Author Archive

Epic paper-cuts.

Horribly grainy photo, but it’s a horribly gainy photo of COMPLETION. Almost. 99.9% of completion. (I’m going to re-draft a page from The Cherry Tree entirely, because I hate it and it doesn’t work. But other than that… completion!) According to my wonky note on the last page I drew, I actually finished drawing on 15th November… but then our scanner broke and we had all sorts of fun and japes, and I’ve only just finished scanning in the pages as of this moment.

I’ve completely finished colouring and lettering The Cherry Tree (apart from the page I want to totally re-do), finished all my touch-ups and re-draws, and it’s all coming together how I expected, more or less. I took what I had of it to show Emma Hayley (who nominated me initially for the Arts Foundation Fellowship) and Shelley Warren of the Arts Foundation a couple weeks ago, and I think they liked it. I’m looking forward to giving them the printed book.

Still looking at a late Jan/early February release date. Roll on!

Dying, dying…

Oh god, I’m… dead under all this. I just have a little bit more to go on Fish & Chocolate… but I think I’m out of my first, second and third winds already. I’m desperately trying to find a fourth.

10 min sketch ’cause I’ve not had time to draw anything for weeks and I don’t feel right when I don’t draw SOMETHING.

I’m really looking forward to going to a secluded cabin for Christmas (this is actually happening) and spend a bit of time in front of a fake fire with Paul & my lovely friends… but I know I need to really chill the fuck out for a couple of days before I go, or I’ll just be a juddering lump, which won’t be fun for anyone.

My sleeves are too long.

Quick warm-up sketch, re-working of an old character:

Now work!!

Well, hey there, Sunshine!

I made a quick self-portait, as a very quick warm-up cartoon sketch, prompted by the self-portrait experiment thread on Sweatdrop (here).

I’ve done a few self-portaits over the years. I guess all artists do! These days I always aim to make mine amusing… my comics are not fun, usually with a high degree of misery, but I want to try and entertain somehow with my artwork, so, usually it gets taken out on self-portraits and other funny, quick drawings.

Perhaps it’s a bit cute, but oh well ^^;

I’ve been told frequently that, unless I’m interacting with someone, I tend to look furious or miserable as I stroll down the road. So, there we go. Here’s something for all those annoying fucks who feel the need to say, “Cheer up! It might never happen!” to random strangers.

I would like to point out I usually think about food when there’s nothing else to think about. That miserable face? That’s me thinking about some serious cake.

NYCC

I have a lot of stuff to catch up on in terms of blogging. I’m very behind ;3; Probably the next few entries will be a bit scrappy, but I want to get stuff down, at least. So!

Typically, I got a cold on the plane back from NYC so that, coupled with the cold I had before leaving for the trip, and the actual trip itself, means I’m about a month behind work ;_; I honestly think my immune system is having a laugh. (And then choking on its own phlegm).

I need to say, quickly, that New York Comicon was awesome. Everyone in NYC was so nice O_O; It made me feel like I wanted to be more polite than usual, haha. Also: I’m a real home-person… I stress if I leave the house for long periods of time, even, but I actually felt sad coming home from NYC. I liked it that much there. I really hope I have the chance to go back again!

Neither Paul or I had much of a chance to look around the convention (or NYC itself), but what we did see was great. We had a tiny amount of time to do like an obstacle course race round the Artist’s Alley… which in itself was staggering. The art there was like being in some kind of sweet-shop. It would be good to go there as a punter one time, so we could just look around.

Talking is less interesting than looking (I think), so here’s some pics under the cut…

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Influence Map

That low-level virus turned into a high-level virus… T_T; I’m out of bed now, anyway, and I need to get on with work. So, first things first: Doug from SMH asked me & the other SMH artists to try that Influence Map meme that deviantArt spawned, so they could take it round bookfairs to show the kinds of things we were interested in as artists. I had a few minutes after finishing colouring today, so I tried it out.

Well, I think my influences are pretty obvious, and I’m sure I’ve spoken about them a million times before, but just in case you’re desperate to know or have Kate-based-amnesia, here they are again:

I think everyone in the world has done this by now, but if you want to try, the original file is here: http://fox-orian.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2vx881.

Okaayyy… now I need to rest a bit. I have a workshop on Friday and I still can’t speak clearly ;_; Also next week is New York, and if I’m still ill for that, I’m not going to be happy.

Not dead yet…

Just as a quick update, since I don’t like to keep my journal so silent…

I’ve been a bit ill for a while with some crappy low-level virus, and over-working as usual. I ended up lining pages in bed the other day and strained all the muscles in my neck and shoulder as well. Yes, it has been fun here. Thankfully, I have now got a lovely flatting assistant to help out with my comic, which makes me feel a bit less stressed ^^ Selecting a flatter was actually really tough work, and I do not envy people who need to make hard choices and log people’s progress/efforts on a regular basis O_O; I really thought I’d only get one or two people apply… though it turned out to be way more than that, and as such took quite a while to get it all settled. At least it’s settled now!

*sniff* *coughcough* Anyways, I need to scan more pages… wooo…. T_T;

Escape!

Phew. Well. You know that thing where you’re meant to be revising and you go and learn something else instead (I tried to learn a totally different language instead of French for my GCSEs), or that thing where you’re meant to be getting married or whatever and you go and elope with a different person (that happens, right?)… this is my equivalent for comics. I guess. I’m nearing the end of doing roughs for Matryoshka, so, I’m having a freak-out.

It’s way too much for me to be doing, but it was good to let loose and make sketches in a non-committal way. Check out those non-committal shoes. They are so non-committal.

Anyway, that’s Max. I made this as a twin piece for that Denica sketch. I feel like I’ve got more of a hang on what I want Max to look like now. Specifically, he should exude the air of someone who parts his hair with a ruler. He doesn’t really have a sense of humour. I’m massively looking forward to working with him.

(…one day.)

I has a light

It’s drawing things like this that makes me realise how much one needs to know about the human figure in order to parody it effectively. (In my case, I don’t know it well enough X’DD)

Made for the CPCBF! I had a lot of fun at the Festival last year. I’m unable to get to it this year, though I’m so pleased it’s going ahead, and I hope it becomes a regular annual event! (Especially since both last year and this year I was able to draw some really fun monsters! :D)

If you’re able to get along, you should check it out! ^_^/

Quivering Quasars!

I’m catching up on Ulysses 31 after not having seen it since I was, like, three years old. It’s actually really good. Seriously awesome stuff happens in it. Like, Ulysses has a fucking laser-gun-sword. I mean. That’s awesome. It’s nicely structured and only occasionally borders on silly. It’s pretty sophisticated. It’s got actual long-shots, and lingering shots on characters’ faces to show emotion. I may sound like I’m being sarcastic, but you don’t get that stuff in cartoons these days.

I don’t think it’s as good as Mysterious Cities of Gold; it doesn’t have the charm, and the characters aren’t anywhere near as strongly realised. But, it is more focussed than Mysterious Cities, and suits the episodic format a little better. (But MGoG will always rule my heart…)

I’m one of those people who bang on about how shite cartoons are these days. But I don’t think kids can HANDLE THE AWESOME of stuff we had back when I was growing up. Also parents/the government would go batshit over something as cool as a laser-gun-sword. (You know it).