Re: All my own shirk......

by grantw on Mon 28 Jun - 0:58

Love it as always!

by cartunes-r-us on Sun 4 Jul - 6:44

Thanks very much, gentlemen!

Today is July 4, and as the BABY BOOMER strip is aimed at the American market, I thought I'd do some celebrations-related cartoonery.

Yes, it's very commercial------probably too much so-------but nice to do a change of humour for these drawings:

'God bless Amerrikae' and all that.......

by Simon Lake on Sun 4 Jul - 7:52

This stuff is simply divine.

by cartunes-r-us on Fri 9 Jul - 22:17

here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse of work finished/in progress.

Firstly, the 16 strips I am currently working on [half-finished, clearly]:

next, the pile of around 2000 roughly-sketched strips [some drawn-up].:

and here's the stack of around 570 completed BABY BOOMER strips:

by grantw on Fri 9 Jul - 22:53

Fantastic, the Baby Boomer pile is one big "out" tray!

by cartunes-r-us on Sat 10 Jul - 1:19

I just hope it all pays off in the long run, Grant!

by Simon Lake on Sat 10 Jul - 1:28

It has to. Please keep us up to speed with the progress of any negotiations you have with Publishers Rob and you know where we are.

by cartunes-r-us on Sat 10 Jul - 1:44

I'm still on here, Simon, I certainly haven't deserted the site: all my postings have been cut down recently throughout the web...just a phase that will pass.

by Simon Lake on Sat 10 Jul - 1:58

The fact that all your stuff is raw black and white straight scans from originals will appeal to them. It's Art. You don't need to paff around with coloring. A lot of publishers would prefer to that themselves anyway (if need be). The entire presentation of Baby Boomer and the way you have approached the subject is to be commended and you will get recognition Rob.

by cartunes-r-us on Sat 10 Jul - 5:39

Thanks very much for your words of encouragement, Simon. I have studied syndication guidelines in-depth, and b/w strips seems to be the accepted norm. I can always scan in b/w stuff and colour it if need be, without touching the original inkings as you point out.

Taking up photoshop won't do me any harm, however, I'm sure my strip could be enhanced further with full colour, and I'd love to see it done like this.

Here's this week's cartoon:

by Simon Lake on Sat 10 Jul - 21:07

To be perfectly honest with you Rob, I think you may be better off using watercolors or even better, there's a range of pens you can get that give very flat textures. You would like them. They're not cheap (about a fiver each). I don't know what type of paper you are using but I assume it's just cheap ass A4 copier paper right? You should be considering upgrading if this is the case. Seriously. The pens are Letraset Tria. You should be able to find them in most self respecting Art shops but here's a link anyway: http://www.greatart.co.uk/LETRASETTRIAMARKER-marker-pens.htm You want to keep the spontaneity of your Art going with the human touch that it has. Electronic Art will not do it any favors in my opinion. Sure you can use photoshop and that for top end delivery when and if you can but don't think it's the B all and end all for one minute. Personally I think you could be doing yourself a disservice. Sure, "the times they are a' changin', but there's still nothing quite like the Old School.

by cartunes-r-us on Thu 15 Jul - 20:45

Yes, it is cheapjack photocopy paper I am using for these drawings, Simon, but I have seriously been considering upgrading to decent paper [it is only about 10p apiece once they are cut into sections] which should improve the overall quality: ] I have a batch of pencils to finish first [on cheapo paper] so I will do these first.

the proper strips are always done on bristol board, however.

I also have an airbrush which is hardly used by anyone these days.

by Simon Lake on Fri 16 Jul - 1:10

Bristol as in Saunders right? Same thing. Those pens I showed you are well worth you trying Rob. With the right texture paper and that for high end delivery wot is your intention well worth the crack. I still have some of them myself. I also have an airbrush (Badger) but I don't have a clue how to use it. You could use that to get the odd background effect. Airbrush is a feature of Photoshop these days but I seriously doubt it could do those Bob Marley things on the side of combies (Vans).

by cartunes-r-us on Fri 16 Jul - 8:43

An airbrush is very messy, Simon, as you've probably discovered. The first time for me was a disaster, but over a couple of weeks I picked up the basics: I only use it for doing backgrounds: complex character rendering would take an eternity.

However, up until photoshop, the airbrush was the only real way to get 'photorealism' into cartoons, and it stretches back a long way in cartoon imagery: it appears in a lot of Tom & Jerry background stills, for example, which explains the incredible sense of depth and realism in some of the settings.

I do reccomend pursuing with an airbrush, though: I promise it will 'click' regarding how to use it in a fairly short time.

by Leah-Admin on Fri 16 Jul - 11:17

I only shade digitally now, though I am now adding shadow via the line and grid method manually to good effect. It makes a big difference, seeing objects grounded and what not.

Your cartoons show good movement Rob. I am studying them closely Smile

I'm taking this cartooning business very seriously now so I am paying close attention to aspects that I feel make an image pop, give it humour, depth, passion and so on. I have a big supply of Beanos and Dandys. Good excuse to have a read. What a magical way to earn a living!!

I love it.