Inking done?

Well, almost... As I wrote last week I had to re-ink some pages, and I'm going to take a look at them with fresh eyes today to see if they are alright. This thing with fresh eyes is very important, because some drawings you think are great one day, might not be that great the next day... If I give them my thumbs up, the inking is done for this installment of the story. So with any luck or whatever you might call it, they are going to get scanned and colored, and put on the web! So stay tuned!

A discovery that I've made during this particular process is that classical music lends itself greatly for inking. Many years ago I bought some themed compilations CD sets with classical music, and these couple of days I've re-acquainted myself with them, and they work, very well! Classical music and inking is a great combo!

Take care!

Do over!?

Well, this week I've finished the inking and I was ready to scan the pages, or so I thought... After having another look at them I realized that the process had only begun. So today I'm going to have a serious look at the pages and see what I'm going to do about them. Some pages will be re-inked because some lines are very nervous looking and scribbly. And we don't want that now, do we?

Last week I forgot to tell you that I've done two illustrations for a magazine! It's called Sesat Magazine and is published by Religionsvetenskapliga Föreningen at Gothenburg University. I will tell you more about it when it's published, if my memory serves me right it's going to be available both as a paper product and online.

Take care!

The inking continues

Here is a page that I've inked:

When I've inked them all I'm going to go over them ones more to make sure they are alright.

Is this an accident waiting to happen?

Of course I'm referring to the flask of ink, do you say that in English or do your say container or bottle? And also the fact that I have to reach for the button on my lamp under the drawing board to switch it on and off... It feels like I'm only a moment of unawareness from having a big black ink blot on my keyboard...  But the main question remains, is the iMac keyboard ink retardant?

Take care!

Inking

Last weeks to-do list is now done and I have begun the process of inking, which I'm going to continue with today.

Last night I thought about the process of creativity. If it hadn't been for this blog I don't think that I would have realized how much of a process it is! At the beginning I kind of hid behind the process and wrote "...you thought that last weeks drawing was done, it wasn't, I've done more work on it, so here it is again..." Previously I've kind of worked through the various phases of production, like, I'm done with this, now on through the next phase... Now with the concept of process firmly in my mind, I just don't go through it, I rework, and change, and do it over until I'm satisfied. For me that is a grand stride, that hopefully will result in better quality of my work.

Take care!

A to-do list

Yep, that was the result of my work last week on the project. Since I'm kind of done with the clean-up, and am collecting strength and courage to begin the inking. I decided to take a closer look on the pages, and that look resulted in the above mentioned to-do list! It's kind of funny that how thorough you think you are, there are always things that pop-up that you need to sort out. Things like design issues or small details. So later today I'm going to tend to this list and also to give the other projects a looking after.

Take care!

The hour of creativity!

This week my project hasn't moved that far, I'm going to work on it today when I'm done with this blogging.

A couple of days ago I remembered two distinct occasions when I've been so into a project that my planning for that particular day kind of revolved around it.

First story is many years from now. I worked crazy early hours back then, and this week I was also attending the Swedish Book Fair. So I went to work, and then to the Book Fair, and after that I got back home and sat by the drawing board for about an hour, and then head back into town to meet friends. At that time I was working on a new demo reel. I think I did clean up that day...

Second story is kind of similar, it was only a couple of years ago, on a friday. I had to go to a lecture during the day, to save time I ate at the restaurant at the university. After that I went home, sat an hour by the drawing board before I had to get back into town to enjoy International Animation Day (I think it was). At that time I was experimenting with comics...

The stories themselves are not groundbreaking at all, but for me they are important. I wouldn't have sat by the drawing board if I didn't want to. The funny thing is that I can have these whole days when I don't get that much done (they are few, but they exist) but I also have these days when I only get that one hour, but that one hour is so important. I may not have made grand strides of improvement but the important thing is, I think, that I sat there and got things done.

Take care!

The process of writing

I don't see myself as a writer (not yet anyway). But it's something that I enjoy doing. After a while I usually send the piece to some friends that I trust, and who knows what they're doing, and I ask them to give feedback on the piece. I do this to ensure quality in the project and to get some new pairs of eyes on it. Because I get a little bit blind on my own text, and the new eyes that read the text can tell me things that I can do to get a better result. We usually do this a couple of times, depending on the project. I write, they read, give input, I write, they read etc. My experience tells me that it's a good and easy way to get a better result. But even though I trust my very well chosen friends, I must feel free to sometimes follow their lead and to sometimes say no please, because it's my project, and I must be at the helm! 

Yesterday was a day when I met my friends that had read one of my scripts. Now I'm going to think on their input and see what I'm going to do with it. I also showed them the first pages of Pilgrim, the comics project I'm doing at the moment. I got some good input on that one as well. After yesterdays session I think I've gotten a little bit further on the road to being a writer, and why not, since I fill my sketch books with writing and not sketches... and from the input yesterday I got that the script could easily be transformed into a novella, and also that Hemingway was name dropped! ;-)

Take care!