Teacher Teach Me!
I was thinking that I'd teach you something by my experience. I mean I am a cartoonist now! Right? Well I am going to tell you what not to do when making comics...
Don't bounce from tool to tool on the same comic. I did this and because of this style to style. Before I got to the final inks I had a mish mash of 22 to 36 pages or so of stuff. Compiled stuff and I do mean "piled". The tools used were pencil, Micron pens, Copic markers and Manga Studio (digital) and Art Rage (digital). It is a wonder the book has any semblance of resemblance.
Models Are HOT!
Also Staying on model is tough when you spread a project over 6 months. Especially when it isn't something you draw daily and when switching mediums. Also having a model sheet like animators and professional cartoonist draw from is a great idea. If I would have totally inked this in Manga Studio after drawing it only in pencil that may have been better.
Change is Usually Good:
Also when you draw over 6 months and are not a professional you learn new techniques which effects the look or style you will draw in. I learned new techniques with the tools I was using and that changed the look of the comic. I did redraw some of it while inking and that also changed some of it. Hell I am changing some of it as I post it to clean it up and (hopefully) make it clearer still.
Smaller is Not Always Better (Is it Ever?)
I also decided to change the format of the comic to a more mini size then I originally planned. Mistake. For one, you lose detail when you print smaller and while creating the story and thumbs I was picturing it bigger designing story for panels for a half computer page format, not the quarter page format it ended up being. Cramming in too many panels because of too many pages (especially at stories end).
Speaking of too many pages (again)Yes I fell in the trap of too much to tell in too few pages and then trying to cram it all into (only) sixteen pages.
The Darkness of Influence:
Ah influence. I have spoken to many artists who don't read or listen to music by other artists so that they aren't influenced by it. Yet there are just as many artists who say the opposite. I fall somewhere in the middle. How can we not be effected by what we see and hear around us. The thing is to embrace it - not fear it.
I was influenced as I was making this comic by different things I was reading including Manga, indie comics (with all the different styles). I think it shows on different pages at different times. I tried to go back and clean this up and unify it in the final edit. The paring down of pages. Remember I was at 26 pages at one point and realized it was crazy and i could never getting it done on top of some moments in the story were dragged out and others, well...
You Better Edit Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself!
Ahh editing what an interesting concept and I think what I learned here was better preparation at the story /thumbnail level would have led to less editing at the end.
We All need Exercise!
But this was also an exercise to do things differently and complete something in the process. I was pleasantly satisfied when I completed it!
So much so I wanted to get into another Rogue story and release it in the Fall of 2011 (err maybe Winter 11/12). Hehe. I have a page done and a story idea but my plots and thumbs need more work and I'm defiantly spending more time at this stage!
Well that is it for now. I celebrated completion and shipment by waiting for my fellow cartoonists books to arrive and then reading them all. It was good work done by all!!!
More on my fellow cartoonists next week!
Word of the Week!
Word of the Week is music. I know it can be a distraction for some but for me it is a release. It accompanies me through most of my day and is an accompaniment to my inking process. Though I will say I listened to allot of old time radio while inking Rogue Alone. I will be getting a membership to a station if I can only find out how to put the mp3's on my Zune and my new Samsung phone -f'in Microsoft!!!
I think if more people took the time to create versus consume the World would be a fucking amazing place!
ArrrOOooo!
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