Every now and then a character runs off and does its own thing. This will happen to a writer from time to time. They would have created a plot and intended their character to follow it.

But it doesn't.

Instead it does its own thing, or at least, in order for the writer to be true to the character, the character must do something the writer never intended.

An organism is defined by the limitation its DNA gives it. A human being is a slave to his psyche, to his limitations and rules and set parameters.

This makes for interesting writing.

The human brain is the most advanced simulation system known to man. Lets say we program a character. Create its limitation. Is it male or female? race? age? did its parents die when it was a child? etc, etc.

And now you run that program in a simulation system in other words, your imagination: your "I" "Magi" "Nation". And then you see what happens.

Lets make it more interesting by throwing in other characters, other programs and see what happens. These programs seem to define themselves more. They know what they aren't because they have another program to compare itself to. They play each other. They effect each other. Or they create each other, or help each other develop.

When I create a major character, I sit down with him and talk to him. What is love? What do you hate? What did you want to be when you were ten? The program creates parameters.

And the more parameters and rules a character has, so many that at times they conflict, it has to make a decision and now it has further developed-- the more realistic he seems.

Labels: Lessons in Cartooning, my work

Elan' Rodger Trinidad wishes for motivation and inspiration. For lighting to strike my crown, passing through my arm, to my hand, to pen, to paper: the fervent work of God Almighty or the Devil himself.

Or possibly both.

I want my mind to split open so I may receive this light of inspiration. The type that comes from the ether and inspires every child at play, and every madman to sin, and every genius to push us forward, and every saint to love.

I want it. Like an addict I want it. Like a lover torn from me, I long for it. Like a breath long held, its there but not.

Its not ready yet.
Its not there yet.

I know I will have my night, when hand and mind are one. When my heart is poured upon panel to panel to panel and my word balloons are poetry to those of the right zeitgeist and persuasion.

I have no choice but to be patient. My storm shall come and it will hit me. And I will wake up and remember exactly why I do this and remember that few women can present a love that rivals this feeling.

I want it.
I can taste it.
Its almost ready.
A few nights? a week?

Its almost here.

Labels: Lessons in Cartooning, my work

1)Stop calling it a "roadblock" think of it as a problem or obstacle. You can solve a problem. You can overcome an obstacle. But when you're driving and you hit a roadblock you're screwed. And when you keep telling yourself that you're creatively screwed, then you are SCREWED.

2) Maybe your art should be the truth about finding yourself. The theme of identity. The truth that you feel like someone else. You might try to write a story about teenage angst, a lot of identity issues there. Or maybe a guy who has amnesia and is trying to figure out who he is. There's truth in the struggle and the frustration because a lot of people have felt this way before, but when you put it in fiction or genre fiction, then you could add aliens and assassins and heighten up the emotional level and dazzle people with visuals. Check out "Battle Royal" (I heard the sequel sucked) -- its basically dealing with the problems and relationships in high school, but by putting these high school students on an island and telling them to murder each other, the emotions become greater and exaggerated. Friendships become life-long bonds, mild distrust becomes hate.

But also another thing you have to remember when creating, and to paraphrase Brad Bird "If you want to make good shit, eat well." Meaning, surround yourself with quality people who inspire you, who you can learn from in some way, if its in your social circles or work or school (around how old are you?), just by being around good artists can improve you, read good books, watch good movies.

Although, a counter argument about reading good books and watching good movies is advice from Ray Bradbury. He says to watch bad movies because good movies, you don't know why its good because so many things went right it just becomes magic. When you watch bad movies, you know exactly what you hated about it and you know what to avoid or improve one.

Labels: blog, Lessons in Cartooning

So I got an email from a fan this morning. I think he was asking me about my creative process. I thought I'd refine my answer for the blog.

First off, when I write a comic, I draw and write it at the same time. I make a very messy comic book in my sketchbook. I make scribbles to indicate composition and I write in the word balloons as I go along. This is my first draft.

My second draft, I type a script based on the first one. I fix the dialogue, sometimes I get new ideas and make notes of something else to draw.

My third draft, I draw a comic based on the lat two drafts.


I'll go back and forth between typing and drawing. I get different ideas as I take on the role of writer and different ideas as I take on the role of artists. Depending on how I feel about the comic, I'll go back and forth between sketching and typing. But the draft before I draw is always a drawing draft.

That's because I take my sketchy drawing page, pop it in photoshop, pop in perspective guides (somtimes its a grid, sometimes I'll grab a photo of a building and alter it to my needs. I don't like drawing a million lines from a vanishing point with my ruler.) I'll also do the lettering and figure out how to compose the word balloons. I will also edit the dialogue as I do this.

I print that out. All the lines in light blue.

Then with a blue pencil, I draw in the detail. Then I ink it.

Next it gets scanned in. I cut and paste the word balloons from the draft file. And I might do more dialogue changes. I also color it.

Then its ready for the web.

But that's the practical process.

The mental process is a bit harder to explain.

I try to go for a "feeling" in my first draft. I recently took a clowning class. Actually, it was more like an improv class for actors trying to do comedy. The heart of a clown is messing up but being funny. When I was making my class laugh, I had the same sort of "feeling" performing.

In that class, the coach was trying to talk about "the truth", and I don't mean as reason and fact, but he was saying how "the truth" was funny. And it was. It was a sort of poetic truth. When the actors stopped trying to act and stated to be truthful of their frustration, fear, and failure to not get a laugh, they became funny.

Some of the exercises reminded me of George Carlin. He once went up on stage. He didn't say a single word and made the audience laugh. George Carlin, stood there silent, just being George Carlin, just "being honest" with himself and to the audience.

I try "to be honest". I think real art comes from "being honest" with yourself and "being truthful" to yourself. And if religion is about "truth", philosophy is about "truth", tragedy is about "truth" and science is about fact (which is about "truth") then religion is funny, science is philosophical, tragedy is religious, tragedy is comedic, science is religious, etc. etc. It all blends and connects into the human condition.

I've spent my life trying to not lie to myself. Try to not lie to others (although that's really hard, and I'm honest with myself when I fail, and sometimes I remedy it, eventually.--although in some instances in my life, I have no choice but to bluff). And I try to be honest with my work. In the past few years its been starting to come together.

I don't know if the honesty thing makes any sense. Its sort of like wu-wei, doing without doing. It would probably make more sense to an artist or performer who puts their all into their craft. Or perhaps someone who has studied Zen.

But, according to my readership who've emailed me, this sort of think does make a difference.

Anyway, I got a freelance thingy to finish. The next page will be kind of a jip storywise, but I'll make that up with the next next part.

Labels: blog, Lessons in Cartooning, my work

For those of you who aren't fanboys, P. Craig Russell is one of the best comic book illustrators alive.

Anyway, on lurid.com there's some videos of Mr. Russell breaking down his work for us.

{sauce}

Labels: comics, Lessons in Cartooning

I know, I'll blog something smart. This is sort of an amendment to an old blog from my old myspace blog.

LIFE AS ART

In Buddhism and Hinduism, you are told that reality is an illusion. In Taoism, reality is like a dream. In Gnosticism, you are told that reality is a creation by a misguided deity. These are all very similar views. The basic idea is that this reality that we find ourselves in isn't all there is. And of course, all the sages of these traditions had a biased point of view. The Taoist sages were dreamers of sort. The Gnostics came from an oppressive empire. Hinduism and Buddhism were coming out of an older religious system.

I am in no way any sort of sage, by the way. I'm just someone who likes to doodle.

But my approach to viewing reality is more like that of a piece of art. It's very constructed. In some way, it's sort of predictable. It's not GREAT art, but it's art none the less. It's enjoyable.

Everything one does on the canvas is part of this cosmic play, dharma, circle of life, system, or dream.

Everyone is sort of a piece of art. They play their role. They live their life. Eatting is an art. Sleeping is an art. Making love is an art.

For example, my ego is a constant performance. The way I dress says something about my place in this world. The color of my skin says something about my heritage. The way I speak, the way I walk, what I choose to do in my spare time.

Now the thing about Art is that it is essentially a form of communication, even if what you're communicating has no words to convey. For example, when R. Mutt, aka Marcel DuChamp decided to put a urinal on a pedestal, he created art.

In my view point of life, this essay puts a frame around the world, and now it is art.

A photograph of the planet Earth is art. But not the planet Earth. Well, how about we take out the middleman? Look how beautifully constructed the world is. Either crafted by Deity or by probability.

And the thing is, if you realize that your life is Art, things don't anger you so much. It is just something that is fabricated.

Labels: Art, Lessons in Cartooning, Life, philosophy