Katawa Haha

[Goldilurks]

Lilly’s Chapter
- Page One
First Panel: This large panel, taking up two thirds of a page, gives us a bird’s-eye-view of a house in semiurban Japan (denser than the suburbs, but not downtown Tokyo by any stretch). There’s still enough space between the buildings for us to get a decent look into the yard (closed off by walls) and the street outside. We can see that the yard is simply kept with a cobblestone pathway to the front door flanked by a neatly trimmed yard and one tree, and we can see a young lady in a middle school student’s uniform walking briskly up that path.
Second Panel: And now for a close-up (side profile of the character from the waist up) of the young lady in question. Maria is probably twelve years old from the look of it. She’s of tall to middling height for her age (which isn’t that tall, given that she’s a barely pubescent girl), with a confident stride and posture. Her features are Japanese, but her hair (parted from her eyes with a single clip) is a lighter brown than you’d expect. She has pretty blue eyes and the smile of a kid who’s glad to be home from school. In this panel she’s only a few steps from her front door.
Third Panel: The door starts to open. We’re looking directly at Maria as her face is still, say, one-quarter obscured by the opening door (this is a dynamic panel).
Maria: “I’m home!” (I avoided “Tadaima!” out of previous audience requests to cut back on the weeaboo.)
- Page Two
First Panel: We see Lilly’s mouth (close-up) from directly on. The panel should be centered on her left cheek, so behind her hair and ear we can see kitchen cupboards in the background.
Lilly: “Welcome back, dear. You sound like you’re out of breath.”
Second Panel: Maria steps out of her shoes at the entry area and into some indoor slippers. Her backpack rests against the wall in the background where she put it down. She’s turned her head to better talk in the direction of the kitchen.
Maria: “Yeah, I guess I ran home kind of quickly.”
Third Panel: Returning to the kitchen for a close up on Lilly’s hands. She’s dicing vegetables at a very large cutting board. All the veggies – cut and uncut – are neatly organized into piles, and she feels through each one and identifies them by touch.
Lilly: “Come have a glass of water, dear. Your throat will thank you for it.”
Fourth Panel: Bird’s-eye-view of Maria walking through a living/greeting room (Western style) towards the kitchen. She is not annoyed or put off by her mother’s insistence. The door to the kitchen is a grid of glass panes (this door does not have to appear in this strip, but it will be showing up repeatedly).
Maria: “Yes, Mama. How was your day?”
Fifth Panel: Close up from behind Lilly as we see her turn in the direction of the door I mentioned in the last panel, just as Maria walks through it. The turn of her head and shoulders provides enough momentum to let her hair (which is still tied back with a ribbon as she had it in high school, same length) fall to the side, allowing us to see her ear and the side of her cheek. From this angle we can just catch a hint of the smile on her face when she turns to face her daughter.
Lilly: “Very good, and better now that you are here.”
- Page Three
First Panel: View of Maria hugging Lilly and kissing her on the cheek, as Lilly bends her knees a bit to better return the hug (perspective from behind Maria, so we see Lilly’s face better). This should take up a third of the page and is going to be the first large panel in which Lilly appears, and we get to see all of her (when she’s not in a panel with Maria, we only get close-ups on the mouth, hands, or ears to emphasize her experience without sight). For her outfit, I was going with [shimmie=63]this fantastic sweater/dress combo[/shimmie]with an apron over it (as she is working in the kitchen after all). Lilly has aged stunningly well. We should be able to see some facial resemblance between the two, though not exact equivalence; her father was likely Japanese, or perhaps half-Japanese from the Latin American diaspora (surprisingly, lotta Japanese in Argentina and other Latin countries).
Maria: “Good to see you too, Mama.”
Second Panel: Maria is placing her backpack on a table in an adjacent room, with her head still turned back towards the kitchen and her mother.
Maria: “Would you like help with supper?”
Third Panel: From above, close-up on Lilly’s hands. She’s turned back to the kitchen counter, and we can see her feeling softly with her fingers for the knife she put down. In this panel, she brushes the hilt (so we’re seeing the moment just before she recognizes it and takes the knife).
Lilly: “After you have a drink and wash your hands, it would be very helpful if you could start boiling the rice.”
Fourth Panel: Maria is in the background, filling a glass with water from a pitcher. In the foreground we can see Lilly’s hands returning to the vegetables with the knife. It’s a bit of an odd perspective, as though we were a mouse on the kitchen counter looking up in Maria’s direction.
- Page Four
First Panel: quarter-page panel of Maria, face-on, as she downs her glass of water. Her eyes look to her right, towards her mother (but but she’s not turning to face her; they’re Japanese and Lilly’s blind).
Lilly: “So, my dear, tell me what you saw at school today.”
Second Panel: Profile view of Maria putting the glass in a dishwasher. Her eyes are closed and she’s stating something matter-of-factly, but with a small blush and smile.
Maria: “It went well. We’ve got a new student who just transferred in today. He’s named Ayamori Ichiro and he comes from Ibaraki.”
Third Panel: Close-up three-quarters view of Lilly’s head, centered on her right ear. Though we can’t see all of her ear and face, we can see that she’s cocking her head towards her left shoulder in a slightly curious expression (face is [shimmie=600]D1 from this sheet[/shimmie] with her eyes closed).
Lilly: “Oh? He introduced himself in front of the class, I take it?”
Fourth Panel: View of Maria from above; she’s washing her hands in the sink. Her eyes are open this time, but she’s looking at her hands as she continues to talk.
Maria: “Yes, I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to him otherwise. He showed up after lunch, and the teacher made him sit in the fourth row next to Ogawa. He says that he’s into track and he’d like to join the school team.”
- Page Five
First Panel: Close-up on Lilly’s left ear and parts of her cheek and throat. We should be able to see just enough of her eye and mouth to catch the hint of a smile.
Lilly: “Can you describe him for me?”
Second Panel: Three-quarters angle bird’s-eye view of Maria, she’s reaching into a pantry to remove a pot for the rice. Her facial expression is face skyward as she tries to recall precise details; she clearly has practice answering this kind of question for her mother. Slight hint of the return of that blush we saw earlier.
Maria: “He’s tall for our class, like a head taller than me, and he’s got really messy black hair that looks like he just got out of bed. His face is kind of like Uncle Hiro’s but longer, with a soft jaw and cheekbones that protrude. From what I saw in class, he tends to twirl his pencil in his long fingers when bored, and he leaves his top shirt buttons undone and his shirt untucked when he thinks that the teacher isn’t looking.”
Third Panel and Fourth Panel: two small panels with close-ups here; one on Lilly’s right hand putting the knife down on the counter, and the other on Lilly’s left feeling for a refrigerator door handle. Place the speech captions where you feel it’s appropriate.
Lilly: “And can you describe his voice?”
- Page Six
First Panel: Maria’s measuring rice into the pot. We can see the open cupboards from which she removed the pot and the rice; everything is very organized. Same facial expression as before, though she’s focusing a bit more on the rice.
Maria: “Deep and kind of breathy; he’s also got a bit of an accent. Apparently his father is from Touhaku.”
Second Panel: Close-up on Lilly’s mouth, which is frowning. It’s not quite a look of annoyance or distress, but rather discomfort – she seems not upset by her plight but by bothering her daughter for help.
Lilly: “I’m sorry, Maria, but can you help me here for a moment?”
Third Panel: Profile of Maria from the waist up, putting the rice away and the pot on the counter. She’s actually turning her head to look at Lilly this time.
Maria: “Of course! What is it?”
Fourth Panel: Close-up on Lilly’s hands softly brushing through the assorted bottles and foodstuffs in the fridge. The fridge shelves are also meticulously organized, although there’s an obvious gap on one.
Lilly: “I had a jar of sauce prepared, but I knocked over some bottles and must have misplaced it when I put things back in their place.
Fifth Panel: Maria looking over Lilly’s shoulder; Lilly’s ear should be visible.
Lilly: “I know it didn’t break and I can’t smell a leak, but I can’t feel anything that could be it on the shelves.”
- Page Seven
First Panel: The jar in question is clearly visible; it fell not into the fridge proper or on the floor, but into one of the holding shelves on the refrigerator door (you know how on the door of a fridge they have the shelves with walls to keep stuff from falling?). From Maria’s point of view we can see the culprit upside down in the middle of a bunch of bottles, clearly disturbing the prior organization of the fridge door contents.
Second Panel: Maria has grabbed the jar and is placing it in her mother’s hands. Lilly’s face shows relief; Maria’s is a sincere smile – no pity or annoyance.
Maria: “It just landed here, in the door. You only checked the inner fridge?”
Lilly: “Oh, how absentminded of me. Thank you, Maria.”
Maria: “It’s nothing, Mama.”
Third Panel: Bird’s-eye-view of Maria returning to the rice pot. She’s moving to transfer the pot to the sink so that she can add water. Her facial expression is turning to mild annoyance (the blush from earlier is back).
Lilly: “So to return to the earlier conversation, you said that your new classmate is sitting next to Ogawa Maki? I don’t remember if she’s a friend of yours.”
Maria: “Oh, I don’t know her that well.”
Fourth Panel: Side profile of Maria as she starts pouring water. She’s outright frowning with jealousy now. In the background, we can glimpse Lilly crouching to go through a floor cupboard. The jar that had caused her trouble earlier is now waiting accessibly on the counter.
Lilly: “I hope that she will be able to help young Ayamori.”
Maria: “She’ll probably try. She’s always hurrying to stick her ‘help’ in your face, whether you like it or not.”
Fifth Panel: Maria is turning around to look at Lilly with a shocked and embarrassed expression. Just the barest slice of Lilly’s cheek and smile should be visible in the foreground.
Lilly: “It’s quite all right dear, I’m sure Ayamori will pay attention to you too.”
Maria: “Ack!”
Sixth Panel: Truly embarrassed now, Maria turns away from her mother to hide the magnificent blush (nevermind it being a pointless gesture in a conversation with the blind). She hastily turns off the tap of water over the ricepot to keep herself occupied.
Maria: “Mother! You’re jumping to conclusions.”
Maria’s Thoughts (optional): “Crap, I can’t hide anything from her!”
- Page Eight
First Panel: Very small panel, close-up on Lilly’s smile. She’s assembling her ingredients and standing up, but you don’t need to show that.
Lilly: “I suppose I am. Sorry.”
Second Panel: Covers most of the page. In the foreground, we see Maria’s face. She’s regained her composure and her smile. In the background, we can see a good reflection of Lilly in the glass door I mentioned earlier, making it clear that she’s turned to smile directly at her daughter. The angle of this panel will depend on how you made the kitchen out to look – by necessity, I leave much to artist’s prerogative here.
Lilly: “But enough of that. Did anything else happen today?”
Maria: “Well…”


- Omake Yonkoma
First Panel: Maria peeks her head out from the door to her room and calls to Lilly, who is in the hallway.
Maria: “Mama? Can I ask for your help with something?”
Lilly: “Of course, of course. What is it?”
Second Panel: Inside Maria’s room; she’s wearing an unbuttoned (!) uniform shirt. Lilly looks on sympathetically while Maria blushes and fidgets.
Maria: “I was thinking it was time to start wearing a bra, but I wasn’t sure…”
Lilly: “Ahh, I understand. I was about your age when I started too. Here, there’s an easy way to tell.”
Maria: “Yes?”
Third Panel: Lilly VIOLENTLY gropes her daughter’s uncovered chest with a sudden movement (use the shirt flaps to protect Maria’s modesty). Maria’s face is white-eyed shock, while Lilly is still wearing the thoughtful Lilly smile she’s had for the last two panels.
Fourth Panel: Lilly, facial expression still unchanged, puts a finger to her cheek as she thinks out loud. Maria is in the corner, hugging her chest and watching her mother warily, still in shock.
Lilly: “That was easily an A-cup, maybe a B by now. Yes, you should certainly be ready for a bra.”
Maria: “M-mother…just now…wasn’t that sexual harassment?”

Author's Notes: Feliz Navidad. Sorry about the delay on the body wireframes, El Jay; I upgraded Mac OS and now GIMP doesn't work anymore. >.< Oh, and Srikali did a great edit of that "older Emi" picture that adjusts the age range somewhat; I like it very much.

[Sgt_Frog]

Did...that just happen? The omake came from way out of left field. If this is to be eventually drawn out, maybe the artist (mangaka?) could include the "Eeh?!" sound that female characters make when in such a...situation. Wow, hope Maria is going to be okay after this experience.

[Goldilurks]

If this is to be eventually drawn out, maybe the artist (mangaka?) could include the "Eeh?!" sound that female characters make when in such a...situation.

I am fully supportive of this idea.

[Guest]

Lilly’s Chapter
-durpadurr this is long-

Author's Notes: Feliz Navidad. Sorry about the delay on the body wireframes, El Jay; I upgraded Mac OS and now GIMP doesn't work anymore. >.< Oh, and Srikali did a great edit of that "older Emi" picture that adjusts the age range somewhat; I like it very much.

First off, I really do enjoy reading these things, even though it makes me want to hurt myself out of the mindset of "oh god I've fallen so far behind, ffff". :V

Second, well, it's okay, about the wireframes. I can always sit down and rethink that page some more. Worse comes to worse, that'll be the let-down page, which I will beat mercilessly like a red-headed step-child.

Last thought; Oh god dammit some of these stories are going to be either a big challenge to draw, or something I will leave for another artist should they feel like it, depends on a few factors; laziness, soreness, and possible lack of patience to name a few. :c They sure do paint a pretty picture in the mind's eye though.

Also my captcha was stupefy topless for this. Fucking AWESOME.

[El Jay]

HURR

Leave it to me to forget to log back in.

[Poli-Gluttanous]

HURR

Leave it to me to forget to log back in.

Happens to the best of us, El Jay.

Also, Goldilurks: Great work as always. Lilly didn't seem to have changed to much, and her daughter appears to have inherited some of that laid-back confidence. A nice little mother-daughter combo. Only complaint for me is that I'd like to see the dad at some point, but it's not essential and, more importantly, it's not my project. Omake was straight out of left field, which was nice. Can't wait to see what comes next!

[Goldilurks]

First off, I really do enjoy reading these things, even though it makes me want to hurt myself out of the mindset of "oh god I've fallen so far behind, ffff". :V

Second, well, it's okay, about the wireframes. I can always sit down and rethink that page some more. Worse comes to worse, that'll be the let-down page, which I will beat mercilessly like a red-headed step-child.

Last thought; Oh god dammit some of these stories are going to be either a big challenge to draw, or something I will leave for another artist should they feel like it, depends on a few factors; laziness, soreness, and possible lack of patience to name a few. :c They sure do paint a pretty picture in the mind's eye though.

Feel free to move on to the next page or other scripts; why let the perfect be the enemy of the good? Draw this for yourself, man.

stupefy topless

Yes, Lilly certainly can.

Also, Goldilurks: Great work as always. Lilly didn't seem to have changed to much, and her daughter appears to have inherited some of that laid-back confidence. A nice little mother-daughter combo. Only complaint for me is that I'd like to see the dad at some point, but it's not essential and, more importantly, it's not my project. Omake was straight out of left field, which was nice. Can't wait to see what comes next!

I'm not huge on making Katawa Haha "my" project either (read the OP for details), so as I've said before feel free to step in with work of your own.

[Srikali]

>Srikali did a great edit of that "older Emi" picture that adjusts the age range somewhat; I like it very much.

I feel spechull

[El Jay]

Damn have I gotten myself distracted as of late. Working on my own story in my head, caving on my brains desire to play games again, catching up with friends... all while I kept forgeting to get back to drawing this stuff up.

Might've been for the best anyhow. Gave me time to look back at what I've done and come to the conclusion that I don't particularly like it much, mostly with the style I drew it all in. I'm not particularly pleased with the eyes, the hair, and... Well the list covers pretty much everything, but I digress. And seeing as I have a scanner hooked up now, maybe (MAYBE being the emphasis here) I'll just finish up Shizune's stuff, then go back, redo it on paper in a slightly more fitting style, and see about doing a different chapter, maybe I'll have an easier time with it, who can say. Either way, sorry for this wait guys. I know for at least one of you, you don't mind, but I still feel the need to say that. D:

hell, I may just draw the last two Shizune pages on paper and redo the other ones, that would save time, and I'm a lot happier with my pencil work anyhow. It's just a matter of scanning it in right. Google, you are my only hope!

Edit: This just in, drawing Lion-faec Shizune makes me giggle like a little girl. Oh lawd.

[Anon]

Absolutely want. Of course, it would be even better if "Katawa Haha" were made after or based on the completed work, that we might have more substance to work with.

[Goldilurks]

Um, hi guys.
Yeah.
Not a lot of excuses, but I do have a new job overseas that I've been lining up, and getting a visa's a pain. Sorry I let this go.

Damn have I gotten myself distracted as of late. Working on my own story in my head, caving on my brains desire to play games again, catching up with friends... all while I kept forgeting to get back to drawing this stuff up.

Now now, procrastination in front of a game console is an honoured pastime.

Might've been for the best anyhow. Gave me time to look back at what I've done and come to the conclusion that I don't particularly like it much, mostly with the style I drew it all in. I'm not particularly pleased with the eyes, the hair, and... Well the list covers pretty much everything, but I digress. And seeing as I have a scanner hooked up now, maybe (MAYBE being the emphasis here) I'll just finish up Shizune's stuff, then go back, redo it on paper in a slightly more fitting style, and see about doing a different chapter, maybe I'll have an easier time with it, who can say. Either way, sorry for this wait guys.

You don't need to-

I know for at least one of you, you don't mind, but I still feel the need to say that. D:

- ah, you cut me off.
Don't be too hard on yourself, all right? Saying "I'm not pleased" only means you think it can look better. Well, of course it could, it's still in the preliminary stages!

hell, I may just draw the last two Shizune pages on paper and redo the other ones, that would save time, and I'm a lot happier with my pencil work anyhow. It's just a matter of scanning it in right. Google, you are my only hope!

Edit: This just in, drawing Lion-faec Shizune makes me giggle like a little girl. Oh lawd.

Whatever works for you. And it is now mandatory to post Lion-faec Shizune pics.

Absolutely want. Of course, it would be even better if "Katawa Haha" were made after or based on the completed work, that we might have more substance to work with.

The problem with that is you can bet my first thoughts when KS comes out in full won't be "hmm, better get focused on KH again now!"

[Goldilurks]

Hey gang. Sorry for the absence; I've been busting my balls trying to get a job teaching in Korea - are people still interested in this? I'm thinking of revamping my original ideas for the Misha and Akira omakes (for starters, Akira's omake would now include Hideaki), though my plans for the Kenji and Yuuko omakes would remain more or less the same.

[coldacid]

Do eeeeet.

[Silentcook]

Welcome back.

[Goldilurks]

Kenji's omake chapter will be up tomorrow.