Post In Mailbox!

Good morning folks, hope you're well!

So, as ever.... apologies for the weeks between posts (blush), just been real busy preping for the super awesome exhibition at Londonprintstudio for the end o' the internship... Tis on for a week now, till friday the 30th... so hurry on over for comics and stuff!

Anyhow, heres a page from a rough idea I'm fleshing out at the moment (whilst still working on the bigger work- dont worry) all about the things we see whilst wandering the city... as you can probably tell though, the couple is having just a few problems of their own hovering in the background. As ever.

I'm in the process of putting the finishing touches to me pitch, t' send out into the wide world. thenm its fingers crossed big time. BIG TIME. massive time. ho humm

Abe's been listening to alot o' the Black Keys recently... "Ill be your man". For some reason I picture Thomas Jane stripping  when I hear it. Theme song anyone?

Working Process

A'llo folks... Apologies for yet another late post... "oh the familier places we find ourselves in.."

Anyhow, just thought I'd put up some images showing t' working process for my current project... 

So. Thus far the work on the graphic novel has been a first draft... the stuff Abes put up over the last few months belongs to  stage 2... Next comes redrawing in a thinner line and colouring directly onto the page with bright markers (stage 3).  Stage 4 consists of greyscaling and tinting on photoshop, and lastly combining the two for double image goodness. Not forgetting to erase the thicker set o' black lines to remove excess line work.

 ho humm. Enlightning, boring et al, huh?! Now I just need to draw the other 199 pages. 

The White Stripes, "Everywhere I go, I'm always Jack"

Gosh Darn.

A Petite Monologue on Daily Drawing

How do' folks... Heres a page from me sketchbook, just to prove I have been drawing!

Haven't posted in a wee while, 'pologies! been keeping busy I guess, check doodle daydream for my daily strip if'n ye feel the need for regular comics. 

And after that shameless plug, but on the same note... I was thinking today about my daily strip, at almost one year (its 315th issue was posted this noon) its probably the biggest solid body of work I've produced, of course that pales next to the 15 years of Kochalka's brilliant American Elf but still, significant for me...

Basically having looked at the strips I noticed that of late (the last hundred issues or so) they've become pretty much straight autobiography, with the barest hint of fantasy/ absurdity.... Now this was never the intention, not that its a bad thing, just that looking back one can see (especially in issues 1-say 60?) that more then just the drawing style has changed. 

Originally conceived as a means of venting absurdities and a platform for a darker (dare I say it... Shrigley-esque) humor, it's mutated into very much a literal, heart on sleeve look into my persona and petite existence. hmm. One reason I suspect is that they're currently being drawn on the day to be posted immediately; whereas when I began the strip, I had no immediate access to a scanner, and was having to draw about a weeks worth in advance to scan in order to post them daily. I'd sit down and draw following a chain of thought to ink... recalling a weeks worth of events is difficult, so an autobiographical strip was ruled out. Technical difficulties. Ahem. 

Scanning no longer an issue... I now draw to post within half an hour, mostly in the morning before leaving the house... inspiration in the morning is all "yawn sigh". But auto bio doesnt require "inspiration in the regular sense o' the word... really it just requires a stubborn tenacity to actually draw the darn thing every day...

wow. sorry for chewing your ear off (interesting phrase... doesn't really work for text.. but...) I do have a few other things to say, but t'is all self indulgent waffle anyhoo...

Been listening to a lot of the Talking Heads of late. care to join me?

"This must be the place"

Smiling Indecision

Here's a couple o' comics from me sketchbook.

But abe's to tired today to write much. and right now he's at le cine, earning his keep. ho humm.

Heres yet another lovely Pascal Pinon song for your musical appreciation, the words are from The Beggers Opera 

"Over the hills and far away"

Just Another Page

Heres a page Abe drew yesterday... done got six since thursday... so its a'coming... This fellows name is Whiney Te te; everyday someone slips a letter under his door...and he composes songs about em'.

Went to the David Shrigley show over at the Hayward Gallery... best exhibition abes been to since the Watercolour show at the Tate last year... Ho humm.

Pascal Pinon... one of my favorite twee folky Icelandic groups ever!!! this song is really lovely. Really really lovely. 

"Vandamal Ulfsins"

Fish Tale... Begin!

Well here's a page from 'Fish Tale's' story, which will be at the beginning o' the novel... 

I set m'self doon last week and drew... a day of drawing, t'is unfortunately a rarity, but all the more welcome for it... Abe also finished Mathew Thurber's 1-800-MICE, which was a wonderful example of world building, with a lovely streak of absurdist black humor running throu... blah de blah... I highly enjoyed it. 

ho humm.

Anyhoo, heres one o' me favorite songs for your ears... Pascal Pinon's "New Beginning" 

No Sign Yet

Heres a page from a 9 pager Abe finished over the last week "No Sign Yet"... It's an empty tale of a fella wandering a deserted landscape waiting for a sign, and a sign of his friend, who is missing... Wow. Sounds more profound then it is in reality... (oh the joys of posting single pages!)

It was drawn with the idea of it possibly being included in the longer 'novel... Ho humm.

And lastly, here's Monsieur Gainsbourg with "La Javanaise" 

A Wee L'il Comic

Here's a wee comicy comic made in this self same A.M  Abe was just experimenting with layering et al... 

really nice article on the british comic publishing scene over at the comics journal.

http://www.tcj.com/london-calling-blank-slate-books-and-nobrow-press/

 Fills me with excitement... gotta jump on that bandwagon! ah ha!

And for your ears... "Bury the Hammer" by "Beat Happening"

Abe in Brussels

Heres a little doodle I doodled yesterday in me sketchbook... t'is my time in Brussels last month... not sure if it needs another page... its only a wee thing for the interweb anyhow. I did have a vision of a four page epic chase across Belgium... but the best laid plans...

In case ye didn't know... the cowboy is a bad depiction of Lucky Luke, who "draws faster then his shadow" 

Just Listen to Hall & Oates... Just do. Because. du dum.

Holy Holy Holy Style!

Well abes back on track! ah ha! got his six pager done on thursday... my style... its ... its just right 'gain.

Been reading a lot o Jason comics of late... the colour scheme above is influenced by some o' the pages in the 'Werewolves of Montpellier'... Should be included in the next issue of nervous in a cape... building quite a large selection o work to be selected from...

In other news... happy new year et al!

why not celebrate by watching Sam Cooke singing his version o' Basin Street Blues...

Ego battle or what?!?!