Sequential Latin Homepage

Cover Commentary

- front-piece – reflections: Secunda and discovering style – reflections: Secunda’s Day Off and discovering design

In many ways, Secunda is the beginning of the Sequential Latin web comics. Although in my mind Lucius, Secunda’s brother and the main character of “Cosmos Incendens,” was always a central hero for the project, Secunda was the first character I really began to develop design wise and personality wise.

Some sketches of Secunda

I knew who I wanted her to be very early on: a strong-willed and stubborn girl, brave and self-assured, yet not a tom-boy. No, although she is not afraid of spiders, she is not ashamed that she loves her dolls. She has a strong sense of duty, as a Roman female, to one day marry and become a Materfamilias; unlike her brother, she is not at odds with her society and the role it intends for her, but instead finds self-fulfillment and honor in perfecting it. This is who Secunda was from day one of the project. As far as what she looked like, that is a different story.

Very first sketch of Secunda

Although Secunda’s personality has not changed much from the beginning of the project, her visual design has changed tremendously. In fact, every change in her design also marked a change in the design of both web comics. Secunda, because she was so prevalent in the first issue (of what was originally one single web comic) was the “guinea pig” as I tried out different styles for the comics. In the beginning, I was not confident in my artistic abilities and chose to go with a simple cartoon style (not to pass any judgement on the artistic merits of cartoons, for, as you will see, they proved to be more difficult for me...). I was never quite happy with this style; I couldn’t visualize the comic in my mind’s eye in this style. I think, looking back, that this is probably because it was not my style.

Secunda and Discovering Style

Every artist has a style. Discovering this style can take years, I hear; perfecting it can be a life long pursuit. When I started this project, I was not so much concerned with discovering my own style, as with finding the simplest and easiest, but still aesthetically pleasing style. I can’t really blame myself: the thought of illustrating an entire comic was daunting. All that drawing and inking would take so much time! I wanted to make sure I could put out quality work in a timely manner. So I went with it. I was determined to use a very stylized, very cartoon-ish look.

Various Secundas. Click to view

I tried numerous variations of the cartoon style for Secunda. I finally settled with one and began drawing the comic. I finished a rough draft of the entire first issue, and got about half way through inking when I had a crisis: I didn’t like the look at all. Interestingly, one of the things I liked least about the cartoon style was how awkward it was trying to draw perspective. All my action scenes seemed flat and uninteresting. Turns out, although the style was “simpler,” rendering action and perspective was much more difficult for me. I have a new respect for even the seemingly most “simple” of styles, and learned that “simple” and “complex” are not synonyms for “easy” and “difficult.”

Several characters’ style changes.
Click to view

Of course, at the time, I wasn’t really aware of this issue. It was only when I finally decided to go with a more life-like approach, with more realistic proportions, that suddenly perspective and action were actually easier for me to render! I’m not sure that this reflects an intrinsic difficulty for cartoons, but it certainly reflects how my mind’s eye envisions my character’s and stories. This is when I started to discover my own style, and drawing my characters became much easier and more enjoyable. So I started the first issue over again. The discovery was not over, however: I still needed to learn composition and design in the comics medium, and much of this first issue was me learning how to “do” comics.

Scetching a panel from page 1

Original version of page 2

Secunda’s Day Off and Discovering Design

Going back a bit: “Secunda’s Day Off” is my first comic. Going into it, I had no idea what went into making a comic. I started with research: gathered books and articles, bought lots of comics, and read, read, read. Funny thing is, I have no patience, so while I had only just begun researching the comics craft, I was already eagerly designing my first comic. It’s not only my patience though, doing research is when I have some of my best ideas (besides when I’m trying to sleep...) I went for it. I won’t say I was winging it: I was doing my research, but I definitely was learning as I was going.

“Thumbnail” of a later page

What intrigued me most about the comics craft was page composition. You will see, as we get further into “Secunda’s Day Off,” that there are many places where I really tested my compositional limits. While I had settled for an art style that was more realistic, I had so much fun not following the rules of reality in my compositions: warping perspectives, altering space for emphasis, breaking through panel borders... Of course, I’m no revolutionary. These are all thing that have been done many times before by many artists. I simply enjoy finding ways of depicting events and interactions that are not the strictly representational design that my amateur artistic mind is first inclined towards. You will see in future releases that I took some of these techniques perhaps too far on some of the pages’ compositions., but my defense is that this is the comic where I learned composition, and I learned in part by pushing my limits.

By the time I was done with this issue I had a decent sense of my own style, what I could do, and what I enjoyed doing, as well as how to compose a panel and a page. I was ready to move on to what is now “Cosmos Incendens” and what was then simply the next issue in the same web comic. With all the drawing and inking done for “Secunda’s Day Off” there was only one more step: color.

An Inconceivable Offer

Early into the process of making my comic, a certain dilemma troubled me: how was I going to color the comic? I’m no good at coloring. I figured the comics could just be black and white if I found no solution, so I put the problem aside and ignored it. Work continued... then it happened: I received an offer so gracious and so overwhelming I could hardly believe it: my brother, the ineffably talented artist Dusty Ray, offered to color the comics for me and for free, all out of the blue! Did I have a choice? Are you kidding!? Seriously, go check out his art.

Instagram etsy facebook

Of course I accepted the offer and the final piece of the web comic puzzle was in place! I am really proud to be working with this man, and the work he has done on this comic is absolutely beautiful. I simply cannot wait to see what is to come.

Anyway, I truly hope you enjoy the comic. If you made it this far, thank you for reading! Don’t forget to share, like, and leave a comment above. I am really interested in what you thought. If you’d like, you can get in touch with me directly with the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Di te incolumes custodiant!

Page 1 Commentary

- bene māne – māne – Roman Names –

bene māne

Bene is the adverbial form of the adjective bonus –a –um: “good”, hence it often means “well,” as in bene dīcere: “to speak well or correctly” or bene sum: “I’m O.K.” One might expect the phrase bene māne to mean “good morning,” but in this instance, bene does not mean “well” but instead has its other meaning: “thoroughly, very, quite.” So bene māne actually means “thoroughly in the morning” or more colloquially “early in the morning.”

māne

Māne: “morning” is a special Latin noun because it does not change forms, id est, it does not decline. Māne will always appear as māne whether it is the subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, et cetera...

māne est : it is morning
usque ad māne : until morning
carpe māne : seize the morning

Māne is also an adverb meaning “in the morning.” In phrases like bene māne, māne is acting as an adverb: “early in the morning.” In English, we don’t always include the “in the” part in such phrases:

crās māne : tomorrow (in the) morning
herī māne : yesterday (in the) morning
hodiē māne : today in the morning/this morning

Roman Names

Roman naming conventions changed throughout Rome’s long history. Around the time of Secunda’s Day Off, a three name (tria nōmina) structure was popular for men. This three name structure consisted of a praenōmen (first name), nōmen (family or clan name) and the cognōmen (one or more names referring to a personal characteristic, sort of a nick name). Sometimes, a man’s tribus (tribe) might also be included. So Marcus Tullius Cicero is Marcus or the clan Tullius Cicero (chickpea).

A man’s name was an important part of his identity. His name revealed his ancestry and who he was related to, and thus could reveal important facts about his social standing.

“In fact, make it very clear that you do know men’s names, and add to the list so that every day you become even better at this.”
–Quintus Tullius Cicero, from Some Thoughts about Political Campaigns

Women’s naming conventions were much different. From early on in Rome’s history, a woman was typically given only one name, a feminine form of her father’s nōmen. Eventually it became customary to also include a feminine form of her father’s cognōmen as well. This created a problem when a father had more than one daughter: they would all have the same name! To help distinguish between sisters, terms like māior: “elder,” and minor: “younger” would be used, as well as numerals such as prīma: “first,” secunda: “second,” tertia: “third,” et cetera...

Secunda, therefore, is the second daughter of her father. Her father’s name is Spurius Genucius Augurinus, therefore her full name is Genucia Augurina Secunda, but she usually just goes by Secunda.

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 2 Commentary

- tempus surgere – Litterator

tempus surgere: the Roman day begins

For the average Roman, young or old, the tempus surgere: “time to rise,” was at the crack of dawn, with the sun. As the sun’s light would first illuminate the sky, the streets would begin to fill with people beginning their daily routines. Quickly, the noise of a bustling city of some 1 million people would take over. We can imagine that only the most resilient of sleepers, or those wealthy enough to keep their beds far from this sound’s reach, would still be able to sleep past this point.

“Spurius, there is no place in the city where a poor man may have a quiet moment for thought... You know nothing of these things, nor can you ever know, you who enjoy the luxury of a mansion, you whose home looks down on the hilltops... You enjoy deep sleep and a stillness disturbed by no voices... But I am awakened by the laughter of the passing crowd, and all of Rome, it seems, stands near by bed.”
- Martial, Epigrams

litterator: Roman education

“They must free themselves from the prison of general education and politics.”
-The Vatican Collection of Epicurean Sayings

Boys and girls of wealthy Roman families would attend a sort of elementary school called the lūdus litterārius from around the age of seven. School began at sunrise and was often located just off the street, with only a hanging sheet to separate the students from the noise of the city. Sometimes, lucky students would attend class in a rented out shop, putting at least a wall between the learning and the sounds of city life. Here, an instructor called the litterātor would teach the children reading, writing and basic arithmetic. The children of very wealthy parents might also have a personal paidagogus, who would teach then Greek, a very classy language that any cultured Roman noble ought to know.

“...Chrysippus says that general education is very useful.”
-Diogenes Laertius

From the age of twelve, girls like Secunda were done with their formal education and began preparations for marriage. Boys, on the other hand, went on to learn Latin and Greek literature for several years, then finished their education with rhetoric, in preparation for a life of politics.

This all, of course, only applies to the children of wealthy Romans. Children of the common people often worked from a very young age and were lucky to receive any education in reading, writing and arithmetic beyond what was practical for everyday life.

“I didn’t learn geometry and literary criticism and useless nonsense like that. I learned how to read the letters on public inscriptions. I learned how to divide things into hundreds and work out percentages, and I know weights, measures, and currency.”
–Petronius, Satyricon

Slave children might be educated depending on their master’s intended use for them. They could be trained as scribes, for instance, in which case they might actually be more literate than their masters.

It is safe to say that most Roman children didn't have the luxury of the sort of education Secunda is on her way to get today. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that literacy was not restricted to the wealthy, and reading, writing and proper use language were certainly an important part of society for all walks of life in Ancient Rome.

“Indeed, the mistress of all, as you call it, is the power of eloquence--how wonderful and divine it is! First, it enables us to learn what we do not know and to teach others what we do know; next, we use it to exhort and persuade, to comfort the unfortunate and to distract the timid from their fears, to calm those who are passionate and dampen their desires and anger; it is the bond which unites us in law, legislation and civil society; it is eloquence which has raised us from a state of uncouth savagery...”
–Marcus Tullius Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 2

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 3 Commentary

- Roman dress – tabula and writing – pēnsum domesticum

“I awoke before dawn; I arose from my bed; I sat down and put on my socks and shoes. I requested water for my face... I took off my sleeping clothes and put on my tunic; I did up the belt. I greased down my hair and combed it... I left my bedroom with my pedagogue and nurse and went to greet my father and mother; I greeted them both and kissed them. Then I left home. I went to school.
–Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum III

Roman dress

As it is today, clothing in ancient Rome was a way to show off wealth and class for some, and merely a practicality for others. Walking down a busy Roman street, the most common garment you might see would be a beige linen tunica “tunic.” It’s like a very large shirt that goes down to the knee and is often bound by a belt at the waist. On women this tunic went down to their feet and was called a stola. These were the basic garments of the Romans.

“The spectacle surprised us and made us laugh. His shaved head peered out from under a scarlet cloak. He had wrapped around his neck a napkin with a broad purple stripe and a dangling fringe. On the little finger of his left hand he wore an enormous gold-plated ring, and a smaller one at the tip of the next finger...”
–Petronius, Satyricon

Yet still, looking around, simple beige tunicae and stolae dominate. This is because slaves, the poor and the working class vastly outnumber wealthy ones in Rome. They don’t have the time or money to worry about fashion, they have work to do...

“The foreman should choose the slaves’ clothing with an eye to utility rather than fashion...”
–Columella, On Agriculture

tabula and writing

“It’s not speaking or writing well that’s shameful; what’s really shameful is to engage in either of them shamefully or badly.”
–Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus

The tabula is a usually wooden board with a layer of wax embedded in it. Using a pencil like tool called a stylus, a Roman would carve letters into the wax. When they were done with what they had written, they could refresh the wax surface by heating it and smoothing it out. The tabula and stylus were perfect for practicing, and, along with chalk-boards, would have been the ancient Roman student’s school supplies.

“ My slave who carried my books handed me my wax tablets, my writing box, and my writing instruments. Sitting in my place, I smoothed over the tablets. I printed the assigned sentence.”
–Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum III

Papyrus

Permanent writing would have been done on papyrus scrolls or vellum (hide) parchment with ink. These were both expensive materials, however. Alternatives included thin sheets of tree bark and linen. The most enduring way to write, however, was to carve into stone, as the Romans were fond of doing on all their monuments and funerary markers.

pēnsum domesticum

We do not know whether ancient Roman students actually had home-work as we know it, though they may have been urged to practice outside of class. The term pēnsum domesticum comes from later times.

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 4 Commentary

- valde – the domus – Roman decor

valdē

Valdē is an adverb which means “greatly, intensely,” but it is often paired with adjectives and adverbs to intensify them, meaning “very.”

the domus: Roman homes

Where did the Romans live? The vast majority of people in the city of Rome, during the height of the empire, lived in apartment buildings called īnsulae: “islands.” These buildings were often several stories high, with a central courtyard and shops lining the ground level street-side walls. The lower levels were more expensive (less stairs to climb) and going up, each level became more inexpensive, crowded and impoverished, all the way up to the “floor” beneath the buildings roofing, where the poorest tenants would live among the roosting pigeons.

These īnsulae were not ideal. In fact, they were renowned for being overcrowded, dangerous places, prone to fire and collapse.

“We live in a city which is, to a great extent, propped up by flimsy boards. The manager of your apartment building stands in front of the collapsing structure and, while he conceals a gaping crack (a crack many years old), he tells you “Sleep well”--even though a total cave-in is imminent!”–Juvenal, Satires

Secunda does not live in an insula. The wealthiest of Romans lived in single family homes known as domūs or domī. The structure of these houses varried some, but the most popular floor plan was build around two open areas: the atrium in the front half, and the peristyle in the back half.

The ātrium in the front was an open room with a collecting pool in its center and a hole in the roof to let rain water in. The peristyle was an open courtyard, often with a garden and pond, surrounded by a colonnade. Both the ātrium and peristyle were in turn surrounded by various rooms, much like those in modern homes: bedrooms, a dining room, an office, a kitchen, et cetera. The street side of the house often had shops and some domi were more than one story high. On page 3 we see that Secunda’s room opens to the peristyle. On page 4 we see Secunda and Afra walking through the ātrium.

“...bankers and publicans should have more comfortable and more impressive homes, and ones safe from burglars. Lawyer and public speakers should have more elegant and more spacious homes, to accomadate their audiences. Men of high rank, who hold political offices... and must fulfill social obligations to the citizens, should have lofty, palatial vestibules, vary spacious atria, and quite broad tree-lined promenades which furnish a visible sign of their authority.”
–Vitruvius On Architecture

Roman decor

The Romans had a different way of decorating their homes than most of us do today. Rather than populating rooms with plenty of furniture and decorations, the Romans preferred very little furniture. A table here, a chair there, beds, of course, but not much else. The atrium might have a table set out with some ornamental items on display, but most of these sorts of valuable would be locked away in a trunk, such as the one seen to the left of Afra on page 4.

Cubiculum (bedroom) from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale.
© Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons

Although the furnishings were sparse, however, the walls would have been literally covered with paintings. Popular subject matter for such paintings were things like architectural elements, false doors and windows looking out onto bucolic landscapes or city-scapes, and, ironically, even furniture! Legendary heroes, gods, goddesses and mythical creatures; still life images, filigrees, geometric patterns and false ornamentation such as garlands. No inch of wall space would be left unpainted.

The floors were not less decorated. Many rooms would have colorful and intricate mosaics depicting all the same sorts of subject matter.

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 5 Commentary

- city life – reflections: Rome, the character

city life: Rome the metropolis

“. . . myself, I’d prefer a barren island to down-town Rome: what squalor, what isolation would not be minor evils compared to an endless nightmare of fires and collapsing houses, the myriad perils encountered in this brutal city, and poets reciting their epics all through August.”
–Juvenal, Satires

Imperial Rome was the most densely and diversely populated city in all of human history until the 19th century. It was a crowded city, with many narrow, winding streets and alleys. It was a true metropolis, filled with people of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. In one glimpse of a city street at rush-hour, you would see a dense crowd of people, a vast array of colors (amid the beige tunics), and stark contrasts in wealth and class: the most extravagantly wealthy pushing their way through a wandering band of orphans; a freedman followed by a retinue of slaves; street performers; merchants; and all manner of workers, slaves, and servants. You would see people from what are now Africa, India, Turnkey, Germany, and Russia, among many other countries. Some one million inhabitants, from all over the world, crammed into a city not more than 16 square miles!

“If the tycoon has an appointment, he rides there in a big litter, the crowd parting before him. There’s plenty of room inside: he can read, or take notes, or snooze as he jogs along— those drawn blinds are most soporific. Even so he outstrips us: however fast we pedestrians may hurry crowds surge ahead, those behind us buffet my rib-cage, poles poke into me; one lout swings a crossbeam down on my skull, another scores with a barrel. My legs are mud-encrusted, from all sides big feet kick me, a hobnailed soldier’s boot lands squarely on my toes . . .”
–Juvenal, Satires

Reflections: Rome, the character

Rome is not just the setting of Secunda’s Day Off and Cosmos Incendens, it is a character. Rome was the first city of its kind in human history. Sure, there had been great cities, and vast empires, but Rome topped them all, and managed to hold the title for nearly two thousand years. There was nothing quite like Rome in the ancient world.

In these two web comics, Rome is not merely the setting of the plot lines, but is the machine that creates them. The peculiar mix of the ancient world and surprisingly modern-like civilization makes these stories possible. Rome is not only a character, but in many ways is the main character. I knew from the get go that I had to get Rome right, and so far it has been the most difficult task of all. There are many obstacles. For one, what ancient Rome was truly like is well over a thousand years gone, and there’s no one who really knows what it must have been like; second, I’ve never been to modern Rome, which would help immensely, nor have I spent any considerable amount of time in a modern metropolis. So, I’ve studied photographs of modern cities that most resemble what we know of ancient Rome, and well as many photographs of modern Rome and Italy. I’ve studied the ruins, recreations, and interpretations; the ancient authors descriptions and artistic representations. Putting them all together, I have fleshed out my ancient Rome, but the work is still not done.

Practice sketches of Rome.
Click the image to view

Looking at page 5, there are two things I would change if I could go back: I would make the street narrower, and I would make it much more crowded. I suppose I could fall back on the excuse that it is still early at this point in the day, but all the sources suggest that even then the crowd was formidable.

That said, there are no regrets! I know it will take me a long time to capture Rome, at least to my liking. Of course, as I describe in my reflections in the Cover commentary, the comic(s) underwent some dramatic style changes; Secunda was the guinea pig for the changes in human character styles, but as far as the style of the backgrounds and landscapes, Rome was the guinea pig. You can see in some of the practice sketches of Rome that I played around with a lot of different ways of shading and texturing, trying to find that right look for Rome, yet one that would sustain the style chosen for my characters. Of course, with the decision to do more realistic characters, more realistic backgrounds became more ideal.

Below you can see some earlier versions of page 5. There are things about them that I actually like more than the current page 5, such as the sloping of the street, and the towering, crowding feel of the buildings. Nevertheless, the current one is overall better, IMHO.

Several versions of page 5. Click the image to view

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 6 Commentary

- sīc – domestica opera et familiāra

sīc

Sīc has a variety of meanings, such as: thus, so, in this way & in these circumstances. It can also be used in a variety of ways. Sometimes, as is the case on page 6, it refers to some previous fact, idea or statement, explaining what the speaker thinks would be the case under those circumstances. Let's look at page 6: here, Secunda claims that when she is married she wont have any school or homework: “I want to get married. Thus/in this way (i.e. being married) there will be no homework and no teacher.” Likewise, Afra is referring to the same circumstance: Secunda being married. “And thus/in this way (i.e. being married) there will be much work to be done around the house and for the family.”

domestica opera et familiāra

“And yet my mother, who was very dear to me, deserved greater praise than all the others because in modesty, moral integrity, chastity, obedience, wool-working,15 diligence, and loyalty she was equal and similar to other excellent women, nor did she yield to any woman in virtue, hard work, or wisdom.”
–Funerary Inscription

Ancient Roman society saw selfless devotion to the family, its education and political advancement, as well as its health and moral character, as the height of womanly virtue. Part of ensuring the family's well-being was managing the day to day affairs of the household. For the very wealthiest of women, this meant overseeing an army of servants and slaves who tended to the various tasks around the household.

“I remember that he himself said that he had, in his early youth, been more absorbed with philosophy than was proper for a Roman and a senator until his mother’s good sense brought under control his arden and passionate nature.”
–Tacitus, Biography of Agricola

Women with less wealth often worked day jobs to help support their families. Sometimes these lower class women even worked as servants and nurses for the wealthy women described above, though women seem to have worked all manner of jobs, including dress making and fish-mongering, or helping their husband with his day job. We can imagine that these women also would tend to the daily needs of their families and humble households when they were not at work.

“Aurelia Nais, a freedwoman of Gaius, sold fish in the warehouses of Galba. Gaius Aurelius Phileros, a freedman of Gaius, and Lucius Valerius Secundus, a freedman of Lucius, paid for this.”
-Funerary Inscription

Outside of the city of Rome, out on the farms, a woman's duties might be very different, especially if her husband was away on business. Consider the following description of a farm-woman's daily tasks given by Columella in the work On Agriculture:

“The forewoman must not only store and guard the items which have been brought into the house and delivered to her; she should also inspect and examine them from time to time so that the furniture and clothing which have been stored do not disintegrate because of mold, and the fruits and vegetables and other necessities do not go rotten because of her neglect and slothfulness. On rainy days, or when a woman cannot do field work out of doors because of the cold or frost, she should return to wool-working. Therefore wool should be prepared and carded in advance so that she can more easily undertake and complete the required allotment of wool-working. For it will be beneficial if clothing is made at home for her and the stewards and the other valued slaves so the financial accounts of the paterfamilias are less strained. She ought to stay in one place as little as possible, for her job is not a sedentary one. At one moment she will have to go to the loom and teach the weavers whatever she knows better than them or, if she knows less, learn from someone who understands more. At another moment, she will have to check on those slaves who are preparing the food for the familia. Then she will also have to see that the kitchen, cowsheds, and even the stables are cleaned. And she will also have to open up the sick-rooms occasionally, even if they are empty of patients, and keep them free of dirt, so that, when circumstance demands, a well-ordered and healthy environment is provided for the sick. She will, in addition, have to be in attendance when the stewards of the pantry and cellar are weighing something, and also be present when the shepherds are milking in the stables, or bringing the lambs or calves to nurse. But she will also certainly need to be present when the sheep are sheared, and to examine the wool carefully, and compare the number of fleeces with the number of sheep. Then she must turn her attention to the slaves in the house and insist that they air out the furniture and clean and polish the metal items and free them from rust, and take to the craftsmen for repair other items which require mending.”
–Columella, On Agriculture

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 7 Commentary

- dogs in Ancient Rome

dogs in ancient Rome

“As they were speaking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos, whom Odysseus had bred before setting out for Troy... In the old days he used to be taken out by the young men when they went hunting wild goats, or deer, or hares, but now that his master was gone he was lying neglected on the heaps of mule and cow dung that lay in front of the stable doors till the men should come and draw it away to manure the great close; and he was full of fleas. As soon as he saw Odysseus standing there, he dropped his ears and wagged his tail, but he could not get close up to his master. When Odysseus saw the dog on the other side of the yard, dashed a tear from his eyes without Eumaeus seeing it...”
–Homer, The Odyssey

The Romans had pets just like we do. Dogs seem to have been a popular companion, though there is evidence that birds, cats and even monkeys were also kept as house pets. Dogs were particularly useful as guards, acting as watchdogs against intruders in the city, and protecting herds from predators in the country. Dogs were also bred for hunting (as was Argos in the quote from the Odyssey above) and herding. In the city of Rome itself, as with any big city, there seems to have been a considerable population of stray dogs. In page 7, the dog we see relaxed on a window sill is more than likely a stray.

“CAVE CANEM” Beware of Dog – Ancient Roman mosaic

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

Page 9 Commentary

- daycare in Ancient Rome

daycare in Ancient Rome

“You rocked my cradle, Charidemus, and were my guardian and constant companion when I was a boy.”
–Martial, Epigrams

Wealthy children in Ancient Rome often had one or more caretakers at various points in their childhood. There was the nutrix, or wet-nurse, who would breast feed them during infancy. She might have been a household slave or a hired servant. Even less wealthy children might have had a nutrix.

“Above all, make sure the infant’s nurse speaks correctly... of course, she should without doubt be chosen on the basis of good moral character, but still make sure that she speaks correctly as well”
–Quintilian, The Elements of Oratory

The same woman who was the nutrix, might also then become the nanny, charged with watching over and rearing the child. Otherwise the child may receive a paedagogus who was in charge of entertaining, caring for and rearing the child, as well as overseeing their education and escorting them on outings.

“How she would throw her arms around her father’s neck! How she loved her nurse and pedagogues and teachers for the services they provided her!”
–Pliny the Younger, Letters

Of course, not every wealthy child had the same upbringing. Some mothers were more involved than others, but we should not assume that children raised by nurses were necessarily any less close to their parents than children raised by their parents.

“The child was then brought up. and although she had her own nurse, for the most part the child was nursed in her mother’s arms.”
–Gregory of Nyssa, Life of St. Macrina

Afra, the woman who has been accompanying Secunda, is her nanny. I don’t envy Afra. Keeping track of Secunda can be a pretty stressful job!

Page 3 Reflections

Comics Design, Art, and Narrative

This third page is where I really started to experiment with using both standard and not-so-standard page design, and what it could do for the comic’s narrative. Looking back to pages 1 and 2, I didn’t use standard panels, but instead used the bedroom’s darkness to create a nice border between shots, or simply left specific shots “floating” above others. Here in page 3, I use a standard panel layout, with mostly medium shots, and a nice long shot in the background, showing the peristyle. Then, in the fourth panel, I had a little fun with it and combined a medium shot and an extreme close-up, having both elements breaking the panel border to some degree.

This page in particular was something of a watershed moment for me as far as page design, comics and art in general. Specifically, I am referring to the decision to have the ribbon of Secunda’s homework leaving the panel and twirling beneath the background long shot, getting larger than it should according to perspective. It was the first moment where I really said: “So much for perspective! This ribbon is important...” (In pages to come, you will see that I use this device again for the ribbon, though to a much greater degree.)

I think it was in this moment that I really fell in love with the comics medium. I realized that, rather than being bound to the laws of physics and perspective and space and time, I had entered into a medium where I had a considerable amount of control over these things and how they could be used to tell a story. Of course, that is art for you. The difference seems to be that comics are art in sequence, forming a narrative. And yet, while comics are specifically geared towards telling a story, with the story being always the primary concern, even a single piece of art can have a narrative. Not only did I learn that I had the full spectrum of artistic liberties to work with in telling my stories, I learned what an important part of art narrative can be. “Comics” and “art” both broadened for me considerably, and to each other’s benefit, I believe. So much discovery from such a seemingly small detail as a twirling ribbon...

Original version of page 3, needed some serious editing....

The Sequential Latin Project So Far

Secunda’s Day Off was written and drawn, for the most part, some months ago. When I was drawing these pages, I had no idea what would become of them. The Sequential Latin project was still small, and mostly an idea. Fast-forward to today, and the site is up, I’ve met some really great people from the classics community, and I’ve had a blast making all manner of content for the Community Content page at slnews.info. I’ve learned so much about webdesign, social media, marketing, communication, cooperation... the list could go on.

Back around Thanksgiving, I announced the project, primarily on Facebook and twitter, and the reception was fantastic! It was such an inspiration to see all that interest and encouragement. Since then I’ve been hard at work trying to make this project and these web comics all that they can be. Of course, there is still room to grow, there is always room to grow, and I hope that, with the help of your feedback and ideas, Sequential Latin can become the best that it can be.

Cover of Magda’s “Dido & Aeneas”

Now, of course, we have forged our first partnership with another great content creator: Magda van Tilburg over at BooxAlive.nl. If you haven’t gotten a chance, you really must check out her beautiful graphic novelizations of classical texts. You can find them in the Web Comics section of this website, simply CLICK HERE to go there straight away!

I hope you all are enjoying the content.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!

Valete!

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