Doplegager

Doplegager [subject #486], A Chance in Hell, 2007. "This should be the cover of the first chapter. I've been trying to use the intensity of the static as a kind of representation of the protagonist's stress, so it varies from page to page, but the covers have the widest range in intensity." © 2007 Doplegager (larger image see here) [more]

"I'm a visual artist and have recently noticed minor influences from the visual snow in my art."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Fears aroused by persistent visual snow/persistent visual aura, December 3, 2007)

"I'm a published cartoonist and self-published comic book artist. The influence I've found most amusing was a visual convention that I used to call 'muse bubbles', which were circles and other geometric forms that I would draw around a character to indicate they were inspired. In retrospect, the muse bubbles bear some resemblance to floaters, explosions of light, and geometric forms I've noticed when I focus on being aware of the visual static. There are also a few examples of the kinds of tendril, wormy-like appendages I see during heightened episodes sneaking into the art.

My visual static is almost exclusively grayscale, and I have a bad history of inability to use color effectively in my art. When I told her about visual static, she teased me that it might be at fault for my insensitivity to color. It also feels like there is a connection between the grays of the visual static and my interest in high contrast black and white imagery, but I don't have any support for this other than a gut feeling.

I haven't sat down and looked through things thoroughly for potential overlaps. I don't expect to find much, other than a few slightly amusing instances.

I can't guarantee how accurate my answers have been. If I can think of anything related, or corrections, I'll try to let you know. (I sometimes joke that I put the Ram in rambling; hopefully there are some nuggets in there.)

-Ram"

(Doplegager [subject #486], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Doplegager, December 8, 2007)

"I currently have two webcomics up and running. The first is A Chance in Hell, a fantasy/horror comic inspired by a condition called visual snow that I suffer from. The second is Illustrated Ramblings, an editorial comic and one of the rare examples of paid journalist cartooning. I'm working on the former because I want to feel prolific again. The latter is published weekly in my college newspaper... I'd love to open up shop doing freelance illustrations, but I haven't been able to beat my website into shape yet. More importantly, I have to beat my personal demons into shape. I still have a bit to do before I feel comfortable and competent, but I've made a lot of progress in the past six months."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Story Games: Playin' Roles and Rollin' Dice, January 4, 2008)

"Hmm. So, awhile ago I wrote that I had been seeing some amusing similarities between my earlier comics and my visual snow symptoms. I haven't really had much opportunity to go digging through the computer at my mom's house where most of the files are stored, but that particular line of logic got me thinking.

And the result: A Chance in Hell, a fantasy/horror webcomic that I'm releasing three times per week. It's PG-13 right now, but I've considered taking it to an R rating. I use flash to make visual snow-like static and the page shifts occasionally to get an brief after-image feel. My original thought was to put floaters in it that interacted with the user's mouse... but I think I might be pushing the limits of what casual readers will put up with as it is. Most of the chapter titles so far have been allusions to visual snow. I'm taking a lot of creative license, but a lot of it is at least indirectly related to my interactions with the visual disturbances."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Alice vs Hell, January 4, 2008)

"Not exactly the examples I originally meant to send you, Klaus. I'm not sure when I'll next be digging through the old stuff, but I'll make it a point to send some your way when I do.

Also, speaking of VS in fiction, I saw The Golden Compass the other day, which got me thinking about the books. I need to dig out the descriptions from the books, but it'd be interesting if there was a correlation between Pullman's description of Dust and VS..."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Alice vs Hell, January 4, 2008)

"Hey Klaus! I'm not as ambitious as I was a few years ago, but it's good to know that the comic is being taken well. I figure that it's my part in getting some media attention for VS. If anyone comes out of the woodworks in the webcomic communities, I'll try to send them this way. There'll probably be a fair stretch where the comic focuses more on the fantasy elements, but I start going back into reflecting on VS around chapter three."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Yuku forum Visual snow or static - General discussion - Alice vs Hell, January 6, 2008) [more]

Doplegager [subject #486], A Chance in Hell (a fantasy/horror webcomic), 2007. © 2007 Doplegager (larger image see here, here, here, here) [more]

"The wiggling worms images cited were inspired by the wiggling worms. A few months ago, I had an intense episode where my field of vision was almost completely obscured by the worms. It felt a little bit like a nightmarish jungle, with thick vines wrapping around everything. As the episode progressed, it felt like I was being drawn deeper and deeper into the vines until they started to lighten up in the middle and it felt like I was looking through a tunnel; on the other end was a man's face, laughing. It didn't feel particularly benign, nor particularly malign - just indifferent in its chaos.

So, in the fictionalized version, the tendrils became a kind of passageway between the mundane world and the fantasy world, in the same way that the hallucinatory worms became a tunnel between normal perceptions and the hallucination of the figure."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Email to Klaus Podoll, January 21, 2008)

"Yeah - I originally felt a little awkward talking about the more extreme hallucinations in a visual snow context. It's one of those subjects where it feels easy to see the line blurring between self-perception of sanity and insanity. Sometimes I have concerns that even if the visual snow itself isn't enough to classify me as having a form of insanity, my reactions to it, or interpretations of it (as in seeing figurative images), might be enough to push me over the edge. It's both interesting, and a little bit of a relief, to hear that there are similar examples [e.g. subject #513] among visual snow subjects.

Thanks for taking an interest in these issues; even aside from finding causes or cures, there's something reassuring about having at least a few people who are compiling information."

(Doplegager [subject #486], Email to Klaus Podoll, January 23, 2008; additions in square brackets by Klaus Podoll)

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