Jim Anderson made my weekend when he sent in this fan art of Foolgirl. Seriously, I love how he captures both her innocence and extreme drunkenness. And the rich colors, and her monkey pal Jimmy Honeybunch, and… well, it’s pretty great, right?
I’ve been corresponding with Jim over the past year, but only got to finally meet him in person last week. He does the truly delightful webcomic ELLIE ON PLANET X, and more of his work can be seen at his gallery website and his blog!
We can’t help but look back on a year as it approaches its end. Especially when you’re as self-absorbed and obsessive as this poor fool.
But.
As I was clearing off my desk, sifting through months of old drawings and prints, I was struck by that dizzying feeling that most artists can relate to, as he/she looks at old art with fresh, horrified eyes. The strips for this very comic, less than a year old, looked drastically different than I remembered, the linework crude, the proportions laughable.
With a weekly webcomic, it’s easy to start feeling like you’re on a treadmill, forcing yourself to produce new work with no clear feeling of progress or accomplishment, especially if you’re creating a bizarre, potentially abrasive comic like this one. But if nothing else, churning out these comics all year has honed my skills, further developing both pen and eye. I’ve definitely learned how to draw sexy, stubbly men so much better.
Is it weird, or just inevitable, that I’ve been so obsessed with male musculature this year? And the clavicle, and ribcage, and shoulders. Mmm.
But, of course, these retrospective fits always end with the sheer certainty that your current work isn’t nearly as good as you think it is, and that in six months you’ll look back into the now with your from-the-future eyes and vomit a little at your own past-self’s feeble attempts at drawing elbows.
It’s also pretty funny to look at how much certain characters (Mantis-Man) have changed quite a bit, but others (Ethan) are pretty much exactly the same. And, I mean, they’re perpetually bickering n’ boozing.
Anyway.
I guess, like a shark–or Sharkbitch– you must always keep swimming ahead, or drown in your own gill juice. Also, don’t eat humans.
Early this summer, I bought some brush pens and got really excited by them, which resulted in a lot of experimentation, trying to develop a slick, sophisticated style to use in stories like this Sachiko spin-off that’s underway. But since I’m usually terrified of cross-hatching and other traditional means of shading, I relied on a china marker for the midtones used throughout the current Sachiko story. I think it only works some of the time–it mostly just looks sloppy to me now.
In any case, after months of struggling with those brush pens, I decided to try inking with an actual brush this morning. It tends to be slower, but results in a lot more control and accuracy. I wanted to try drawing a particularly deranged, bedraggled Sachiko, and was really pleased with the results. I still love my brush pens for loose sketching, but man, nothing can beat the pinpoint precision of a good brush point! Check out the crazy detail I got in Sachi’s face!
Oh, and if you’re curious about the strange context of this drawing, one of my future Sachiko story ideas takes place during a flashback to her years in art school. Fun, right?
Despite my terror of conventional shading techniques, I decided to at least try some hatching with the brush. As much as I love the inkwashes that I use in Manta-Man, I don’t want to use them as a crutch. The drawing I did of the Oni isn’t perfect, but I think it was sort of a breakthrough for me in terms of old school inking techniques.
Basically, I want to draw like Joe Kubert. All the time. I went a little overboard with the hatching, but I think it could work. Not for Manta-Man specifically, but perhaps for future Sachiko spin-offs!
(click for a closer look)
As a special treat, I wanted to share this smoldering pin-up of Sharkbitch. Tune in this weekend for some startling revelations about her motives and her identity!
So I finally made my artsy little graphic novella Shadow Play available for the Kindle, so go check that lovely little book out! It’s also still available in print, so you can order that here.