Category: Process

Oh boy.

Ok, let’s get stuff out of the way – this week got weird and it’s gonna get weirder. And sadly, not in a “I’ve an exciting project I can’t talk about yet” more in a “oh so, this is how civilisation ends”.

As much as my attention was entirely focused on brexit as it was happening, post election I turned the news off and decided I couldnt fight that fight any more (not that I did, I mostly sat and waited to either make funny jokes on twitter or to vote with my conscience.) And then the corono virus. I’ve been aware of it for a while, because my younger brother was in China teaching English as a forign language when it all got weird out there, and he came home (four months into a year long job).

Slowly but surely the UK following the path of china and italy and the rest of europe, we’re now at the beginning of it. Personally, I don’t think the world is gonna work the same after wards. It’s as close as a world wide existential threat as I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime (And I’ve lived through the troubles, 9/11, the fall of the Berlin wall, and the rise of the idiocracy)

It’s meant, I’ve got work done, but it’s been hard to get anything started.

So, that all said, let’s review last week:

FIRSTLY: NO Stomach Pains. Phew. A week off.

Workwise, finished a war thing for Alex De Campi’s War related charity book (this is Gulf War period). Did a few touch ups on another war thing (this is a near future war thing, not for comics) and got roped into doing some pitch art for a tv thing (that’s always a fun little side gig, when it happens).

Had planned on starting DK, the new thing for 2000AD. But that didn’t happen and I didn’t even get a look at Channel Hex.

I’m not gonna beat myself up. Channel Hex may have to go on hold, while I concentrate on getting as much paid work done as possible, because I think we’re in for some bumpy ride ahead (and by we – I mean all of us).

Next week, my plans are:

Mon-Fri : DK 2 pages of pencils per day.

It’s a 10 page strip, so 2 pages per day is very doable.

The current government advice is that schools in the UK will stay open. The Irish government order is schools should shut. I’m in Northern Ireland, and there’s a very obvious disconnect between these two things (yes, we’re in the UK, but we’re on the island of Ireland, so having two rules for two chunks of the same Ireland is odd. Especially if you’re on the border where schools intermingle)

In NI, lots of schools are moving teacher training days around to do their training days early in the week in anticipation of the UK Govt advice changing and schools having to teach remotely.

Should that happen (and I think it’s pretty certain, our kids are due back to school as normal on Wednesday and I doubt very much they’ll be back in) I’m gonna be working from home with the kids trying to do remote schoolwork (how that works I have no idea). And, possibly, my wife will be here too.

We’ve already started figuring out what room each of us will work in – I have my studio. Our bedroom as a nice chair set up in it, maybe needs a table, but Annette can work from there. Thomas can work from the living room and Nathan from his bedroom.

Of course, that plan probably won’t survive the first day. But it’s a start.

Look, it’s going to be rough, and I have a stupid job where sometimes the only thing keeping me going is the knowledge that when I grew up in Belfast and the news was full of awful, terrible grim things, reading comics kept me going. So that’s why I draw comics. Sometimes it’s what you need.

Ok, this week, had a pencilling job to do. 14 pages of pencils, I’m drawing these 1:1 partly to speed this job up a little, partly because I’m trying to draw in a slightly more restrained less detail obsessed way.

How’d I go?

Well, cheating slightly as I opened the week with 2 of those pages already done. Things we’re ok until Tuesday – when, boringly another IBS attack took me out for the day. Leaving me about six pages to pencil. But, somehow raced through them. Job done, and happily got a few pages of it inked too.

Then came Friday and Channel Hex day. That … did not go well. Just got stuck. Sometimes a page will just get your brain stuck and that’s what happened. I suppose if I was tackling this one day after the other it would be less of an issue, but I finished last Friday mid-page on a figure that wasn’t working and I picked up and tried it again and it … still wasn’t working. Several pages of attempts later and the angle of attack on the figures (showing it all from a different angle) and finally killed the beast. But it felt like I got no further on. Especially since I ended up fighting that page the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

As it happened, I also inked some of the 14 pager, quit fun to ink at that smaller size. Though, boy my eyesight is completely frazzled. Started wearing glasses when I turned 30, initially because I was getting headaches as I worked (at the time in IT) and when I’d draw (just as my career started really) – and had, apparently, an astigmatism.

Over the the years the prescription has gotten stronger and my ability to focus has gotten worse, I’ve two pairs of glasses one for computer screen work and the other – ostensibly – for reading. I ended up flipping between the two constantly when working.

I suspect when this job is done I’ll go to large size again. (And maybe even larger than normal)

Through the week I also started chipping away at Blender. Blender is a 3d program for modelling and animation. I’ve been playing with blender (well, even ‘playing’ is too strong a word – more dipping in and out) for years, but until 2.8 blender took an almost perverse pleasure in being unlike any other computer software (in fact, they all do, there’s one 3d modelling app that puts it’s menu bar items in ALPHABETIC order – like it’s been designed by a psychopath).

Anyway, 2.8+ is where it’s at. It has some similiar features to sketchup, but the bonus is it’s a) much more powerful and completely free. No hidden costs. I can build in blender and export as OBJ files to clip studio and suddenly have a cool 3d model I can trace over.

Here, for example, is a first stab at Dredd’s lawmaster (really just me noodling)

Ok, ok, the model is simple (and not nearly wide enough, dredd’s tyres should be a good third more of that width) but – as I say – this is first pass attempts.

I’ve used a lot of 3d stuff for the WWII work – using other people’s models (World of Tanks was great because they supplied all the 3d tank models I could ever need) but, of course, when you come to Dredd’s world it’s a different thing. And while I can draw Dredd’s bike from memory (OF COURSE!) so much more fun to play with the 3d model.

Anyway, that’s my outside of comics project for the moment.

I also wrote and drew another folklore thursday story for this week. I think it’s a fun one, inspired a little by Inside No 9.

Now, on to next week: the plan – ink up this 14 pager. Should be very doable, given I’ve about 6 pages already inked (har! I inked two today!)

Monday: ink pages 7,8,9, 10 (Yes, four seems insane – I’ve mostly inked page 7 and these pages are half normal size!)
Tuesday: ink pages 11, 12, 13, 14 (12 & 13 are a double page spread, reasonably confident I can kill them in one go!)
Wednesday: NEW THING! PENCILS DK(10 pager) 1,2
Thursday: Pencils DK 3,4
Friday: Channel Hex
Saturday/Sunday: Channel Hex.

New project starting on Thursday – really looking forward to it – it’s a 2000ad thing and completely new, something with Rory McConville. New character designs, new characters, new strip! Exciting!

And that’s my week. Hopefully I can navigate next week without a single IBS outburst.

If you’re enjoying these progress reports let me know. If they’re as dull as ditchwater, let me know that too. No wait, on second thoughts, probably best if I don’t know that…

Ok, let’s start with last week‘s plan:

Draw up some pencils for a project, get started into a war thing.

And that’s pretty much happened. I also had to respond to some emails and… it turns out I’m bad at responding to emails. Follow ups and stuff, I’m just bad at it. This is me shaming myself.

Next week, I’ll get on top of those things. Monday.

Had another IBS attack on Friday, it’s become very regular. Dunno what to do about it at all. It feels like once the doc has gone “Yeah. you’ve got ibs” there’s literally nothing else to be done just suffer the consequences of that.

Will make doc appointment on Monday too. Also gonna try and reign in my eating a bit, nothing after six (I’ve cut out gluten a few years ago when the IBS attacks where less frequent but much more painful and that seemed to work, now the attacks are frequent, but a third of the level of pain)

Here’s how an attack works: usually in the evening I’ll get a sense that it’s gonna be a bad night, my stomach starts telling me it’s not happy. Then around 1 it’s sore, to the point where I know I’ll not be able to sleep, around 3 it’s very painful (I’ve tried buscopan, pain killers, andrew’s liver salts, and the only thing that seems to have a modicum of effect is a hot water bottle)

Around 5-6 the pain starts to lesson, at this point I’ve been awake all night, but now I can hit the bed and be reasonably confident it’ll ease off enough that I can sleep.

And, if I’m lucky, I’ll be left alone to sleep until 11. Sometimes that can’t happen, and I’m up at 8:30. That day though, is often just a write-off for me.

I’m lucky in that I work from home, so I can take a day and just crawl into bed and sleep it off. Many can’t. And god knows what it would be like if I was still working.

Anyway, that’s where we are with that. On to other matters.

Boy this month flew by, didn’t it?

Let’s take stock:

I drew some folklore thursdays (technically I drew 3, and had one in reserve)

There’s a couple of my absolute favs in this last month, so that’s good.

Other things I drew: finished off Chimpsky ep5 (6 pages), pencilled and inked Destroyer (8 pages) pencilled a thing can’t talk about (7 pages) and started on a War Story thing for a charity, pencilled and inked 2 pages.

So, that brings my monthly count to:

OK, that’s not too bad an amount of work. I managed to get started on Channel Hex, and I’ll talk more about that next month when, hopefully I can tell you much more about it.

Next month I’ve got a war story to finish (time restricted, unfortunately) it’s 14 pages in total, but I’ve two finished on it, so 12 pages. PLUS a new thing for 2000ad, an entirely new strip created by me and Rory McConville. Which should be enormous fun. After that, I’ve got more Chimpsky to do!

If you sign up to my newsletter you’ll see some sneak peaks on the work I’ve done this month…

https://www.tinyletter.com/pjholden

Hey! Welcome back (unless you’ve just been lurking since the last post… in which case, nice to see you’re still here!)

Ok, last week I’d intended to ink up the Battle strip and … uhm… hunt for some work, so here’s how that went:

Battle story – all inked up. Pretty happy with it. Pretty much took as long as I expected, even though I went a bit hell for leather on the detail. Was intended to be in colour, but I’m sort of hoping it ends up in b&w.

Had another super exciting IBS attack (I have a ‘wheat’ trigger, but sometimes it just happens – largely once a fortnight nowdays) which threw me off for a day.

So the other big goal was to find some work, and heck that worked out ok. Lined up three (shortish) gigs: a pencilled gig (7 pages – henceforce JMcC) will I’ll do next week . A charity comic war gig, which is 14 pages (the following two weeks, henceforth AD) and a 10 pager which I’m really looking forward to (DK). It’ll be that next week.

So that’s next month taken care of. After that I have to hunt more work. I hope you’re enjoying this insight into the freelancer creative process!

(I’ve a couple of possible jobs that will represent more significant page counts – hoping to get a graphic novel off the ground, that would be around 100 pages, and represent a solid five months worth of work)

So next week is shaping up like this:

Mon 24th: Pencils JMcC Pg 3 (I’m pencilling page 2 of this today, and I pencilled page 1 of this yesterday) only one page pencilled, because I gots to do some email admin as well.
Tues 25th: Pencils JMcC Pg4 & 5
Wed 26th: Pencils JMcC Pg6 & 7
Thur 27th: Layouts AD
Fri 28th: CHANNEL HEX (I have start of a script, I’ve drawn a few pages already but I’m redrawing it)
Sat 29th: AD Pencils 1
Sun 1st: AD Pencils 2

I’ll not jinx it, but I can largely work out what I’m doing for the next four weeks.

Hey please let me know in the comments if you’re reading this stuff, and especially if you want more (or less) of it.

Ok, let’s go over what the hell happened this month, from a personal/work standpoint.

Let’s start with the positives:

Completed: 23 pages of art. Of which, 17 were pencilled this month. Five were folklore thursday strips, which I adapted from John Reppion’s tweets into comics, then pencilled, inked and coloured.

On top of that, I also did 8 pages of layouts for my buddy John McCrea on the last episode of Yondu (they’re A4 sized, rough layouts that John then really went to town on and made so much better) I actually got to draw Silver Surfer for Marvel! (Albeit John went in and redraw it all, but that’s close enough!)

Wrote a four page strip for a kickstarter project, which I’m gonna get done next month (hopefully). It’s about a gruff New York detective in 1977 New York who finds himself bonded to the disembodied time travelling android called “Jericho 5″…

Also, this month, in a surprising turn the 2000AD message board voted Chimpsky their third favourite Judge Dredd strip of last year, and the Chimpsky cover was also their third favourite cover of the year.

(Give it’s only the fourth cover I’ve ever done for 2000AD, I’m pretty happy with that)

2000AD announced that the strip I’ve done with Arthur Wyatt for the Megazine is coming in April out along with the news that Chimpsky’s back – in Chimpsky’s Law. And I’ve done covers for both.

On top of that, been working a new system that’s allowing me to get stuff done and not feel awful when I turn and do other things too. Trying to find a balance that doesn’t mean I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough stuff, while, conversely allowing me to do more stuff.

Health wise, I lost about a week with IBS related stomach pains (over five days spread through the month – pain kicks in around 1-5am and then the next day I’m beat). I’ve cut out gluten from my diet and now, sadly, I’ve also cut out chocolate. I’ve eaten chocolate without a problem but I think my danger is always I’ll just stuff so much chocolate in me my stomach can’t cope. Easier to cut it out altogether. If I’ve less pain next month then I know that’ll have worked (and if it’s exactly the same, then sod it – back to chocolate I go, I’m sorry cocoa-goodness, I miss you).

Channel Hex is in a bit of a holding pattern, but we’re coming back to it – it’s the starblazer sized mini graphic novellas that I’d planned to draw then kickstart. I was never 100% happy with how I’d started drawing it, and the writer is rejigging the script too. Better to be good than just done. But it’d be nice to start properly. Friday’s are the day I’m setting aside to get it complete. One thing I’ve learnt about doing the folklore thursday’s is that, if you just consistently churn out a page per week, time marches relentlessly on and at the end of a year you’ll have 52 pages (and I only spend a few hours on the folklore stuff, and colour it and write the script). Basically, patients. I’ve always been good with patience.

Now, let’s see what didn’t happen this month:

More Covers – I’d really intended to pitch a cover a month to 2000AD. It just didn’t happen. I’m in the middle of working for them and it feels weird to say “Hey, look I know I haven’t finished this thing, but what about if I also do this other thing”. I think that’s a me-problem rather than a them-problem though. I definitely intend to pitch a cover for every project I’m asked to draw, so we’ll see how it goes.

More Writing – I don’t think of what I do on folklore thursday’s as writing, but I suppose it is (esp the recent couple that are more heavily scripted than some other things). Had intended to do more, but I’ve scripted a four page short, which I plan to draw next month too.

Batman month. Wow, that didn’t work out at all. In down time I’d intended to start doing batman sketches and things – something that I hoped would get me a bit of a wider showing on twitter (Dredd hits the dredd audience, who know me already, anything new falls on mostly-deaf ears, but you hit Batman or some other thing in the big two you can expect to get it seen far and wide). Anyway, calling this a bust. May not have been a good idea, but there it is. Might try again in Feb.

Lined up for next month, so far:

Finishing off Chimpsky (one episode to go!) after that something for Battle! (I know I swore off WWII but come on, I’m not turning down a chance to do something for Battle…) and hopefully a proper start on channel hex.

That’s it, hope you had a good Jan, see you next month!