art

Taking stock

Boston Comics Roundtable, Comics, inktober, Projects

It’s difficult to believe that 2017 is nearly over. True, there are five or so weeks left. But in the last 47 weeks, I’ve had an incredibly productive year for comics.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:

  • Edited Spellbound vol. 2 and oversaw the art direction for the cover
  • Attended the Graphic Memoir workshop at the Center for Cartoon Studies
    • Made my memoir comic Starman
    • Met incredible cartoonists from around the country
  • Created five mini-comics/zines that are available for purchase
    • Anxiety Diaries vol. 1
    • Anxiety Diaries vol. 2
    • Anxiety Diaries vol. 3
    • Kitchen Witches
    • Immature Language
  • Launched a (now on hiatus) web comic.
  • Took part in Inktober and created the Kitchen Witches comic
  • Tabled my first con (MICE in Cambridge, MA)
  • Had two pieces picked up for anthologies
  • Received two rejections for anthologies

There’s still a month left, and I think it will be a productive one.

I’m designing/co-editing Spellbound, Volume II: Modern Magic

Boston Comics Roundtable, Comics, Projects, Spellbound, Volume II
legalizemagic

Legalize Magic by Oliver Tacke // cc 2.0

Not content with one project of a literary bent, I’ve somehow found myself roped into working on an anthology with the Boston Comics Roundtable, the Boston-area indie comics creator group.

Spellbound II is “Modern Magic.” Where tech meets hex, touch screen Ouija boards exist, and the WiFi fairy is the godmother we all need.

My role will be selecting the comics with my co-editors, and designing/laying out the book itself. I’m very excited to be part of this project. The BCR releases excellent anthologies. The aim is to have the book in hand by early June, just in time for the convention season.

Specifications:

Dimensions: Trim 7” x 8.5”, image safe area 6.5” x 8” — no bleeds
Color: Black & White or Grey scale
Page count: 1 – 6 pages

Submission information:

Please send a complete script and at least the first page in tight pencils to spellbound.anthology@gmail.com.

Important dates:

3/3 – Script deadline.

3/31 – Final art deadline. Expect us to bug for updates before this deadline.

Inktober 2016, Day 1

Illustration, inktober

 

First day of Inktober! And so I begin with a very low quality sketch. Seriously, not even close to my best. But I need to get back into the inking swing of things, which is why I’m doing this challenge. I’m aiming to launch a web comic, cowritten by my friend Annie, by the end of the year. So, that means lots of practice inking.

Prompt for the day was “fast,” and this was an appropriately quick sketch, probably about 15 minutes total.

I genuinely prefer drawing by hand to drawing on a tablet. I can do it (and do it decently enough), but there’s something wonderful about putting pen to paper. Usually I draw first with a mechanical pencil, and then ink by hand using a dip pen and various nubs. I’ve done two short comics this way (Aquila and Of Living Waters), but I’m trying something a bit different. I’ve gone back to my roots by using micron pens, and let’s see how things improve by the end of the month.

Inktober

inktober
14579617238_7557e29e95_o

Some delightfully weird picture I found a few months ago.

Greetings from the dark! Otherwise known as my apartment, where the overhead lights have burnt out, and I’m waiting for Amazon to deliver the shiny-new LED ones. So, for now I’m working by candlelight (and two small desk lamps).

Today is October 1, celebrated day of 24 Hour Comics and the first day of Inktober. Where I no longer have the stamina to stay up 24 hours, I’ve decided to part take in Inktober, a month-long challenge to draw an ink picture every day.

I’ll be posting these to my Instagram, and if I can figure it out, here as well. It will likely comprise of silly fan art, some work on original characters, and maybe even a sneak preview of my upcoming web comic with the ever-talented Annie Rutherford.

Let’s get this Inktober started!