Can't Talk, Drawing...

I'm on page five of Maddy Kettle. It's going smoothly but inking is taking longer than I thought and I'm starting to feel the effects of shutting myself off monk-like with daily crisis of faith in my comics etc. But that's normal.

Exploring Colour

 Yesterday evening after finishing inks on another Maddy Kettle page I took a bit of time to experiment with colouring. I used the above panel from page two. My initial idea was to use gouache on acetate paper, which is the clear paper used in overhead projector. The results were really disappointing, even using Acrylagouache, a combination of gouache and acrylic paint. It just resulted in smeary sheets of acetate.

 Something I've been considering is just doing flat digital colours. This is a fast way to colour and I may resort to it in some way but the results always look digital when I do it which is not what I want.

 After a couple of disappointments I made a photocopy and just used watercolour on the panel. Then I layered it with the original in Photoshop. this was getting closer to what I wanted; a relatively flat colour with some variation in the washes. however, I couldn't get the colours as intense as I wanted, it looked too washed out. This method does, however, preserve the ink lines, which are the most important part of the art.

So finally I laid down heavier, opaque gouache over the photocopy and then layered it under the inks ( see yesterdays post for a picture of the flat goauche I used on the photocopy ) using Photoshop. This is almost exactly what I want; flat, rich colours that don't obscure the line-work. I wanted something along the lines of Herge, Tom Gauld or the mid century Golden Books; flat, simple, interesting and colouring that doesn't take away from the pen and ink. another influence of interest is the Sunday funnies from February first 1930 that we found in wall used as insulation. The colours were wonderful, a true revelation.

Colour Experiments

After finishing page three of Maddy Kettle yesterday I spent the evening playing with colour. My first idea was to paint gouache over acetate and combine it with the ink drawings in Photoshop, which didn't work. I ended up using photocopies. I'll post more on the results tomorrow.

Serious Signs Of Winter

Old Page

Just an older Maddy Kettle page today. I'm playing catch up today. I was hit with a headache yesterday that rendered me useless by 3 PM so it became a family night.

So today I'm drawing lots to make up for it. I'm drawing Maddy Kettle on cheap paper and it looks great but is taking some getting used to. What do you draw your comics on?

More Kettle Inks

Here is another inked panel from the Maddy Kettle graphic novel. Today I'm working on page four and will later be playing with colour. I'll post the results of that tomorrow...

I'm going through a major early twentieth century comic strip thing right now. I can't read them fast enough, wonderful stuff. At the moment I'm reading Little Orphan Annie and next up is Dick Tracy. I'm wondering how it' affecting my work. Positively I think.

The Right Pen

So after some worry I decided to ink with the good old Koh I Noor Rapidograph. A tool I've struggled with in the past. I tried using Rapiographs while in college but I insisted in using the ink I had used for my crowquills, FW Speedball Acrylic India ink, which was too thick for the technical pen, too thick sometimes for the dip pens, and it would clog within moments of use. This time around I'm using Rapidograph ink which flows really smoothly from the pen. I'm on the second page and it's going great. I can sit there for ages and no pen dipping or burnt out Micron markers.

Above is panel one from page two, I'm hoping to be well into page three by tonight.

Subway Sketch

A subway sketch of a girl who spent a crazy amount of time putting make up on. She was kind of fascinating, looking like someone out of the 1950's. Not in a dress-up retro way but in a sort of hard to define, well put together way.She helped me in trying to draw things more simply, looking for shapes and patterns rather than details and lines.

Henry woke us up at about 2 AM this morning and I just got up and started working. It's 7 AM now so I'm a bit wonky.

I'm just finishing up inks on page one of Maddy Kettle and I'll start in page two. I'm also thinking about colour. I'm not sure how to colour it yet. I'm going to do an experiment with painting on acetate...

The first page was inked with a .25 width rapidograph ( the brown one ) and it's going really well, it gives me the clean, even line I'm looking for.

Henry Riding A Dragon

Sometimes to entertain Henry I'll do a little drawing for him, mostly trains and dragons. Here he's riding a dragon.

Maddy In Glorious Pencil

The Maddy Kettle pencils are well under way. I've finished the first 12 pages and now I'm going to start inking because Top Shelf asked for some pages for a preview. I'm really happy and nervous about the first pages. I draw really quickly, which always makes me feel like I'm not being thoughtful enough but when I look at the pictures everything seems to be there....

Today I'm off to the art supply store to by a few things to start inking. I'm actually a bit uncertain about the inking. I had planned t just do it with Microns and still might, but these disposable markers have had strangely bendy tips lately. I'm going to give the rapidograph another go, I had a really hard time with it years ago....I'm also going to grab a Pilot drawing pen and a Copic drawing pen. I'll let you know which one wins.

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An amazing story and a rare comic that can move you to tears.



View all my reviews

Alley And Cat-Bot And The Case Of The Blue Temple

Here's another portfolio/print piece. I really love working on this one and am considering working it up into a book proposal some day. At the moment I'm working on Maddy Kettle, though, which is also amazing to work on. I feel really good about Maddy Kettle, it all seems to be working really well as a comic... I'm finishing up a bunch of inked pages for a preview.

Sandcastle

Here's a little book I did for Scholastic Education. I did it over the summer.

Currently at work on Maddy Kettle, trying to get a few finished pages done soon for a preview.

Maddy Wins Silver

I received the new Spectrum yesterday and a page from my Maddy Kettle comic has won silver in the comics category. I'm so honored and as I'm deep into working on the Maddy Kettle graphic novel it's a great inspiration to win this. I've loved Spectrum from the early days of its publication, there's nothing else like it and the collection of fantastic art just gets better and better. I love how diverse it's become.

Frank's Cats

Here's a portfolio piece I was working on but put on the back-burner. I love the idea, an escaping Frankenstein's monster escaping his master with a cadre of cats but the composition wasn't really working for me. I'm trying it out in a landscape orientation but that isn't working either....I'm putting it aside for a while and I'll revisit it later.

Tsar Alaxander And The Three Kingdoms

And here's the final version. If everything goes according to plan this will be available in my print shop soon.

Tsar Alaxander And The Three Kingdoms Inks

Here is the piece completely inked. I've coloured it since and am not sure what I think yet. It needs some tweaks. I tried colouring it in such a way that it didn't affect the contrasts too much that had already been laid down in pen and ink. This is easier to pull off colouring digitally but I wanted the imperfections of a watercolour wash.If you're curious I ink the foreground first and move backwards. I read somewhere that Arthur Rackham did this so I gave it a go and it became my usual practice. I find it gives me a sense of depth to work deeper into the picture this way.

I ripped the picture when removing it from the masonite board I had attached it to. Not badly and I fixed it with glue but I discovered, or rediscovered, how easily illustration board paper can separate from the board itself. The masking tape left rough spots everywhere I had it on the picture. As illustration board doesn't warp too badly I may forgo masonite in the future.

Henry Helps With The Baba Yaga

This is a pretty common scene in our house but this is the first time it's been captured on digital film... I can actually get a lot done this way. Many of my work days are ten hours long and Julie has similar days so this helps Henry feel a part of things and I think he's learned not to make any additions.

I'm working on the Baba Yaga drawing here, which I just now finished the inks for. I'm thinking this will be the inaugural piece in the online print store I'm opening. Does anyone have any pieces they'd like to have as a print?

I'm taking a short reading break right now and then on to the colours. I just picked up the beautiful and enormous Charley Harper art book. It's wonderful and almost intoxicating.

Sunday Funnies 1930

One last birthday post... Dave, my father in law framed these wonderful pages for me. We were having the roof re-done and we discovered in the walls newspaper from 1930 and earlier being used as insulation. They are in pretty remarkable shape, the colour is amazing!

These pages have Bringing Up Father and the Katzenjammer Kids, both strips I adore. We also found a Little Orphan Annie daily strip.

Steampunk 2: Steampunk Reloaded

It arrived!

 

Ann and Jeff Vandermeer are editors who have an amazing, magical ability to find the best stories in the world and put them next to each other in ways that seem to work impossibly well.  Theirs are the only anthologies I've read that I never skip a story, never wish anything was omitted. Everything fits and works. Their books are magic.

I was a big fan of the first Steampunk collection and had rushed to order as soon as I had heard about it soon after its release so I was very honored to be asked to contribute two drawings to the second anthology. I'm blown away by the names I'm sharing page space here.

My piece (above) was based on an idea of Jeff Vendermeer's and I tried to reference Victorian adventure story illustration in the style and composition, although it's obviously one of my drawings. It's funny to think back on the creation of a drawing, I was so stressed doing this, not from any pressure from the Vandermeers, but because this is such an amazing project and I wanted to give them a contribution worthy of them and the other stellar names involved.

There is more amazing art n this by others too, along with the best stories it's a visually stunning book as well.

Buy it here.

A Birthday Poem

Eric Orchard, with his magic pencil
Creating things that might look mean.
Eric Orchard, with his magic brushes
...Reminded me at first of Dave McKean.

His art, his talent, it has no match
The whimsy and fantasy draws you in.
The pictures, they call you, they make you laugh
And sometimes they even give you the goose skin.

Today is his birthday, and I hope it's great
With as much magic as his drawing inspires.
I hope it is filled with laughs and great wonder,
Let's have a cheer for a man we admire.

 

-Naomi Houser

What a nice gift! Thanks so much Naomi!I envy your talents.

Thanks For The Birthday Wishes!

Thanks so much for the kind birthday wishes everyone! You made the end of an otherwise gloomy week one of my best birthdays ever.

Tsar Alaxander And The Three Kingdoms Finished Pencils

This portfolio piece is coming along quickly. Sometimes I worry about how fast I draw, but I probably shouldn't. Today I'll start the inks which may take two days, it's the single most work intensive part of the process.

I also thought I'd let you know I'm thinking of financing working on Maddy Kettle through a new, dedicated print selling shop om Shopenvy. I'd like to have a print shop whee I update with new prints every few weeks.

Tsar Alaxander And The Three Kingdoms Rough Pencils

 

  Working on this new portfolio piece. The source is a story in Pantheons wonderful collection of Russian Fairy Tales. I added Tsar Alexander because I saw a photo I loved. The Three Kingdoms is a great story featuring both a dragon and the Baba Yaga. At the moment I've transferred this drawing to Canson illustration board with tracing paper and am redrawing it.

Nervous Dragon

Here's a sketch from a new portfolio piece I'm working on based on a Russian fairy tale.

Hi!

Something doodled on a streetcar. Have started updating and adding to my portfolio and poring over the newest Children's Writers and Illustrators Guide. If you need a place to start in the field, start there.

The Edits Book

Tired of having to sort through hundreds of emails to track one suggestion, I've decided to contain the matter in one Moleskine book. I'm not sure how other illustrators feel about editing through email but for me personally it's lead to numerous misunderstandings, lost edits and other problems. My work is getting increasingly low tech....

How do you keep track of edits?

Streetcar Doodles

Drop The Toad!

Here's a page that was edited out of the Maddy Kettle comic. The story took a sharp turn away from this route so I feel safe posting this. I really like a lot of the thumbnails that won't be part of the story so I'll post them when I can.

If anyone out there is interested in doing comics I have to say, writing and drawing your own stories is the most satisfying thing in the world.

Walk By The Lake

Ballpoint Streetcar Sketch

I loved the combination of her tangled hair and the fur lined hood, which i didn't quite get.

Working on thumbnails today. My mom's on her way up from Halifax to help with Henry, things are busy here.

Suspicious Tea

The ink wasn't coming out of the nib smoothly so I almost gave up. I pushed through anyway. I really wanted to see how a pen and ink drawing of mine would look in coloured inks. I feel like this is a theme I do a lot, mermaid poking out of water....

Movember, First Post.

Happy Movember! I'm starting a month long mustache growing...run to help raise money for prostate cancer. This picture is my first update. Please help me out here.

And, yes, I am in a phone booth.

Goblin Look Out, Finished

Here's a new pen and ink drawing that will accompany an interview in Onspec magazine, Canada's best science fiction and fantasy magazine.

Current Digs

Prompted by Stuart Immonen on Twitter I'm posting the current state of my studio. We live in a one hundred year old cottage on the Lakeshore in Toronto that has been converted for year round living. I have lately started using the portable easel because I really like the mobile nature of it.

Sketchbook

Hunting For Mice

Another little vampire sketch I did in my watercolour pad. I used a lot of razor for the grass and stars. I really want to add more watercolour to my portfolio.