Working through the current arc of my book requires, not only my protagonist to wake up, but also his neighborhood to wake up. (I thought it would also add to the mood of the piece). As such, I had to go for high contrast, as at night there aren't any real tones. Therefore I couldn't use my beloved crosshatching/scribble. The results of the opening wordless sequence tuned out better than I expected. Here's how it went:

As usual, I start with the script and thumbnail (below) the page sequence with an ordinary biro on my A5 little notebook I carry with me.



After I've chosen the best scenes to convey my "early morning" scene from my thumbnails, I decide which order they might go in, and then pencil them in on a full-size rough. (Below) - just to get the basic shapes in.



Like many cartoonists will tell you - even though I pencilled in the sequence in the order I thought suited the flow (above) - it ended up changing. So when I pencilled/inked in the final board (below) - the sequence had changed to something I thought 'flowed' a little better. Hope you agree.



I now know why my fellow B&W artists like Tom Bonin, Henry Pop, & Colin Wilson get off on the high contrast of pure B&W's. It's a real kick, let me tell you. There is something I really like about the bare B&W finished ink. I am always tempted to leave it at that - but unfortunantly, it's hard to create the nuances I desire in B&W without some additions like crosshatching or tones. Crosshatching in this case would have detracted from the clean crispness of the still night I was trying to convey.

So I scan it into the computer, clean it up & add a slight 2-tone grey pallette.
(Below)



Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Bobby.N

First off, If anyone new is ever unsure of 'what' the pub looks like that we have our monthly 'get-togethers' in at the first Saturday of each month- it's looks something like this:



Ok - with that out of the way, it's onto the 'meet'.

Funny thing is, this month I bought myself one of those 'freshly-squeezed' juices at Victoria Market food court (where the above photo was taken.). It was called an 'immunity' juice (supposedly designed to fight off flu's etc) - well... it (somehow) drained me of energy. I swear - during this months meet-up, I felt FLAT and grey. I can only put it down to the juice. Yeah, that'll do. It was the juice's fault.

Anyway - it was a cosy meetup this month of the regulars. The was a new guy-girl who showed up (only for a short time) - but never had a chance to find out names. Basically it was all the regulars at this months meet. About 10-12 people.


James (thats his hand in the bottom-left) brought along a stack of comics that he just picked up from Minotaur that Tom was rifling through. Michael (right) brought along his newly inked stuff & was showing it around.


Colin Wilson was excitedly telling us about the 'Pixar' exhibition at the Fed Square NGV. He couldn't stop raving about it (as can be seen in his 'blurry' hands.). Bruce Mutard (in the lumberjack shirt) kindly brought along one of his 'Street Smell' comics that I was missing from my collection.

"This was a great meet." - was heard by Greg gates when it ended. Though I was a little 'out-of-it' this week - i have no reason to doubt him.

Til the next one.

Bobby.N
(PS: Where I'm not buying anymore juices.)

As promised - here is the development of Darren Close's Killeroo sketch that I penciled for him at Doujicon.

Upon looking at the Killeroo comics, I noticed that everyone who had done their version of Killeroo stuck to a tough-guy cliche. (ie. Looking mean, on a bike, beer, girls, etc) - so I thought I'd do something left-field. I thought about Killeroo ironing his 'wifebeater' singlet. Something 'sensitve' - if you will.

"I got it" - I thought.

I'd do killeroo shaving.



Here is the sketch I did at my table:



After I got home from the convention, I proceeded to light-pencil the sketch (in blue) onto the card stock I use for final inking. I do this via my trusty little lightbox.



Once I've lightly finished penciling the basic shapes and forms onto the board, I take it over to my drawing board and proceed to 'tight-pencil' it. While refering to the original sketch as a guide, I put all the detail onto the board. With all the detail penciled, I can put the original sketch away.

I add all the 'fiddly' bits in so I don't have to do any 'guess-work' when I'm inking. Then I unscrew the ink-well , grab my dip pens, and begin the fun 'artistic' bit.






Then after a few hours - whala... it was finished.

I would have been finished sooner if Darren hadn't picked such a hairy character! (I was going braindead - dash, dash, dash, dash...)

I then scanned the inked board into the computer, cleaned it up, did subtle shading, added lettering, etc, etc - and it was complete.



Hope you enjoyed the peak into my madness.

Bobby.N

It was a blast. Really.
I had a ball.

This was my first convention, and Im glad i went. I didn't have much expectation (in terms of selling) but i was pleasantly surprised. I had 4 books on sale ($1, $2, $3 & 7$ in price.) and they all sold pretty well. I made about $200... so I was happy. Even though my books were 'relatively' cheap - they sold pretty steadily. More about my observations on that later.

But, for now - onto the photos:


I was sitting next to Paul & Henry's 'The List' table. In my opinion, one of the best books at Doujicon. Even though The List was a small print run done just for this convention (ie. Not intended to be the final polished book) - it did amasingly well. Whenever I looked to my left (to find out where the annoying camera-flashes were coming from), I saw Paul signing autographs like a rockstar - taking money hand-over-fist.

At one point while I was eating a sandwich, Paul noticed some food on my chin & said, "Here, wipe yourself off." - and handed me a twenty dollar bill.


This photo is the new cover to our 'boy-band' cd which we will be releasing called: "I want to love you for the rest of my life tonight."

Us guys have to have a plan-B, incase comics doesn't pan out y'know.



Darren (in his kung-fu/superman outfit?) was selling his famous 'Killeroo' comics. Darren came past my table while I was scribbling and asked me to do a Killeroo sketch for him. I whipped up something, which I'll ink at home, then post it here on the blog by week's end. Stay Tuned!

Bruce dropped in to see what was happening. Had a great chat with them about 'staying in the comicbook game' - and the difference between people that come-and-go, and those that stay and leave a mark. We talked about our fondness for the early 90s Heavy Metal magazine and the wonderful reputations that greats like Serpieri & Manara forged in those pages - which is contrasted by today's 'quick' pop-short stories that make Heavy Metal look more like a hodge-podge anthology of the latest 'new young guy' - rather than displaying the 'best people in that genre'. I know it has more to do with publishing economics than art (ie. It's cheaper to get a gratefull young guy to contribute work for next-to-nothing, rather than pay for a pro ) - but it's still a shame.

You just don't get these types of conversations at the Broadmeadows Pub.


David & Philip shared a table selling a sea of books. I grabbed a few great reads from these guys. David launched his 'Bitter Bachelor Book', and Philip launched his new 'Word Ballons #5".
There was enough comicbook literature here to keep you occupied until Christmas.


All the 'regulars' were there. The 'Local Act Comics' table had a sea of books too. In about 10 months David has published about 20-or so comics from various creators? Thats gotta be a record. Seriously.

(Thats why he's drinking Gatorade.... he's tired.)


One of the frequent visitors to the monthly meets, is Dean Rankine - who was happily selling his batch of comics. If you like 'fun' - then you'll like Dean's books. Check em out.


Although Doujicon didn't resemble Flinders Street station (thank God), it was a fairly constant & steady crowd.

(Ok - back to my thoughts on selling at a con for the first time.)

As I mentioned - I had a couple of cheap $1 & $2 books, as well as the more expensive ones of $3 & $7. What I noticed was that, if your cheap ones are of a good quality (even if they were only 4 pages long as my $1 was.) - they sold extremely well. People wont even have to think about handing over 1 or 2 dollars. It's easier for people to say "Why not" on a $2 book, than it was for them to consider my $7 one.

Although you need to consider a few things.

I made more money from my $7 book (13 copies sold), than I did from my $1 or $2 ones (33 copies sold). BUT the cheap ones evaporated from my table a lot quicker, and it means that 'more' people will (potentially) be exposed to my work. It's a trade off, but an interesting measure of what one would consider 'successfull'.

In conclusion - the day was more successful than i hoped it would be. Met & talked to a lot of fans. Had great chats with friends and strangers. Made a month's worth of petrol money selling my books. Laughed. Waxed comicbook philosophy. Bought 2 months worth of petrol money in comics.

Hopefully, I'll be at (Armageddon?) in October, because this one was great.

For those in Melbourne - see you all next weekend at the Stork Hotel for our monthly meet. Can't wait for the stories.

Bobby.N

Motivation to sit down and do a comicbook.

I don’t get it. Explain it to me. Everyone who talks about motivation treats it like romance. Like some love-affair they’re waiting for before they engage in anything worthwhile.

The topic of ‘motivation’ came up recently on an internet forum. Nothing particularly new I thought – but what surprised me was the dual personalities (or more accurately, schizophrenic nature) of many people wanting to sit on the fence.

If someone wants to make comics casually, then fine. There’s nothing at all wrong with doing comics only when your want to. (Only when you’re feeling 'romantic', so to speak.) - But what I can’t understand is when these same people complain about the consumer/comics market (which relies largely on a product’s high quality & regularity) not being receptive to their work.

I mean, really.

The way I see it, and your welcome to think otherwise, is that ‘motivation’ tends to be directed to an activity that one finds worthwhile or necessary in some way. Why else would you bother to ‘motivate’ yourself?

If on the other hand you, like me, want to be productive, have your books in stores, & become better at your craft, but you still require motivation before commencing your work - then you strike me as a little unrealistic. That is, I think you want the reward of comics ‘before’, ‘during’ & ‘after’ the experience, whereas if you don’t even begin drawing – you won’t get the latter two rewards.

The goal of producing the finished comic has to be extremely important to you if your taking it seriously. Getting the book printed on time and looking as good as you picture it in your head has to be there if it is going to take any kind of heightened importance in your life. You have to be obsessed. You have to be single-minded.

If it’s just a hobby, then your enthusiasm will match that mindset. Parenthetically, you'll get the rewards of a hobby too. If, on the other hand, you're serious about your book, then don’t fool yourself into thinking that lightning will strike on your lack-luster efforts. If your serious about it, then you’ll tend to treat it (as many of us with full-time jobs do), as a part-time job. You have to make regular time during the week for your book. Even if it’s a long-term vision, you won’t get anywhere unless you take it seriously. The ‘motivation’ should be your end goal.

Remember, a goal is just a dream with a timeline.

Bobby.N

Like a Swiss watch, the monthly comicbook meet occured.

'Talking shop' at the monthly comic-meet has got to be the best part about it.


Trev & I look at Paul's wonderful book The List, which will be out in stores by the year's end.




This month's meet had the most number of 'cool' people ever! People weren't even prepared for the photos, but everyone seemed to be doing 'hand-on-chin' model poses. All we needed were dull anorexic women, and I swear you'd think you were at a fashion show.



There are a few things that make these meetups wonderful (particularly if your an author/artist).

1. You get to see the very first glimpses of creator's work in sketchbooks, pencils and often the finished inked page way before it ever comes out in stores. In fact, almost every meet, there is someone who's just released a book and brings it along (hot off the press) that you can grab!
2. You get to talk to the actual creator/s and gain insight into things you might otherwise never find out. (ie. Avoiding possible mistakes, and learning more in one conversation than you would fumbling around blindfolded on the internet.)
3. You get to talk about the 'craft' of comics with people who understand what you mean when you talk about 'gutters' & 'panel grids' - without getting a blank stare.
4. You come away after the meet-up charged.
   

Oh, and most of us will be at Doujicon at the end of this month (28th July). So come past, say hi, and buy some of our books. The meetup on the following weekend should be a great one (with everyone's wares & stories from the convention). So don't miss THAT meet!

Bobby.N

.

I knew I wanted this to be a full page. It's of an old woman reading from a diary, and having her view of the page imposed on the top of the page.


I penciled the 'pose' in my sketchbook until I got something I was satisfied with.


Then I traced it on my lightbox. And began to ink....


The finished ink.
Then I touch up on a computer.

One of the hard things when going from pencils to ink, is getting a good 'grasp' of how the finished work will look. Often it's never as you imagined, but if you take your time - by the end (when you can't do anymore) you'll say, "Im satisfied with it."

Well, I wasn't satisfied yet.

It looked ok, but didn't sit well compared with the page thats on the other side. So I reconstructed the page into grids to match the facing page (which is already done) .

Stay tuned, and I'll show you the retuned page in the days to come.

Bobby.N

Well, like the precision of a Swiss watch, the clock struck 'comics' on the first Saturday of the month again, and the usual suspects were there.













It seems that i enjoy these meet-ups more-&-more each time i attend. Each month is different (in terms of what/who will be there), but it never dissapoints. The standouts for me this month were:

1. A HUGE array of new comicbooks displayed on the table by various creators.
2. A nice 'technical' chat on comics between Myself, Bruce Mutard, Tom Bonin, Greg Gates & Colin Wilson.
3. Tom Bonin's new inked pages for 'Dicks-3'

It really was great, and am looking forward to next months one.

Keep scribbling.

Bobby.N

I tell you – there’s nothing better than coming home after work on a Friday night to find packages of comics on your doorstep.

The internet is great for these sorts of surprises.

One of the notable ‘gems’ that arrived (and that I’ve been waiting for with baited breath), was Jordan Crane’s hand-made minis Keeping Two, with hand-pulled silk-screened covers.

These are the two books Jordan sent me from his website.

Keeping Two: Parts 1 & 2

Sample from inside Keeping Two pt-2.

It's the tale of loss in people's lives, and how everything comes in three's. This pattern is recognised by our protagonist, and he's determined to keep things at two.

The artwork is simply beautiful, and the story telling is fluid and very natural. Jordan's command of dialogue & pacing is fantastic. Jordan really loves comics & self-publishing, which you can easily tell when you open this book. You'll find yourself re-reading it for the sheer pleasure of experiencing a well crafted comic.

You can also get Jordan’s continuation of Keeping Two (part3) from Fantagraphics in his quarterly (or so) comic Uptight, which not only contains part-3 of the above Keeping Two, but also introduces a new story – so you get two awesome continuing stories in one comic!

And an inside page from Uptight containg pt-3 of Keeping Two.

Un-frikin-believable.
What are you waiting for?...go and buy them all!

Bobby.N

PS: For those of you who need help with preparing your artwork for print, etc - Jordan's website has a Repo Guide (at the bottom of his webpage) that you can download for free! It explains everything you need to know about preparing your files for the printer.

A few months ago while at one of the monthly Melbourne comicbook meets, someone mentioned how they remembered my 3-part short story that I published years ago in Aaron Burgess' anthologies 'The INK'.

I thought, "Hey, I think it would be nice to compile all 3 stories into one complete booklet.".... so I went home & (over the next few weeks), drew a cover, wrote an introduction and a backpage.

I just mailed the disk off to ComixPress today, so we'll see when it's done. (Hopefully before Doujicon (sp) ). Here is the cover and a couple of sample pages.





I'll let you know when this little 16-page baby comes in.

Bobby.N