Follow Through
8 steps to get to the start
I’m taking a swing at making a comic. It won’t be long, but I’m trying not to skimp on the process. I’m actually writing it before drawing it instead of at the same time. I’ll even use a pencil.
All the comics, zines, and whatever else I’ve created for DoPHS have more or less been improv. No drafts, just mainlining, river to paper. It’s been liberating to eschew all the process and just get direct to the making but I feel like maybe it’s time to try something harder.
That’s not to say the other stuff is easy. It’s hard in it’s own way. But following an actual process and working on the same thing for days, weeks, or even months is a whole other challenge.
This shouldn’t take months. It might, but it really shouldn’t.
I’m following the steps from this video:
I’ve been struggling to write even though it’s something I’ve done plenty of. It’s just been a very long time and I guess I’d forgotten how. The steps from the video more or less follow the same path I remember - just far more efficiently and direct than anything I ever did.
Once I get through writing I can start production. Which is literally everything else. From thumbnails to printing.
I don’t have the length completely nailed down yet but I’m shooting for about 8 pages. I want something manageable that I can actually finish. I don’t have the stamina for anything longer.
Beyond that I don’t have too much to share. So here’s the week in daily logs.
On Thursday I had been counting calories for about a week. It was fine but a running friend reminded me that maybe dieting while training isn’t a great combination for avoiding injury. Good call. I quit counting that evening. Still running though.
Woke up early on Friday. No idea why.
Didn’t log anything on Saturday.
Sunday was mostly digging out from a pretty big snowstorm. We were going to have friends over for the Bills game but Frankie came down with strep. I am now an Eagles fan.
Monday was the first official “No drinking day”. If I’m not going to count calories, I can at least be a little more mindful of those I do consume. There’s no reason for me to be drinking and the slam is as good excuse as any in social situations.
Also bought new tires for the truck. Tread was getting low and the one with a slow leak finally lost the battle. It was time.
Tuesday, Frankie went from very slowly improving to possibly regressing to miraculously better in a matter of hours.
I told Jen I wasn’t gonna drink till after the slam in October. She already doesn’t drink.
If the weather holds I’m hoping to join a friend for a bigger adventure in the mountains this weekend. Shooting for Mt. Princeton.
Wednesday! Got the new tires. Wrote another draft of the comic while waiting for the install. Working on DoPHS.
How was your week? Try anything new? Read any good books?
So the plan is to write the whole thing, do proper layouts, produce it, and then assemble it into a physical printed comic. Pretty much exactly what I’ve done in the past. But making a concerted effort to keep it small.
The story is pretty silly and features some very old characters. I wanted to use characters I already knew so I didn’t get stuck trying to figure out the conflict. These are simple characters that really only needed a situation to get things rolling.
Trying to use actors I already know in a universe I’m pretty familar with. Not trying to write my 500 page magnum opus here. 8 pages max, ideally shorter.
Hoping to clean off the rust a bit and if things go well maybe I’ll be able to do these at some sort of interval that’s less than 11 years. Can’t believe it’s been that long since my last full comic. Dang.
I’m not ready to share much from that effort yet.
Open
📗 📆 Meditations for Mortals - Oliver Burkeman
📗 🔖 Writings - Agnes Martin
📗 🔖 I Walk Between the Raindrops - T.C. Boyle
📗 📆 The Daily Stoic - Ryan Holiday
📗 🔖 Slow Horses - Mick Herron
📗 🔖 Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Neil DeGrasse Tyson
📗 🔖 Metaphonics, The Field Works Listener’s Guide - Stuart Hyatt
📗 🔖 The Obstacle is the Way - Ryan Holiday
Shut
💬 🏁 Tintin in the Land of the Soviets - Hergé
💬 🏁 Tintin in America - Hergé