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Welcome back, I am so happy you are here. If you missed last week’s newsletter, fear not! You can read every previous edition on my website.
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Table of ContentsThe Knight Shift | [New!] Comic There Once Was Magic - Character Test | Illustration Bi-Weekly Recommendations | Closing Thoughts
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The Knight ShiftMy New Comic Strip! Throughout my life I have written MANY a comic. I was always a fan of series, such as Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts, and I think that came down to consistency. In character, humor, expectation, or lack thereof. More often than not, I would mirror this, creating a cast of characters and a world they could all exist in, even if they weren’t constantly featured. From 1st grade through middle school, we had unforgettable compilations such as Skate Extreme, Cool Cat, Stupid Hero, Space Wars, The Essential Sticky - Buzz - Woof & Werg…need I continue? My flagship series, What a Wonderful World!, is something I’ve been writing since high school, and though it has gone through many changes, it’s remained consistent in both the title and main character. It is, however, the only serial comic I’ve illustrated since then. I do think that writing a comic about children gives you free reign, within reason, for almost any subject. Children experience the same world we do, but without the weight of experience. I’ve found that you can lean as adult or childlike as you want when it comes to topic or scenario, and both work. It’s why comics like Charlie Brown and Calvin do so well, and still, after all these years, mean the world to us. That flexibility leaves open an opportunity that isn’t always available as artists; longevity. I feel extremely lucky to have found my core characters for What a Wonderful World!, and it’s a project I personally plan to continue for as long as I can, be it through comics, animation, artwork, and beyond. The freedom to explore so many angles of experience is something I really appreciate, and it’s also what has allowed me to examine what would happen if I narrowed my view. When I was young, so many of my comics fell within a niche, which brings about it’s own humor and I’ve been feeling the desire to create something similar again. Far removed from my current work, but still an homage to what got me excited about the medium in the first place. I knew early on that I wanted it to feel simple. Like back in the day when lined paper, a dull pencil, and half-written jokes were all I had. Still within my style, but something that valued the content more than anything. I had no idea what or who I wanted the characters to be, so I thought back to all of my old drawings, and pulled out a few things that still aligned with my interests today. For some reason, there was one subject that stood out in my mind because of it’s frequency, and the basic shapes that I used to draw it. Based on a lego figurine I used to have, wearing green armor nonetheless, it was a knight. Here is a re-imagining of the drawing next to the original character:
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It was perfect. Medieval, simple, meaningful, and niche. With that, it is my pleasure to announce my newest comic strip, The Knight Shift. A place to branch out, while simultaneously serving as a love letter to both the seven year old renaissance nerd, and the thirty year old one too.
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Follow the adventures of Sir Loin and Sir Spicious, as they fight back against plague, peasants, and prophecies of prestidigitation!
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There Once Was MagicCharacter Test In our previous installment, I spoke about the origin of my new story, There Once Was Magic, and introduced you to main character, Olive. I’m excited to say that the manuscript we discussed a couple weeks ago is now finished, and I’ve been spending my time attempting to find where the story and illustration crossover. In the past, I’ve discussed my experience finding confidence and clarity within my artistic style, and even now I am surprised by how much variance there is between projects. It may be the nature of time, hopefully an indication of growth in which my style exponentially develops the more I draw, but even so, I’ve found each piece of art carries with it something discreet. Often hidden within colors and textures, a number of aspects seem to appear in my work subconsciously. Take A Robot Called Rodger for example. A story filled with vibrant colors, contrast, angles, flat lighting. Or my comic, What a Wonderful World. The backgrounds are often green or gold, there’s something dreamlike about that comic as it relates to my idea of childhood, and I’m not afraid to assign certain colors to certain characters based on personality, or how they make me feel. Some of these things are certainly conscious decisions, but some of them aren’t, and I think I’ve been able to embrace that nuance the longer I’ve been an artist. There’s part of me that gets excited every time I begin a new project because I don’t know exactly what’s coming, or how my feelings will necessarily be expressed on the page. I believe part of creativity is letting that faucet of undiscovered ideas flow, then rolling with whatever shows up. For me, color, texture, and lighting is very tied to emotion, and I’m sure those that closely relate feeling to color can agree. As I continue working with the new story, there are a number of colors that have shown up. So far, it has been light pinks, blues, soft greens, and golds. I don’t know if it is because of the nature of the story, one that deals with both dreams and reality, but the contrast of the pink and the blue feels significant. Especially when tied together by golden yellow, a color I often associate with experiences that exist on several planes in tandem. Furthermore, green is a color that feels grounded to me. If you remember our character creation from last time, Olive is actually wearing a combination of green and pink, which serendipitously suits her personality. As much as I want to say that meaning was anything more than subconscious, it simply felt right at the time, and my understanding came later. Though the experimentation is far from over, let’s take a walk through the first illustration depicting two of our characters. Olive and her younger sister, Mary.
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Here is our original sketch! Probably one of most cohesive I’ve shared, which didn’t actually serve me too well. You will notice pretty quickly that a lot of things change throughout this piece, be it color, poses, etc. That is all part of the experimentation I was talking about. For the very first image of our sisters together, I decided to keep it unrelated to the story. Simply, what would a normal day look like? I wanted it to be a little outlandish, but grounded in how many of us would play as kids. |
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I started with a lot of color blocking. Right away you can see some of those blues and yellows come in. I always try to start with the background, even if I’m excited to draw the characters. It sets the mood, the lighting scenario, the environment, and I find it easier to sell the relationship between a character and environment if each seem like a product of the other. |
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Blocking in our characters now, just to see how they feel in the space. Originally, I had Mary wearing red, but it didn’t end up fitting her character. It will change later! |
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Adding some light texture to the background including the cushions and floor. |
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Now a bit of shadow to the background and some detail on our characters. I realized quickly that I wanted Olive to be wearing a cape rather than a hat so you can see a bit more of her face. One thing I’ve also started to do, and whether this is specific to these characters, or a long term adjustment to my style, is some outlining. You can watch it develop throughout this piece and see what you think! |
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A bit of facial and clothing detail. |
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Here we added the first shadow pass to our characters, and began to play with different colors, outlines, etc. The pink felt much more natural for Mary, but let’s take our poses and clothing to the next level! |
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Now it feels like we are onto something. I added a hood for Mary and it totally brought her character to life in this scene. As for Olive, I decided to keep the headband, but to make it part of her playtime costume. It also allowed me to change her pose and open up the center of the picture a little bit. |
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Some final additions to the outfits, and background detail. |
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And there you have it! Two sisters lost in their own world, I would love to hear what you think! While illustrating this piece I discovered more about the characters, where the style was trending for my story, and what colors were beginning to show up. Since finishing the artwork, I’ve also drafted a few sample pages which will be shared sometime soon! |
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Bi-Weekly Recommendations
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Support My Work!If you enjoy what I do, please consider a donation! Not only does it support the time and effort I put into my work, but it also allows me to create more. Anything is greatly appreciated!
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