Beth Wagner's Work Log (Isaac & Lee, Space Trucking, Sam Hawke, A Grotto of Poppies)

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  • edited August 2013
    I haven't been getting much work done. I was expecting this. It doesn't make me any less grumpy though.
  • Over the weekend I began installing fonts on my computer. I eventually want to buy a good set of lettering fonts, but I really need to decide on a style that I want, but I don't think I want to settle on one font, which means buying a bunch of different fonts, which also means a lot of money. Sigh!
  • It is now work list time!

    Clear out Studio and storage closet
    Get drafting table
    Build goblin, treasure chest and ship (at least one of each)
    Start working on sketch cards
    Start working on packaging (decide on what box designs to use)
    Work on scene outlines (Grotto of Poppies)
    Work on thumbnails (Isaac & Lee)
    Work on inks/colouring (Sam Hawke)
  • Sounds like it, but I hope that building goblins and treasure chests is just something Beth does. :)
  • Over the weekend I began installing fonts on my computer. I eventually want to buy a good set of lettering fonts, but I really need to decide on a style that I want, but I don't think I want to settle on one font, which means buying a bunch of different fonts, which also means a lot of money. Sigh!
    Blambot is your friend.
  • dafont.com has a lot of great specialty fonts (including fonts replicated from Blambot). I pull stuff for logos and SFX off of dafont, and there's occasionally a good dialogue font worth grabbing. Everything is conveniently labeled re: use.
  • Aaaaaaaand I'm back!

    @DinoCaruso I am getting ready for V-Con (in the past I've found that I can attract more people to my table with crafts) but I also construct and sew things in my dwindling spare time, so Jason would be correct as well.

    @JasonAQuest I'm looking at either Blambot or Comiccraft. I want to make sure that whatever font I go with, it has the full range of styles and adjustable kerning

    @EricPalicki I've pulled a bunch of fonts off dafont.com, as a matter of fact I was able to get a torrent that collected a whole bunch of free fonts off of various sites. Having said that, there are a lot of free fonts out there.
    The only problem is that I've been told that some of these fonts don't have as many options as the paid versions. Hence, the shopping trip.
  • Finally another post. My social anxiety was acting up and now that I'm launching into the next two months of social activities and conventions, I've had to buck up. Possibly not the best strategy but...

    I lost this past weekend to visiting with friends and loved ones (the closest thing to a birthday celebration I'm going to have this year) so now it's time for me to buckle down and get things done.

    I've got three pages left to ink and colour. This is completely doable. The thing is they just need to get done. I've also got crafting to do, which I really don't want to put such an emphasis on, but it will be well worth it for the first convention. 
  • Yes today is my birthday. But I am quietly celebrating with the best Irish coffee I could scrounge up in my neighbourhood (in Canada, we don't have alcohol available except at designated liquor outlets) while I flat and colour.
    One could say that it's a shame. Except for the fact that I am working on this comic for myself. The drive is coming from within. And because it's a passion, I can be happy to be working on my birthday. (of course this could be the flu talking)
    My only regret at the moment? That I haven't been keeping up with my daily sketches. I need to fix that.
  • Happy birthday! I hope you kick that flu soon!
  • Thanks! Me too. I've been up since 2am and am currently staring down an 8 hour work day at the day job. I'm hoping to get some comic work in before I leave so that I can have at least accomplished something today. :)
  • edited September 2013
    The best way to spend your birthday is ... however you choose to spend your birthday.
    (in Canada, we don't have alcohol available except at designated liquor outlets)
    Health care ... handy liquor ... health care ... handy liquor ... Canada vs. Michigan is a real Sophie's choice!
  • edited September 2013

    Health care ... handy liquor ... health care ... handy liquor ... Canada vs. Michigan is a real Sophie's choice!
    Windsor. Problem solved.


    Edited to add: Happy belated birthday, Beth!
  • Ironically, when I was of a certain age we used to go to Windsor for the (legal) liquor, and nursed our hangovers back in Michigan.
  • Ironically, when I was of a certain age we used to go to Windsor for the (legal) liquor, and nursed our hangovers back in Michigan.
    Same here. (Toledo is basically Detroit's Sourhernmost suburb.)

  • Thank you all for the Birthday wishes.
    I'm supposed to be going paintballing with the office tomorrow, but if I'm still feeling like this, I may just be sitting on the sidelines pouting.
  • Instead of working on comics last night I inked a sketch. I meant to put down washes first but I got a bit ahead of myself so I'll be fixing this later:

    image

    Also, I am still disappointed with the transparency of the black. Tonight I think I'm going to do some more sketching and then inking with the Winsor and Newton Process black as well as trying out the Pelikan. One of these *has* to give me a decent black coverage. I think what's most misleading is that if you were to just look at the page before it scanned, it looks fine. The only way to see the issue is once it's captured, either by photograph or by scanning.
  • This convention is coming up quickly. I missed over a week thanks to a flu. I'm still not 100% but I am really beginning to stress out about not getting the work done in time. This week is going to require me to pull serious late night shifts to get everything ready. End of story.
    I also have a Masquerade Ball to go to this Saturday and I'm stuck hand-sewing a ball gown because my sewing machine isn't working properly. 
    Because the sewing machine isn't working, it also means that anything I was planning on sewing for the convention will have to be hand-stitched.
    Having just finished writing that sentence (and I'm currently listening to a podcast involving comic creating that is featuring time management) I'm going to try to use the sewing machine one last time tonight when I get home. If it doesn't work, I'm going to abandon the dress and I'm going to have to re-evaluate what I'm going to take to the convention at the end of the month.
    Also, I need to start my daily sketches again....this time I need to actually post them once I'm finished.
  • @_Beth_Wagner_ keep with it.  I'm glad to see you're doing more on Tedieval.
  • Thanks @Jimmie_Robinson I just wish I had a story for them. I've tried, but so far all I have is a series of pictures. I'm sure if I give it enough time, I'll come up with something. :)
  • image

    This would be the quickly coloured picture.

    So many different things that I need to look at right now.
    I really want to be re-plotting out the story for Grotto of Poppies. However, I have two conventions to get ready for.
    I want to start inking Isaac & Lee #8. But I have two conventions to get ready for.
    I want to start and finish Space Trucking #4. But I have two conventions to get ready for.
    I want to finish Sam Hawke #2. But I have two conventions to get ready for.
    There is a pattern here somewhere, I'm sure of it. :)
  • The colouring of the one page for Sam Hawke is finally done (that took entirely way too long). I was able to finish inking the next page last night as well so I'm back to colouring. This has to happen much more quickly than the last page. Hurray for focus!
  • With an operational sewing machine I can now finish the craft projects for VCon in record time. However, I still want to be keeping the main focus on the comics and art. I've decided that I'm going to release the Tedieval pictures as prints at the convention, just little postcard sized prints. Just to see what happens with them.

    After V-Con I'll be setting up everything for doing some screen printing. I want to see how easy it is to actually do. If it's really as simple as they say, then I may move toward releasing some boutique versions of my books. It's an ambitious project, but something I'd like to experiment with in my off time.

    I really need to decide what is reasonable for me to finish before VCon and what I'm going to have to accept as taking too much on. Luckily, it's an easy decision and I'm glad I can now recognise it.

    Only two pages left of Sam Hawke, one and a half really. I will be sooooo happy once it's done! I am positive that barring anything unforseen, I can get this done by the end of the week so that I can print it on the weekend and have it ready in more than enough time for VCon.
  • Still moving much more slowly than I would like to. I'm just having problems focusing. But I *have* to get this done. Tomorrow is crunch time.
  • Today is crunch time and I'm moving slowly this morning. Tonight, there will be no sleep until the last page is coloured and lettered.

    This weekend is the last weekend for extensive crafting, next weekend will be the easily done, odds and ends.

    After VCon I'm overhauling my studio and reorganizing the whole thing.

    Once I'm done that, I'm going to start doing a process video blog for a graphic novel that I'll be working on. It'll be public, but it will initially just be for myself.

    Hooray for disconnected thinking! I'm all over the map this morning, but I think I just needed to get everything out of my brain so that I can focus on the rest of my day.
  • I knew that I wasn't going to make that deadline when it was midnight and I was just beginning the panel layouts of the last page. What amused me was that I just took 9 minutes to bang out the last page of extremely rough pencils. This means that I can conceivably get the page inked tonight. Realistically, I should have it all wrapped up by the end of the week and ready to print.

    The weekend was filled with me crafting for VCon. Everything is just taking a million years to get done. I feel like I'm slogging through a bog or something. I know why, it's because I'm working on a bunch of different things all at the same time, so that I don't have any one thing that's going to be finished before another one. I originally wanted to stagger everything so that things would eventually taper off towards the end. Ah well.
  • Last Page, inked and scanned! Tonight I can begin colouring it. If I really concentrate and buckle down, I can get it coloured tonight. Realistically, my deadline is Friday. So let's see if I can beat this deadline as well!

    Also, I am continuing the hunt and research on photo reference material for an upcoming project. (Very excited about it!)

    I buckled down, got some work done and now I'm beginning for feel much more relaxed. Less stress is good. I'm hoping to get back into my "sketch-a-day" fairly soon.

    The printing company that I usually go with hasn't gotten back to me yet, which is kind of frustrating. I'm going to call them today to get a quote over the phone. Hoping that I have enough turnaround time to get it done still.
  • I got swamped at my day job yesterday which meant that I wasn't able to call the print company. So this morning I emailed them directly, and hopefully I can follow up with a phone call to them today at lunch.
    (nerve wracking to say the least)

    In the meantime I need to make sure that I have everything ready to go to print on Saturday. Which means finishing colouring the last page of Sam Hawke. Once that's completed, I can work on everything else that I have to get ready.
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