Memorial Day 2010

Well I couldn't let this day or weekend go by without saying something. Even with the crazy busy schedule around here lately. It seems the cosmic cogs of creation and working and doing all the mundane tasks a bachelor has to do if they are going to get done have not fallen into place. In other words I just can't seem to get anything done around here! I am sure everyone that has a job they don't like and wish they were doing something else feels. And I am sure we have all been there.

So hopefully this day off, for most people, will help get us back into the swing of things. Of course today for me will be filled with those mundane tasks of laundry, cleaning, some cooking, and all the things I tend to neglect as a bachelor, or actual more like a one man band. And let us hope the creative juices come back real soon.

So here is to all the fallen, those that have served, those that are willing to serve, and those that will have to serve. Because in this crazy world we need you now more than ever.

And as always thanks to all you Loyal Legionnaires for understanding.

Exploring new frontiers....

As I mentioned before, I have been toying with the idea of digitally inking drawings after doing the compositing in photoshop. Well the latest Captain Spectre update, which I will post a bit later today, was done that way. I think one of the main things I have to grapple with in the process is that there isn't a very good tool in photoshop to simulate a real brush. Sure there is the brush tool with pressure sensitive controls from my Wacom tablet. But they just don't seem the same as fighting a real brush with liquid ink and the texture of the paper. They will never be able to build that feeling into a computer. The one good thing about it is zooming in and out. With the old eyesight going, the zoom tool is a blessing.

Also this process allows a bit more freedom in my drawings. What I mean by that is that I can draw each person separately and composite them together in photoshop. This allows for what I feel is sometimes a weakness in some artists layouts. A lot of times I see a lot of 'close ups' in comics that are just pieces or parts of people, and sometimes they just don't seem right. With this method I am more like a camera man on a movie set. Zooming in and out until I get the right composition to tell the story. Of course that process satisfies some of my 'want to be a director' fad.

The drawings I have posted show a bit of the close up file, which is pretty small in the finished strip.

It is a process that could save time in the long run. But again a fall back. Traditionally artists make money off of the original art pages they take to conventions and such. This way leaves no original....all I have from this weeks strip is a bunch of sketches, and a photoshop digital file of the composite and the inks. So nothing to sell. It is a problem a lot of artists are dealing with now. How to make some extra money without actually having art to sell.

Of course I have never had to worry about that problem, since no one really buys anything from me that I have for sale. ha. So what am I worried about.