Everyday's the 14th

I had this dream last week; it was quite vivid and expectably surreal.  I dedicated it to memory because it seemed so strange and poignant.  I've been remembering a lot more dreams in the past year, and while this was wasn't entirely pleasant, it was intriguing enough to jot down for further examination.  Sunday afternoon I decided to expunge the idea by crafting a six page comic before (and slightly into) the Super Bowl.

http://www.strips4.com/other-works/oh-sweetie/

My goal was to tell a clear narrative without relying on any exposition at all.  There are no words at all between the title and "The End".  On this end I feel I most succeeded. With the possible exception of the icing geyser from the cake I think everything in the piece is presented as clearly and efficiently as possible.

The efficiency may or may not be cause for concern.  I haven't decided yet. Working on this was so incredibly fun.  I love the smiley face aesthetic of the characters, the storybook design of the cake, and the rudimetary perspective for the halls. I feel like it boils the images down to their most relatable a folky, relatable feel.  But is all this an excuse for laziness?  Am I impeding my own progress by constantly practicing these intentionally simplistic projects?  My most popular project stars a bunch of stick figures.  Even at my most detailed, I could never be mistaken for a draftsman. I'm really torn on this issue artistically.  It's a stupid cause for distress, but a real one.

I enjoyed working on a six page story.  It's the direction Timothy wants to head with some future projects and the advantages are very real.  More stories, more practice, more diversity, quicker turn around...the list can go on and on.  It was also an interesting challenge to write everything sans dialogue.  I've read a ridiculous amount of Jim Woodring lately.  I'm constantly amazed at the complexity of narrative he's able to accomplish with only his pictures. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and he really capitalizes on every last one.  Can I?  And then can I with such minimal line work?

- Jon O'Briant

Funny Animals

One of my best friends is expecting his first daughter this year.  He wants to decorate her room with paintings and we began to bounce ideas off of each other.  The idea that fell right within my comfort zone was that of cutesy animals playing instruments.  I'm thinking soft watercolors and ink for the final pieces, but I have to sell the wife on our proof of concept.  I've been noodling around ideas for a few weeks now, and I thought it would be fun to let you see some excerpts from my sketch book.

No commentary from me.  Just a peek at how my brain works on a project.  Enjoy!

- Jon O'Briant

Breaking Down Break Downs

I've been trying to write more often. The past week has been devoted to Awful Lot. I've scripted and made rough layouts of 12 pages this week.  That brings me through the halfway point on the last chapter of my longest project to date.  Now I still have another four or five months of pencilling and inking, and another year of weekly updates.  It's exciting.

Most of the writing is barely legible, and it's generally revised on the way onto the actual boards, but it's always enough to progress the narrative and help me to make sure I have a good progression from panel to panel, page to page.

 

The dance splashes are really easy in the writing phase.

 

 And while this is a mess I think it's going to be a pretty action packed page when I get to it.

Well I'm going to go get some Public Educations done, until next time friends.

- Jonathan O'Briant