You Can't Find It!
A nine panel comic
I finally made a finished comic. I love comic art, but I have found that it is much more difficult that it looks to actually make one. What I’ve learned about making comics, both from this and other attempts, is that it is true what seasoned comic artists say: the biggest challenge is to just accept the drawing that comes out of your hand.
And as this comic reveals, self judgement is a big challenge for me—as I think it is for many creative people. It’s not just facing down a blank page for me, but when I create ANYTHING, that judging voice itself never stops questioning and criticizing.
It’s taken years to keep on going anyway.
As for process, wow, creating a finished comic takes many steps. First, write the script. Edit it. Thumbnail it. Edit the script more. Tape off the grid, pencil it in, ink over the pencil add color (a whole choosing process in its own right), and then add the words. More judgement about my handwriting. Do it anyway.
As often happens with finished work, I’m more pleased than I expected while making it. All through the process the Judge told me it was terrible. Maybe not perfect, but it isn’t terrible.
Not only that, but when I finished this comic I suddenly had more ideas for other art than I could do.
Imagine that.
Aghast and Distraught!!!
Two spreads in my Sketchbook - I needed to express how I’m feeling about the current paramilitary occupation of our cities by ICE, agents of our own government! I remind myself that this is how MOST Americans are feeling right now. I didn’t mention the word “ICE” because I couldn’t bear to have that word live on in my Sketchbook.
The worse it gets the more resolved I am to lean into helping. I spoke during public comment at the Marin County Board of Supervisors Meeting this week to demand they out the SCAAP Program on their agenda and vote to withdraw from it, which is a federal reimbursement grant for incarcerated immigrant “criminals” - and most likely hands over these people to ICE. I’m donating. I have protested. But I need to do more.
How did I make these pages? I taped the words on the page, then scribbled furiously with colored pencils (many; cathartic), removed the tape and added black ink.
Set 2 of January Abstract Shape Experiments
Okay, so this shape idea came from the A-B exercise I did for the annual “30 Days of Drawing” series of the very popular Drawing newsletter, Draw Together With WendyMac.
Not that I’m keeping up with the exercises, but sometimes, like this one, I get to it. And I really like what happened! I loved the lines and shapes…so I decided to really play with those organic shapes. I love everything about this second set of shapes. I used Copic markers again, which are so lovely to work with, really, on smooth Bristol paper. I love the limited color palette—and so many of the compositions and figures! I’ll definitely have to explore them more in my work.