WIP

This week’s doodle theme is fan art. I don’t really do much fan art. Probably because it reminds me of when I was a younger artist either tracing or copying and I got worried it’d be a crutch. Making fan art can be fun and I’ve seen some people who are great at taking existing characters and providing their own spin on them. Though I’m a little obsessive about staying on model, I’d like to try my hand at making little tributes to stuff I enjoy.

First on the list is Wreck-It Ralph which is a really cute little film. I think people tend to be harder on it because they were hoping for the video game equivalent of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? instead of taking the movie on it’s own. This one isn’t finished yet as most of the lines are done but shading/rendering (color?) hasn’t happened yet. My hand hurts too much so I’m sharing what I have right now.

This is the chapter that’s given me the most difficulty writing-wise. I knew I wanted it set in a space station and the first draft took place in a modern setting. That felt like it slowed things down so I started one that was more futuristic. Things still went too slowly as I didn’t know how to introduce the creepy elements like I wanted to. I believe I know how to approach this when I workshop these tougher stories.

Today’s doodle took a little figuring out. The scene was basically the same, just the framing and positioning went through a few passes. I also needed to decide exactly what was going on outside the window. This is another story I’m probably going to rewrite. I like the idea but the execution can benefit from a second attempt.

I’m feeling pretty good about this one. The idea’s solid and it’s coming along alright. My biggest issue here is I kept moving between the rough sketch color and the refined sketch color. It’s better to do scrawling on one layer and cleanup on another. But sometimes you’re fixing something and know exactly where you want to place something. There’s two modes my brain goes into: One where it’s scribbling to fill space and place objects, the other tightening up what’s established. I also realize how much I rely on the shift key in Photoshop where I lock brush orientation for straight lines. Manga Studio has rulers and the like but for rough sketches I just wing it to correct later. But that’s the nice thing about working digitally – you can add layers and correct as many times as it takes to get what you want.

This chapter right here represents a change from where the stories go from being largely visual to more dialogue-heavy. The more I think about it the more I want to re-write it. When I’m feeling better I’m going to take some time and retool some of the chapters I’m having issue with. I really like the concept, I just don’t like the angle I’ve taken with it.

Today’s doodle is for the chapter on greed. I look forward to contrasting this with the fleshed out version I’ll make when I’m not sick.

Today’s doodle is literally a doodle. I want to do more but I’ve come down with something and can’t stop hacking right now. I’ll probably stretch this series of doodle out another week so I can tighten up, ink, and actually finish them for the book.