Happy Halloween!

Here's a song for Halloween brought to you by Arkonbey (with a little help from Dame Agatha Christie, David Suchet and Apple's Garage Band ™)

Under The Sun (31 Oct 2009 0031 EST)


listening to while posting: "Under The Sun" by Arkonbey

a drawing!

I've mentioned before about Jake Parker's "Inktober" and how much it has been both inspiring and daunting me. So, I grabbed a brush pen and tried to do a finished work (which is something I haven't actually done in a long time, what with Obscure Tales and all). I also wanted to try to use lots of black. I'm afraid of black, it seems and Jake's lack of fear of black has forced me to address this deficit.

The subject you may recognize as the model I scratchbuilt from a giant Easter egg.


I drew it how I wanted to build it: in a diorama with an open front hatch, a fairing over the leg hinges and a figure with binoculars. But, the terrible plastic of the egg and the lack of winter-clad 1/48 scale figures shot this down.

The drawing itself was drawn with red lead (straight, with no graphite pencilling; I'm inordinately proud of this) and inked with a Pigma brush pen and done rather large. I didn't do anything in Photoshop other than blowing out the pencils and resizing.

I know, I should be working on Death of a Friend. I am, I just had to do this.

I do wonder if Jake would be creeped out or flattered that effect his Inktober drawings are having on me. I'd also wonder how he'd do a pair of daytime moons with just a brush pen. I could not figure that out...

Listening to while posting: "They Got Lost" by They Might Be Giants

DoaF update!

I said Sunday posting, and I deliver! That's just the kind of guy I am.

Death of a Friend

Bought a Pigma brush pen. Jake Parker's "Inktober" has inspired me to get one. That and Jake mentioned that my rabbit girl and guy drawings had more life than any other stuff I've posted yet. That was with another brush pen that I found harder to control; the Pigma may be easier. Though, I wonder if I should use the hard to control one and relinquish some control...

Listening to while posting: Selected Shorts on Vermont Public Radio

Egg-cellent

The next installment of Death of a Friend is pencilled and one of two pages are inked. I'm shooting for a Sunday posting.

In other news, I won an award.



Listening to while posting: harpsichord music blasting on Vermont Public Radio blasting from upstairs

Quickie Post

Inspired by Jake Parker's "Inktober" (a whole month of ink drawings, with pen, brush and brush-pen), I grabbed the Pentel brush-pen that Sweet Enemy got for me last year. I remember not liking it, which is why it sat in my caddy since then.

I find that still really don't like it; I don't hate it, but it won't be my weapon of choice. It is temperamental, dispensing heavy ink or ink so light the lines look like the printing on the faux-distressed shirts from A & F. The point also doesn't behave. It is VERY pointy, but holds little ink. While the belly is very thick and only gives up ink to the point grudgingly.

Ah, well. I'm still looking for the magical tool, I suppose.

Here's the offering. Sort of based on a light-hearted, rather romantic comic I drew for SE years ago and may revisit (especially after the grim Ghost of Delilah Gray:





Listening to while posting: The sound of the lentil/vegetable stew I made last night bubbling in the kitchen.

24 Hour Comic Day: Part Three

Well.

My comic for 09 is posted and I'd like to talk about it for a bit.

The artwork: with 24 Hour Comic Day I didn't expect to create an artistic masterpiece, but this time... You know when a kid draws something, a fire truck or an X-wing? They really think they're drawing what they want to draw, but little do they know how far off they were. That's what this year's comic was like, only less endearing. I look at it now and recognize what I meant to do, but missed the mark on. Ah well. (Sweet Enemy just told me that last year I did half-letter and this year I did full-letter size. Hmm.)

The story: This year's story is pretty good. But, it's bleak and dark. Probably the darkest thing I've written and I don't know why. I don't feel dark and bleak. I blame The Decemberists. Sweet Enemy and I saw them live the week before last (awesome show) and they write the bleakest, yet catchiest songs. I mean between Leslie Ann Levine, Yankee Bayonette and Eli the Barrow Boy is it any wonder I made a bleak science fiction tale called The Ghost of Delilah Gray?

I did un-bleak the ending just a bit by changing three words. SE thought it diminished it, but I felt that I'd let my character down a bit. Like Londo Mollari¹, my character deserved better. I'm a softie.

The process: I came in cold, even if not thinking of a story the week before is like not thinking of a pink elephant. Some folks came in with an idea or even with character turn-arounds, but I feel that is against the spirit of the thing. So, I rummaged around a House of Ideas (or bowl filled with pieces of paper with story seeds on them) I'd made for everyone at the event and came up with The Ghost of Delilah Gray. Then I went through my stock photo catalogs² and found this image and HAD to do something with it:



Then about a half-hour of brain storming. I went through three ideas before I hit on the one I used. Then an hour of thumbnailing and a half hour of "production design". Then, for the next ten hours, I pencilled. I worked in red and blue as an experiment; erasing twenty-four pages is a pain. I finished pencilling all twenty-four pages by midnight and started inking. A forty-five minute nap around three a.m. then back to the paper. By the end my hand was cramping. Badly.

The Aftermath:The good part was that, with the exception of my Saturday morning coffee (a usual) I took no stimulants the entire time, just food, water and o.j. That meant an easier come-down.

What I'll do different next year. First, I'll do a happier story dammit! Last year's wasn't super-bleak, but it wasn't a laugh riot either. Secondly, I'll work with bigger lines, maybe use that brush pen that Sweet Enemy got for me last year. Thirdly, I'll ease up on the words this time. Lettering is painful. Painful to do and painful for others to have to read my printing.

Due to obscurius.org space issues, I had to post on my flickr account. I also put up last year's 24HCD entry and a MiddleMan contest entry from 2007

The Ghost of Delilah Gray (24 Hour Comic Day 2009)

Redemption (24 Hour Comic Day 2008)

MiddleMan and Wendy (Viper Comics contest 2007)

listening to while posting: "Poor Little Rich Boy" by Regina Spektor

¹ I think that Londo regretted his actions and tried hard to redeem himself. He didn't deserve reward, but he certainly didn't deserve to be tortured for the rest of his life with a mind-controlling parasite stuck on his neck
² Anybody out there looking for inspiration for a face or a body or a story could do worse than to order a catalog from Veer. They have some gorgeous stock photography that really makes me wish I was not an in-house designer and some call to use it.

24 Hour Comic Day: Part two

Just an informational post. After working on an Obscure Tales Annex website, I found that I don't have enough space on Obscurius.org (mostly due to Obscure Tales). With no more room, I had to put it on my Flickr photostream along with my 24 Hr. Comic Day 2008 entry.

Too tired to do a post about it (it's me, I have to talk about it first), so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

pax!

24 Hour Comics Day

Is over


I took many self-portraits during the night. This is the one just after I finished my 24th page at 8:45 am on Sunday Oct 4th (22.75 hrs in).

Will post the comic soon.

Listening to while posting: "Istanbul not Constantinople" by TMBG; playing in my head.