compo 2 again week 3 when in doubt blacken it… or not?

No, no no no, really this working in deep black in realistic style (very realistic, I use reference, I can’t work from imagination and calculate the black zones yet) is not satisfying to me.

I already said that last week, but I had to insist, try again, see if I got the hang of it and if a full page of comic would help me find my rhythm.

This week I did this:

 

I’m rather happy with the minimal use of faces, the story you can deduce but that is not told, good story telling I think, but I’m not satisfied: this is not me, this is generic.

But let’s see what Glenn has to say: he likes it, likes the storytelling, says the drawing has some flaws (some shadows on the bodies in the first tier look like water and dont define the underlying form as well as they could, the city would be easier to read with some vertical luminous signs, the “pronto” girl has a very flat nose, the motorbike looks pasted on and should come towards us for better effect, etc) but all in all he says there are people out there who make a living doing worse art than this.

That’s good news, right?

Yes and no.

Yes because it means I begin to understand form and “feel” the shapes I draw so I can just “allude to them” instead of really drawing them in detail, while your eye knows what it is seeing. That is good for whatever style I draw in, it means progress.

And No because it means what I do here is interchangeable with any “noir” comic inker. (yes I know, it’s super to get to that stage but…. I am ambitious, I guess lol).

Realism is boring, better be a good photographer than a bad realistic draughstman. Using deep black, playing with not showing the faces, not showing much of the scenes while keeping them readable is a clever game I’m interested in, but….. ok let’s say the name: Mignola! if you have ever read his Batman comics or the Hellboys he drew himself (the case with the new “Hellboy in Hell” series currently on sale) you know what I mean: you see the corner of an image, just a bit, and you know it’s him, you know by the way he plays with shadows, angular shapes and non angular shapes. In a way when you look at even a neutral image drawn by him you already are in his power so to speak: his style is not so much a style but a technique of atmosphere creation, his view on his world, his characters, you know what he feels for his characters, it’s in the lines he draws them with.

OK, so I’m not Mike Mignola 😀 (my banker also wished I were, lol) and I will never be, and that is ok, cause I want to be “me”. So I’ve found my voice in cartoon style, I can now draw anything in that style, it’s silly idiotic, it’s me (meaning i’m silly and idiotic?…. ahum) many people draw in cartoon style, even in the french belgian style of cartoon (which my style is close to) but a page by me is totally different from a page by others. That is ok, I’m working on a webcomic in that style, no worries, no problems, I’m feeling home doing that.

But the “noir” style feels….. fake.

Now I know Glenn often reminds us that having too much of a personal style is a trap: you can’t work for someone else, I mean if Mickey Weekly looks for a penciller, they look for a penciller who can draw in Disney style. Plus illustrators with a very personal style go out of fashion (that was also true in the days of Leyendecker: average life span of an illustrator: 5 years, then people want novelty).

I don’t worry about this too much for two reasons: first, when you are a comic book artist or children book artist people buy “your” books, they don’t want you to change style! Second: if I can develop two deeply personal ways of drawing things, then it means I’ve got a good grasp of the basics of form and drawing, and I can, in theory, imitate any style, just give me a character sheet, they are made to be copied to imbibe the style.

So how do I develop that second style, that deep black style? Got to work on it a lot. It means I spend a lot of time each day trying out crazy stunts (deep black toons? hmmmmm perhaps no!) only to throw them away, but I guess I have to go through this. It feels like a waste of time but it’s a must-go-through. I try different medias: brushes, big pens, copics, you name it, even my fingers (it’s just an excuse, I love painting with my fingers lol).

At the moment I look at the image above and say “I can do this, good! But I dont want to do this, I want to do something else with what I’ve learned here”.

I know most people would just stick to the cartoon style I feel so at home in, but if I want to improve my drawing, including my cartoon style, I have to try other ways of describing form. Plus I love the idea of having two voices, I have ideas for stories that are totally unrelated, some of them for cartoon, other far more dark.

Basics, let’s stick to basics. That’s always the key. As soon as the weather gets better and people don’t look like shapeless parka-wearing yetis I’m going to sketch outside, and I know it’s going to be tough cause I haven’t done it for a while.

Somehow I have the strange feeling my black style will emerge when I don’t pay attention, when i’m not really looking, when I’m not trying so hard.

Back to staining paper! I think too much, I interfere with the process. Now, let’s work till my brain shuts off!

By next week I hope to have found some keys.

See you then, and draw draw draw!