Comic Storytelling

The writer of the comic has a big job, creating the story, the characters, the setting, plotting overall themes, etc., but it is the job of the artist to carry that story, to communicate it to the reader. Here's an example of a very simple moment in the script that required some subtlety on my part to put into pencil and ink.

The scene is of Adrian dealing with his crying daughter by taking her into the bathroom and dabbing her forehead with cool water. All the while, he's singing her a song to calm her down. The script has the dialogue (lyrics of the song), and explains that Adrian is getting progressively more frustrated.



For a starting comic artist, the first challenge is to be able to draw the same character over and over, the same but different. Same face, different positions. The second challenge is to imbue that face with emotion without losing the features that describe the character. This is very difficult to do, and if you look at most cartoons, you'll notice a lot of conventions we've come to rely on to describe emotions, most of them very exaggerated and over-the-top. Manga has a very specific set of indicators that look weird to first time American readers.

So here's an example of me trying to express these emotions subtly, without resorting to cartoon conventions.


In the second panel is Adrian squinting as he turns on the light.

CHE LA Cityscape

Oof.

I have such admiration for artists like Geoff Darrow and Katsuhiro Otomo. I can draw people all day, but cityscapes wipe me out. Hard Boiled is one of my favorite graphic novels, but I have to wonder what kind of mental state it takes for a dude to spend that much time drawing meticulous buildings and cars. I'd love to see Darrow's studio or watch him work.

Here's a panel I was working on today, from CHE LA, featuring a ramshackle future downtown Los Angeles.



Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make bacon tacos and watch Dust to Glory with my lady.

CHE LA ink

I've been working with Jim Mahfood, David Brodell-Lake, and Ray Ting on a new project called CHE LA. Not gonna say much more than that for now, but here's a preview:


More as it develops.

Comic: Dick Jones in Body Modifications

Just finished this today.

Comic Preview

Quick preview of something I'm working on (in progress).

New York Comic-Con 2009

I'm headed to New York Comic-Con again this year, but this time as a "professional creator". I got the weekend pass and will be there all three days. Most of the panels I want to see are on Friday afternoon: one on story structure, one on self-publishing, and then a couple on page layout, inking, etc. I'm looking forward to it.