Still need to get sound done, but I would love a weekend off.
Anyway, this follows Vanessa’s trip to the surf shop, where magical, fun things happen. I had a great time creating this surf shop based on my own experiences. The fiction surf shop was based on the now defunct Boardriders in Malibu. (Sad to hear about their closing, that was the first place I ever got a wetsuit.)
I wanted to feel like this trip to a surf shop is the most fun, exotic thing Vanessa’s done in a while. This poor gal has been through it, and now she’s finally treating herself with a gift from a stranger.
This scene was all about the wide shots.
A surf shop is a very specific kind of experience. There’s a lot of beach stuff on display but then there’s a lot of wetsuits and surfboard stuff most newbs have never seen. It can be overwhelming, but fun. Vanessa is lucky her surf shop is run by this super friendly, character, Randy.
Randy is low key based on another helpful guy from a whole other shop (Val Surf in Valley Village). I had such a good experience there, I figured I’d draw inspiration from that. Surf shops aren’t always the safest place for women. Sometimes the guys there can be real jerks, just because you’re smaller and easier to punch down to. I at least wanted Vanessa’s experience to be ideal. Good surf shops deserve to be shouted out.
But Vanessa has no idea how ideal it’s going to get for her.
I’ll save the reality of those other shops for a Love, Joolz comic.