The Street Dancer’s Romance (and tool talk)

by on 20 November, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Posted In: comics, drawing, tools

Here is the opening image from my new short story, The Street Dancer’s Romance. It will be a wordless story comprising 65 images or so, each on its own page, much like in an old-fashioned woodcut novel. It is safe to say that I have been utterly beguiled by the work of Otto Nuckel and Lynd Ward, and presenting images in this way will also allow the reader to spend more time mulling over each image and absorbing the message behind it. I’ve drawn and inked more than half the pages in this book so perhaps a Christmas deadline is not so unrealistic after all.

frame1

 

Most of us will have seen buskers and street performers out in the street before. I can’t recall exactly where I saw a street performer like this, it might have been while strolling along the South Bank in London, but I rarely pay much attention to street performers in general. But anyhow, I’d mulled over doing a story about these people for some time and their lives away from the public eye. I chose to do a word-less story this time because it posed a unique challenge to convey a fairly sophisticated story without words, and I had enjoyed drawing The Snack Bar in ‘Painting Stories’. For some reason, it was also one of my more popular stories. It also felt liberating to work on a story without the burden of words.

Maybe I should get around to some tool talk now, having popped down the road to Cass Arts to pick up a Winsor and Newton Cotman III No 2 brush. I’ve more or less worn out my 6th or 7th sable brush so far, and the costs are definitely building up. Despite doing my best to clean the brushes after use, they tend to lose their point after some months and I no longer know whether it’s just an intrinsic problem with sable brushes or my own inadequacies when it comes to brush care. So I noticed on Craig Thompson’s blog that he used the Cotman III No 2 brush for his inking, and being a devout fan of Thompson’s art, I thought if it was good enough for him, it was definitely more than good enough for me. Cotman brushes use synthetic bristles and are therefore a lot cheaper than Kolinsky sable ones.

Well, unfortunately that didn’t turn out too well. I found the Cotman’s bristles rather too stiff, and inking with it felt like drawing with a felt tip pen, the line did not vary as much as I’d wanted. After doing one panel with it, it was a pleasure to return to my somewhat battered Winsor and Newton Kolinksy series 7 sable brush (size 3). Looks like I might have to shell out again to buy yet another one, having started using this one only a few months back in the summer… Despite arduous care, it looks like some of the bristles have fallen out and it is gradually losing its gorgeously pointed shape. But it is still a pleasure to use after a few minutes with the Cotman. But can anyone see the difference between the inking in the panels? Back to Cass Arts tomorrow then, another 10-11 quid poorer!

 

 

 

 

Enter the Deleter pen

by on 14 November, 2013 at 11:16 am
Posted In: drawing, tools

Right now I am part of the way through drawing and inking my graphic short story, “The Street Dancer’s Romance”. I’m a little more than a third through already so I am making slow but steady progress, achieving at least 2 panels a day. Not posting any previews here yet, but since a blog requires occasional updates, here I am again, pondering over what to write as a suitable update.

Oh yes. I’ve decided to stop using my Hunt 102 vintage nib with the fast-disintegrating wooden holder, and replaced it with a Japanese manga pen – the Deleter pen, to be exact. I ordered some wider G-nibs and the fine Naru nibs from Dinkybox along with an attractive, bright yellow pen holder which accommodates different nib sizes in its innovative nib-holder, so one doesn’t need different holders for different nibs, what a neat idea! Why didn’t anyone think of that before? Something that Speedball should learn from, as its current holder is frankly, quite substandard; an overly thin brown cheap plastic rod which one needs to ‘pad’ up for a more comfortable and steady grip. I’m a Deleter convert, so far I haven’t blotted anything since switching over to these fine nibs. And they are far easier to clean, which probably means greater nib longevity. So I can store away the remaining vintage Hunt 102 nibs for a rainy day.

Can I make Cabaret Voltaire volume II ready for Christmas? That might still be a pipe dream…

 

A long break

by on 23 September, 2013 at 10:12 am
Posted In: drawing, musing

I have been dreadfully remiss about updating this blog! The main reason is that I don’t tend to update this blog when I haven’t done any drawing or planning what I am going to draw or write next. 2013 has been a very strange year, to say the least… hopelessly unproductive in some ways and a very long holiday in the far East also meant that my work was entirely put on the backburner and almost forgotten.

I had intended to work on two short stories for Cabaret Voltaire issue two – “Signal Failure” was one that had been rattling about in my brain for a while, but somehow the words wouldn’t come and I didn’t want to force them. I had storyboarded the entire sorry tale but only in my mind, and fleshing out the actual frames took more work than I could muster in the enervating tropical heat. I honestly don’t know how anyone does any useful work in that kind of weather. All I wanted to do was to move as little as possible and I suspect even my brain plodded along more sluggishly than usual. At the time, it was only capable of pondering on food and trivial amusements.

Anyway I am back in familiar environs and ready to get on with some work this autumn and winter, and my next new story will be word-less like “The Snack Bar”, except this time it will be about a street performer who dances with a dummy and lives a solitary existence. The preliminary title is “The Street Dancer’s Romance” and I have already pencilled a few pages on A3 Bristol board. It will be a tricky story to pull off right, however, and I’m still wondering whether it will be successful. I am doing it in the woodcut style, one picture per page — recently influenced by my favourite woodcut artist, Otto Nuckel, and a recent book I had bought by Lynd Ward called “Vertigo”, which was far more complex in style and plot than any other woodcut novel I’d seen so far. I wasn’t sure it was a complete success as far as elucidating the plot went, but the stark black-and-white compositions were gorgeous masterpieces. I cannot say my ink drawings will be anything like those woodcuts, but at least I can make an attempt to tell a story in my own way. I won’t give an estimated time for completion as this will depend on so many other things going on, but I do hope to get this story completed by the end of the year. And sent to the publishers. Cabaret Voltaire issue two is likely to contain only this one story instead of two as originally planned.

 

Comica Comiket Nov 2012

by on 11 November, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Posted In: festivals

Well, Comiket Nov has come and gone! I haven’t had time to update this blog what with a thousand and one things to do, a week away in Scotland and assorted happenings. I did not have very much to prepare for Comiket Nov 2012 and just decided to re-use my April Comiket poster to advertise my Painting Stories book. Again the venue was the Bishopsgate Institute in the City and this time I arrived a bit later to set up. It was better organised this time with a floor-plan on the website so we knew immediately where to go and set up our tables. I was very close to the stage this time, right beside the Eat, Sleep and Sniff table which was selling cards, little comics, booklets etc. based around a little cartoony cat. I was sharing my table with the esteemed Ellen Lindner of Strumpet et al fame. Although it was classified as “half a table”, it didn’t feel much bigger than the third of a table I was allotted earlier this year. However, this isn’t a moan as I didn’t really need anything bigger, my 2 stacks of books, free postcards and business cards filled up the space quite nicely.

Anyway I noticed someone browsing the exhibition as people around me were still setting up; it was still early and the doors only opened to the public at 11am. I later discovered she was Alison Bechdel’s girlfriend; she came to my table and asked me about my book, Painting Stories. We chatted a bit and I was pretty bowled over when she asked to buy a copy! I decided if I didn’t sell anything else for the rest of the day, it didn’t matter too much because…. Alison Bechdel’s girlfriend bought Painting Stories!!!! Wow! Alison walked by a while later and I felt fairly dumbstruck, like a giddy teenager confronted with celebrity. I blubbered something inarticulately about getting her to sign my thumb-eared copy of “Fun Home”. Anyway after brief introductions, she left to get ready for the live drawing parade and I settled down to face my first customers of the day.

It was a very long day indeed, and we had more space this time so there was no need to crawl under tables etc. to get out for a bathroom break. In that respect, it was far more relaxed and comfortable than the spring Comiket – the organisers did a great job in spacing the tables out this time. However this probably meant that there were far fewer exhibitors this time around, some people I recalled from last time were not there, like John Allison. If there was a drawback to this particular fest, it was just that it was considerably quieter than the spring fair. It really felt like a lot of people who were milling around were mostly friends of the exhibitors, primarily there to lend their support. I ended up selling 8 books and trading 2 with Ellen so I considered it a fairly successful day! I managed to shift 7 copies of Cabaret Voltaire, which I am very pleased about.

I occasionally passed the time by watching the drawing parade – Steven Appleby was the other big name I recognised in the live drawing parade but Line Hoven’s work intrigued the most, using a technique I’d never heard of called ‘scraperboard’ where one starts off with a black sheet and ‘scrapes’ the black off with something like an etching knife. The resultant effect was not dissimilar to a woodcut print.

By the end of the day, I was very tired just manning my table all day without much respite and the last hour was possibly the hardest to get through… and Hunt Emerson was the last person on the drawing parade, and the birdsong he chose to play over the PA system sounded rather more annoying than soothing. Anyway I managed to promptly pack up my gear just before 7pm and departed feeling that it had been a relatively successful day, on the whole, a lot better than the spring Comiket. Stocking a second, cheaper mini comic was a strategy that worked well for me.

The organisers deserve thanks for putting in so much effort in pulling off another successful comics festival, things seemed to happen at the last minute but everything pulled together in the end.

Remember, remember, the 10th of November!

by on 10 October, 2012 at 11:08 am
Posted In: comics, festivals

Well finally it has been announced – Comica Comiket London is happening on Saturday 10th Nov at the Bishopsgate Institute, opposite Liverpool Street Station. This is the same venue where it was held in spring this year but this time the organisers have promised that there will be more table space (and generally, more space to move around) for both exhibitors as well as visitors. I signed up for half a central table almost as soon as I got wind of this as I knew tables were going to be limited this time around. Fees have also gone up, which is consistent with fewer exhibitors, so let’s hope this one pays off in terms of publicity. I worked to put out a small comic, the Cabaret Voltaire, in time for this festival as I know I have to keep my material fresh to keep the audience interested. So I’ll have two books on sale at Comiket, at special ‘festival prices’.

Comica Comiket Autumn 2012

I am just thrilled that Alison Bechdel is going to be opening the festival. I intend to get my copies of “Fun Home” and “Are You My Mother?” autographed, two graphic novels that I deeply admire. If you were ever unsure that graphic novels could ever deal with ‘serious autobiography’, I suspect Bechdel might persuade you otherwise.  I’m also devoting part of my table to promo material for Emanata, the free iPad comics reader I blogged about some months back who have been so helpful in digitally distributing my work across the seas. Also – there’ll be the usual free postcards to give away. Entrance is FREE, so if you’re in town that weekend, why not pay us a visit? You might be surprised to know that comics isn’t only all about muscle men in colourful tights!