Drazen Drawed Me!

Currently rereading The Book Of Three for the umpteenth time and I made an offhanded joke about missing my job as an assistant pig keeper and within hours my friend, and one of my favorite illustrators ever Drazen Kozjan emailed me a drawing he did of me....Pipe and all.... Love this!

Comic Book Tools And Materials Part Four: The Right Pens

Pens Part One: Zebra G Nib

As I mentioned before, I soon gave up on the idea of drawing Maddy Kettle using a single tool, like a rapidograph or the computer. And it all comes down to the fact my best work springs from using a variety of tools. I think I can do a nice pencil drawing or ink sketch but the work that looks most interesting to me comes from a variety of tools used together.

So I’m always looking around for great tools to add to my studio. I’m already a bit restless so this suits my personality.

And a fairly recently discovery that has become essential to my drawing is the Zebra Chrome G-Nib. It’s a Japanese made nib, used by Manga artists and it seems to me to be designed especially for cartooning. For years my nib of choice was the Hunt 100 or 103 nib. These have a great line but they clog and snap easily. I’ve been using the same G Nib for over a year now and it still works as well as the day I got it.  It still will clog if not cleaned periodically but the well where the ink sits is broader and I think that makes it clog less frequently. In any case, it’s easy to clean and clogging is never a problem.

What I love best about the G Nibs, besides a beautiful line, is the hardiness of them. They are really tough pen nibs. I had no idea nibs could be made this resilient. You can really put a lot of pressure on them and they will take it, allowing you to do long, elegant lines of varying width. This lets me put a looser, more gestural quality in my Maddy Kettle pages that otherwise might look rigid if only drawn with a single width mechanical pen. In fact, this was my biggest problem with the earlier pages; they lacked the liveliness of my other work. It’s a hard balance. When working too detailed with a single width line my work gets all flat and static but working too loose and gestural my work can get too messy and uncontrolled looking.  While I think the most important aspect of a drawing is composition, this balance of liveliness and control is a big deal for me.

In terms of getting nibs and other materials, Jetpens has been a lifesaver. This company provides amazing tools for art and good prices and the ship fast. I can’t say enough good things about this company. The nib and nib holder were both purchased there. I was talking to some cartoonists on Twitter and they all agreed that if it weren't for Japanese made art supplies we'd all have to suffer through inferior drawing products. 

Here's an interesting comparison of various manga nibs.

Next, I’ll talk about other pens I use in my work.

What I'm Reading

The Art Of Ponyo by Studio Ghibli, Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki and Melvin Monster by John Stanley.

Melvin Monster

I'm knee deep in scanning artwork right now so I did this little sketch yesterday in between scans. Melvin Monster is an amazing 60s comic book by John Stanley, who I think is one of the best writer/artists of kids comics ever. Very funny with great characters. And his comics have a little edge, which I like.You can see some of his comics here.

I'll continue my tools and materials posts on Monday, I need to get caught up on writing those posts.

Comic Book Tools And Materials Part Three: The Right Pencil

Since university I've used Staedler Mars Lumograph pencils, either B or 2B. I simply haven't found anything better. They have a great richness of line while maintaining a hard edge, it's what you might call a classic pencil. Many cartoonists who work traditionally use a non repro blue pencil. These pencils have a line that is invisible to most graphic arts cameras. This is so that there is no need to erase pencil marks before making scans. But I've never been comfortable drawing in blue.....

Comic Book Tools And Materials Part Two: The Disappointing Truth About Paper

There are 2 things I need from a paper I'm doing pen and ink drawings on : it needs to be smooth and at least 2 ply. And I really like cheap.

If it's not smooth the sharp pen tips will catch and skip across the paper. I've used rougher papers for pen by drawing gently and slowly and I've managed just fine. However I don't want to do a whole book that way. I think it's best to use the material most well suited to a given project within your budget. The Situation, unlike Maddy Kettle, was drawn on higher quality watercolour paper. I did this for a few reasons. The big one is I just wasn't sure what materials were best yet and second, I had made the decision to hand colour The Situation so it needed to be a paper that could handle ink as well as watercolour and gouache without warping and going all pulpy.

And the paper should be 2 ply or greater because I'm really rough on my paper. I apply layers and layers of black and white ink (and often other materials) and sometimes need to scratch the paper with an exacto knife to get the right effect. A single ply paper will tear quickly under this punishment. So for me the quality of a paper is indicated by it's surface and thickness.

I tend to use a bristol paper or something similar. There are a number of brands like this. Strathmore is the most famous and it is also very reliable.  This is what I'm using for Maddy Kettle. I'll switch if I can get the same quality for less money.

There are papers that might actually be better suited to this kind if pen and ink work such as Arches or Fabriano hot pressed watercolor papers. However, these papers are high quality papers made from cotton rag rather than wood pulp and are much costlier.

So, the truth is, the paper just needs to be OK and fairly cheap. 

Comic Book Tools And Materials Part One: Some Abandoned Tools And Methods

 Above are two panels from Maddy Kettle from pages self rejected.

I actually had a false start with Maddy Kettle. I got five pages in using just a Rapidograph for inking (and a brush for spotting blacks) but this took forever and the result was really disappointing. The single width line lacked life. Many artists produce phenomenal work using that kind of line but I realize now that that's a certain type of aesthetic and you really need to plan for it. And practice that type of work. I found I had no immediate facility for it and would have to spend time working on it. And I wasn't at all interested in doing this. The idea of using a Rapidograph had more to do with being efficient rather than trying to attain a certain look.

I also made an attempt at inking entirely digitally, using a Cintiq. I didn't try this with Maddy Kettle but with an illustration assignment and the Shadow Talker comic. The final results were surprisingly good. There was no real dip in quality. However, inking a complex image digitally is no faster than than inking traditionally. In fact, because much of my work is so detailed I found myself zooming in and working in an overly finicky manner. And I found this wasn't improving the final image, it only slowed things down. On top of this digital inking looks more precise than I felt the Maddy Kettle comic should. The best comic work I've done always contains many traces of my mark making. After comparing digital and traditional work I discovered that hand made marks are an essential part of my drawing. I will use digital drawing techniques on this book but it needs to be an addition to the traditional work, not a replacement. I can see the benefit of using purely digital in another project but it didn't suit this.




Another thing that wasn't working for me was the paper size. I did these first pages 11 by 15 inches, so a drawing are of about 10 by 14. I thought this would be fine but I found it totally constricting. Maddy Kettle is pretty sweeping in parts so it needs the space to be that way. I ended up working on pages quite a bit larger.

So now I needed to find what would work. I had eliminated the option of using a single tool and Top   Shelf had given me the go ahead on the book (the story and dialog being finalized) so I had no time for leisurely exploration and had to jump right into the project. So I looked through my work to see what had worked and if I could improve on that.

The Mysterious Inukshuks Of The Lakeshore

I've been liking for a year, since I moved to Etobicoke, trying to uncover the mystery of thee inukshuks but have had no luck at all. These impossible little sculptures appear every year, awkwardly piled stone that just doesn't topple into the crashing waves. The line of waterfront sentinels stretches quite a distance along the shore.

If you know anything about these inukshuks or have any theories, I'd love to hear them!

Update: my cousin Denise (in France!) sent me this article on the statues. This is several miles away but the statues look very similar.

Shadows Four

The fourth and final page of Shadow Talker I managed to finish before other projects became more pressing. Sorry it's being published here so many days after the third installment, but as I mentioned I had a massive computer failure here that kept me offline for days. I still want to work on this more and have been talking to people as possibly pitching it as an anthology project at some point in the future. I think it's  good idea that people would really enjoy. And I hope you all enjoyed these four pages.

I'm currently up to my waist in the Maddy Kettle comic book. I'm working twelve hour days, getting up at five thirty every morning to get a good start before everyone wakes up. That's a lot of cross hatching. The good news is that I think it's the best work I've ever done.

This week I'm hoping to do a couple of posts about the tools I'm using on Maddy Kettle. So stay tuned.

Toronto Zoo Part Two

Toronto Zoo Part One

Julie, Henry and I had a fantastic day at the Toronto Zoo today, about an hours drive out of the city. What an amazing place. It was extremely busy, but it didn't seem to matter, everyone there seemed to be really enjoying themselves. I managed to get a good 6 hours of work in this morning so I had no guilt about taking the afternoon off. The African Penguins were magical, an endangered species. Despite the crushing crowds I got some sketching done, which I'll post next week.

More stuff tomorrow!

What I'm Reading

Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki, The Art of Ponyo by Studio Ghibli, The Girl From H.O.P.P.E.R.S by Jaime Hernandez.

Everything Broke

My apologies for the sudden lack of posts. All the computers on the house broke down or stopped receiving the wireless signal over the past month. It kind of creeped up on me and now I'm without a proper window into the Internet. I'll figure it out soon. In the meantime I'm working long days on Maddy Kettle. Can't wait to share this stuff.

Shadows Three

Page three of four finished Shadow Talker pages, last one tomorrow. Our wireless is down in the house so I almost didn't get to post this. I even went to the library this morning but forgot my library card and couldn't log into their computers. I finally scrounged a cable to connect directly into the Internet but at this point I think my frustration is showing. In the house all the computers have lost wireless capability one by one. So I'm using a junky old laptop in the corner. The P sticks on this thing and it's making realize how often I need the letter P.

Shadow Speaker Page Two

The second of four finished pages.

Shadows Again

I've decided to publish unfinished pages from shadow Talker as all my time has been taken over by Maddy Kettle and I really want to share this stuff. Maddy is so work intensive I just don't have time for anything else right now so this story goes way, way on the back burner. Shadow Talker was to be rendered in pencil and then digitally enhanced using Photoshop in a process similar to how I've been producing my new portfolio pieces. I have four pages done on this and I'll post them this week.

What I'm Reading

The House With A Clock In It's Walls by John Bellairs, Lost Voices of the Edwardians by Max Arthur, The Arctic Murauder by Jacques Tardi.

One More Mermaid!

This one's based on a character created by a student at Sir John A MacDonald school in milton, Ontario where I was teaching a class last week.

Working on Maddy Kettle today, of course. Last night I was too tired to finish a page so I worked on some writing for Maddy, stuff I hope to start talking about soon.

Extraordinary Bed-Head!

Locked in my studio I toil away, 29 hours of cross hatching a day. Food is hoisted up in a basket at my window. I send correspondence by flying squirrel. But Maddy Kettle is going really well! And Henry is starting to sleep at a normal time and on his own. Anyone with kids knows this is a great accomplishment. Of course, the tide could turn tonight. We need to be vigilant.

My days start around 6 AM and I start working as soon as I pour my first coffee. Henry is up at about 8 AM and I send him off for the day by 9. Then I work until about 4, when I go get him. And I am currently battling for my evenings.

And For No Reason At All, A Mermaid!

A sketchbook doodle. I love mermaids. Not much to report, working away on Maddy Kettle. I'm keeping my best comic book pages at hand so I can compare and try to do even better.

Thimble Witch And Thinking About Reminders

A sketch of Thimble Witch, a major character in the Maddy Kettle world. There are a lot of characters in Maddy Kettle, I sometimes wonder if this has to do with all those years of watching the Simpsons....And every character has taken on a life of their own.

Thinking about different ways to keep people thinking about Maddy Kettle before it comes out next year. So far I have this blog, a Facebook page and I'm thinking of doing a mailer, a monthly sheet to mail to subscribers. I'm also trying to think of ideas for contests.I'd like to publish short stories in the Maddy Kettle world here on the blog but I want to run that passed Top Shelf first. If you have any ideas please let me know.

Hector The Burrowing Owl, New Maddy Kettle Character

Hector appears on page four of the first Maddy Kettle book and doesn't talk or really do anything but I love to name every creature that appears, just in case. He lives in the Arizona dessert.

How To Read Edward Gorey

The Amphigorey books are fine and great collections but one should always try to read Edward Gorey books in the small, sinister, cozy format in which he intended.

	"(Edward) Gorey is perfect for children." -- Maurice Sendak, Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Spring 2007

Root Beer And The Art Of World Building

Sometimes something will appear in the  Maddy Kettle world that seems totally insignificant but on closer inspection  that small detail will reveal something profound about the world, even if I'm not sure why. The Maddy Kettle world started in minicomics and I've always had the sense I'm exploring it and being surprised by it. I was drawing a Maddy Kettle page the other day when I decided it needed root beer. Don't ask me why, it just made sense in a weird way. So I started reading about root beer and the history of root beer and the packaging and the recipe. All of the sudden this little bottle of root beer in the corner of a panel seemed to deepen and enrich the world of Maddy Kettle.

My point being, world building is often about details, it's the funny, strange little things that draw me in and make it real. I think Tolkien was a master of this. For me it was never Mordor or mountain ranges that makes Middle Earth real to me. It's the Hobbit postal service, the various brands of tobacco for pipes smoking, Gandalf's fine art of fire works making that really pull me in and make the world complete for me.

I think this is also true in comic strips, in Lil' Abner you have Kickapoo Joy Juice, for example. You need something cozy to make all the weird stuff work, I think.

TCAF Loot!!

 

Nobody loves their business like comic book people. I just got back from TCAF and the vibe was overwhelmingly positive. I wish I could have spent more time there and talked to more people. As it was I was so weighed down with comic books that I had to either leave or loose an arm. I always hate the idea of going to these things, thinking I'd rather stay home and draw but the energy you get from a really great festivals makes the trip out of my comfort zone more than worth it. It was so nice to see the Top shelf family there! Leigh Walton, Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Nate Powell and I got to meet the incredible Eric Skillman for the first time. If I haven't mentioned it before I can't understate how proud I am to be connected to Top shelf. All incredible people with some of the best books on the shelves. 

Also, I got to meet Ben Towle and Box Browne and J.M.  Shiveley! I've been such a  big fan of all three of these guys for so long that I was incredibly happy to meet them, even if it was only briefly. I took more pictures from my new phone but can't seem to access them but I'll post them later when I figure it out. 

Did I mention i bought some comics......?

What I'm Reading

Whoop!

As I get deeper and deeper into this Maddy Kettle comic the less I seem to have to say here on the blog. I'll keep trying, though, even if it's totally inane. Above is a panel from one of the earlier minis. Also, it's the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this weekend. I wish I had more time to go but I'll just be dropping in a bit tomorrow. Right now it seems the first Maddy Kettle book will be about 85 pages and it will be a continuing story line that goes through the books. I'd also like to publish short stories in the Maddy Kettle world but I haven't mentioned this to Top shelf yet....

the silence beneath the bark / le silence sous l'écorce from joanna lurie on Vimeo.

the silence beneath the bark / le silence sous l’écorce (by joanna lurie) One of the most beautiful pieces of animation I've seen in a long time. Via  Gabrielle Rose.

Hard At Work

For reasons I don't fully understand I've migrated into the dining room while working. Long, happy days drawing Maddy Kettle.

Teaching Comics Today

Just got back from Sir John A MacDonald middle school in Brampton where I was teaching comics all day and I had a blast! My wife teaches French there so they had me in for the day to help with an art project. The were taking three dimensional designs and making comics with the characters. Great idea and really fun. The kids were great.

Drawin' Comics

In a rare state where I don't have much to say. I'm busy working on Maddy Kettle and teaching a high school class tomorrow so I'm all preoccupied. Also, it's TCAF this weekend, Canada's most important comic book festival. I had forgotten all about it but I'll drop in to say hi.

Above is the FINAL set of thumbnail drawings for Maddy Kettle book one, done almost entirely digitally. This really let me loosen up.

Some Way Into Shadows

Posting a bit later than usual today because I was trying to finish a few pages on my upcoming webcomic, tentatively titled tales From The Shadow Talker, before moving on to Maddy Kettle and then some more portfolio work. Really happy with these pages. Because I'm doing it all on my own right now I'm getting a little darker and stranger than I might otherwise. an interesting place to explore.

Whispering Shadows

Here's a panel from Shadow Talkers, the webcomic I'm working on. It's sort of a ghost story collection. Hope to have it up before summer. I started it about 5 or 6 times before finally finding an approach that clicked. I tried ink as well as digital but found that an almost "dirty" looking pencil line really suited the type of story. Hoping to have it coloured as well. I am just finishing up a few pages and then I have to put it down for a bit to work on the Top Shelf book. I think I'll moving back and forth between projects a lot for the foreseeable future. Which is great for me.

Can Apps Save Comic Books?

A couple of days ago I downloaded the new Dark Horse comic book app and was really impressed. I think I've downloaded all the comic book apps available and DH is the most impressive to me for it's simplicity and availability of current material. It doesn't have a lot right now but what it does have is good. The Marvel app feels cluttered in comparison. I've totally given up on trying to navigate the Marvel app and deleted it from my iPod. I've also given up on the DC comics app because it keeps crashing. All comic book apps crash on my iPod and I have no idea if it's my iPod or a flaw in the apps themselves.And Comixology, like Marvel, feels too cluttered. And a lot of the books on Comixology are just bad, like going into a bad comic shop where you have to dig around for things of quality. I feel that shouldn't be the case with digital comics , it should be a smarter form of distribution than that. These are just some general, subjective thoughts. I'm not going to do a rundown of all the apps but you can ask me in the comments if you'd like.

In any case the Dark horse app has convinced me that smaller niche apps for publishers are the way to go right now. I think this will be a great way to reach readers more directly and give the indy community a better way to reach people. There is little effort involved in downloading a free app and then a few samples of comics. For instance Dark Horse gives you Beasts Of Burden issue one free and I felt compelled to buy the rest because it's so good. Eventually I will buy the physical collections now. And I wouldn't have spent all that time and money on DH's product without the simplicity of the app and the incentive of free stories.

So, I think indy publishers should be encouraged to release their own apps rather than relying on comixology or say, the iBooks store at apple. I would really, really love to have a Dark Horse, Top Shelf, Drawn and Quarterly and Fantagraphics app on my iPod. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a comic book store like the Beguiling or Strange Adventures in their town and small publisher apps will guarantee more eyes on indy comics. I think this is something all creators and readers should support and talk about. I don't think apps will replace comic books stores but I think they could replace things the industry lost like pharmacies and dime stores, things that turned out to be really important in drawing in new readers.

What I'm Reading