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Thanks to my two favorite guys, I have six different designs printed, each design has at least an edition of two. I already have one of the designs watercolored, although scarily, it took nearly all evening. Hopefully tomorrow I can knock out too. I used a mixture of gauche and watercolor and just kinda played around until it felt the way I wanted it to. I may go back and darken the skintones, but probably not, since I rinsed out my paint. I'm relaxing with one of my favorite activities- shopping for my characters. I wish I could afford to dress as cute as she does.
Senior project is looming nauseatingly close. My Nausicaa manga came in- the 1st 2 books. Im paying close attention- in an interview, Miyazaki said he felt he was weak when it comes to drawing people. I want to see how he handles crosshatching, inking, backgrounds, closeups, since he draws his people simply but in my opinion, well. He uses ALOT of crosshatching, which is something to consider. I wonder how large the originals are. I'd really like to see them, in fact.
Im excited about beginning chapter 2, especially because i plan on using this interim between chapters to study and improve. Hopefully chapter 2 will far surpass chapter 1 in quality.
I really have a lot of work to do, not just with senior project. I've been getting stress headaches and I'm addicted to caffiene again. If I dont get a large enough dose, I get a sharp little headache on my left side. This winter, I'm volunteering at Hahnville as an assisstant for the talented art class. Hopefully, I'll learn alot. I send off my SCAD portfolio in January, I'd like to have some one-shots ready to turn in.
Well, thats that, hopefully Wednesday I'll have some stuff scanned for posting.
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I had a Senior Project critique today. I brought the pages I had inked, as well as some variations, so I could get some feedback. I told my classmates about the critique I got the other night, in case they could offer any feedback or suggestions, because I've strained my brain trying to figure out solutions. The class, as usual, offered nothing. The two people I talk with on a regular basis- Travis and Sam, gave me feedback, but they're my friends, and it's feedback I've heard before. The entire reason I asked was so I could get a general feel. Dan, as always, assured me that he and the other teachers liked my style, but tried to talk me out of doing a comic for senior project, and tried to talk me into continuing my Fungi print concept. While I'm not really opposed to the idea, I have no desire to work on it right now.
I know I shouldn't be too hard on myself because I'm still learning, and at least there's improvement, but I also feel frustrated. I feel like I'll never be good enough, that I learn too slow, that I don't draw as well as I should. I would really like to spend more time practicing, but I'm so busy with schoolwork and inking, that I can't devote the time I'd like to practicing. I wish I had more art friends so I could garner more opinions and maybe some suggestions.
I need to sit down with a sketchbook and watch Miyazaki movies and practice expressions sometime. When I have more time. And finish scripting chapter 2.
Sarah (and anyone else interested)-
My internet was really spotty last night. I'd really appreciate if you could break down how I could create a more eyecatching, appealing style as well as what sort of expressions and poses would be more appealing/appropriate. If you have time/inclination, some examples would be appreciated.
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This isn't how I intended for it to be read, but I think this is pretty nifty. I might play around with this sort of update format at a later date. Neat side effect.
What I have inked up to this point. X's denote that the area be filled in with black. Tear me apart please.
I'll try to get more sketching in during school tomorrow- both scenery, people, and character. I feel like I've been so lazy, even though I've been pretty busy and on the ball.
Starting Point, which is about Hayao Miyazaki from 79-96, was waiting for me when I went home to Luling today. Also waiting for me was a new-to-me silver PSP. Devin loaned me his copy of Patapon, since the one he gave me for my birthday last year disappeared.
At the dorm scene of chapter one now, boy is it stark. I guess that's kind of a relief, considering how time consuming the kitchen scenes have been to ink, but I do feel a little guilty cheaping out so much.
I'll be scanning the big sketchbook today.
Not a whole lot here, just stuff done in about the span of a week and a half.
Whew! All done for a little while.
The difference between art and illustration is that art has to have a deeper meaning, illustration does not.
Therefore, comics are art. The artist/writer main intention is to get across a larger, deeper message. It just requires a lot of illustration to get there.
Artdump forthcoming.
So about a week ago, Dan suggested that I completely revamp my senior project, despite getting A's from all of the judges for midterm. His major complaint is that my brushwork isn't bold enough, that I'm not using strong enough black inks, and that if I want a fusion style of American and manga style comics, I should forego attending classes next semester and just focus on practicing. I asked him what they liked about my project, since apparently they are not so fond of comics, and he said it was the fact that I intended to show my work process. Despite my better judgement, I discussed with him ways I could "improve" my project- and it was suggested that I keep the silhouette idea, do it on white paper instead of vinyl, and just do sketches.
Boy, is this a mistake.
1. I don't sketch this way, I never have. I've always used a small sketchbook, I don't just sit down and draw. I draw between classes, I doodle in classes, in the margins, on notebook paper, on scraps of receipts. If I could get away with butchering the million sketchbooks I've filled without it looking like kindergarden cut and paste, I definitely would and wouldn't be stressing. Too bad it would look like a kid got ahold of Mom's scissors.
2. This paper is way too huge. Its impossible to maneuver. Already my sketches look pretty crappy.
3. There is no way I'm going to sketch what I usually sketch. It's just going to be full of figure studies and copies from books. If they're predisposed to dislike comics, there's no reason I should include my own illustrations.
4. I have a lightbox. Maybe I should just trace stuff I've already done in my sketchbook.
Oh man, this is going to make me hate the way I draw so muuccch.
Since Dan suggested I completely rethink my senior project (:sigh:), I have to work on that too, but this time, seperately. At least my Halloween costumes are nearly done, they didn't really take too long at all.
Todays To Do List:
Clean up room
Do fish thing
Finish :sigh: Page 1 (In my defense, it is very nearly done)
Start working on Senior Project
I'm almost done with my business card drypoints. The zombie-lolita card came out great, I did a pearl layer of ink and then magenta on top, but you can't see any of the pearl. Currently I'm working on some robot bleed prints- white ink on black Reeves. I'm godawful at getting the bleed to align, that's my fault because I miscut the linoleum. Next bleedprint will be a lot better, once I decide on an image that I want to do a bleedprint for. I'm currently also working on another linoleum for my own enjoyment- it'll probably also be white on black (I like the effect) but I'm not sure what to do with it. Should I have a border? Should I carve out the background? Leave it plain? I'll figure it out as I go along.
I'm currently working on a story for fiction writing. I turned one in last week, but I'm not comfortable posting it here. In all honesty, I'm not really comfortable posting this one, so please use discretion when reading it.
Untitled
She smiled, lipstick still on her teeth. "I promise, I won't tell." She offered her pinky and I turned away in disgust. Things were already bad enough, did she really need to remind me of what we'd done? She held her hand out for a moment, waggling her finger while waiting for confirmation, and I finally pushed it aside.
"No pinky promise?" she sulked, but it was fake like her diamond earrings, a mockery of real emotion. Everything between us had been fake, but I'd been caught in a bad moment. Things between Liz and I had gone downhill, and now Sarah had me over a barrel. She would keep her promise of silence only as long as it suited her, as soon as Liz did anything annoying, she'd tell all. She'd watch as Liz's face fell, relishing the pain while pretending to be sorry. I should have known better, should have chosen a more discrete partner for an affair, but Sarah was easy. She threw herself at me, and in the crazy hour between 3 and 4, I thought it was real desire.
"Next week then?" she asked as she hooked her bra behind her back, finally hiding those swollen, pendulous breasts with the oversized nipples. In the halflight of 6a.m., they looked grotesque and green, but at 3 they had looked promising while overflowing their cups. She stepped into her panties, for a moment covering up the cottage cheese cellulite that had found root at the tops of her thighs, but she unfortunately hitched her panties further, burying the cheap fabric in her cheap crack. I couldnt possibly have regretted my answer any further.
"Yes, next week." I replied. Had I said no, she would have continued pouting and began insinuating how she'd let my indiscretion slip to Liz at the worst possible time. Sarah was calculating. She knew how best to hurt her best friend. I felt like I was protecting Liz as best I could, saving her as long as possible from Sarah’s pathos and my carelessness.
Liz was a nice girl, a hardworking girl, a trusting girl, but worst of all, a boring girl. She worked nine to five library job patiently, never complaining and never asking for anything more. She verbalized no ambitions, she expressed no desires, and she never intimated that she wanted more from our relationship. At first I was fine to float along with the status quo, to find out where these calm tides took us, but as time progressed, I grew bored and restless and longed for something, anything, exciting. This would definitely bring some excitement.
INSERT HOW THIS EVENT ACTUALLY OCCURRED HERE.
Sarah’s exciting in a repulsive way. She’d always tried to ooze between us, slick and slimy and gross. Sarah had a lot of personality, and she rarely took ‘no’ as a final answer. She wheedled and conjoled her way into countless dates, settling between us and sampling our drinks. “I’m only here for a bit, just leaving,” she’d explain, dismissing her rudeness with a wave of her hand. At first I was too surprised to complain, and later, Liz would make excuses for her friend.
“She’s just lonely,” she’d say, her nose buried in a novel and the covers pulled up to her chin. “She’s never had much luck with dating.”
It wasn’t hard to see why. Sarah came on strong, like cheap cologne, and became more grating as the evening wore on. She’d greet you with a grin, proceed to plop down between you and your date, flirt with you a little, pick at your food, declare everything to be cooked wrong, and the entire time, she spoke in an annoying voice ten decibels too high. I hated her almost from the start.
It was almost as surprising to me as it was to her that I called her late that horrible evening. Liz was back home, visiting her family, our apartment was so empty and still that I could hear the alleycats humping, their yowls of desire, frustration, and pain keeping me awake. As I tossed and turned on the empty queensized bed, I thought about my relationship with Liz, and felt trapped. The longer I lay there, thinking, the more constricted I felt, until finally I felt like I was suffocating. I took a deep breath and called Sarah.
She answered right away. I apologized for waking her, and she assured me she’d been unable to sleep. For a moment, I felt kinship, and I asked if I could come over. She said sure.
She didn’t live too far from our apartment, the drive offered me little time to reconsider. I hadn’t really formulated a plan, I was just looking for an easy escape. She was waiting for me in the lobby, wearing a robe and a smile, and had I given myself a moment to think, I would have realized that there wasn’t a person in the lobby- from the night janitor to the guard at the door, who didn’t know what we were up to.
I hadn’t planned that far ahead. Sarah and our audience may have known what was up, but I didn’t, not really. I admit, I knew I wasn’t there to just talk, but I swear I hadn’t planned on sleeping with Sarah. Things just happened that way.
I’d never actually been inside her apartment before, even though Liz and I had picked her up several times. I’d never seen an apartment quite so Pepto-Bismal pink, from the carpet to the wallpaper. Her furniture was battered, the floor was filthy, and she tried to hustle me past the worse of the mess. She didn’t have to get me drunk, but when she offered me a glass of cheap whiskey, I gladly accepted. I settled into her couch, and she began on the rocking chair, but slowly edged her way closer to me. Soon she was nearly on my lap, her robe riding up her chunky thighs, and my brain was too busy screaming for freedom to register how cheap she looked in that lighting.
When she suggested we sojourn to her bedroom, it seemed like a good idea. I followed her, and when she clicked off the lamp, she looked decent enough in the residual glow of the streetlamps. I was slightly tipsy, horny enough, and willing to make some stupid choices. As she dropped her robe, the choices seemed a little less stupid, and as she sprawled on her bed, the choices seemed just fine. It wasn’t until after the deed had been committed that I realized how truly stupid I had been. Now I was stuck with Sarah.
Say what you will about my decision to call Sarah. You can call me a traitor, a creep, a jerk, you can even call me a douche or an asshole. They all fit. It was a cheap decision. I could have called Liz, but I didn’t. I could have struggled it out alone, but I didn’t. I could have called one of my other friends, but I didn’t. I called Sarah and I took advantage of her desperation and her willingness to sell out her best friend. The worst part was I didn’t even feel guilty about it. Not really. I felt bad, sure, for cheating on Liz, it was a shit thing to do. And I felt worse that it was with Sarah, I know I could’ve done better, even last minute like that. But I didn’t feel like I’d betrayed the love of my life, the woman I planned on marrying. I didn’t feel this immense sense of guilt. I felt kind of relieved.
We were equally heartless, Sarah and I. She was heartless for betraying her best friend, but there was no loyalty in Sarah, and none should be expected. She made no pretenses at kindness, her avarice was open for all to see. I, on the other hand, was much worse. I played the good boyfriend charade, fooling Liz into thinking that everything was going wonderfully. She believed I loved her, that I was serious about her, that I only cared about her welfare just as she only cared about mine. Cheating on her was bad enough, and cheating on her best friend was worse, but cheating on a such a pretty girl with an ugly whore was the worst of all. As nice as Liz pretended to be, I knew she would think that if she ever found out. I knew that fact would hurt her more than anything else.
I think I wanted that to happen.
Deep down inside, I wanted to see Liz crack. I wanted to see her get upset, to make demands, to threaten and cry and throw me out. I wanted to see her feel something more than just contentment and complacency. This affair with Sarah was just a buildup to that, and I realized I’d gradually been doing more and more to push Liz away.
Sarah dawdled while putting her other clothes on. I could tell she was hoping I'd suggest another round, but as the light in the room grew brighter, she became uglier. She sat on the edge of the unmade bed with her shirt wrapped around her arms, smiling at me occasionally while I continued to dress. She quickly became impatiant as she realized I was not going to succomb to her wiles, and made her desire abundantly clear in a nasal, whining voice.
"Lets go again, before you leave," she complained, crossing and uncrossing her legs in a crude imitation of seduction. I shrugged her off as I shrugged on my jacket.
"I've had more than enough," I said as I moved toward the door. She stayed seated, watching me leave.
"I guess it doesnt matter, then Jim, when Liz finds out," she ruminated as I turned the deadbolt. It clicked loudly in its casings while I considered her threat.
"I guess not, Sarah," I replied finally. "Nor does it matter which of us tell her. But if it's all the same to you, I'd like to tell her myself. Today, preferably."
As I opened the door, I heard the bedsprings creak as she shifted her weight off the mattress. I imagined her standing, awkwardly halfdressed, unsure whether to stop me or let me go, and I continued into the hallway.
"By the way, you should probably consider getting yourself tested at the clinic today. Liz had an outbreak earlier this month, and I hear that's when herpes is most contagious."
I slammed the door behind me and began my journey towards the fallout.
( This is going to be a massive post. )
Just finished out my midterms-whew! What a relief! My midterm critique went really well, its good to know I'm not wasting my time. I managed to get a different plate for business cards finished and printed- they look even better than the first! We're starting linoleum, which has always given me trouble, hopefully my current design will look good. I should probably work more in linoleum- maybe it will help me with more dramatic inking, since you're working from black to white. I've read Will Eisner's A Contract With God. Its good, his inks are pretty succulent. Lots of juicy black ink tempered with fine lines. I've finished Persepolis and Fun House and Jack of Fables 2, and am almost done with book 1 of Maus.
Sarah, I agree with you completely about the black inks on RSG. I absolutely havent a clue what im doing, i think i'll stick to halftones for the time being. Inking progress is slow this week- been busy studying. As a treat, i stayed home from American History and slept in.
I havent been able to draw as much, but i try for a sketch a day, and i read a lot of graphic novels. Im trying to learn a much as possible, and two things stump me- dynamic poses and dynamic angles. The first is hard to pull off without looking silly, the second is hard to envision. I have Ch 2 outlined, when im done working on my next story, i'll script it.
All in all, life is going well and i look forward to graduation.
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Originally I had planned on toning RSG. Then Dan suggested I go the traditional comic route, and use blacks.
Well, I haven't a clue what would even look good.
So I just dove in, because better to make a mistake and learn something than just sit around with my thumb up my rear.
So it looks bad. I want criticisms.
I think my problem right now is I have too much black going on. I'll probably bring the chairs and table back to white in class tomorrow. Not even sure what to do with that awful car. Of course, this is smaller than how I intend to show it, and I only bothered finishing up one panel, because if I decide to do major changes, I don't want to revise four panels.
Each step of the process has different challenges. The outline requires foresight and a good idea of my future plans for the characters, the script requires a thorough understanding of my characters, their habits and mannerisms, as well as the ability to envision the finished product as a whole. Thumbnails build on the vision of the script, fleshing it out and requiring me to visualize panel layout and anticipate the flow of actions and dialogue. Layouts require precision and patience, sketching entails directing and choreographing the characters, actions, backgrounds, and props into a coherent whole, and the final pencils refine my sketches and bring my characters to life. At times, these steps can confuse, confound, and frustrate, but these challenges make the process thrilling for me.
For my senior project, I wanted to combine this passion for comics with a presentation that is more suitable for a gallery. I wanted to bring my comics into the realm of contemporary art. I considered many options during my planning stage, and finally decided to create vinyl silhouettes. These silhouettes will involve cutouts of me in various active poses, and will be filled with a pattern created from the pages of my comics. I intend to display the steps of my comic in these silhouettes, taking advantage of my process of using layers of blue pencil. I feel that this is not only aesthetically pleasing, but informative to the audience, allowing them a peek into my work process. I intend to display various stages of completion, and am currently working on digitally inking and halftoning my first chapter. I feel like these silhouettes are in tempo with where contemporary art is headed. Comic art has become a popular medium for many young artists, and vinyl graphics are a popular choice for inexpensive installations. I feel that I am staying true to my independent roots, these vinyl graphics would be as suitable for a gallery as for installation in the home. They are easily mass produced yet still have a personal feel. I would like to have at least three silhouettes ready by senior project.
Right now, I am approximately half done with my project. My comic has been drawn and digitized, and I feel confident that I will be finished by mid-November. I look forward to improving my digital inking and halftoning skills as I become more proficient at using my tablet and programs.
So I feel like I've hit a bit of a turn around regarding the comic and inking. Usually I have a really tight, mannered inking style, no stray hairs. But Dan's pushing me to try making it a lot looser, no grayscale, no halftones, just brush and black. After assuring him that if I did this, I wouldn't be able to turn in an inked example for midterm crit, I decided to give it a try.
Alright, I gotta admit, it takes some getting used to. And it kinda looks like I inked it with a marker. But it moves a lot faster and it doesnt look half bad. I guess I"ll have to play around with it tonight and get used to it. Probably going more Eisner than manga. We shall see. I'll post when I"m done.
After the endless cycle of editing the stories of others and studying had been put to rest for the night, I did a couple nude drawings and watched The Office/ate some dinner. Now I'm working on toning Page 1
