2016 24 Hour Challenge 'Tired' p16

This is my entry for the 2016 24 Hour Challenge. It is not a particularly formal challenge this year, we have not got any prizes, there is no judging, we are just doing this because we like doing it. Well... like is a tricky word. Every cell in my body is screaming at me. I am getting too old for this. 

My words were:
Escape
Denial 
Conversation 

This was easily my most efficient challenge in the entire time I have done these, which is about 8 times now I think. I got all the artwork done in 10 hours, managed a nap, and didn't have to rush on the scanning and formatting like I normally do. I use a H pencil for the rough lines and a charcoal pencil and compressed charcoal stick for the rendering. I tried to mix it up a bit here and there, and the pages aren't rendered in order ergo a lot of the effects are inconsistent as I got considerable more confident towards the end. The first page, for example, is the last page I rendered and it sort of sets you up for disappointment the rest of the way. 

The story is based on an old idea I wanted to do years ago about a cafe owner who felt lost in life. I never did anything with it though it stuck with me for years, changing format a few times depending on my mood at the time. This time I had keywords, so I tried to fit those in, and it changed the story as a result. I was going for a surreal tone, but was not sure what I was going to do until I started drawing the pages. As a result certain ideas are a little clumsy including the second last page which I am disappointed with because the original thrust of the argument was going to be very different. I have no idea why I drew her as an asian, I guess I just wanted a contrast while drawing. I worry that it comes off as insensitive as a result, I should have planned it all out better. Still, in most senses this is a personal story, a few of the ideas echo things I have thought in the past.