I've Got the Non-Photo Blues

Cue jazz solo.

So. As I mentioned previously, the current homework series for the comic workshop I'm running is a one-page comic using a script supplied by the textbook (having everyone use the same script gives a chance to see how different people handle the issues in creating the comic and compare results). For this week, we were doing the penciling and lettering. I'm not quite done yet (I'll be finishing it up tonight since the workshop is tomorrow) but figured I'd post progress so far.

I drew the rough pencils using an erasable non-photo blue pencil. Non-photo blue means that it's not supposed to show up when copying / scanning. As you can see above, the drawings are very faint, except the places where I pressed harder (probably too hard) whilst sketching. It would probably only take a little tweaking on the scanner settings to eliminate it entirely so it's nice to know that the pencils function more-or-less as advertised.
Above is the version with inked lettering and panel borders. All that's left for this week is to do the final pencils with a regular pencil.

Freak Out
-TFitC

In the Dark

The comic workshop continue to plug along. This week, I've got two images to post, one in-class exercise and another being a homework assignment.

First, we were talking about lettering and word balloons this past week and the in-class exercise was to create a one-page comic with no pictures, so here's mine:Yeah, yeah, plutonium doesn't work that way - it's comic logic, after all.

For the homework, we're currently going through a series of assignments that has us making a one-page comic based on a short story provided by the textbook, starting with thumbnails, then penciling and finally inking. The process is not entirely unlike what I did for The Word Smith mini-comic, but I figure I'll document it here anyway. Below are my version of the thumbnails:
We were allowed to modify the dialogue to suit our sense of humour. While I didn't modify much dialogue per se, I added some, such as mention of spleens (because "spleen" is a funny word).

That's all for now. I guess I'll post the pencils when I get them finished.

Freak Out,
-TFitC

Psst... Hey, buddy!

So, another week, another assignment for the comic workshop I'm running this term. This week's assignment was to draw a single-panel scene showing something happening using at least two figures interacting with objects in the foreground, midground and background. The main point is to practice penciling and try out drawing a detailed scene.

Below is my result:"Hey, buddy, wanna buy... a spatula?"

Not much to say beyond that, really.

Freak Out,
-TFitC

Limited Edition Prints

I've noticed that the recent trend on this blog is for most entries to have pictures included - not necessarily a bad thing (at least, I don't think I've posted anything that would make someone want to gauge their eyes out). And with this post, that trend continues!

I'm taking a course this term (auditing, actually, which means I don't have to do a final project) on Computers and Aesthetics. As part of that, last week the class took a field trip and had a print making class. Basically, what this entails is applying paint to some suitable material (we used plexiglass) and then transferring it to a dampened paper using a fancy press machine thing. This process means you actually need to paint the mirror image of what you want the final print to look like, which is obviously important for text.

I had time to make three prints, the first two in watercolour, the third using oil-based paints.

Here's the first print:
This is one of my FR characters. I forgot to write the text and the symbol up at the top as a mirror image so it ended up backwards (oops). For the curious, the text is her name and is written in Tolkien's tengwar system. It is supposed to read "Gillin" but, as mentioned, it ended up backwards.

The second print (also watercolour) was of one of the characters from my mini-comic project over the summer:I remembered to draw the text the correct way for this one, but I still ended up having to make fixes to the symbol, which is why it looks a bit smudged.

The final print was done using oils:The first "S" ended up backwards... but, oh well.

Anyway, that is that, I suppose. It was a fun class, but at the end of the day, I prefer drawing.

Freak Out,
-TFitC

Let's Strip! Comics, That Is

This week's assignment for the comic workshop was, essentially, a comic strip. Here is my result:


Freak Out,
-TFitC

Not A Toilet

"Well, at least he's stopped trying to drink out of the toilet."

The above was my most recent "homework" assignment for the comics workshop I'm running (and participating in) this term. We were talking about single-panel comics and the assignment was, basically, to draw one, with the above being my result.

Freak Out,
-TFitC

Lets Get Digital (digital)

I set aside some time over the weekend to finish the digital version of page 3 of the mini-comic, shown below on the left to show off my photoshop n00bness in all its glory. For comparison, the hand drawn version is on the right. One thing to point out is that readers will notice that a couple of panels in the digital version are missing backgrounds. That's because I decided to add in those backgrounds after I'd scanned in the original pencils. The background for the panel in the lower left corner was also added after scanning originally, but I decided to draw it in the digital version in photoshop since it counterbalances the panel in the upper right.

Left: digitally inked version of page 3; Right: hand inked version. (Gah... you'll probably have to click on the right hand image to see all of it 'cause blogger's too narrow. Oh well. Also grr... I just noticed I forgot to colour in the Word Smith's mask in one panel of the digital version. Oh well. Not going to worry about it now!)

I also ended up leaving the pencils in the digital version since I decided I was too lazy to remove them (plus I screwed up a bit and drew some stuff on the background layer so I couldn't just go and delete it... oops) so you can see some of the pencil drawings underneath.

This now officially concludes the mini-comic project, though I seem to be having some bad thoughts... I've had various random ideas related to continuing the project (such as the Word Smith's origin story) so I might actually do some more with it. We'll see, I guess...

Freak Out,
-TFitC

It's A Puzzle!

Here's a little puzzle (sorry for the crappy drawing). Feel free to leave guesses in the comments. Yar.
Freak Out,
-TFitC

Earthquake!!

I knew I felt some odd rumbling in the lab earlier this afternoon. Turns out I was right.

And just so this isn't just a one-liner, here's a screen shot of my current research-in-progress:

It's the most recent version of my panel layout algorithm. Things are progressing fairly smoothly, at least when I'm not procrastinating or whatever.

Freak Out,
-TFitC

Just An Ordinary Day...

Went to the beach today and was inspired to draw this very quick, very rough comic when I got home:
Enjoy!

Freak Out,
-TFitC