New Approach

Going back to my roots now. Finishing the List, I decided to try and stretch my other influences and techniques. I relied a lot on using a lot of black in the List. It was set at night most of the time, but I digress. I've grown more comfortable with not inking and while I did enjoy Tom Bonin's fine inking, I missed inking.

I'm sure this is true for a lot of artists; inking is one of the most enjoyable processes to creating artwork. I enjoy it. It got me thinking. I liked doing the List while I was doing it, but now just mucking around with my own stuff, I don't think I'd be able to use the same approach in any recent new work anytime soon.

When I began to analyse it further, I used to do a lot more with layouts. I used more white. Even in my 24hr comic challenges, I made it my agenda to do this. It made things more interesting. From a reader's standpoint it was different, and from my own perspective for process, it made it a lot more interesting.

I then made it my prerogative to challenge myself to do everything I didn't do in the List in my next works. You know, just to balance it out a little. It has been 5 years after all. It's ingrained into everyone's expectations/perceptions as well.

It made me realise that these contrasts to my work on the List, are really what I was doing before (after my manga phase). I suppose it's more that they were never used in the last 5 years, I'm doing this. Using negative space more effectively; designing layouts to be more interesting than just merely to convey storytelling; composing self-indulgent scenes; and just experimenting more without a defined structure. Particularly on the last point, I do miss a lack of structure. Planning a story, deconstructing it down to minimum, adding another story to interweave, scrapping a story, going bat-shit post-modern and ending up with something that doesn't even resemble what I first started with.

A lot of this stuff is influenced by (a lot of) josei manga, alternative Japanese and American comics, and European comics. In my next works, you'll probably be seeing a lot more of this. To probably only to a select few, you'd know what the fuck I'm talking about. My earlier work is a lot more harder to come by, and some of it not even published. Going back to my roots, so you may or may not know what to expect, but at least it will be a little different than what you're used to.

See. I said I'd be back.

Thought I'd talk a little about my writing process for a short story I'm working on at the moment. It started off as a fairly straight forward affair as far as the plot is concerned, but as it began to take shape, it was apparent I was growing more dissatisfied with it.

The story as it was seemed a little flat. While you could consider it non-standard, it wasn't particularly remarkable. I was happy with the concept, but I think the execution isn't all it could be. If I left it as it is, it would reek like a Deviant Art comic. Full of fanciful art, flat storytelling, relying too much on exposition (well, not in my comic, but I want to rag on DA a little) and a shock ending for juxtaposition you'd see a mile away because that's in at DA.

I didn't want the high notes of my comic to be the first and last two pages of my comic, and the rest to be filler. It's standard at the typical mainstream publishers at marvel and dc to write that way, I tend to like my own writing to be more experimental, a bit challenging for the reader, and try to leave room for the reader to interpret the story in their own ways.

Then I watched a movie called What is it?. I'm going to preface this by advising that the movie isn't very watchable. I doubt even if you read my stuff or have similar tastes to my own that you would sit through that movie. It's really uncompromising. I appreciated that. I'll leave it at that. The point is, that I really inspired me to approach my story again differently; from disparate directions.

I began to form new ideas. I could still use the existing story, but use it as a sub narrative over a more ambiguous and surreal counter-narrative. I would use them to weave a rationale behind my theme for the short story I'm working on.

Moral of the story: Don't be precious with your work. Be prepared to shit all over it. For art.

For people in Sydney; I'll be heading over there for Supanova. I'll most likely be at the Oztaku booth. Come say hello.

Forwards to the Horizon

So over a year has passed since this blog has last been updated. In that time I've completed the final installment of The List comic. It's been a long 5 years with Paul Bedford and Tom Bonin, but I did enjoy it all.

Throughout the production of this story we have been getting feedback from our readers and I am really grateful and happy that it's been positive. It's great that our readers have enjoyed the book as much as they have

While I do enjoy being a starving artist, I don't intend on staying one for a prolonged period. Please support us by getting a comic (or three now that it's completed): http://www.thelistgraphicnovel.bigcartel.com/

I have made more progress in regards of the anthology I've been mulling on for the better part of 5 years. Work is now underway on the first of what I hope to be many anthologies. There are four of us in this project, based on our respective aspects. I'm being intentionally vague, but I will elaborate at some later point, just not right now.

It is intended that this first anthology be the precursor for the following ones. It is to set the benchmark for the others. It also will allow me to practice in publishing and putting together a book.

You may have noticed that the blog has been updated to look less horrible than it was before. One of the first of many things on my agenda that has been addressed.

My absence on this blog is something I intend on rectifying. I will endeavor to update this on a weekly basis. Of art or at least of some noteworthy news.

Until next week (see what I did there?).