If you thought I was lying on a beach somewhere, you are thoroughly mistaken! Here’s part of what I’ve been up to this past year or so. Probably the busiest time of my life ever – and still is. Watch the video to find out why.
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Are you a hack or a primadonna?
How do you decide when a script or drawing is finished? When is it good enough and when does it need more work?
At my old studio, we used to joke: When is a drawing really good? When it is done!
We sometimes continued to come up with alternatives, like: When the invoice is sent!
While it sounds like a shallow hack remark, there is a level of truth to it. Because just as you can do sloppy artwork just to get something “done”, there is also a great risk of spending to long on something and ruin it in the process. Besides, life is short. You want to get more than one drawing done, so you shouldn’t keep obsessing over one piece of art, trying to make it “perfect”!
The perfect drawing does not exist. Because you will change, however unnoticeable, as you are working on it, and that will change how you look at the drawing.
But how do we know when something is “done” or “good”?
That is a hard question to answer. Wether it be a piece of art or a manuscript, you just need to pass it on at some point. Get a second opinion. To judge something yourself, you need a bit of distance. You don’t always have the opportunity to put something in a drawer for a month or two. You might be on a deadline.
But there is a skill to deciding whether the thing you’re working on is good enough or needs some more work.
If it’s paid work, you also need to take money into consideration. What would be the hourly rate if it takes you ten hours to do an illustration? If the answer makes you cringe, perhaps you need to be spending five hours instead. It all depends on the situation.
A work of art should be judged not only by it’s artistic merit, but also by the circumstances under which it was made.
As artists, we walk a tightrope between being lazy hacks and overly self-critical, meticulous primadonnas. Too little self-critique and you stop growing as an artist. Too much self-critique and you might end up quitting art altogether. Because it’s just too damn hard.
Whenever you find yourself in a place where things are really, really hard, remind yourself that’s because you are growing, improving, learning.
Somewhere in you, between the hack and the primadonna, there is a humble, realistic and self-aware professional waiting to get things done. Stop getting in his way and let him go to work.
What’s my motivation – Comics for Beginners podcast episode 31
Why is it sometimes so hard to keep a schedule when creating content for the web? And how can we set a system in place to circumvent our fleeting motivation? That’s what I try to answer in this episode.
ProFile: Lukas Ketner
Lukas Ketner is the artist and co-creator of Witch Doctor, the hit launch title for Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint at Image Comics. He was a 2009 nominee for the Russ Manning Award for his Witch Doctor work, which has earned praise from fans and creators alike. Other work includes stories for Dark Horse Comics’ Creepy Comics and Supersized: Strange Tales From a Fast-Food Culture, along with covers for BOOM! Studios’ Hellraiser title. He has twice won entry into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual for his album artwork. He survived a successful full-body transplant from his hometown in Anchorage, AK to Portland, OR in 2000 where he currently resides. You can check out his work and drop him a line on Facebook.
What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?
For me, it was the realization that I could tell stories as well, if not better than prose and film — both of which I tried my hand at, and NO you may not see the results, they’re awful 😉 For me, comics can tell a story as well (if not better) than any other medium, and all it requires is ink, paper, and time. Sure, money helps, but that’s an obstacle that’s easier to overcome in the digital age to reach an audience.
What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?
Well, challenging and frustrating aren’t always the same thing, although they do overlap quite a bit 😉 For me story flow and lining up shots is very challenging and non-intuitive for me, but very fun and rewarding, much like solving a puzzle. It’s frustrating when I’m inking that same page and I can’t do it fast enough because I’ve added detail to areas that don’t need as much attention as I’ve given them. Then, that elegant puzzle I solved previously turns into a 2-3 day grind that’s totally unnecessary— comics pages shouldn’t take that long for a monthly horror book. It’s a mistake that I’m slowly making less and less, but it still happens. I really admire artists whose styles are more economical, but still great to look at. My studio-mates Jonathan Case and Steve Leiber come to mind, along with Sean Murphy. Murphy does have a very detailed style, but you’ll notice it’s rarely more detail than necessary to make the image really sing.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?
A rule I learned in design school, “Very Little, Very Well Done.” If you’re trying to get noticed, do a “done-in-one”, the comics equivalent of a short film. Make it one issue tops to start with, and NO cliffhangers. It’s got to be a full story, start to finish, no “prologues” or “to be continued”. That doesn’t mean it can’t take place in a world that you’d like to explore further in the future, but it needs a satisfying conclusion, and maybe a hint that there’s more story to tell (if that’s relevant). Print it up! Put it online for free. Put it everywhere that people can see it. You can sell it at shows to try to recoup some expenses, but don’t expect to make a profit. It’s proof that you can do the work and do it well; that’s what’s important. Get some interest behind you, and as much feedback as you can possibly get from editors and other successful creators. Maybe do another, again, done-in-one applying what you’ve learned. Why such small bites? Because you don’t want your first work to be a 12-issue epic, and then find out via feedback that you’re doing it wrong story-wise after you’ve put out two issues of hard work, and editors need to see that you can complete a story in a satisfying manner. I guess that’s a bit long for ‘one piece of advice’, but there it is 🙂
Comics for Beginners Podcast Episode 30 – Why We Quit
Making comics is fun – but also hard and lonely work! What do you do when you are dissatisfied with your story or your art? How do you stay motivated, when no one seems to care? How do you stay on track when you meet resistance from within? I offer some personal advice and insights in this episode.
Mentioned in this episode:
My graphic novel The Devil’s Concubine, which was almost abandoned
My crime noir graphic novel STILETTO finally available in English! Check it out at Thrillbent
Thomas Alsop vol. 1 trade paperback (collects issues 1-4)
How to Choose the Right Drawing Table
If you are serious about your craft, having a workspace dedicated to your art is essential. Even if you’ve gone digital, you need somewhere to put your Cintiq and be comfortable, since you’re going to be stuck at that desk for a looong time. I’ve been through a bunch of tables myself and still haven’t found the PERFECT one. But I’m fine with what I have and ultimately it’s not the tools but what you do with them that matters. That said, you need something that does the job!
Here are a few things to consider when shopping for an art table:
- You need a table that can be slanted, so you don’t have to crouch forward too much. A slanted table helps prevent back/neck trouble down the line.
- Your table should be slanted just enough so you pencils roll off whenever you’re not looking. I’m KIDDING! How much/how little is all about what you’re comfortable with. Some people like standing up at their work table, others like to be on the couch. You decide. Whatever feels comfortable enough.
- It should be possible to adjust the angle/how slanted the table is. Because you might find a 5 degree angle makes all the difference.
- Besides the angled table, you will want to have either a part of the table with a regular, horizontal surface, or another table besides it to put your stuff. If you don’t have a “lay-away” table, your mess will go on the floor and you’ll have no place for your coffee cup. Which is a violation of work laws everywhere!
- There are a number of hacks to prevent stuff from falling off your desk. Rubber matting/shelf liner is by far the easiest and least intrusive. If you have an old table you don’t care much about destroying, a few screws or nails in the top might be helpful (bonus tip: a binder clip on a nail can hold almost anything, from your reference books to your art). Or glue a pen holder on it. Only after months of working at your table, will you discover your own habits and needs.
- You need a tape roll of not-too-adhesive tape for taping your artwork while working on it! Use Scotch tape or masking tape, anything you can easily remove again, without destroying your art or leaving sticky leftovers on your drawing board.
- Anything under the table? If you’re going to spend long hours at your drawing board, you don’t want to constantly be banging your knees against a metal rod or whatever. Check underneath for possible annoyances before buying.
- If you’re on a budget, consider just putting a wooden board big enough to fit your drawings (and then some) on a big “regular” table. A sturdy box underneath and a few screws to prevent the board from slipping and you’re off! Or get something used, at least for starting out. Buying a $300 crafts table might sound great for your art prowess, but are you really just putting off working, imagining this will make you a better artist?
- Obviously you also need to consider the space the table will go in. Too big or too small? Only you will know as it’s going in your work space.
- Use a lightbox often? Consider getting a table where that is built in. I found that having to go to another table to adjust a drawing was annoying, so now I’m back to drawing on a big glass light table again.
- Please note that the chair is almost as important as the table. I have a chair without wheels, because I tend to lean in quite a bit, causing the chair to slowly slide back if not completely steadfast. Which again cause me to subconsciously tighten my lower back muscles = pain!
- You need work light that doesn’t hurt your eyes (anything but flourescent light!) and makes it easy for you to see your art. Be sure to place the desk lamp so your hand doesn’t block the light as you’re drawing. Right handed = lamp to the left, left handed = lamp to the right.
I always recommend people to use whatever tools fit their needs, not what other’s do, so please take all this advice with a grain of salt. I do hope you got some value from it.
What kind of art table do you have? Please share! I’d love to hear what’s working out for you.
If you want to know the tools I use, go to this page and watch the video about halfway down.