Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 525 Work Review
It turns out that having an assistant is indeed convenient.

After hiring a few people to join the studio, Li Wei's progress can be described as rapid as leaps and bounds. In the past, he had to do everything by himself, but now, all Li Wei needs to do is draw the storyboards and make the drafts, and the rest can be handed over to his assistants.

Of course, Li Wei also taught them how to make comics, and he wanted to see what kind of comics people in this world could come up with.

Well, I have to say... it's really very interesting.

First was Borent, the painter Levi met at the Golden Mead Club. Levi had always been curious why Borent, instead of painting his own works, chose to become his assistant.

Borent also gave a frank explanation.

Unlike others, Borent believed that following the orthodox path was promising; after all, he was a young genius who had entered the Golden Mead Club, and his achievements had propelled him into the upper echelons of the art world. However, once inside, Borent found it chaotic and rife with corruption.

Those once-admired figures revealed a side of themselves that Bolent had never seen before. And Bolent, young and impetuous, clashed with them for some reason. Although the other party said that Bolent could return if he was willing to admit his mistakes.

But young people, even if they don't fight for anything else, they want to prove themselves. Borent would never bow down to the other party, even if it meant death.

So he simply parted ways with that group and went to find Li Wei.

As for what happened, Borent didn't go into details, but Levi could guess from his few words—well, it was probably illegal.

As a genius painter, Borent had the best foundation among the five and was the most efficient assistant to complete Livy's requirements.

However, he's not without his problems. His issue lies in his difficulty creating his own comic book storylines, or things like visual storytelling. It's incredibly challenging for Bolent. He can draw according to Levi's storyboards without a problem. But asking him to create his own storyboards is a nightmare; Bolent could spend an entire afternoon without putting pen to paper.

It can only be said that although they are all paintings, there are still differences between paintings.

What surprised Levi was Cliff's dejected appearance. Despite his disheveled and unkempt appearance, which made him seem like he might jump off a building at any moment, his paneling was superb, and the storytelling in the comic was also quite impressive.

Li Wei, out of curiosity, asked him about it and discovered that this seemingly颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, dispirited, or decadent) Zhongdeng was no ordinary person. He was originally a newspaper reporter, initially responsible for illustration. Later, after the invention of the camera, he was responsible for taking pictures, making him a photojournalist. His experience was similar to that of Bolent; Cliff had originally planned to stay at the newspaper until the end, but he lost in office politics and was eventually ousted.

Cliff was unmarried and had no family to worry about. He happened to have read Levi's "Steel Legion" and was very interested in its art style, which is why he wanted to join the group.

As a journalist, Clive was naturally flawless in storytelling. While his drawing skills weren't as impressive as those of the genius artist Borent, Levi knew that for comics, drawing skills weren't important; the plot was. Many popular comics have mediocre, even childish, artwork, yet they become incredibly popular, attracting a large readership.

This illustrates the importance of the story.

The first work he submitted to Li Wei was a story about a newspaper office, featuring small animals as the main characters. Judging from the sharp writing style, it resembled a satirical cartoon.

After watching it, Li Wei also gave his evaluation.

"That's good, very interesting."

Li Wei put the manuscript aside and looked at the dejected Zhongdeng sitting in front of him.

"Your storyboarding is excellent, and the story flows smoothly and is very interesting. But if I had to say, I would like to offer a personal opinion."

Dejected, Deng remained silent until he heard this, at which point he raised his head, while Li Wei pointed to the painting.

“I know you’re trying to use animals to represent people. In that case, I suggest you put clothes on these animals and make them walk on two legs, just like people.”

"Huh? But there's no such animal in reality, is there?"

Upon hearing this, Claire exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course not, but we are drawing comics."

Li Wei pointed to his head.

"Comics are fictional, imaginary, unlike oil paintings which require a physical basis and must closely resemble it. Remember, comics are different from other forms of art; their primary function is storytelling, and everything serves the story. For example, this cat president..."

As Li Wei spoke, he picked up a pen and drew a cat standing on two legs on the blackboard. The cat was wearing a suit vest on its upper body, a top hat on its head, glasses on its nose, and one front paw was raised high with a cigarette between its paws.

"puff."

Upon seeing the painting, Claire burst out laughing.

"Where can you find a cat like that?"

"No, it doesn't, but when you see a cat like that, don't you feel that it's very high and mighty, arrogant and conceited?"

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing Li Wei's words.

"That's the difference between comics and novels. You don't need to deliberately show a character's personality through dialogue and description. Sometimes you can be very direct, or even a little exaggerated, so that readers know what kind of character it is at first glance."

As he spoke, Li Wei glanced at the dejected Deng, who was currently writing furiously in a notebook, and then nodded to Li Wei.

“I understand, Sir Levi.”

“Well, next up is Miss Claire…”

As he spoke, Levi picked up the comic strip Claire had submitted earlier. She and Dabbur were considered the weakest members of the group of five. Claire's background was fairly normal; she was the daughter of a wealthy businessman and had an older brother. She had loved drawing since childhood, and her family hadn't objected to her hobby. Later, after reading "Betty the Dog" and "Steel Legion," she became a loyal fan of Levi and thus came here.

However, contrary to her innocent and romantic appearance, this young lady actually prefers action-packed, action-packed shonen manga. The manga she submitted this time also uses an ancient heroic legend as its main storyline, telling the story of someone fighting monsters to rescue a princess.

The drawing skills and camera work are only average, but passable. The problem is...

"Your psychological descriptions are too few."

Li Wei pointed at Claire's draft.

"Look, you've put most of your effort into depicting the battle between the hero and the monster, which is basically just you using a claw and me using a sword. But what is the protagonist thinking during this process? You haven't written any of that."

"Huh? But with such an intense battle, there shouldn't be time to think about anything else, right?"

Claire asked, puzzled.

"Let's not worry about reality for now. You need to remember that comics don't necessarily need to be realistic; they need appropriate exaggeration. Just like the plots in novels aren't all factual; there are also beautified or distorted aspects."

"For example, here."

As Li Wei spoke, he unfurled one of the paintings.

The illustration shows the protagonist being tackled to the ground by a monster, who grits its teeth and holds on. In the next panel, the protagonist roars "For the princess!" and suddenly leaps up to kill the monster.

"This development is reasonable in a way, but it's not dramatic enough. In fact, you could draw several pictures just between these two paragraphs."

"Hey?"

Upon hearing this, Claire's eyes widened in surprise.

"The main character is about to be killed, how can you still draw several more pictures?"

"It's very simple, like this."

As Li Wei spoke, he made a simple draft on the blackboard.

"The biggest problem with your story is why the protagonist wants to save the princess."

"Uh... because the princess was captured by a monster?"

Does the main character like princesses?

"Of course!"

"But you didn't draw it."

"Because the princess was captured by a monster, they are not together."

"………………………"

Li Wei was a little speechless, but he continued speaking.

“You can draw a flashback, like this part. You see, the protagonist is almost overwhelmed, and then at this moment, a happy scene from his date with the princess suddenly flashes into his mind, and the princess says, ‘I’ll wait for you to come back…’”

"But if he gets distracted at that time, wouldn't he be killed by the monster?"

"This is artistic embellishment."

Li Wei sighed silently.

This guy is really clueless.

"This is not reality, but content you created, so you can make him die whenever you want."

“……………? Okay, I think I understand some of it…………”

Claire tilted her head in confusion, nodding as if she understood but also seemed not to.

"Also, the ending wasn't dramatic enough; it was too conventional."

"dramatic?"

"For example, the protagonist kills the monster, only to find that the monster has turned into a princess."

"Hey?"

Hearing this, Claire's eyes widened in surprise, and she jumped up. "W-why?"

"That's the question you need to think about, after all, this is your story."

Li Wei patted Claire's head, gesturing for her to sit down, then looked at the towering, 1.9-meter-tall man.

"As for Dabbur, your problem is the exact opposite of Claire's; you describe too much of your inner thoughts..."

Looking at Dabbur's manuscript, Li Wei really wanted to complain.

That's right, this towering 1.9-meter-tall man actually draws shoujo manga! He draws stories about young boys and girls falling in love! Of course, that's not all; the problem is, as Li Wei said, that his works contain far too much psychological description!
For example, in scenes where the male and female protagonists go on a date, before the date, they would think, "Will he like my outfit?" or "Will this upset her?" Then, after touching hands, they would say, "Her hands are so soft," or "His hands are so big." Then, they would look at each other and have a long internal monologue. Even after the date ended and they parted ways, there would be another long internal monologue of "I don't want to part, I want to be with you."

Li Wei's scalp tingled from watching it; the dawdling and indecisiveness was simply unbearable.

Faced with Li Wei's criticism, Dabul scratched himself sheepishly and gave a simple, honest smile.

"Because I feel that if they don't say it out loud, readers might not know what they're thinking..."

“Sometimes, leaving some room for interpretation is important, allowing readers to think for themselves rather than telling them everything. Also, paying attention to dramatic conflict is crucial. Your story is too predictable: a man and a woman fall in love, go on dates, and then, are they going to get married?”

"This...is this how it is where we are?"

"I'll say it again, comics are not reality."

Li Wei repeated it again.

"Comics are stories of imagination. For example, you could write about two people deeply in love when suddenly a handsome guy from the city appears in the village. He falls in love with the female lead at first sight and begins to pursue her..."

"No, that won't do!"

Before Li Wei could finish speaking, Dabul hurriedly interrupted him, standing up uneasily and waving his hands.

"Wouldn't the male lead be abandoned then?"

"...That's your story. Whether you abandon it or not is ultimately up to you."

Li Wei looked at him speechlessly.

"Besides, you're not the male lead, so why are you in such a hurry?"

"Ah, hehehe..."

Hearing Li Wei's complaint, Dabul chuckled and sat down, feeling embarrassed.

"I'm just giving an example. You could write that the female lead suddenly collapses after a date, and then it turns out she has a serious illness or something. In short, you have to make the reader interested in continuing to read, rather than feeling that it's okay to read or not—that's the storytelling aspect of comics, and that's what makes them different from other types of art."

Li Wei nodded to Dabbur, then looked at Helen one last time.

Frankly speaking, this young lady's background is even more interesting. She was born into an artistic family; both her parents were famous painters. In terms of status, she was even higher than the talented painter Borent, having already entered the inner circle. In fact, her paintings, whether in terms of composition, layout, or other aspects, were all first-rate.

However... there is a fatal problem.

"Miss Helen, do you not know how to make up a story?"

Li Wei looked at Helen, speechless.

He read the manuscript Helen had given him; it was a short story imitating "The Iron Legion." The illustrations were beautiful, the style was exquisite, and it had a touch of dark gothic grandeur.

But the problem lies in the story content.

In Helen's painting, it begins like this.

The two boys looked at each other, and then one of them spoke.

"war!"

Another person said.

"Alright, let's fight!"

Then came the scene of the two mechs fighting each other, a magnificent and intense battle that shook the heavens and the earth.

The last two mechs were destroyed together, and then the two boys, with bruises and swelling on their faces, sat on the ground, looked at each other and smiled, with a sunset drawn in the background.

Finish.

After looking at it for a long time, Li Wei could only guess that it was about the battle and romance between the two teenagers.

But the problem is... you basically have nothing at all, right?

I don't even know who they are, so at least think of some names!
"…………………"

Helen silently lowered her head.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at this."

What a waste of such a beautiful painting! But Li Wei can understand; some people would rather jump off a building than write a 700-word essay. This guy probably put all his skill points into painting and didn't put any into anything else.

"However, there are two options, you have two choices."

Li Wei shrugged, while Helen looked up.

"Two?"

"That's right, one is to become an illustrator."

"An illustrator?"

"You're in charge of illustrating the magazine's cover and color pages. Your drawing skills are excellent, and your coloring is superb. Anyone who sees your illustrations will definitely stop and pick up the book to look at them. This kind of illustration is all about attracting attention, which suits you perfectly."

"Then... what about the other one?"

"Find someone to collaborate with."

As Li Wei spoke, he thought of Matilda, the one in the Golden Mead Quartet who liked to write eccentric novels.

Her novels are perfectly suited to this eerie, gorgeous, dark gothic style.

"I can introduce you to a novelist whose novels are very suitable for adaptation into comics, especially with your art style."

"Isn't that just a picture book?"

Helen frowned and asked, but Levi shook his head.

"It's different from a picture book. You need to use your pen to turn the written description into pictures, and it also needs to conform to the characteristics of a comic. This is not an easy task, but if you really can't think of any plot, you can try this path. Of course, if the two of you work together, the remuneration will be split equally when the comic is published."

Upon hearing this, Claire raised her hand.

"But Mr. Li Wei, since a novel has already been published, everyone must know the ending of the story. Would anyone read a comic book version? Wouldn't that be pointless?"

"of course."

Li Wei chuckled. "Just kidding. Aren't there plenty of light novels that get adapted into manga? And they still sell well."

"Many people cannot imagine a picture through words. For example, they can only imagine what the characters in the book look like and what clothes they wear. It is far less intuitive than seeing the picture at a glance. Moreover, for the original author, if the comic sells well, it can make his book more popular. Some people who have not read the book may become interested in the book after reading the comic."

"I can't believe it..."

Claire blinked, looking amazed, while Helen fell into thought.

"So who is the author you mentioned?"

“Miss Matilda, her novels are rather unique… um…”

Li Wei was still thinking about how to let this young lady understand that guy's eccentric literature, but unexpectedly, the other party's performance was beyond his expectations.

"Splash!"

Before Li Wei could finish speaking, Helen suddenly stood up, her movement so forceful that her chair overturned, startling everyone. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were shining.

"Ms. Matilda? Can I adapt Ms. Matilda's works into comics? Really? I'd love to!"

Her face was flushed, and her expression was as resolute as if she were answering a pastor's question in a church.

It's not like we're getting married.

"………………………"

You, a young lady from an artistic family, actually like reading eccentric literature?

Li Wei stared silently at Helen, speechless.

There's no hope for them.

(End of this chapter)