A weak week
Blew a gasket last weekend and couldn't toil any more. I'd worked myself to a standstill. It's not been a very holidays-ish period over the last year and a half, has it? When people start saying "you're so prolific", I should remember that that means I've gone mad.
Anyway, here are the drawings I did this week as I sought mind peace, recovery, and renewal. As you will see, they speak to a certain discombobulation, then a mild bounce back.
I have found a talented colourist to aid me in completing Steeple volume 3 so peace can return to my belfry hereon.
Thick necks. These were a bad sign, a sign that it was time to stop.
In periods of despair, my mind will call out, "I want to draw with a dead line". I used to do it all the time but it's not 100% compatible with my current way of working on comics, so I tend to go quite deep into the quarry of madness.
A search for renewal. I didn't find it in any of these troubled images but it's clear that the hunt was on.
A brief visit with Nicholas Cage's crazy Superman. A large blue area. Some new shorts.
After some concerted rest and recuperation, a page of very enjoyable pencil drawings done at the same easel I drew the first Bobbins strips at. A sense of purpose. What is "Brian's Insides"? Maybe one day we will dig into this. I have a few Steeple stories that require standalone specials, perfect for anthology titles, convention one-offs, collaborations, and art experiments.
I hereby promise not to accidentally burn myself out again, again!
Comments (18)
Coloring is a beast of a job for sure. Hopefully getting some help in that department brings more balance to your life John! I'm looking forward to seeing it!
What's a "dead line"? I had trouble finding anything online. I'm guessing: drawing with a line of uniform thickness?
Yes, exactly that. "Ligne clair" is the technical term for it, I think.
Agreed - take it easy, and thanks for the pleasure all your work gives (possibly excepting Onion Dan?). I love the picture of Lottie in the red coat.
Onion Dan isn't meant to inspire pleasure, more awe and dread.
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better, John; not so glad to hear you were feeling the dreaded burn-out to begin with, though. As only a low-tier patron, I know my word doesn't weigh the heaviest, but for what it's worth: please take the time you need any time the grind gets too much. My paltry [cannot be bothered to calculate how many] cents will stay pledged to the Allison cause even if the comics output should trickle to a stop for a time. Take care of yourself, and as always, thank you for the music.
I relate the dead line to a very specific kind of early 1970s front-cover illustrations on school textbooks (with a heavy keyline to boot). Do you have any particular dead-line inspirations?
I’m unsure what Baby Beef means but you’ve piqued my interest.
Stay safe John! That "Purist Cartoonin" advice has something that make me worry very much (and the neck study too). By the way, I like "Steeple" more and more!
Just back from dinner in the back garden with the brother-in-law's. His builder neighbours are full members of the thick neck gang. We could hear them cheering on Ing-UR-land. I think the UK should stay united, but Ing-UR-land should be independent.
Do I see a reference to that fine podcast The Beef and Dairy Network?
Glenjamin?
Now *I'm* imagining the unimaginable horror of Brian's insides (possibly even Brians' insides), and I can't say I'm delighted with the experience.
Maggie has a baby beef with someone? Surely she is capable of the full cow?
Is it... could it be... was there a Sxauna in there? You can leave her hair uncoloured to throw us off John, but we're onto you.
🤯🤯🤯
But I'm Brian... Are they MY insides? 🤔
Wait... if YOU'RE Brian... who am I???