Well, a couple weeks have gone by since my last Comic Creation Update, and we've passed over the threshold into the month of February. So I figured I'd document some progress on my comic project, "I Thought It Would Be Zombies..." for any of you fine folks who are following along!
Working on comics can be quite a manic experience. Did you ever watch the movie Tangled? Remember that scene where Rapunzel has just left her tower for the first time and is emotionally careening back and forth between delighted joy and crushing despair? Yeah, it's like that for me... except I have no hair and seldom go outdoors... But I digress...
Overall my work time so far has been filled with highs and lows wherein I'm either loving how the work is progressing or hating it. Even more strangely, conflicting emotions seem to go hand in hand far too often! I'm happy that I'm putting in more time at the drafting table than I was previously, but sad that it's still not enough. These are some of my favorite pages I've ever produced but they're still not as good as I want them to be... I'm learning to live with those dualities.
Page 1 is nearing completion of the pencil and ink stages. Lots more detailing, thus our "stars" of this column; Bark, Leaves, Stubble, and Chainmail. I redrew panel 4 as I mentioned I would in the last column, and am very happy I didn't settle for that crap face I had in there before!
Work began on page #2. That's pretty much how it has to happen. One foot in front of the other until you reach your destination, which in this case is a finished comic book. Going right along with the contrasting emotions and thoughts I've been discussing... I keep telling myself I want to develop a more simplified and dynamic art style. But then I decide to draw individual scales on armor. I just love lines... and I guess my natural style that always seems to emerge can best be described as "anal."
I really enjoy the Story View of the Clip Studio software I use. Basically all the pages of the comic are set up in a linked file, allowing me to see the flow of the story, rearrange pages, etc. But more than that I just like to look at it like a progress bar. I can see the little blocks of each page filling in and watch my progress. Despite the fact that there is a lot of white space ahead, it's very motivating and I do believe I'll reach the end! When I made my first comic, "Seer", I did much the same thing with index cards on cork boards. This is just a bit more high tech...
I'm continuing to participate in an accountability group with @kommienezuspadt and @artistchristian who are both doing really exciting and excellent work that I hope they'll share!
I feel like I should post more often, but would lean toward mixing in more short form content. What do folks think? Should I begin experimenting more with sharing short tips on Zappl or images in Steepshot?
Regardless, I'll continue posting these columns whenever I feel I have enough to show. If nothing else they help me focus on the next step and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I hope you all enjoy and are on journeys of your own.
Worktime Elapsed Since Last Update: 10 hours 30 minutes
Total Elapsed ITIWBZ... Worktime: 30 hours 20 minutes
Tools Used: iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, Clip Studio Paint, Scrivener
Was Listening To: @jasonbrubaker videos, a phenomenal and motivating comic artist freshly arrived on the Steem blockchain, swing by and tell him hello!
(I really need to create a cool graphic for this regular stats column...)