320 Rotation.

Happy 4th o’ July to those of you who celebrate it.  Try not to blow up anything that isn’t supposed to, or hasn’t earned it.  To everyone who doesn’t celebrate the 4th, happy 4th of July anyway.  It’s a big American party up in here.  With any luck, I will be enjoying fireworks this year without the aid of my binoculars. 

I don’t like how messy any kind of pencils tend to be. Unless you have a mechanical pencil you need to have a sharpener handy. Taking a pad, pens, & a game system, everywhere I go is already a hassle so the less stuff the better. I draw with a really heavy hand, but using a pen alleviates this somewhat. Pen sketches scan easily. Sketching in pen teaches you to not get so emotionally invested in every single drawing. If you mess something up you draw it again, forcing you to practice. It works for me where other methods, and mediums, do not.

How many sketch books have you filled in total?

I couldn’t even guess. I used to fill spiral bound notebooks, then those ubiquitous sketch books you see in every book store. I’ve thrown away at least as many as I’ve kept, and never even started counting until I started using the Copic paper. I’ve used 5 or 6 since I started Between Failures.

How much did art classes help you?

I have never taken a decent drawing class, so I don’t know how much it would have helped. What little college art I had was fourth rate, at best. I think, in the end, the only way to improve is to practice. Someone can show you how to draw, but they can’t train your hand. A good art teacher teaches you to teach yourself.

How do you arrange panels?

Usually I get an idea of how the dialogue needs to flow and try to place the characters in such a way that the reading order is natural. I try to see the scene as if it was a movie, and then draw it out as best as my skill will allow.

How do I get my work noticed?

Write good stories and draw good pictures. I know it sounds flippant, but people will gravitate to quality. Sometimes exemplary writing can make up for poor art, or vice versa, but without a redeeming quality any work is doomed. As far as advertising is concerned, you can use services like Project Wonderful. You can post your comic on many free hosting sites, which worked for me. Set up pages on social networking sites, or post about your work on forums likely to be interested in it.

Are you planning to publish the comic as books?

As soon as I decide who to use, and learn how to do it. I also have to decide how to cut the thing into parts.

I hope that helps those of you who had questions. If you want to talk shop some more, or have any direct questions, feel free to contact me with the email link at the top of the page. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.