Statue Rentals #1: Into The Art Studio

Welcome to the start of a new comic series. Statue Rentals will be at least 20 pages, perhaps more, once it's finished. I've only finished plotting the first 16 pages so I don't know how long it will be. I do hope there will be more than one story line since the word "rental" in the title is plural. :) Future tags include: tg, statuefication, stuck, etc. I'm posting these at rather high resolution: 3840x2160. When these inevitably end up on deviantArt (and I might only tease the series there with just the first 5 or 6 pages) they will be 1920x1080. Let me know if you think I should include the small images here as well. (Though I can't imagine why.)

At this writing, there are 13.5 completely rendered episodes. Between Statue Rentals and Little Witch Captions, three episodes will release over the span of two months on the 2nd and 4th week in one month and the 3rd week of the other month. While the pages tend to end with -- I'll call it "an attempt at" -- humor, this isn't meant to be a funny comic. It's more slice of life. Slice of stone?

Part of the reason this isn't just another one of my written stories is me trying to get into the habit of getting renders finished faster. (Posing and set design drive me crazy.) Usually I wait to post things until the entire work is complete. This series (and the Little Witch series) are exceptions to that.

Finally, yes, that is Heather making a cameo in panel 3. Where did Meredith manage to get a photograph of her? (Crap, did I create a comic universe? Does Meredith know the gorgon from Heather Goes Off The Trail? Hot take: She is the gorgon... No, that makes no sense. Is the rock woman in Climb Avery Mountain really big or is the "mountain climber" (also seen in panel three above) just really small? These and other questions will not be answered. Nope. I will not do it.)

Transcript

PAGE 1 – Into The Art Studio

Panel 1 – Stacy peers into art studio through window. Meredith sits at a desks and waves to him.

Stacy (thinking): This is the address I was given. It certainly looks like an art studio. Is that the artist? She's pointing the door.

Panel 2 – Shaking hands in doorway.

Meredith: Hi, I'm Meredith. You texted me earlier, right? Did you fill out the paperwork?

Stacy: I'm Stacy. Pleased to finally meet you. Yes, I did. I sent the paperwork to your email. You have a modeling gig for a statue, I believe.

Meredith: Great. Come inside. Can you start right now? Probably not, right? You'll need to get your affairs in order first.

Stacy: Is that why there was a waiver to sign? Some of the paperwork didn’t make a lot of sense.

Meredith: The waiver is because I got sued by a former model. They didn’t realize they were going to become the statue.

Stacy: What?

Panel 3 – Chatting on a sofa in the studio

Meredith: Oh, dear. You didn’t understand either? You aren’t posing for the statue. I’ll pick the pose. You’re just the raw material. That’s why it’s a three month gig.

Stacy: I thought that was too long to make a statue.

Meredith: Definitely. Once I’m finished with you here, you’ll be installed at the client site for an initial period of three months, which could be extended to six. All of that is laid out in the paperwork you already signed.

Meredith (continued): It also explains how your fee changes if the extension is taken. Afterward, you’re brought back here and returned to flesh.

Stacy: That actually sounds like it could be a cool experience. I’ll need a day or two. Be back Friday?

Meredith: Great!