Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

STILETTO

Why Creative Restrictions are Good for You!

by

What does David Lynch, Picasso and George Lucas have in common? Setting up guardrails for your creativity can have surprising benefits.

I put together a video explaining why, using examples from film and TV like Reservoir Dogs, Star Wars, Twin Peaks and my own graphic novel STILETTO.

Let me know what you think! Comment below or go to YouTube and do the same.

PS: I know a lot of people worldwide are hurting financially and in self-quarantine at the moment. So to offer some consolation, the premium Comics for Beginners course is available at a drastically reduced price until December 31st 2020. Follow this link to get lifetime access for only $25$5.

Video: Creativity Everywhere

by Leave a Comment

I was asked to participate in the Creativity Everywhere series on YouTube and talk about my creative process. Click below to see me break down how I work on a comics page, using a page from STILETTO as a concrete example.

On another note; While the pandemic is still affecting people globally I’ve discounted the premium comics course at $5. Go here to claim lifetime access.

Case study: STILETTO

by Leave a Comment

While I was working on The Devil’s Concubine, I had the idea for sort of a sequel, involving the two cops, Maynard and Alphonse. The story is heavily influenced by 70’s cop movies like Serpico and French Connection (the sequel being my favorite) and the inciting incident is more or less lifted from Bullitt. Where The Devil’s Concubine was an attempt to make a slick action movie in comic book form, I wanted STILETTO to have a more gritty and realistic feel to it. 

The style is a great departure from earlier, more inspired from my own sketchbook than anything else. Trying to draw in the very slick style of artists like Eduardo Rizzo or my own mentor Peter Snejbjerg never came naturally to me and the process frustrated me to no end. I decided to try “inking” in pencil and painting the whole thing in watercolor – something I was used to doing in my illustration work.

I did a few tests and quickly realized that not only was this drawing process much more fun for me but I could also work way faster. Since making comics takes sooo long, any way to reduce the amount of hours spent on a page is more than welcome.

For the coloringI went for a expressionist approach rather than realism. Since it’s a cop story, the use of the color blue would be obvious. So I decided NOT to use the color blue at all! I only use blue for flashbacks and dream sequences. Keeping the whole book in dirty yellowish clay tones creates a much more startling effect when the characters enter a bar where everything is red or there is a flashback or cut-away panel in blue.

By this point I had stopped comparing myself to Danish peers pretty much altogether and focused on the US market. I felt I had an intriguing premise, a solid script and a style that immediately got people’s attention, when I showed the book to people at cons. So I was surprised when IDW didn’t pick up the book. I thought I was in and then it turned out to be a revolving door!

Although STILETTO was released in Denmark to rave reviews and an award nomination, It took a few years before the book made it to the US market. It only happened because Greg Tumbarello, this guy Chris knew and we kept bumping into at cons, got a new editorial position at Lion Forge. If I remember correctly, I shot Greg a note on Facebook saying congrats on the new job and we got to chatting. He asked about STILETTO, if anyone had picked it up and I was like: “Er, no. You want it?”

Working with Greg on STILETTO (and this book btw!) has been an absolute treat and a truly humbling experience. Greg has turned out to be not only a fun guy to hang out with but also a smart and well articulated editor with a quality lacking in a lot of people working in publishing; he answers his e-mail.

Lessons learned:

Breaking in is a never-ending process and the quality of the work seems not to matter as much as luck or timing. Sometimes a project that seems like a slam dunk will have to take the long road before finding a home. Be patient and persistent. You never know where the next opportunity, ally or friendship will turn up.

This post is an excerpt from my book SOLO – Survival Guide for Creative Freelancers – Pre-order now on Amazon.

My book STILLETO released in the US today!

by Leave a Comment

When my book The Devil’s Concubine came out from IDW in 2011 I was obviously super excited. Having a book out in the US was a decade-long dream of mine and now it was finally happening!

All fired up from going to Comic Con and doing signings in San Francisco and LA, I could not wait to present the follow-up to my editor. STILETTO was/is in my mind a much better book, more weighty in subject matter and more solid in the artwork. I really poured my heart and soul into it.

And they turned it down.

You hear a lot about “breaking in” to the US comics scene. Well, I thought I was in and it turned out it was a revolving door!

In the years after I always carried a copy of the Danish graphic novel (a beautiful hardcover edition) with me everywhere I went. I’ve shown it to editors at restaurants, in bars and at shows both in the US, Canada, France and Germany – never finding a home for it. Frustrating when you know you have a great book and for whatever reason no publisher picks it up. I really want people to be able to read STILETTO, regardless of their nationality.

And guess what? TODAY YOU CAN!!!!

STILETTO issue #1: Officer Down is out today from Lion Forge and you should be able to order it through your local comics store.

Here’s what the editor, Greg Tumbarello, says about the book:

[quote]Palle Schmidt is one of those visionary writer/artist combos you rarely see… His artistry and storytelling pull you into an intricate underworld that engulfs the senses and blurs the line between reality and fiction, making you feel like you’re there on a ride-along with our detectives as they desperately search for a cop-killer. Stiletto weaves a thrilling mystery that flips the entire crime genre on its head and keeps you guessing until the pulse-pounding conclusion.[/quote]

To read the full press release and download an 11-page sample, go to palleschmidt.com/STILETTO

Thanks for letting me tell (part) of this story. Hope you’ll give STILETTO a chance too.

The price of praise

by 4 Comments

The-loser-takes-it-allI was up for an award here in Denmark this weekend, the Ping, something like the Danish equivalent of the Eisners. I was nominated for my graphic novel, STILETTO, in the main category. I didn’t win, which puts me in a position to talk about the nature of validation and the need for praise, instead of just tooting my horn and talking about how awesome I am.

Of course I would have loved to win that award, I was hoping for it and at the same time trying NOT to hope for it, because dissapointment is not the greatest feeling in the world. But here’s the thing: If I HAD won that award, it would have felt great for a few moments, maybe a few days. But the need for praise and validation never really goes away.

It’s never enough.

The needy little part of an artist’s soul is always going to want more. I don’t know anyone who feels they have enough fan mail or awards on their shelf that it fulfils their need. I don’t belive those people exist. You can never drink enough water that it keeps you from ever being thirsty again.

So while I would loved to have won, it’s more because it would have helped me with press and such going forward. It’s like those booster points you get in computer games, where you pick up the coin or whatever and you get a rocket attached to your back. An award or a great review gives you that boost for a few seconds, and then the effect wears off. The game continues. You start looking for the next gold coin.

What I’m trying to say is, if you ever find yourself up for an award or a job or anything, think of it as a step towards an end goal. Always keep that in mind. And stay busy! Keeping busy and working on your craft is not only great for building a career, it’s also your best defense against the needy, selfish little part of you that worries wether anyone really, I mean REALLY, loves you or they’re all just pretending. The part of you that looks on other people with envy and want to keep you from building confidence and self-sustainability. I don’t know what the purpose of that part of our brain is, but I’m willing to bet good money we all have it.

I try to teach my kids to be grateful of the things they have rather than bitch about what they don’t have. It’s hard for a kid to see another kid with an ice cream. But that’s LIFE. And it goes on like that.

So I’m here at the studio hunched over my desk as the sun is baking outside, grateful for working on the Thomas Alsop comic more or less full time, grateful for the praise I DO get and the support of all the subscribers on Comics for Beginners, thankful for every “like” on Facebook, but not depending on it for my sense of self-appreciation. Grateful for having done work I’m proud of and having it published, and having a supportive wife who takes care of our kids while I’m at work on a national holiday and who never asked me to get a real job instead of wasting my time doing comics. I am so very, very lucky and very happy right now, doing what I love and am relatively good at.

Thank you.

Now back to work.

—

Related post: Why you can’t learn from success