EAT THAT POOR SELF-IMAGE!

Wednesday, I can say, was productive.

Comic was inked, scanned, arranged, flattened, colors removed, ready for painting. Photogram ideas floating around my head, fixed the light leak on the bellows to my new (to me, anyways) camera, taught Jacob and John how to set up the dark room, and John was there for clean up. Went and picked up Days We Would Rather Know, a collection of poems by Michael Blumenthal. Amazing, go pick up a copy. The way things are going, time will run out for me before I finish life. Imaginary Stitches is tearing out my stitches. This is, however, a lesson in writing. I need to write in images, and make each one meaningful, and make every part essential. Perhaps every page in this comic is essential, but I feel it moves too slowly. Maybe that's just the me that wants everything fast speaking. I need to slow down and breath and go to sleep soon to wake up, bright and early, to go learn to be a poet, and come back and paint all day long. Paint Paint Paint! Comic might be done tomorrow evening. As long as I don't die, it will be here before the weekend!

AAAGHH!

I am so behind schedule for the comic. This week, although I will try my hardest to get it done as soon as I possibly can, seems to suggest that the release of page three will not be until Friday. I am so tired. I've been up since six and working pretty much non-stop. I got home at around 7 and have been organizing my room as a studio and bedroom. At least I have an internet connection now. This will make uploading things easier. Huzzah!

Today's thing to think about...

I need to talk about Vera Brosgol some more. More specifically, her one page work in Flight Volume Two, "Salmoning."
There's plenty of times I always wonder if I'm going down the right current, or if I took a wrong turn somewhere, and I can't turn back and go the right way. Well, besides the deep philosophical implications of this work, the work is truely Vera Brosgol creating beautiful work.
Go buy Flight, all three volumes so far, and read all the rest of the stories. I can't promote this series enough. So go buy them.
Click on the title for a link to Vera's "Salmoning" from the Flight 2 preview site.

The now deleted idea...

Was total bullcrap. I'll be working diligently and producing artistic works with literary value no matter how much time they take, although you can expect something weekly.

Page 2!

Page two, still on wednesday, as promised. I need to start working on page three immediately to get it done on time for early wednesday next week. Without further ado...*artstuffs partially contributed by the talented Claire Brown.

So Far, So Good.

Page two progress is going great. Scanning right now. I'm much happier with the new drawings, and I even had time to do a sketch! I drew this and then played with some prismacolor pencils, so I didn't color all the hair. This took about 3 minutes. I hate coloring in hair by hand.

I can't get no satisfaction

...from looking at page two, so I am going to redraw it and rescan it. I'll be working on this all day today, so late wednesday (afternoon or evening) might be when page two will go up. Hopefully I will be happy with it.

Quick drawing of the day!

I drew this today, pencilled and inked, trying to draw something heartfelt. I don't know about anyone else, but there is something about public transportation, listening to music, and holding hands that makes my heart hopeful. Someday. Well, yeah, this is kinda cheesy, but I'm a pretty cheesy fellow.

I'm back!

The last couple of days have been hectic. Miserable, I might even go as far to say. But I've started page two and should pencil and start inking tomorrow. I do, however, have class from 9 to noon, so I should be going to sleep soon.
I'm looking forward to "Project: Romantic." You can find a link to a preview by clicking on the title of this entry, or clicking here. My favorite page is Part IV of "Kingdom Animalia Illustrated."



























Sometimes you see things that make you laugh at the heart break you've been through, and that helps. But enough emotional talk.
I am nearly finished with the comic paintings I'm doing of Claire and Caroline. They are the actual real life incarnations of Shelly and Amy, respectively, from John Allison's Scary-Go-Round. Seriously. So I might take them to the imaging people before I give them the paintings, or if that fails, take them up to school and use the copy stand. I'll have to get good slide film and scan them on my computer once they are developed. I will not, however be putting them on here, for I think that takes away their value. Caroline will be posting hers on her myspace, however.
With that said, I can't wait to recieve my copies of Flight 1 and 2, and I'll have to re-order volume 3 since it got water damage tonight. Grr!

It's Wednesday!!

And as promised, here is page one of Imaginary Stitches. Expect page two next week.

Something good to listen to.

The broadcast I heard this last saturday of This American Life on the radio was perhaps the most touching program I have ever listened to. "Last Words." This is all I can say about it. Go listen to it. You can find it here. Although morbid, powerfully thought-motivating.
Expect to see a comic on death after Imaginary Stitches, the first page of which will go up on Wednesday, and a new page will be added every wednesday after that.

The First Story's First Page.

I finally got one page of the first story completely drawn, inked, scanned, and colored. Scanning took longer than I though it would take, mostly because i had a very hard time lining up the parts of the scan. My flat bed scanner has a recess where the glass is, and when the top is closed, the flattener pushes part of the board in and it creates a curve, distorting the scan. then it's nearly impossible to the all the lines to match up. I finally got it to work by scanning in two parts, not using the flattener, and putting part of the board on the outside of the scanning area. I spent a couple of hours in this step.
The first story I've decided to illustrate (my mom used this word for what I'm doing, I liked it better than comicking) is Imaginary Stitches, one of my better short stories. I wrote this one last summer. If you have read the story, good for you, but if you haven't, you'll get to see it in living color!
Anyways, I haven't yet decided a schedule for the comic (although for sure I've narrowed it down to one update a week, at least for now, as it takes me forever to get a single page done. I might increase to two a week once I get the hang of it), and I'm still working on ideas for an actual website for the comic. I don't want to put up the first page yet though, maybe tomorrow. In the meanwhile, here is a sneak preview at perhaps my serial comic, which will be a factual account of my life. Seriously. (Character based on me, although I did take some flattering liberties.) Click to GRANDITIZE IT!!!

This is another test. I was messing with creating the lines in their own layer, and checking how color was going to work. This was done using the trackpad on my powerbook. I definitely need a drawing tablet. I might have to go buy one right now.

I might as well get started.

Today I purchased a copy of photoshop and a scanner, which will double as a tool for my photography and my comic art. I haven't started coloring yet, but I scanned one of my test drawings and tested photoshop's ability at removing blue lines. It works.

Seeing as I am not going to school for drawing and classical animation, I have taken it upon myself to learn from others by reading what they have to say and seeing all the wonderful works. I, being the sappy sap that I am, have fallen in love with Vera Brosgol. I did not know this until today, but she is the author of "Return to Sender," a wonderful comic that was never finished. I was first introduced to the comic last year when Sarah showed it to me. I also found out Vera drew the "Skeletor Tries His Luck" sketch, which was Sarah's AIM icon for the longest time. Who would have known I'd considered Vera Brosgol as one of my top favorite artists. Check out her art and animation at www.verabee.com.

The point of this entry is clear. I am going to start inking "Imaginary Stitches" (and continue drawing it) as soon as I get a desk, which should be this weekend. If not, I'll keep on working on the floor.

Classes start next Thursday. I'll be buying a large format camera soon, and cheap 35mm film to do those annoying introductory assignments.

Stay Tuned.

Coming to a Blog Near You!!

My latest endeavor into the realm of the arts has been one that I've been wanting to do for a while, but only until a few days ago had the time and funding to start. Well, half start.
I recently started creating graphic short stories (as in comics, not the bad kind of graphic) based on my short stories I've written over the last couple of years. That's only half of the project, however, as the other half is creating a comic that I update regularly. This probably will not go up until I have made several episodes, after which I will have gotten the hang of making them, and will be able to post them twice a week and keep up with the production of new episodes. This, of course, involves time to write, time to storyboard (or plan a layout, since comics are pretty much fully fledged storyboards), pencil, ink, scan, and color in photoshop. I expect this to take up a large portion of my time, which unfortunately, still being in school (one more year!!), i might not have enough of. Also I lack a scanner and a copy of Photoshop (both of which I plan to buy as soon as I recieve money from the school).
Also, on my lists of projects (forced upon me, but which I will complete fully willingly) are the assignemts for the two photography classes which I am taking. I am in the process of buying a large format camera (also waiting for school money), which will be an excellent way to be able to divide my time between the two classes. I hate having to take out an unfinished roll of film because I need to change from color to black and white, or vice versa. So expect great things from those projects as well.
Third on my plate for this fall session, I will be writing poetry. I plan to incorporate this poetry into both my other projects (if it is any good, I have not taken a poetry class before, except what we went over in middle and high school for a week each year). There will be photographs based on my poetry, and maybe even comics based on it. I guess we will have to wait and see.
This, along with work at Mad Science, is probably all I will have time for this fall. I don't plan on socializing much, unless of course I meet a special lady, in which case be prepared for works inspired by her as well. But until further notice, all works will be inspired by my ex, Sarah Ferguson. Yep, the Dutchess of York. Nothing like a little heart break (coupled with a few martinis, or course) to get the creative process rolling.

Music

Have you ever had an album that when you listen to it, it is as if the artist was writing the soundtrack of your life? Everytime you listen to it (which is as often as possible), you find yourself relieved that someone's situation is the same as your own. And you listen to it over and over. As soon as you buy it, you listen to it on the way home, and at home, you put the cd on your computer and let it play on repeat. As you fall asleep at night, you let it lull you to sleep. And in the morning, it is the first thing you hear, and it invigorates you, whatever the songs may be about, whatever you have been through, this constant reminder of that event that affected you so deeply, a death, a break up, the music helps heal you. You realize that someone else has been through this, and you feel comforted by the fact that your heart is not the only broken one. Do you have an album like that? A song which captures your soul?