There's probably room for a regular anthology called KRACKLE collecting an assortment of comix that include panels utilizing the “Kirby Krackle”. Getting the rights to all the comix that would go in it though would probably be a nightmare.
Inbox has climbed up to 90, and this cursed chapter is turning into an eternal pandora's box.
Good morning. Off to pencil and ink 3-5 pages worth of additional material for a chapter I thought I'd have finished by yesterday already.
Energizing music and podcast recommendations very much welcome.
I think it's fair to objectively state that THE SOLAR GRID is experimental comix. Not because it's what I set out to do as much as formal experimentation is one of the things I just really get a kick out of. But even still, I'm also accustomed to doing just the right thing for the task at hand (or so I think), so all the storytelling choices I make—however unconventional they may seem—are devised specifically in service of the story, and not just because they'll “look cool”. It just so happens that the story I came up demands a lot of creative solutions. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Although the limits of pictorial storytelling are amply pushed throughout chapters 1 to 4, I think chapter 5 (teased above) is shaping up to be my most experimental comix to date.
I think I mentioned how little I enjoy the process of digital-coloring, but today has been a joy. Likely aided by my glass of La Fin Du Monde and the beats of LCD Soundsystem (Losing My Edge is very much speaking to my soul these days.)
Notice anything wrong with this page?
Bottom tier. Second panel from the left.
Missing. His. Fucking. Shoulder. Bag.
It is for this reason that the making of comix should be reserved only for the young. And also why having an editor is a good idea.
FML, back to the drawing board.
(Actually, I just noticed another missing thing from panel 1. FML x 1000.)
Accounting yesterday, and today I work on this single-page illustration for a book out of France. It's my tradition not to share finished works until they're officially out in the world, so the above preliminary sketch is all I'll be revealing for a while.
Sky is an overcast gray tricking my brain into thinking it's not even 7:00AM yet, but it is actually past 9:00.
Coffee should help.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 5!! Well, almost. Finally done with color separation sheets (12-hour work day today!), now to apply noted colors in Photoshop, followed by lettering.
It feels like I shout “it's a wrap” 3-4 times in the process of creating these chapters.
Sometimes the only reason I want THE SOLAR GRID to do well is so I can afford to bring outside inkers/colorists/letterers on board, that's all.
6:00AM start today. Have color separation sheets for two more pages (typically about 6 sheets per page), and gray/halftone-sheets for four.
Hoping to finish them all today, before getting started on a page for an anthology-like book tomorrow.
No music or podcasts necessary, it's raining outside.
I have to admit, it is a peculiar way to color. Effectively coloring without color, having to rely mostly on “seeing” the color in my head before scanning it all into my computer and applying the necessary colors as in Photoshop. Willing to bet certain layers won't entirely line up correctly, but I have a feeling it'll give the final pages a special kinda charm.
Met up with Outspoken Bean earlier today for a little chat about IT TAKES A VILLAGE, my installation at the Moody Center for the Arts, before he unleashed some original poetry in front of a camera.
Here he is writing a poem in five minutes based on three words I gave him: Hands, Together, and Dystopia.
Sprung awake at 5:30AM today in a panic like the house was on fire. It certainly wasn't. Figured it must be the fact that we have just passed the month's midpoint mark and I'm eager to have Chapter 05 of THE SOLAR GRID completely finished by month's end. Still working on “color separation sheets”, which doesn't excite me in the slightest to be honest. It's too much of a production thing and very little of a creating thing and creating things is my luscious drug of choice.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE, my window installation at the Moody Center has been getting a bit of attention over the weekend. Perhaps a little too much attention, because I just got word that staff today was surprised to find one of the windows smashed, “probably by some thrown object”.
And now I'm wondering what time that happened, and wether or not my early morning panic was in anyway “connected”. Not that I claim to be clairvoyant in any way, but the hidden strings of the universe tend to work in mysterious ways.
WE ARE ALL THINGS got a wondrously meticulous review by Amanda Auerbach in EcoTheoReview though, so that's nice.
It may be a bit early to start thinking about things like endpapers. For most publishers, they tend to be an afterthought, that's if they're considered at all (Obviously not the case for the rare obsessive-types. Yes, I'm totally talking about Chris Ware).
I've actually had the idea for the these endpapers since kickstarting the project some 3 years ago. At the time of course I thought the project would be one book. Two years in, and additional research into production stuff, it became clear that it would have to be two books (presented in a single slipcase for Kickstarter backers). Rather than repeat the same imagery across all four endpaper spreads, I came up with one continuous scroll that would be divided into four different endpaper spreads.
The above two for what will become Volume 1.
These two for what will become Volume 2.
I drew these towards the end of 2017, after having just moved to Denver. If I remember correctly, these took me about a month to complete, which—I'm sure even by Chris Ware's standards—is a ridiculous amount of time to spend on endpapers of all things. I'm glad I did it though, because it'll really set the tone for the story the minute you crack open that cover. Also, I had the opportunity to utilize these drawings for an art show based on THE SOLAR GRID.
“Business”-wise, it may not seem like the best utilization of time, but from an artistic stand-point (stupid, stupid artistic stand-point), I think the win is on multiple fronts!
Although the art for these endpapers was completed two years ago, I've only gotten around to putting together these mockups now, primarily because I'm in the negotiation stages of bringing THE SOLAR GRID to a particular Euro market by the end of 2021, and production deets are already being discussed.
We'll see how it goes.