The King Of Ink

by Max Miller Dowdle on January 11, 2013 at 8:34 am
Posted In: Blog, making a graphic novel

crown_drawing

Good morning, Artafriends!  So as previously mentioned, I’ve set out to learn everything I possibly can about working with ink.  When I first started making graphic novels two years ago I only had the vaguest idea about where to start.  One thing I kept noticing though was that many artists had fears about working with ink.  At the suggestion on a fellow artist’s blog I simply steered clear of ink and worked solely in pencil, boosting the pencil darkness in photoshop so that it looked like ink.  Well, as we all know, it’s fine to hitch your star to someone else in the beginning when you’re learning, but soon enough you have to break that chain and set out on your own path. I’ve since determined that I  was not meant to only work in pencil.  Most of the artists out there that I really, really respond to (Sean Phillips, George Pratt) are masters with their ink work, and the compulsion to revel in the black stuff is just too much for me to resist.

What to do?  Rather than spreading out on a multi-pronged path to better myself across all aspects of making comics, I’ve decided to focus on one facet at a time and learn everything I possibly can.  That facet for now is INK.  Through a rigorous exploration of different brands of ink, substrates (surface/paper), and drawing implements, I intend to immerse myself so much in the inky blackness that I know everything about it (is that possible?).

I began with a very simple exercise.  Dividing a piece of thin card stock into 16 squares I set out to make marks with a series of different implements.  The ink used in this exercise did not deviate, it was Speedball Superblack.

ink_example_drawing

From top left to bottom right the method of mark-making is this: Shag Brush, Side of #3 Artist Brush, Paring Knife, Plastic Bag, Brown Paper Square, Paper Roll, Bobby Pin, Thread-Wrapped Needle (jailhouse tattoo style), Cotton Swab, Cotton Ball, Screw, Miniature Plastic Sword, Dental Tool (scratched), Large Nib, Tissue Paper, Cloth Roll.

The next exercise involved taking a crowquill nib, which I’ve become very comfortable with at this point, and trying to see how many different kinds of marks and shading patterns I could make with it.  This was also done with Speedball Superblack.

nib_example_drawing

Let me know, if you have any other suggestions of unique mark-making instruments, or thoughts on ink.  These are just the beginnings of my experiments toward broadening my experience with the medium.  More to follow soon!

*(This post was supposed to run on Friday the 11th, I forgot to pull the trigger on it before I went into the wilderness and away from the computer for the weekend.  Big oops, friends.)

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My Pencil is Blunt, What Do I Do?

by Max Miller Dowdle on January 4, 2013 at 9:32 am
Posted In: Blog, making a graphic novel

graphic_novel_drawing_max_miller_dowdle

It’s a brand new year, and with that starts the annual gearing up of the resolution machine.  Perhaps some of you out there are saying to yourselves, “Gee, it’s been so long since I’ve drawn/painted/sculpted anything, but, in the new year I promise to be more creative and make some art!”  Well, Artafriends, I’m here to help.  Below are my tried and true methods for shaking the rust off your joints and making this year the year that you reawaken the creative parts of your brain.

No matter what it is you want to do, no matter the resolution, it of course begins with a commitment.  Your commitment is your promise to yourself.  But as we all know, talk is cheap, and writing lists is just another way to procrastinate.  If you truly want to make a commitment to something you must first turn it into a habit.  I heard when I was younger, “Anything you do regularly for more than two weeks, becomes a habit.”  I’m not sure if that’s entirely true, but I do know this: If you want to adopt a new pursuit into your routing, you sometimes have to be rough with yourself and crack that whip.  You might already have a full schedule, and trying to carve out some time for sketching could be difficult, or the element of fear may be too great for you to actually pick up the pencil, but you should first ask yourself, “Why do I want to do this?” Examine that inborn creative urge, and I think you’ll find the strength to push past the initial misgivings and fears.

So what can you actually do to facilitate a good, working habit of being creative?  How can you dust off those fuzzy connections in your brain and get that creative battery really humming?  There are a few ways to first cultivate the habit.  The best method is to commit to carrying your sketchbook with you wherever you go.  Be like that NBA hopeful who sleeps with the basketball under his arm. We all have those small moments in your day where we find he don’t have a lot to do, stay your hand and DO NOT pull out that cellphone.  Leave it in your pocket and instead grab your handy mechanical pencil and compact sketchbook.  If you’ve overcome the technological impulse, congratulations, you’re halfway there. But now, what do you draw?  Well, you have two options, draw something from inside your head, or use your eyes and draw something from outside it. I advocate for drawing from life as much as possible, you’ll simultaneously hone your craft, and make it that much easier for when you want to draw from your imagination.  Remember, much of drawing is observation and recall. But more importantly, really remember this: Your sketchbook is just for you; draw whatever the hell you want in it and don’t be afraid of failure.  The sketchbook is for exercises, let your fingers dance in it.  See if you can’t find an hour a day, in one block, or in snippets, to crack that sketchbook open and experiment. If you don’t like the results, don’t worry, you’ll get better.

Say you’ve already started cultivating a habit and you want to branch out.  What then?  Then it’s time to shake things up with some really fun exercises.  Take a look at your chosen medium in a different light.  If you’re working a lot with pencil, pour over some old master drawings and try to replicate the kinds of line and shade that they accomplished.  Try out some different pencils, go the whole range from 6 b to 8 h.  Get some powdered graphite and a brush.  Make a mess. Right now I’m reacquainting myself with ink, trying to really GET what ink is all about.  So what am I doing?  That’s right, experimenting.  Pushing ink as far as I can creatively think to go (but that’s for a future post).

Set goals and challenges for yourself to stay engaged.  Say, “I’m going to draw this bowl of oranges for one half hour.” Aim to get a complete picture done, then draw it again in ten minutes.  You’ll see that you’re much more comfortable with the same subject the second go round.

Don’t be afraid to take a class or seek out other resources.  Head down to the local library and pick up some instructional books.  Even though I count myself among the proficient, I’m still able to pick up helpful tidbits in instructional art books because there are so many ways to “skin that art cat.”

So sharpen your blade and carve a good tip on your pencil in the new year.  What it really comes down to is that you’ve got to be a self-starter here, make the commitment and then have the strength to see it through.

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I Have Designs On You

by Max Miller Dowdle on December 28, 2012 at 9:33 am
Posted In: Blog, making a graphic novel

drawing_design_elements

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works…To design something really well, you have to get it…It takes a passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something, chew it up, not just quickly swallow it. Most people don’t take the time to do that.”

This quote is from Steve Jobs, and it got me thinking.  Rather it gelled with things I was already thinking.  When I was studying painting in Italy my “master,” Charles Cecil, told us that in English you have two words, drawing and design, and they mean different things.  Drawing means the act or product of marking on paper.  Design means the look of that thing.  But in Italian you only have one word, disegno. And disengo means not only a drawing, but the look, the design of the drawing.  There’s a conceptual difference not only between how the words are treated and used, but how they shape us and our respective cultures.  Italians are world-renowned for their abilities in design, look at cars, fashion or architecture for just a few examples.  Design should be apparent within and integral to a drawing, or any other endeavor.

Back to Jobs. When Jobs says that design is “how it works” that can be read on so many different levels.  When we talk about the way something works we think of a tool, like a hammer or a computer and how we interact with it, but what about a book?  How does a book work, and what does design mean for a book?  More importantly what does design mean for a graphic novel?

As graphic novel auteurs it is our job not just to tell a story, but to tell it in the most compelling and accessible way possible.  Do we seek to illuminate, or obfuscate with our work?  I would argue that effective storytelling is good design. It just works. You know it when you see it on the page. The hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand up and your mind says, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” The most effective way that we, as auteurs, can become better at what we do is to drink up experience.  Take in as much as you can and then use it to inform your work.  Study, really study design. And then use what you learn to bring your game to the next level.

Ultimately my goal is to attract and keep readers.  I believe the only way to do this is to make the best work I can and put it out there.  So, my sense of design becomes a spider’s web.

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Shattered Update # 8

by Max Miller Dowdle on December 15, 2012 at 10:16 am
Posted In: Blog, Shattered With Curve of Horn

Whooo!  The first milestone has really been crossed.  I’m 25% done with drawing this baby, one quarter of the way there.  Being in the initial stages I still feel a lot of pent up energy just waiting to get out.  I suppose that around page 50 I’ll start to feel the project begin to drag, but honestly I’ve been having so much fun drawing Shattered With Curve of Horn that I don’t really think that will happen.  I’m saying though, I love seeing the little bars in the update slate fill up, it gives a real sense of accomplishment.  Drawing a graphic novel is such a solitary endeavor that I feel I have to create these set milestones to know if I’m staying on top of the work.

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24 Hour Comic 2012: Fawn

by Max Miller Dowdle on November 16, 2012 at 7:52 am
Posted In: 24 Hour Comic, Blog, Stray Flights

My first 24 hour comic.  I’m a bit of a cheater…each page ended up being a splash, but I was going for a sort of poetic feel with the silence, the black and white, and the wide panels.  And hey 24 pages is 24 pages after all.  I suppose the story lifts something from Bambi (though I haven’t seen that in nearly 25 years), but it really was a sort of free-form exercise, trying to find my way as I go…and for the most part, it worked.

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