What a great meetcute! If only we could all be so lucky. 

I mentioned last time that we had done a lot of reading in AI and kept up with the news around the subject. It informed the background of the story and how we thought about certain dynamics, but not necessarily in obvious ways. In the end, Pixels of You keeps with the fantastic elements we gravitate towards, and this is embodied best by Fawn herself. She's a self-aware (questionable lol) AI who is making a choice to present herself in the way that she does, and likewise she makes choices in pursuing her interests like photography.

This "AI as a person" element is probably the most fantastic element of the book, and it was there almost from the beginning. The first thing I knew was that I wanted it to be about two people who were rivals who were then forced to 'get over it', and in the process they grow closer. Fawn being an AI or android was the second big decision we made. From there, I kind of went into the fugue state of outlining and writing and drafting until there's something substantive that I can discuss with Yuko. Our collaborative process is very tangled, but over the years we've developed a method that works well for us. 

If you have something in particular you'd like us to address, ask on twitter or patreon! Thanks for reading!



>>   PREORDER HERE   <<

Pixels of You was written by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota, and drawn by J.R. Doyle.

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Styling the characters was an important part of bringing out the differences in their personalities. Indira wears dark colors, tends towards street clothes, and brings a touch of practicality with her wardrobe.

By contrast, we wanted Fawn to appear ethereal, with billowy, flowy clothes that looked a little like dressing a doll. Indira wants more to disappear into the background, while Fawn presents to draw the eye. The way J.R. Doyle colored Fawn emphasizes this-- Fawn always pushes up from the background and is frequently the palest part of the color blocking in a shot. Likewise, Indira is frequently seen in blacks and darker colors. They're two people who seem quite different at a glance!

So how did we go about being consistent with their individual looks? On every project that we do, we have a step where Ananth goes sifting through styles and clothes online, with the aim of creating a folder of reference that helps fence a character into a particular look. For a book of this size, it was about 20 pieces of reference per character. This is enough to get a 'feeling', to be able to mix and match pieces, and to generously toss out some looks that don't quite get there. At the scripting stage, Ananth creates a folder per scene per character, with fairly meticulous notes about how to mix and match, customize and simplify (for instance, we generally omit patterns because they're a headache to draw over and over again). 

Hope that highlights some of the process behind the scenes! Next time we'll cover another aspect of Pixels of You! If you have something in particular you'd like for us to talk about, feel free to ask on twitter! Thanks for reading!



>>   PREORDER HERE   <<

Pixels of You was written by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota, and drawn by J.R. Doyle.

Support us:



>>   PREORDER HERE   <<

We're so excited to share this book with you! The heart of Pixels of You was conceived years and years ago, when I got it in my head that I wanted to do a book that captured some shred of that feeling of the complicated nature of living in a shared world. Whether or not we succeeded is up to you to decide! Oh, and we'll be talking more about the characters and the world as these pages go up, so be sure to check back with the updates. 

Pixels of You was written by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota, and drawn by J.R. Doyle.

Lastly, there are a lot of silent pages in the book, so bear with us!

If you're interested, you can preorder Pixels of You at this landing page, from the retailer of your choice!

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PIXELS OF YOU

Releases on FEBRUARY 8TH, 2022

>>> Preorder now at your retailer of choice! <<<

Hi everyone! PIXELS OF YOU is a book about Indira and Fawn, two young photographers living in the near future. It's meant to be a messy, textured look at the way technology intersects with life and how we can find connection in the chaos of the everyday world. We'll be running a 16-page preview beginning next week. J.R. Doyle of Knights Errant fame drew the book-- they are an exceptional talent.

We really hope you enjoy this preview! More from us as the pages go up. Thanks for reading! And if you're interested, you can preorder at this landing page, from the retailer of your choice!

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BARBAROUS CHAPTER 6 IS OVER! 

Thank you SO much for reading! We left it on a bit of a cliffhanger lol... what can I say, we like to keep it spicy lmao

The updates will continue with PIXELS OF YOU!

We're running a preview of our upcoming book, PIXELS OF YOU! It's drawn by J. R. Doyle of Knights Errant fame, and will be published in full by Amulet, an imprint of Abrams. The preview begins on Thursday! The book will debut in stores on February 8th, 2022! You can preorder it from the store of your choice here. 

As always, thanks so much for reading!

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PIXELS OF YOU is written by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota, illustrated by J.R. Doyle, and published by Amulet!

Preorder PIXELS OF YOU today at this link! 

We are REALLY excited to finally talk about Pixels of You! This book was co-written by Yuko and myself, and drawn by J.R. Doyle, of Knights Errant fame. Collaborating with them was a dream, and we're psyched that this book is finally coming out on November 9th, 2021! 

Pixels of You is about Indira and Fawn, two rival photographers in a near future society where AI is ubiquitous in both grounded and fantastic ways. Here's the back cover copy:

“The idea of you is intimidating.”

“Does the unknown intimidate you?”

In a near future, augmentation and AI changes everything and nothing. Indira is a human who had to be cybernetically augmented after a tragic accident. Though she struggles with pain and the strange nightmares haunting her, she lives a mostly normal life, interning and showing her work at a local gallery. Fawn is a human-presenting AI who has to grapple with both her family’s expectations and how the world perceives AI. Though she works at the gallery with Indira, neither girl thinks much of the other’s photography. But after a huge public blowout, their mentor gives them an ultimatum: work together on a project or leave her gallery forever. Grudgingly, the two begin to collaborate, and slowly, their rivalry turns into a friendship—and then to something more. And as Indira and Fawn learn to navigate each other and the world around them, they find a connection they could have never expected.

Thanks so much for reading!

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NI69 hats are now available for preorder in the store!

NICE! The design is done in puff embroidery, so it has a raised texture and is really clear and crisp! We've been trying to get this made for a couple of years and we're excited to finally make it happen. Note: this is a PREORDER, meaning shipments won't be going out until the end of May.

This design was originally seen on a pin, which you can also pick up in the store.  Thank you so much for the folks at DFTBA for helping us make this happen. Check it out:

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THE NEXT BARBAROUS SIDE STORY IS DRAWN BY KAT FAJARDO & PABLO A. CASTRO!

The next Barbarous side story was written by us and drawn by Kat Fajardo & Pablo A. Castro! 

'Bring a Kid to Work Day' is about Percy and Lumia! Lumia was first introduced back in chapter 3! We're really excited to have worked with Kat and Pablo on this. Check them out! Kat Fajardo (twitter / instagram) & Pablo A. Castro (twitter / instagram).

The comic was also lettered by our long-time collaborator, Tess Stone (twitter / website)! He's lettering all of the short stories, a million thank-yous Tess! 

If you'd like to pick up printed editions of BARBAROUS, Lucky Penny, Our Cats Are More Famous than Us, or any of Yuko's art books, you can find them in our online store! As always, your support makes Johnny Wander comics possible. We also have stuff like plush, stickers, charms and more - check it out!

If you missed the sidestories, you can read them here:

Ada's House of Discount Glamours, drawn by @patabot

Taller and More Mysterious, drawn by @arlir

Wisdom of the Dead, drawn by @magnoliapearl

R&R Cooking Vlog, drawn by @krismukai

Cacophony Harpend & The Door to Calamity, drawn by @_ggdg_


Alterations, drawn by Niki Foley

Bring a Kid to Work Day, drawn by Kat Fajardo & Pablo A. Castro!

And of course, now's the perfect time to get caught up on Barbarous! You can read all of Season 1 for free by following the links below:

Read from the beginning of Chapter 5 here.

Read from the beginning here.

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