I think this means that I'm doing comics wrong...
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Impaler 5/6 Interior panel
One more panel to go to crack the page I'm working on- but it's fair to say that I've spent most of the day on this single panel.
Monday, 15 February 2010
A parcel arrives...
It's pretty big- what could it be? I don't remember ordering anything that necessitates a box- but it wouldn't be the first time I made a drunken internet purchase...
I'm half suspecting some kind of joke parcel now- it seems to be all packing and nothing else...
Just LOOK at all the packing material! What could possibly need so much protection?!?
Aha! It's the Cla$$war book I ordered from Forbidden Planet. No wonder I didn't realise what it was- books usually come in flat packages, not big boxes! Either way, I look forward to reading this- although it'll probably be a while before I get the time. And look- somebody's scrawled something on the cover. Bloody vandals...
Friday, 5 February 2010
Dave Gibbons bought me a pint
Travelled down to London for the Forbidden Planet signing yesterday, which went really well. First person I ran into (apart from AL Ewing, who I bumped into at St. Pancras, on his way to the SFX thing in Bognor Regis, or whatever) was Boo Cook, who was lost. I pointed out to him that he wasn't really lost as the building he wanted was quite literally across the road. It had the words, 'Forbidden Planet Megastore' written on it, in letters 40 feet high (Ok, they were a bit less prominent than that- but it was still funny). :D
After the mental arse-kicking that my ego took last time, I wasn't looking forward to the whole sketching aspect- but the first guy that asked wanted me to draw him the Joker. I couldn't believe my luck- the Joker is one of those characters that I quite often doodle without thinking, so it was pretty easy and, more importantly, it didn't look like ass. I also decided not to humiliate myself by attempting to draw with pens this time and did it in pencil instead. Result! I did a few other sketches, met the other artists (there were 13 of us in the end!), signed a bazillion copies of '45' and ate lots of pop and crisps (I had strategically placed myself behind the table with the biscuits and crisps on it, while I sketched).
It was good to meet new people and to reconnect with a few familiar faces- and then there was the drinking at the Phoenix Club afterwards, where a good time was had by all. Well, I had a good time and I tend to assume that if I'm having a good time then everyone else is having a good time as well. Had a really good chat with Eddie Deighton, of Com.X and Dave Gibbons (who bought me a pint) and Dave's son, Dan (who, comically, looked like Dave's replacement clone) about comics, the iPad and the imminent digital revolution. I also had a great chat with John Higgins- so that's two thirds of the Watchmen team in one day.
Safely tucked up in my hotel bed by 00.30, awake again at 04.00 for about an hour (I think I was just a bit hot and bothered).
The view from my window at 4 in the morning. I was somewhat confused by the Christmas tree lights
Finally got back to sleep, only to have the maid wake me up at 08.00, because I'd forgotten to put the little 'do not disturb' tag on the door. I resisted the urge to kill her with a machete- mainly because I had no clothes on and had no machete handy- and then went back to sleep, before being woken up again- this time by the fire alarm. To be honest (and don't do this at home, kids) I decided that I would rather die in bed than get up again- so I ignored it, in the hope that it was simply a false alarm. Which it was.
Train journey home was slightly surreal, in that I had the entire carriage to myself- and it wasn't a tiny carriage either.
Nobody in front of me
Nobody behind me either. There was a disconcerting 'Midnight Meat Train' moment for me- but overall, it was quite a pleasant experience
It was a non-stop train until Market Harborough, so nobody got on before I got off. Naturally, I had to fight the urge to take full advantage of the situation by lazing around in my pants and singing along enthusiastically to my iPod- which is probably just as well as two ladies came by with a trolley of goodies for me to choose from. I chose Quavers.
Yum yum.
So anyway- main points again:
Didn't suck.
Finally feel like a real comic artist.
Dave Gibbons bought me a pint.
The only downside is that I didn't get a lot of work done today or yesterday, so I'll be working like a demon over the weekend to catch up.
After the mental arse-kicking that my ego took last time, I wasn't looking forward to the whole sketching aspect- but the first guy that asked wanted me to draw him the Joker. I couldn't believe my luck- the Joker is one of those characters that I quite often doodle without thinking, so it was pretty easy and, more importantly, it didn't look like ass. I also decided not to humiliate myself by attempting to draw with pens this time and did it in pencil instead. Result! I did a few other sketches, met the other artists (there were 13 of us in the end!), signed a bazillion copies of '45' and ate lots of pop and crisps (I had strategically placed myself behind the table with the biscuits and crisps on it, while I sketched).
It was good to meet new people and to reconnect with a few familiar faces- and then there was the drinking at the Phoenix Club afterwards, where a good time was had by all. Well, I had a good time and I tend to assume that if I'm having a good time then everyone else is having a good time as well. Had a really good chat with Eddie Deighton, of Com.X and Dave Gibbons (who bought me a pint) and Dave's son, Dan (who, comically, looked like Dave's replacement clone) about comics, the iPad and the imminent digital revolution. I also had a great chat with John Higgins- so that's two thirds of the Watchmen team in one day.
Safely tucked up in my hotel bed by 00.30, awake again at 04.00 for about an hour (I think I was just a bit hot and bothered).
The view from my window at 4 in the morning. I was somewhat confused by the Christmas tree lights
Finally got back to sleep, only to have the maid wake me up at 08.00, because I'd forgotten to put the little 'do not disturb' tag on the door. I resisted the urge to kill her with a machete- mainly because I had no clothes on and had no machete handy- and then went back to sleep, before being woken up again- this time by the fire alarm. To be honest (and don't do this at home, kids) I decided that I would rather die in bed than get up again- so I ignored it, in the hope that it was simply a false alarm. Which it was.
Train journey home was slightly surreal, in that I had the entire carriage to myself- and it wasn't a tiny carriage either.
Nobody in front of me
Nobody behind me either. There was a disconcerting 'Midnight Meat Train' moment for me- but overall, it was quite a pleasant experience
It was a non-stop train until Market Harborough, so nobody got on before I got off. Naturally, I had to fight the urge to take full advantage of the situation by lazing around in my pants and singing along enthusiastically to my iPod- which is probably just as well as two ladies came by with a trolley of goodies for me to choose from. I chose Quavers.
Yum yum.
So anyway- main points again:
Didn't suck.
Finally feel like a real comic artist.
Dave Gibbons bought me a pint.
The only downside is that I didn't get a lot of work done today or yesterday, so I'll be working like a demon over the weekend to catch up.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
'45' signing at Forbidden Planet, London
I'll be there, along with the Com.X guys and some of the other fantastic artists that worked on '45'.
Being surrounded by such stellar talent, and bereft of all my digital trickery, I'm hoping to avoid sketching- but I'll sign anything you want and talk at you until the restraining order kicks in. The fun begins at 5:30pm tomorrow (4th Feb), at the London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue. I will be the one wolfing down the complimentary food. Probably.
Being surrounded by such stellar talent, and bereft of all my digital trickery, I'm hoping to avoid sketching- but I'll sign anything you want and talk at you until the restraining order kicks in. The fun begins at 5:30pm tomorrow (4th Feb), at the London Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue. I will be the one wolfing down the complimentary food. Probably.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Impaler sneak peeks.
Interior panels from Impaler 5/6.
Really liking the work I've done this week. Unfortunately, I can't really show too much of it off as we're coming to the end of the series and I don't want to give too many spoilers away.
Typically, now I'm looking at these again, I can see things that desperately need fixing.
Hey ho!
Really liking the work I've done this week. Unfortunately, I can't really show too much of it off as we're coming to the end of the series and I don't want to give too many spoilers away.
Typically, now I'm looking at these again, I can see things that desperately need fixing.
Hey ho!
Sunday, 24 January 2010
A humbling experience
So... the 45 signing. To be honest, it was all really enjoyable, apart from one aspect- being asked to draw stuff when you've got Charlie Adlard on your left and Ben Oliver on your right.
Never let anyone bamboozle you into believing that drawing digitally isn't easier, because it is. Either that, or I've been doing it for so long that my 'proper' drawing skills have simply withered away. I genuinely struggled to draw on paper without all my references and other trickery. I couldn't judge line weights, I second guessed all my proportions and I really hated the results. When I stood my scrawls next to Charlie and Ben's superior efforts, I actually felt like crying.
Despite this horrific lesson in humility, It was really good to meet people that I feel like I've known for a while already- particularly Ben Oliver, Rob Williams and Lee Carter (Lee's live drawing efforts would also have kicked my arse, no doubt, but I didn't see him draw anything). I'm a big fan of Ben's work, so I was especially pleased that he brought a big pile of it with him for people to look at (although, naturally, it brought on further bouts of weeping). Also in attendance were Eddie Deighton, of ComX, Andi Ewington and their significant others- as well as John X. I'm calling him John X because I've forgotten his second name- but he works with Eddie and Andi and did some editing on 45. Also, having managed to foist the kids off on friends of ours, I was able to take Mrs T. with me as well and we all went out for food afterwards- which Eddie paid for. Thanks, Eddie!
I'm going down to the London signing on the 4th of Feb and I'm currently trying to decide whether to get some practice in, or buy myself a sling and feign some kind of injury, to avoid further embarrassment. Having a good six or seven years worth of bad habits to break in the next two weeks makes me think that I might be better off buying the sling...
:D
Now go out and buy '45'. It really is rather good. Especially my page.
Never let anyone bamboozle you into believing that drawing digitally isn't easier, because it is. Either that, or I've been doing it for so long that my 'proper' drawing skills have simply withered away. I genuinely struggled to draw on paper without all my references and other trickery. I couldn't judge line weights, I second guessed all my proportions and I really hated the results. When I stood my scrawls next to Charlie and Ben's superior efforts, I actually felt like crying.
Despite this horrific lesson in humility, It was really good to meet people that I feel like I've known for a while already- particularly Ben Oliver, Rob Williams and Lee Carter (Lee's live drawing efforts would also have kicked my arse, no doubt, but I didn't see him draw anything). I'm a big fan of Ben's work, so I was especially pleased that he brought a big pile of it with him for people to look at (although, naturally, it brought on further bouts of weeping). Also in attendance were Eddie Deighton, of ComX, Andi Ewington and their significant others- as well as John X. I'm calling him John X because I've forgotten his second name- but he works with Eddie and Andi and did some editing on 45. Also, having managed to foist the kids off on friends of ours, I was able to take Mrs T. with me as well and we all went out for food afterwards- which Eddie paid for. Thanks, Eddie!
I'm going down to the London signing on the 4th of Feb and I'm currently trying to decide whether to get some practice in, or buy myself a sling and feign some kind of injury, to avoid further embarrassment. Having a good six or seven years worth of bad habits to break in the next two weeks makes me think that I might be better off buying the sling...
:D
Now go out and buy '45'. It really is rather good. Especially my page.
Friday, 22 January 2010
45 signing in Cardiff
World's worst blogger has just remembered that he will be in Cardiff tomorrow, signing copies of 45 and (presumably) sketching stuff- along with some really good artists.
I'll be the one wearing the Impaler T-shirt and (probably) crying with fear at the prospect of drawing on real paper. With pens and stuff.
I'll be the one wearing the Impaler T-shirt and (probably) crying with fear at the prospect of drawing on real paper. With pens and stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
