A Teensy bit Political?

I am taking a short break from my current short graphic story to have a pop at two things- one is the guardian's short story competition that I am going to (perhaps) have a go at (the spec is tricky and has to be fairly upbeat- oh no! and it has to be in by the 15th March- double Oh no!) and also I have spent an enjoyable couple of days painting a modernistic version of Lady Godiva, with Rebakah Wade in the saddle on her trusty police horse, trotting past Scotland Yard.

I can take no glory for the idea, which was Saul's (political genius that he is) and was unable to fulfil his original spec which was to have the horses face as Ian Blair and the horses arse as David Cameron- oh if only I had the skills.... however I was pretty pleased with myself for managing to actually finish it whilst the news was still current for a change.

So, I imagine the next few days will be filled with me frantically typing and result in me NOT entering the Guardian's short story comp, due to a major lack of talent and grammatical skill.

In the meantime, here is Lady Wade-iva for you to enjoy

Obviously, it is more of a cartoon representation than anything else but I had lots of fun doing it and thank goodness for her trademark red hair which makes her pretty recognisable without having to paint the face in too much detail.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Drawing not quite a fail at the moment but almost... despite being mostly wrapped up in work, kids and the cleansing power of pine floor cleaner I have managed to squeeze in a bit of creativity. Three pages into my new story at the moment but it is a much quicker work rate as there is no colour... getting back to my black and white roots for a while.
I have been deeply pleased with the basic editor provided by microsoft paint which has enabled me to fix the few things on each page which I didn't like (there are inevitably always a few). Paint is so basic it makes me feel like a genius in comparison... I love it!
The new story it is a much more traditional comic layout which scared me somewhat at first as it meant I would need to use a ruler and stringently measure everything- it has worked well mostly- enough for it to be passable, I'm quite happy with it- for a change. The ruler has not quite been consigned to the drawer in which I keep all things artistic which I deem to be anal but there is a space reserved for it...
I don't want to give too much away but the new story is a love story with a twist- thanks very much to Mariammah who gave me the spark in the first place, I shall dedicate it to you if I ever get famous!
Just to wet your appetite here is one cell and a self-portrait which I scribbled down in the same style. (Apparently my nose is too big- not sure if that means in the picture or in real life)

So there you have it- big nosed me and small nosed romantic bloke (whose face I have based roughly on Leonardo Dicaprio's- not because I think he's handsome but because I think he looks so weird he was worthy of drawing) Now as ever, it is just a case of finishing it.

Tis' done....Night Terrors

Was planning on spending maybe half an hour tidying the finished piece off this morning and instead spent a gruelling four hours re-doing art work and cursing loudly when my computer refused to comply with my (what I believed to be) simple requests.

So, I think it has taken me about a week to finish this, which for me is some sort of record- I felt a renewed pressure knowing that I had promised a finished result and it reconfirmed in me that deadlines are not my favourite thing.

A few words on the finished piece....

The layout is incredibly clunky and doesn't always quite work... in response to this I advise you to always read the highest box first regardless of whether it is on the left or right and then read downwards towards the bottom left hand corner.

The writing, I know, is far too bright however my own handwriting is in all fairness pretty darn awful- even when I am using my bestest, neatest penmanship and I decided to spare everyone the pain of trying to decipher it. Plus ever tried using a white pencil on black paper and making it legible? Well, let me tell you- it's pretty difficult without going over each letter about a trillion times and then you are left with one huge mess.

Saul thought that having the backing pages with the smaller frames on top was cluttered- I wanted to give it an atmospheric feel though and felt this added to it. I have though included the backing pages on their own before each page. I have done this because some of them are probably the best pieces of art within the story and I didn't want them to loose their impact.

Here it is... creepy, weird and hopefully slightly wonderful. I hope you enjoy...



An afternote- if you try reading this with any glare on your screen you will probably fail.I had an attempt at fiddling with the contrast of the pictures so they were clearer but again technical knowhow is not in abundance...

What's next you ask? I predict an plethera of whittering aimlessly about old pieces of art. I have a painting to finish and a valentines card to design. A good friend of mine has also given me a great idea for a story which I have roughly sketched. Seeing as the rough sketches of this piece where done in July last year, I wouldn't hold your breath to see the results of that one anytime soon!

Distraction techniques

This is why I draw... to distract my self from all those little things I SHOULD be doing, washing up, cleaning and today the fascinating world of mortgage quotations and rising interest rates- Quick- where are the pencils!?
This blog has become a wonderful alternative, I can justify to myself spending twenty minutes (ha!) on this whilst having a coffee and then of course I'll get right back on the housework... no really I will... honest.
Last year in October, I entered for the second year the 'Comica Graphic Short Story' competition, of course I got nowhere with it but it did manage to fill up some endless hours over the summer holidays whilst the kids increased the likelihood of drought this year with maximum sprinkler usage.
I was very proud of last years entry. The previous year, my frustration with my lack of technical ability to produce something professional looking overcame me even before I had finished it and now although I can appreciate the story itself- which wasn't half bad- I don't even really like to look at it as I feel the art work really lets it down. It's a shame because the 'rough' sketches were much larger and of a better quality than the smaller finished pictures which didn't quite have the effect that I wanted.
This years entry was slightly contentious within the household, Saul felt that the story was weak and the artwork 'not my best' although by the time it was finished I had appeared to sway him towards it!
The spec for the competition is that you have approx 6 weeks to design a fully original self-contained, previously unpublished 4 page short graphic story. It's difficult to get yourself in gear and ensure that your story is a good enough concept to work on (which debatably mine wasn't as it didn't get anywhere!) However I feel it was of a much higher standard than the previous years and for me it has been a great practise in self-discipline in working towards a deadline, as one of my problems has always been finishing things in good time or even finishing them at all.
The story is called 'Yesterday 8.07am' and the rough concept was 3 frames per page, each one with a still of a person and their thoughts for the one minute during 8.07am. Each panel was colour coded, this was partially to try and depict the mood of the character and also, I confess to make the page look 'pretty' from a distance in an attempt to make it stand out from the other entries! I also find I get much better results working in any monochrome pallet. The background was an extension of each panel in black and white line drawing. This was to try and make it appear as if the frame of the picture was in some way allowing the reader to have access to the characters inner thoughts before they passed onto the next.

Here follows the artwork and I hope this time the text is large enough to read unassisted!

I must confess that the second page is definitely my favourite overall. I think the colour mix was balanced really well and the final picture (purple close up of woman) was the best of the piece- however others have stated preference for alternative panes. I would be interested to hear what people think works well and which ones do not. As far as text goes, I absolutely love the mini-stories of the characters who are clearly quite bonkers- the green man on the first page being my favourite- closely followed by the third page bottom pane of the blue and green eye.

Night Terrors continues well- I have finished another page but have to wait to finish the final two until I can get Saul to pose for me after drawing a blank on google images. But hopefully soon....soon....

PS. This took me an hour- not quite the quick break I had envisionaged- surprise surprise!

Old Stuff...

Whilst I'm on here plugging myself it occurred to me I could be opportunistic and put up some pictures and stories from back in time.  Most of these images will have been posted on Facebook or Redbubble at some point but I did get some feedback from people that the text in the stories was too small to view on a computer screen. With that in mind I have decided to re-publish (as it were) some stories which I thought were pretty worth-while but in which the text is pretty teeny-weeny. This is the problem with not being aux-fait with programmes like Photoshop,  you end up using clunky tools like Powerpoint which has mixed results. I've decided that I am just too old to get down with Photoshop. I have used it previously and by used; I mean staring at the screen, clicking random things and then watching Youtube instructionals until I weep because I just don't get it....

Anyhow... enough rambling... The first story is my favourite because it's kind of romantic, which is unusual for me although the ending is pretty downbeat, which IS usual for me. (Happy endings suck!)
So, this is 'He Loved to Skim Stones' which I wrote after a trip to see the parents in Weymouth and ended up watching Saul skim stones endlessly, probably through boredom but I like to think he was being deeply philosophical and introspective....

Page 1:
1st Postcard reads: B. I did what you suggested, I took a break, I have found the sea and walked along the beach with the wind blowing in my hair. This morning I saw a man standing alone on the shore. He was handsome I suppose but he looked so mournful staring into the distance, walking slowly along that I felt more drawn to him than I  have to anyone in a while, I suppose this is progress. All my love R x

2nd Postcard reads: B. I was planning on staring mournfully out to sea and wondering where it all went wrong today, having some time to piece it all back together and then pick it apart again, instead I saw that man again. He was skimming stones. He seemed to take time and care in the ones he chose. it must have worked for him, his best skim was 7 jumps. We didn't meet eyes or nod hello but still there was something there, him skimming- me watching.... I left him there, skimming stones alone. R x

Page 2
1st postcard reads: B. Same time, same place and there he was, skimming again. I wish I could show you his elegance, the smoothness of his throw, he hardly ever fails. You would agree with me about him, I know you would. I waited longer than before and when he was satisfied he turned and walked straight towards me, for a moment I though he was going to speak as he passed but we simply exchanged a glance. He didn't need to speak, he knew why I was there. Shall I tempt fate and come back tomorrow? Love and Fishes R xxx

2nd postcards reads: B. I didn't make it to the beach this evening but I didn't need to. Earlier I walked along the Quay, wondering if there was a boat that would take me away and there he was, sitting on an old box, staring at the boats too- maybe wondering the same thing. I lingered for a moment but he didn't look up. I knew how he felt, such reveries shouldn't be broken, even by one who understands. You often said as much to me. I miss your understanding. R xxx

Page 3
1st postcard reads: B. I was slightly earlier to the beach today but he was already there. I wonder how long he spends skimming stones everyday. Maybe it is a kind of meditation, almost as if he is throwing his worries out to sea, washing them away? Time alone has left me introspective and slightly uneasy in my choices. I left before he finished but all evening I have missed watching the way he moves and the soft sound of the sea. R xxx

2nd Postcard reads: B. Today is my last day. I will reach you before this card. I went to the beach again to watch him but he wasn't there. I waited until the sky clouded over and the wind picked up and regretted not staying yesterday. Regrets... Maybe I should have spoken to him, had an affair, fallen in love but maybe the expectation was too much for reality to intrude upon it. I am done with regrets. It was as it should have been, I will see you soon. R xxx

The only thing I really wish I had done differently in the story was the small scribbled designs on the postcards, which I added on as an afterthought and never really liked but couldn't be bothered to remove. I often get the feeling that a bit more patience would not go amiss in my life.

It's all gone a bit creepy...

At the moment I've switched over to the dark side and felt a need to share the evil within me with those around me... I am working on a short story called 'Night Terrors' based on my childhood belief that a monstrous creature lived at the end of my bed, I am hoping that a bit of purging will do wonders for the child within me... we'll see.
I have been using a lot of blue to depict nighttime lighting- it turned out to be a lot trickier than I thought and I have had mixed success, the above picture; which I have pretentiously named 'Ghostly Stigmata' is probably the best example of it working well so far.
The story itself bled from the initial description of my nighttime fears into a chance to air some issues about motherhood, love and desire. Whether this comes across well remains to be seen but I am of the opinion that you don't always have to lay it on the line in a painting by number style- you can let the work speak for itself.
I will also admit to a definite swaying of style heavily influenced by 'Arkham Asylum' a most wonderfully appreciated Christmas gift. I obviously know that I am outflanked and outclassed 100% by this most wonderful graphic novel but I will serve my clumsy homage up to anyone who wishes to see it.
So, two pages to go still, which in real terms would take most professional artists about a day to complete, with my mothering, cleaning, working, general dogsbodying to take in account it may well be finished in a couple of months. Watch this space!