, this is a building."
"What is it? It is an academy that is only open at night, not a kindergarten. It is prepared for families who have to work at night and have no one to take care of their children at home. Basically, the children will come after you get off work, which happens to be staggered.
"
"But regardless of whether it is a mistake or not, I have made three rules..."
There are three rules of thumb. In short, you can't disturb the children here.
There are a total of 8 people in the studio. On the first day of work, we held a small meeting to finalize the recent work.
The most important thing at the moment is to launch "Coco".
Because there were not many people in the group, and it was our first time, we all worked together to create this comic. After getting to know each other, and letting Zhang Tan understand everyone’s abilities, we would see if we could start multiple comics at the same time.
projects.
Zhang Tan won't be here to watch every day, so the daily operation of the studio is left to Xin Xiaoguang.
Zhang Tan knows that the studio is still far from perfect, and there is still a lot to do, but the top priority is to get the studio up and running first and improve as it goes.
Only by doing it can you know where the problems are and how to correct them.
"Boss, we have some ideas for "Coco"." Xin Xiaoguang found Zhang Tan.
"OK."
Zhang Tan called everyone together to talk about their thoughts on this "groundbreaking work".
Everyone is talking about it and everyone has many ideas.
Zhang Tan relied on the script of this comic to attract everyone to join him in the first place, so everyone has been studying this work for a long time, and their ideas are running out.
"I think the worldview in the story should be based on Chinese civilization, and the story should be told while promoting Chinese culture, so that everyone can feel more involved."
The speaker was a beautiful female cartoonist named Wu Shiying.
Zhang Tan didn't need to ask, someone asked what he wanted to ask: "Then you want to use the July Half Ghost Festival as an entry point?"
Wu Shiying's eyes lit up and she nodded: "Yes, half of July is the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell are wide open, relatives, sacrifices, memories, nostalgia, love... all the elements needed in the story can be found in this traditional festival.
Very touching.”
She looked at Zhang Tan with burning eyes, waiting for his statement.
Wu Shiying's resume immediately came to Zhang Tan's mind. She was a well-known cartoonist who had serialized two works and was on the rise in her career.
Her painting style combines feminine delicacy and gentleness with unbridled imagination. Even in the second work, Zhang Tan saw some horror elements and styles.
The reason why Wu Shiying was willing to give up her rising personal career and join Zhang Tan's studio was, of course, not because he was handsome, but because the comics Zhang Tan wanted to create were completely different from most of the ones on the market, but they were exactly the same.
The kind of comics she wanted to draw but had no inspiration for.
"Coco" is very different from the popular comics currently on the market. Not only is the style different, but the story is also different.
The difference between them is like "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" and "Dou Po".
Comics on the market are similar to popular online articles, pursuing the ultimate in excitement, quick slaps in the face, and reversals.
Their selling point is fun.
But "Coco" doesn't have a show-off plot, which completely doesn't meet the needs of Shuang's plot.
In Wu Shiying's view, emotional catharsis is the essence of a comic story and what the author should pursue, including changes in emotions such as happiness, sadness, love, hatred, letting go, etc.
To single out "shuang" is too narrow-minded.
The core selling point of "Coco" is the catharsis of emotions. Its theme is not "cool", but love, memory and cherishment.
This was what impressed Wu Shiying the most, and was also the biggest motivation for her to decide to work with Zhang Tan.
Now, she was focusing on another issue, whether Zhang Tan could listen to her suggestions.
In her eyes, Zhang Tan smiled and said: "Your proposal is good. I agree in principle, but I need you to explain your thoughts in detail, because you also know that if the background world changes, many other contents will also need to be changed.
.”
Wu Shiying smiled happily and said, "Okay, then I'll give you ten minutes to share my thoughts."
Zhang Tan does not reject everyone's ideas. In fact, he has been thinking about how to make "Coco" more consistent with the world, which requires everyone to brainstorm.