 |
| 1/5/25 Autobiographical comics from imagination |
Here’s an autobiographical comics page I drafted a couple of
weeks ago. Although they look rudimentary, making all these sketches from
imagination took some doing. My intention was to eventually redraw the strip in
ink and maybe add color afterwards, but by the time I finished, I ran out of steam.
I never went back to it, and I’ve decided to call it good.
I think what happened here is the main reason I am a sketchbook sketcher and not a maker of “finished” works (the kind intended to be framed and hung on a wall). Some painters see all of their sketches as nothing more than preparatory studies for future works. Not me: Done is done. Once the fresh spontaneity and immediacy of a sketch (or first draft) are achieved, I lose whatever motivation I might have had initially to see it through to a more finished state.
My only regret with this strip is that I didn’t draw directly with ink the way I always do on location. I don’t have the same confidence when drawing from my head as I do from observation, so I feel like I need to be able to erase. Developing comics from imagination also takes more planning so that the strip follows a logical story arc. I could probably accomplish that step with a storyboard of small thumbnails instead of making complete drawings as I did here. Drewscape, my autobiographical comics hero, draws from his imagination directly with ink. Someday I hope to have enough experience under my belt that I’ll feel confident enough to do that, too.
Why can't I recreate on paper what I see so clearly in my head? Yes, I have the same issues with drawing from memory. I guess like everything else it takes practice. I'm not entirely sure drawing in pen rather than pencil helps. Maybe, as it can subconsciously instill an air of confidence. I've experienced that out urban sketching, used to always do a light pencil sketch first, and felt oh so bold the first time I went straight to pen . . . and it came out good!
ReplyDelete