Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Sunday Revue April 19: Hot Metal Miami

What's this? Why, It's a Review Of 


Hot Metal Miami!


In the classic vein of shows like Daredevil and Luke Cage, this superhero comic plays with the themes of city grit, dastardly schemes and daily life. 



The Rating


Sorry kid. You got spunk, but it's gonna be a while before you run with the big dogs



The Raves

I will say, there's a solid grasp of the tropes in this work. There's a good sense of event, and the dialogue is nicely snappy and well tuned to the genre. 

And the art does get better...but...

The Razzes

But. The art has an awful long way to go. This is a good practice ground for a learning artist, but there's a lot to be learned here.
First, if your lines are coming out wobbly, use the straight line tool. In something like this close-up on the left, wobbliness and skewed lines are highlighted, and the scribble background just isn't going to cut it. For a newer artist, I'd always go with reference photos. Study where light falls in an image, then draw.

Secondly, perspective and the human body. The sad truth is, when it's a little off we REALLY notice. Humans are built to see symmetry. So something like this image below really suffers. The symmetry of the face is all off, and the size ratios of head to hands are too, which gives the entire image a 'wait that's not right' feel.
So, that's kind of a bummer to get told as an artist. But hey, good news! It can be fixed!


The Ringmaster's Lessons: An Improvement Course For The Comic Artist

Month One

  • Read at least 3 comic strips a day; I recommend 5. Find comics you love and study their style. Absorb the art. This will train your eye and your instinct for art.
  • Read the book Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. The lessons in this book are golden, and even ideas that seem simple and boring at first will improve your sense of comic craft. You'll fall in love with the facial muscle and expression chapter
  • Start back at basics. Every day, spend half an hour sketching basic stuff; a chair, a shoe, a plant, ect. Once a week when you have time, line up things of these four categories: smooth, spiky, furry, tufted. I recommend an egg, a plant with lots of leaves, a scrubbing brush/tooth brush and a hair brush. Do studies of each object, then of all four together. Change the lighting on them if you can to keep things interesting
  • Go to the park or somewhere busy at least once a week and sketch. Everything. Anything. People, plants, squirrels, benches, LIFE. This helps to train your eye and your hand. Don't worry about finishing the sketches, just SKETCH.


Month Two

  • Get a copy of a really good anatomy book. I recommend either Joseph Sheppard's 'Anatomy: A Complete Guide For Artists' or Bridgman's 'Complete Guide To Drawing From Life'. Go through one chapter each week, and sketch that part of the body all week until you can do it in your sleep.
  • Every day, go to Posemaniacs.com and do a few of  their 30 Second Sketches
  • Don't stop going to the park and sketching life. This isn't about making finished art, it's about teaching your eye and hand what the world REALLY looks like.
  • Read Scott McCloud's book Understanding Comics to gain a deeper understanding of your artform
  • Read The Bean's great article on What Makes A Webcomic Work; click here

Month Three

  • Begin learning to use reference photos. Google something in the Images search, like 'throwing baseball' and search through the images till you spot something that really POPS, that draws your eyes. Save that image, and do a sketch based on it. Start with simple stuff in the first week; picking a flower, lifting a box, ect. Then work up to whole human and animal bodies in week two. In week three, do architecture; a house, a bridge, the Eiffel Tower. In week 4, do street scenes and city scenes. REPEAT.
  • Read Get Rid of On The Nose Dialogue; click here.
  • Don't stop using the exercises from Month One and Two
  • DO NOT STOP DRAWING. PRACTICE WITHOUT CEASE!!! You only improve by CONSTANT PRACTICE.

Month Four

  • Begin using reference photos as aids to lay out your panels. Use them to choose where to put speech bubbles. It's okay for now if this seems like a crutch; the purpose of a crutch is to help you until you can walk on your own.
  • Start taking some of your sketches and turning them into finished works. Experiment with lines and shade
  • Take the page from Scott McCloud's 'Making Comics' on facial expressions and draw your main comic characters showing each of these expressions. Do it again and again till you're happy with it.
  • Get several different kinds of clothes hung on hangers, and draw the textures of the cloth. Focus on drawing the folds. Here's a great cheat sheet to get you started.
  • Go through some of these great tutorials I've got in a google doc to continue improving your drawing style

Months Five And Six And Beyond

  • KEEP DRAWING! NEVER EVER STOP!!!

The Revue


Give it time, and this comic will get there. But it's not there yet. 

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Backstage Pass April: Jay Farbes


Grab Your Pass And Head Backstage To Meet


Jay Fabares




Main Project

Right now I'm working on a supernatural crime drama with my husband, called The Pale.
It follows a face-blind FBI linguist who is tracking a killer in small town Arizona.

We've won some indie awards in the past few years- including best writing and best mystery!
It's best described as Twin Peaks meets Arizona, with a hint of Fargo! I've been developing the comic with my husband Sanders since 2013.


thepalecomic.com
patreon.com/jayfabares
ko-fi.com/jayfabares



Other Hobbies, Guilty Pleasures and Obsessions

Mostly I find I am working on the comic more than anything, constantly trying to read more comics. If I am not trying to get out to birdwatch I am most likely watching some crime drama! I also enjoy watching movies with my husband.


So, tell me about your early experience. How did you fall in love with telling stories in pictures?

It's actually pretty recent that I discovered comics, I've only been reading comics since 2008. The first comic I picked up on my own was The Umbrella Academy-- and I've been hooked on comics ever since! After TUA. I started reading the modern classics, Y The Last Man, The Walking Dead, as well as Preacher, Watchman and Fables. Some recent favorites of mine are Sheltered, The Sixth Gun, Fear Agent. I also enjoyed Girls, Alex + Ada.


What media and programs do you work in to produce your project?




I'm all digital. I work on my trusty 21UX Cintiq and use Clip Art Studio EX.



Can you tell me about your typical day or strip-creation session? How does your work process flow from idea to finished page?

We're pretty far a long in terms of the world building (though we are still nailing down certain aspects of it) but we know enough to get started in the writing process.


Our writing starts with taking theme of each story arc and trying to fit the moments we want to incorporate. We try to figure out structurally within the arc where those moments go and decide which order they are presented in, which dictates which chapter they are in.


After that is done, my husband writes the first draft of the script. He plans and plots the actions per page and writes the scenes accordingly. After that I look over the draft and then make my edits for a 2nd draft. This happens until we are at a place to start the rough layouts-- where I tend to make additional edits (in terms of panel actions and sometimes edits to the script).


After the art is done, we do another pass of edits, checking for art continuity, etc. It's a lot of work!



What’s the most difficult part of your work?

The writing. Trying to find the time to write with my husband can be difficult. We both have ideas that we are trying to combine together and because of the subject matter-- the world building needs to make sense. We put a lot of time and effort to make the world, dialog, and characters feel believable-- and I think that has carried the story so far-- but now we are bringing in the mythology and figuring out how to deliver that information in a natural way is a challenge (but also very fun!)



Can you tell me about your storytelling process? Do you prefer to script your stories, fly by the seat of your pants, or somewhere in between?


Always a script!
We have some general ideas that we try to connect the dots to, but having moments not set in stone allows us to improvise within each chapter. It's a lot of fun seeing how new ideas form and how it can shape the story!



How much of a buffer do you like to keep?

We try to stay at least one chapter ahead of what's being posted. The range has been around 30 pages. When the next chapter posts, we're either in the drawing stage or writing.

What’s a question you’d like to answer once and for all about your art and/or that question you’re sick of getting asked?
Haha... last name is pronounced FAB-ray.



If you could send a note back to yourself when you began working on your skillset, what would you say?




You do you -- you'll be most happy when not comparing yourself to the success of others. You're gonna do great, don't worry.



What message do you hope readers take away from your work?

Comics are a learning process-- this is my first sequential work and I think with every chapter I learn more and have improved.
As for the book: there is an audience for your work, just keep at it, readers will find you.


What keeps you devoted to telling the story you’re telling?

If I don't tell the story-- who will? I've never wanted to see something to the end so much!

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Monthly Matinee April: Sparking Creativity


Today, TODAY, Gentlefolk and Rakes of the Crowd, We Have A Show For You! The Splendiferous Zoe Sugg Graces Us With Words On The Care And Feeding Of Creativity


Stimulating Creativity – Why Our Best Thoughts Happen in the Shower





I’ve been starting at this comic script all day. I’ve got a great opening scene, the rising action… Now I just have to connect this with the climactic battle scene. And… nothing I’m trying is going right. I finally stand up, bones creaking as I do so from 6 hours of being hunched over the computer, admit defeat, and go take a shower.
I’m mid-shampoo when my inspiration hits. Of course! If I just move this dialogue and have Character A come in later, I’ve set the scene up for Character B to come in and reveal themselves! My solution was right there and I didn’t even notice!

Sound familiar?

It should. Scientists have been studying why our brains turn out amazing ideas in the shower for a while now and there’s a zillion articles on it. Basically, there’s 3 ingredients: when you’re relaxed, if your brain is producing dopamine, and if you have a menial task as a distraction, then your brain can “disengage” from normal thought processes. It can begin thinking non-linearly and start churning out some real innovative ideas. If you want to go really in-depth and read about how our medial prefrontal cortex becomes more active when this happens, Buffer has a great article on it here. It also explains that when this section of the brain becomes more active, other executive functions tend to “deactivate,” or become less active. So, I guess now I know why I have a tendency to walk into walls and door frames when I’m deep in thought?
Okay, so back to how this affects my comic work. See, that first thing on the list there, that relaxing? It’s uh… It’s real hard to be mid-creative-block and not be frustrated about it. Like most creators these days, comics are my second job, and my time to work on them isn’t as plentiful as I’d like. Add to that the days my blood sugar is giving me hell (I’m type 1 diabetic), and the pressure to create good work every time I sit down is just awful.
The trouble for me is realizing that I’m stuck, that it’s okay, and that I need to let go. According to Wired’s article, “Research has shown that your brain builds bigger creative webs when you’re in a positive mood. This makes sense, because when you’re anxious you’re less likely to take a chance on creativity.” This struck a chord with me. There’s definitely an anxiety loop that kicks up where I get stuck and then get angry that I’m wasting my own time. Once that spiral starts it’s really hard to bring everything back down again. It’s something that everyone has to learn to manage in their own way, and as I’m in the thick of it I don’t really have pointers for that yet.

But what I can tell you is that there’s scientific backing that says beating yourself up over creativity blocks is counter-productive to actually being creative.

So, how do we solve for this? What I’ve been doing recently is learning to stimulate my brain before I sit down for a major creative sprint. There are only 3 magic ingredients that help this sort of creativity happen: relaxation, dopamine, and minor distraction. You can create a little ritual for yourself to relax and get into this headspace. I’m going to share what works for me, but definitely comment below or @zuzu_cartoons on social media and tell me what works for you!
Recently, I discovered Four Sigmatic’s Think coffee mix while wandering around Sprouts groceries. This stuff “support[s] productivity, focus, and creativity” and it’s turned into a little ritual for my Saturday mornings. I switch on some Lo-fi music, drop a bath bomb in the tub, and sip on a mug of this stuff. Is it a placebo effect? Maybe. But hey, it seems to work for me. It’s become my go-to if I’m feeling good and want to tap into that creative energy. One small disclaimer: I’ve noticed that, while it boosts creativity, it also will take a train of thought I’m having and just… go. Which means that there have been a few times I’ve sat down to work on a comic pitch, or this podcast, and ended up… writing a ton of D&D smut. Oops. This seems avoidable if I start working on something and then go take my bath/coffee combo, that way my brain is already started on whatever train of thought I need to be on. Making this a sort of routine seems to stimy the frustration aspect also, by reducing it to something that I can fool myself into thinking I can control. I guess I could say that the way my brain processes it is, “Okay, here’s that block I was expecting. It’s okay, I knew this was coming and now it’s time for my Saturday morning bath, where I will hang out, relax, and maybe solve this problem.” I’m basically tricking myself into not hitting that anxiety-loop, but heck, it seems to work!

Image taken from https://us.foursigmatic.com/products/mushroom-coffee-with-lions-mane-chaga

What Works for You?

I recommend experimenting. The one thing I’ve found while reading up on this subject is that, because your brain does -actually- have to be relaxed, it’s hard to go into these relaxation exercises with any expectation of creativity. For myself, I have to get started on a train of thought with my work and then let that train of thought simmer in the back of my brain until something comes up. This might be because of another phenomenon in that buffer article above known as the incubation period, which is where your subconscious thoughts are allowed to drift to the surface during a period of relaxation. This is due to the fact that your subconscious has been thinking about this in the background while you’ve been trying to solve a problem.
The other way I supplant having any expectations about what I’m supposed to create is by NOT taking any writing utensils with me. This way, my brain has no subconscious expectations of “needing to have a great idea.” As someone whose phone is basically attached to me, my phone is such an everyday object that I can always grab my note app if I need to write something down, and my brain isn’t eyeing it suspiciously. For the people who have successfully “trained” their brains to ignore their creative materials, most say to simply start keeping your notebook with you everywhere you go. Tuck it in your bag, glovebox, keep it on the bathroom counter… if you make it an everyday object, your brain essentially learns to “ignore” it, and doesn’t feel that pressure any longer. Then you can grab your pen and paper whenever an idea strikes!
So get out there and get relaxing! Let me know what your experiments get you, or if you find any coping methods for when that creativity-block is causing you distress. Comment below or hit me up @zuzu_cartoons on all social media.