Thank you for this. It's the only thing that so few artists on social media acknowledge: their human fraility. Creativity can't, nor shouldn't, be a barrage of 24/7 output. Great art needs the time to ruminate and revise, otherwise it's a one way path to burnout or worse. (Like Wally Wood, for example.) I wish the public and publishers would understand this. Unfortunately AI and social media have distorted the reality of human creativity, but again, thank you for helping to reel in expectations back to a human level. Although to be honest, I'm always amazed by your prodigious output, but obviously don't let it negativity impact you. Your true fans will patiently wait for your brilliance.
I definitely relate. Having muscular dystrophy (congenital myopathy), my energy and strength levels can turn on me at any time. It has been a big barrier for me to do artwork at times as just setting things up to draw can be too much for me. I try to do other things, sketching or just reading/researching. Unfortunately at times this can last a week or more and as creatives know that can sometimes be a death knell to something you have in your head for what you want to work on.
I remember reading an interview with Mike Royer where he said something similar. He'd do a little bit of work on each page, rather than trying to finish a whole page in one go. That way, if he was having an "off" day, the "bad" panels would be spread out (and therefore be less noticeable). I've tried to do comics that way ever since, although I have to fight my anal-retentive nature that makes me want to finish a page once I've started it...
Though not an artist (I'm a writer), I completely understand how chronic illness can affect the creative process. It was interesting to see your process and your persistence. Your love for your craft shines through your work. Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee is also one of my favorite books, and your completed Silver is beyond beautiful.
Oh wow, thanks for sharing. It’s been hard learning that health and self-maintenance is a big part of making art and can affect the work so drastically. Can’t just push through like in my 20s. Also I love Tanith Lee and that Silver is gorgeous ❤️
The problem of lengthening faces -- and figures -- because of drawing at the wrong angle is something I sometimes make for myself. In fact, I had started a drawing a couple of months ago, of three portraits around a figure of Lady Justice, with her scales and sword.
The light preliminary sketches of the three faces are okay (yeah, they need some moderation), but will need a little tweaking when I get to the details. But the figure of Justice was just not working. I had done the preliminaries all in one sitting. And when I stopped, sat back and studied what I had done, it was almost painful to realize that Justice was all out of proportion when compared the drawing with my reference piece. I had elongated her, especially her sword arm. It was as if the arm was of putty and had been pulled out. Yuck.
I had not been drawing with my line of sight perpendicular to the paper surface, but rather at an exaggerated angle (because I didn't have a proper drawing surface and was rather lounging and had braced the sketchbook at a merely comfortable angle. (Alas, my drawing table is in storage, and I don't have space for it in the room I'm renting.)
And that wasn't even a case of poor eyesight, just distorted proportions because of angle of sight. It looks fine from the angle you are drawing it, but when you then hold up the drawing to look at it straight on, it's like MAJOR OOPS!
(I'm going to have to erase what I did with Justice and redraw the figure. It was all sketched in super lightly, but it's still a major bother to redo it.)
In any case, I think that aspect of drawing is something we tend to overlook, so I'm glad you mentioned it.
Thank you for this. It's the only thing that so few artists on social media acknowledge: their human fraility. Creativity can't, nor shouldn't, be a barrage of 24/7 output. Great art needs the time to ruminate and revise, otherwise it's a one way path to burnout or worse. (Like Wally Wood, for example.) I wish the public and publishers would understand this. Unfortunately AI and social media have distorted the reality of human creativity, but again, thank you for helping to reel in expectations back to a human level. Although to be honest, I'm always amazed by your prodigious output, but obviously don't let it negativity impact you. Your true fans will patiently wait for your brilliance.
Felt every word of this one.
I definitely relate. Having muscular dystrophy (congenital myopathy), my energy and strength levels can turn on me at any time. It has been a big barrier for me to do artwork at times as just setting things up to draw can be too much for me. I try to do other things, sketching or just reading/researching. Unfortunately at times this can last a week or more and as creatives know that can sometimes be a death knell to something you have in your head for what you want to work on.
I remember reading an interview with Mike Royer where he said something similar. He'd do a little bit of work on each page, rather than trying to finish a whole page in one go. That way, if he was having an "off" day, the "bad" panels would be spread out (and therefore be less noticeable). I've tried to do comics that way ever since, although I have to fight my anal-retentive nature that makes me want to finish a page once I've started it...
Though not an artist (I'm a writer), I completely understand how chronic illness can affect the creative process. It was interesting to see your process and your persistence. Your love for your craft shines through your work. Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee is also one of my favorite books, and your completed Silver is beyond beautiful.
Oh wow, thanks for sharing. It’s been hard learning that health and self-maintenance is a big part of making art and can affect the work so drastically. Can’t just push through like in my 20s. Also I love Tanith Lee and that Silver is gorgeous ❤️
The problem of lengthening faces -- and figures -- because of drawing at the wrong angle is something I sometimes make for myself. In fact, I had started a drawing a couple of months ago, of three portraits around a figure of Lady Justice, with her scales and sword.
The light preliminary sketches of the three faces are okay (yeah, they need some moderation), but will need a little tweaking when I get to the details. But the figure of Justice was just not working. I had done the preliminaries all in one sitting. And when I stopped, sat back and studied what I had done, it was almost painful to realize that Justice was all out of proportion when compared the drawing with my reference piece. I had elongated her, especially her sword arm. It was as if the arm was of putty and had been pulled out. Yuck.
I had not been drawing with my line of sight perpendicular to the paper surface, but rather at an exaggerated angle (because I didn't have a proper drawing surface and was rather lounging and had braced the sketchbook at a merely comfortable angle. (Alas, my drawing table is in storage, and I don't have space for it in the room I'm renting.)
And that wasn't even a case of poor eyesight, just distorted proportions because of angle of sight. It looks fine from the angle you are drawing it, but when you then hold up the drawing to look at it straight on, it's like MAJOR OOPS!
(I'm going to have to erase what I did with Justice and redraw the figure. It was all sketched in super lightly, but it's still a major bother to redo it.)
In any case, I think that aspect of drawing is something we tend to overlook, so I'm glad you mentioned it.
Colleen draws some of the prettiest men in all of comics!
Thats something I wish we had more in the American comics scene.