I worked about 15-20 minutes past my timer today since I was almost done with page 3 and wanted to finish. It defeats the purpose of sticking to some sort of time management, but I have most of the day off today and I figured finishing would be a good thing. My hand did start to hurt, and I think I figured out why: pen pressure. I was never taught, like many inkers, how to use … Read More
Had a bout of hay fever this morning that disrupted my sleep, so I decided to sleep in an hour instead of getting up to draw. Then I had to go to a school and work on some drums. I got finished with my daily hour of comic work about 20 minutes ago, so I did go through my rehab, just 7 1/2 hours late. My hand began to hurt again, so I had to find … Read More
Today I actually got up at 6:50 AM and got to the drawing board just before 7:00. Woo hoo! I finished inking page 1 and it looks a little better than yesterday. I a little over-worked, but better. I had to stop myself from over-working the page too much because I could feel myself trying to find ways to make the page look better, but any more noodling and hatching would’ve made the page look even … Read More
Today I began inking page 1 of my 3 page story. I like the inking process very much, but I think it takes me a while to warm up. I’m not very happy with the outcome so far, but then, the inks lack blacks and rendering as I haven’t gotten to that stage yet. However, I’m not really digging the line work. I think of “style” as 2 separate categories: idiosyncratic and technical. Idiosyncratic style is … Read More
(Got rid of “Self-imposed.” I don’t think that really matters anymore, right?) * Didn’t get to draw very much this morning; once my wife got out of the shower, I went down to spray a wasp nest. I wanted to make sure she’d be available in case a swarm of wasps attacked me and put me in the ER. I made a huge boo boo when ruling my final page. The safe area is the wrong … Read More
This update is coming late because I actually had to go into work this morning… and I’ll be going into work from now on, as well. This means I’ve got to make sure I get up around 6:50 AM, draw from 7:00 to 8:00, and if I can, make a quick post before I leave at 8:30 (where’s the shower, you ask? Don’t worry; I work with plants, oft times in the field, so I get … Read More
Here’s what I’ve been up to the last couple of days: Not bad for someone a little rusty, huh? I like the second page much better. The look is, I think, a bit more confident-looking. Both pages have their problems, to be sure, but the first page has a less confident execution than the second, and there are some awkward choices, as well. Now, my first thought, when I noticed this, was, “Hmm… wouldn’t my first … Read More
(I’m getting kind of tired of writing “Self-imposed” everyday. Oh well) Just when I began to feel like I was starting to draw well and was going to have fun, the timer went off. Finishing up the pencils for page 2 of what is turning out to be a 3 page story (I guess it’s a story). I continually have to remind myself that I need to hold the pencil and pen a lot looser when … Read More
Got off to another late start because I got up at 7:20 AM. I’ve been pretty good at making sure I draw every weekday morning for at least an hour, but the other half of that schedule was to get up at 7:00 and be done at 8:00. Luckily, I don’t have a dayjob that requires me to be there at a specific hour, and right now I’m doing some work at home. But, while I … Read More
Back for my second week of drawing comics in the morning when I could be sleeping. Today I tried to finish the page I started last Friday, and I would have finished, too, if it weren’t for those pesky kids… I mean, if it weren’t for that stupid head I was trying to draw. I got stuck on a panel where I have my fat guy sitting on a park bench, leaning back with his arms … Read More
It’s the last day of my first week of my self-imposed comics rehab (what an awkward sentence). Except for a few late starts and some rustiness at the drawing table, I’d say it’s been fairly successful at getting me back to the drawing table on a regular basis to do nothing but draw comics. So far, it’s been different from the way I’m used to working; I usually write myself some sort of script and then … Read More
UPDATE: 01.02.2024 – This post is old. Since then, I have learned much, refined much, and also put all my desktop publishing skills to use at a commercial print shop where I learned and refined even more and became a prepress expert (although, there’s always more to learn). While the information in this post can still be used, I find its accuracy to be limited and outdated. I have also found some of the writing to … Read More
(There’s gotta be a better name than “Self-imposed comics rehab”… but it’s pretty accurate. I guess I’ll leave it) Unbeknownst to me, the wife got up at 7:10 AM, so I got off to a bit of a late start. I got to the drawing board around 7:30 because I had to take out some lightbulbs in our kitchen. Tip: if you buy ceiling lights from Ikea (like the previous owner of our condo did), make … Read More
Got a late start today; I went to see Watchmen last night, so this morning I was flipping through the book. This post is also coming late because I had work to do after my drawing session and I forgot to post an update. In any case… I inked yesterday’s page, and it turned out okay. There are some rendering and linework things that, like usual, I started to overwork. I had to stop myself before … Read More
Before I get to today’s report, I want to point out that the inspiration behind my self-imposed rehab was this very site: Comic Artist Rehab. * * * I got to the drawing board today and looked at my doodles from yesterday. I actually wasn’t repulsed by what I’d seen, which was very odd; yesterday, I was disgusted. I’d doodled a pair of lips in a close-up shot and sketches of a guy sitting. So, I … Read More
Back in Winter 2006, David Hopkins, Jim Lujan, and Justin Stewart collaborated on something called “The Henchman,” an idea conceived by Jim and scripted by David. I had the privilege of inking Jim’s artwork. Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day until 10-12-2008 on David’s site. Go read it. I’ll wait… …Alright. What’s available to read, as you’ve just seen, are only the pencils with Vinh-Luan Luu providing the lettering. I finished the inks back … Read More
So, I made an announcement on this site on 9-13-2008 that my “sabbatical” from comics was over, that I was, once again, going to make comics come hell or high water. This was not a lie. Unfortunately, however, it has been slow going. I won’t go into details, because I don’t want to offer up any excuses, but let’s just say that picking a project has been difficult (the one I was going to pick conflicted … Read More
I never posted this because originally, this was supposed to be an album cover for a “band” called Huge Black Man, headed by my friend (and now business partner) Noah Clark, drummer for Brilliant Red Lights. Unfortunately, that album doesn’t look like it’s going to come out, so I figured I’d post it now. I got to hear the music a while back, and it’s some really good, instrumental-neo-rock-improv. I liked it. I can’t remember if … Read More
click on the image to show at “full” size Done with a .08 Micron marker that was running out of ink. I cheated on this one. I drew this yesterday but posted it today… but everything was done in under a total hour’s time. 😉 — This is an Inkspill. Inkspills can only be done in ink and must be drawn, scanned, cleaned, and posted in one hour, no more.
