Scriptic

Smooth Ride
Current mood: energetic


I finished the script for Battle Royal MX Chapter 2 yesterday. I feel very excited about this Chapter. It's more purposeful and more complete, my two biggest criticism of Chapter 1.

I'm also excited about the level of collaboration in this script. I don't regret the tight control I had over Chapter 1, it's not that this is the "better" way to collaborate with an artist. I just think it's healthy to be this open about work, to take more risks, and I think it plays to the strength of the artist, any artist, in interpreting the text. What I'm talking about, in case I didn't mention it before, this script is basically a few sentences to a paragraph of the action that needs to occur on a page with as little as I can get away. Thus, I was able to write the script (which is more of Plot Treatment) in a few days as opposed to months of tedious revisions.

In the future, I'm either going to do scripts this way or I'm going to do the breakdowns and layouts of the issue. The visual component of a comic is so essential to the work the mind that interprets on that level does much by way of "writing" the issue. I'm not often willing to give that much control to someone else, even if I need/want them to do the artwork.

Anyway, I could talk theory all day! Right now I have to go to Psychology and then find something to eat

Bookworkmin' it

I love books. I'm not sure what it is. Something about the physicality of books, how they appeal to all senses, how they have mass as an art object, how interactive they are, how playfully. The way we can dive into them, literally, unlike a painting or a sculpture (normally). Making books is actually fun. I tore my pages down to 10x141/2 yesterday and trimmed the pages evenly and punched my holes to be sewn tomorrow. Sewing, though tricky, doesn't really take that long and now I can easily see myself making multiple books someday. Cover are pretty easy, just make sure there's no lumps is the tricky part, I think.
My final project, however, is going to involve a bit of impositions. That will be probably be the hardest part, because I'll need to have my signatures worked out before I print out the pages. Need to find some open time to draw. Sunday night is my next block of open time. Can you believe that?
I still want to explore more altered books. My altered book project just barely scratched the surface of what could be done with the techniques. There are great books on the subject and I need one (or two) because I otherwise wouldn't know how to do these things. They just wouldn't occur to me naturally.

That Slow Burn

I like paints, I think. I just did a panel on one of the comic jam pages for book arts using acrylic washes. They turned out lousy (they are way too dark, but live and learn I guess) (at least I hope the others see it that way) I did enjoy the mixing of colors, figuring out how to make brown (you guys know how to make brown, right?) and squeezing the little tubes. I'd like to do more with color but I have no clue what I'm doing. I know there are classes for such things and books, but you know, tick tock, right?
I've thought about going back and coloring The Millenials and reposting them, but that would most likely be a computer color job and I'm not going to do it any time soon.
I do love art, though. It's been slow this semester in that most of the book art projects don't involve much drawing and I'm not spending 6 hours of class time drawing a week. I forgot how exciting the process of discovery is, that feeling of magic as I create a new color, a new line, a new pages, unearth a new idea, bring forth some secret, fantastic aspect of myself, my inner world. I never seem to get much past the first shallow layers of what it is I'm getting at. I blame this on time factors. I don't create for the sake of creation inside a wide open container. I'm cramming a few hours in here and there and racing the clock to beat a deadline. Yeah, "Finish It" is the Magus Council Motto, and it works, yet...remember, if you can, those early days of youth when we fumbled heavily past clothing and hesitation on our first warm brush with undiscovered skin? Remember the long, laborious circular moments of stalling for time and distraction with our lips, teeth, and tongue while our hands sought access, vulnerable spots, some way past defenses to touch the damp, deep hidden mysteries? And that sickening burn we were left with when our tactless maneuvers were halted too soon, the churning itch and smoldering irritation was all we had to take home with us while we imagined the secret world, that promised sense of self that lie hidden, just underneath the surface, always just another inch, another few seconds away.
It's feel something like that.

Size matters

I'm starting to dig the manga format. Not just the size, but especially the page count. While scripting Issue 2 of BRMX I got to thinking that it would be great to have a single issue that had all the plot points and scenes I wanted, and I could fit it all in if the book were 40 or so pages. That'd be great!! I wonder if Bryon will do that?

A Somber and Auspicious Day for the Empire

Friday I posted the last page of Battle Royal MX One. This is a great accomplishment. However, as it is the last page of artwork I have on the series, I am sad. As I posted I thought "There will be no Battle Royal MX updates on Friday anymore."
But just when I thought all was lost, Bryon Vaught initiated talks to do art chores on a second issue of BRMX! I'm very excited!! I have wanted to work with Bryon for a long time and have long thought his linework is perfect for the series. Thanks Bryon and welcome aboard!
We have nearly all the details of our collaboration worked out. This neccessitates that I get the second issue scripted and fast!
Stay tuned to this location for updates on this project.

Oh yeah, I forgot

Just as I was going on the other day about spending my habits and comics and "voting with my dollars", my friend Andrei came to my Book Arts class to talk about comics. He brought with him an assortment of amazing small press comics, most of which I'd seen before. These are some fantastic books, most of which redefine the defintion of both comic and art book. Since these are small press, they don't cost very much per issue and all are available via the web. But, in the 6 months since I've know of their existence have I purchased one of the these books? No. Instead I spend huge sums of money at the comic book store on trade paperbacks. Mind you, the comic book store is not evil, and it's locally owned, so that's good. And the books I bought are off the "mainstream" by independant creators telling innovative and offbeat stories. But they are not hardworking smallpresseres, like myself, pushing the art form I love into new and daring places. And I voted to uphold a distribution system that marginalized not only the small businesss person like myself, but also does much to alienate new readers, new talent, and new ideas.
Thanks Andrei for reminding me of my hypocricy! That's what a good teacher should do.