fredag 29 november 2013

Pilgrim's done, what now?

This post will be some sort of a summing up of the whole experience with Pilgrim. There might be some tooting in my own horn, but that's what blogging is all about, or is it? Well, you've been warned! In preparation for this post I've read the earlier posts, so I've taken a trip along memorey lane, you might say.

Pilgrim has been very educational to me. I can't say that I'm an expert cartoonist by now, but I can say that I can tell a story with comics.

This monday I had quite the experience. I had printed all the pages and the for- and afterword, put them all in a binder. Later in the evening I read the comic from cover to cover. I hadn't read it all for a year and a half. I've only read the chapter that I was working on. To my amazement it worked! Well, I have to say that I'm biased, or part in the crime, so to say. But it was quite the experience to read it all, and seeing that it was ok. I mean, how would it have felt if it didn't work, then I've put time and energy on something that didn't work, talk about anti-climax!

Also this week I've been thinking about if I did the right thing by doing the comic now. Since this has been such an important story, maybe I should have done some smaller things first and then returned to this project. But I think like this. The reason it has been made, is because of the importance of the story. If I only did some smaller things, to get to learn how to work with the medium, than I might have not come to get going on Pilgrim. So I think that I made the right decision to do Pilgrim now. The learning experience that it has been has been a bonus, that I'm thankful for!

Script
I put some time and energy on the script, to get the pacing of the story right. When I think about that process it went smoothly. I tried different types of structures to tell the story, before settling on the current one.

Drawing
I always enjoy the sketching of a project, the uphill climb here has clearly been the clean up. It feels like you are re-doing something that you've already done, and that's never fun. But sometimes I'm very cunning, so I could trick myself into doing the clean up, by using the colored pencil! Or as they say, every idea is good except the bad ones!

Inking
Inking has been the steepest learning curve on this project. But that has to do with my earlier attempts at inking, that wasn't that successful. Where the drawing was full of life, the inked drawing was stiff and lifeless. But all along this project I kind of took the inking to my heart. Given off course that I'm basically a tracer, but that has to do with the fact that I've colored the pages, if the comic would have been in black and white the inking would have been quite different.

Coloring
This work has also been smoothly, except for the first pages... When I was coloring the first chapter, I noticed that I hadn't "closed" all the lines, so when I had been sitting in front of the computer for maybe twelve hours I had only done 3 half pages... The coloring for the later chapters went much more smoothly.

Publishing
I've used blogger and I don't regret that at all, it's easy to use and as a comics publishing tool it works fine!

What's going to happen now, with Pilgrim?
I'm currently exploring if there could be an analogue version for the comic. Other then that I'm thinking of doing a cover and a back illustration. As I've written before there might be a translation into English, but I'm not there yet. So there are some things that's going to be done, but for now, its done!

So what's going to happen now?
Well I'm going to take a short break, I'm going to do some smaller things. But my pipeline is filled to the brim with cool stuff. Actually I've got these concepts that I'm going to work on, starting 2014.
1) An ensemble drama about some characters in a small town. It's about following your dreams... Script is done, the character design is next.
2) An action adventure set in the 1930s. The concept is done, the writing's next.
3) A horror/thriller story. The concept is done, the writing's next.

In preparation for these projects I have some inspiration material that I'm going to read/watch.

So that's it for now, Pilgrim's done and not just done, it's donelly-donelly-done! I'm really looking forward to the next projects. I think they are going to kick some serious derrières!

Take care!

fredag 22 november 2013

Pilgrims' done!

Pilgrim is now done, and not just done, it's done-done! It's complete! It's finished! It's done!

Please feel free to have a read:

http://pilgrimserien.blogspot.se/

What's in store for me now? We'll just have to wait and see...

Take care!

fredag 15 november 2013

Inking will begin!

Earlier this week I finished the clean up, feels really great. As I've written before, clean up is kind of an uphill climb, with the wind in my face... but now it's done!

Later today inking will begin, and the end comes closer and closer...!

I'm thinking about what will come after Pilgrim, but more on that later...!

Take care!

fredag 8 november 2013

Clean up second pass.

As I wrote last week. I've taken a short break from Pilgrim because I had an exam to finish and an assignment to write. This week has been full on studying for me and less drawing.

But later today clean up phase two will begin...!

When you are in the middle or in the beginning of a project, you can hardly see the end. But as you get closer you can see it and almost taste it. I guess that is how it is, basically. Sometimes when you are in a process of something, you just continue with the work and then all of a sudden you are done, and a feeling of emptiness comes.
Lately when I've been in the middle of a project or process I've been trying to take a short break, sort of get the head above water, to really seize the moment, and be there for a while. I really hope that I can do that with this project also. So that the feeling of emptiness will not knock on my door...

Take care!

fredag 1 november 2013

Clean up first pass!

This week I finished the first pass of the clean up, the colored one. Next week I'm going to do the second pass of clean up. The reason behind the little pause is that I've got an exam to do, with deadline next wednesday, theory and method of art...

Take care!