On-Location Comics: A Sequence of Being Alive

 

4/21/24 Maple Leaf and Northgate

A couple of months ago when I first viewed Drewscape’s video about how he makes urban sketches as if they are comics, it blew my brain wide open. A short time later, he made another brief video about an activity he calls “real-time” autobiographical comics –basically sketching on location and completing a diary comic on the spot instead of further refining it in the studio later. While I’ve had intermittent interest in comics for a few years, what Drew was talking about opened my mind in a new and different way.

As is my habit whenever a creative idea grabs me, I dove in deep, first on the Internet (which was mostly unsatisfying) and then in books. I’ve had my nose buried in three of Scott McCloud’s books ever since: Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics and Making Comics. Will Eisner’s Comics and Sequential Art, which preceded McCloud’s books, has long been considered “the bible” of comics creation. However, I think McCloud not only goes deeper and wider in his probe of all things comics-related; I also find his books to be more readable and less academic than Eisner’s.

Other books I am planning to re-read are Lynda Barry’s Making Comics, Syllabus and Picture This. I had initially devoured these “bibles” of autobiographical comic-making a few years ago when I was working on developing imaginative drawing skills.

Although I’ve read a few graphic novels that I’ve enjoyed, I’m hardly well-read or knowledgeable of comics, especially fictional stories. For example, I’m not sure I’ve ever read an entire action/adventure superhero-type comic book. As always, my primary interest is in urban sketching, and my fascination is with how it can be approached as a non-fiction comic – a form of autobiographical comic.

4/24/24 Maple Leaf and Northgate

Throughout my reading of McCloud’s books, I kept getting hung up about two aspects of comic-making that he believes are integral: the “sequential” nature of comic art and the “story” aspect. A comic tells a story through a sequence of drawings (and usually, but not always, with words). Yet when sketching on location without the opportunity to edit or rearrange panels later, it is very difficult to know what the sequence should be or what the “story arc” will be (in a traditional fictional way).

McCloud is very clear about one thing: The medium of comics is not defined by content. Any type of content can be presented in comic form if the result falls within the definition that his vast research (not to mention geeky pondering) has led to:

Comics (n.) plural in form, used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.

I could have chosen to be like Drew and simply enjoy sketching on location with a comic approach (he doesn’t discuss the concepts that trouble me; he just happily sketches). But I’m too much of a geek myself and maybe also a bit of an academic: If anything could be comics, then I wanted to understand the comics genre enough to find a way to make comics from urban sketches. (I also enjoy the study to find the answer.)

It was obvious from both McCloud’s and Eisner’s books that sequence is a key criterion to qualify as comics. McCloud goes so far as to state that single-panel comics appearing frequently in newspapers (he showed The Family Circus as an example), which typically include a drawing with words, technically do not qualify as comics because one drawing is not a sequence.

4/28/24 Maple Leaf

If I made a series of related urban sketches (all from the same location and within a small span of time, for example) and put them with words, would that qualify as comics? Drew would probably say yes, and I wanted to, but I was troubled by the term “deliberate sequence” in McCloud’s definition. If I rearranged the sketches, wouldn’t my page of panels have the same effect? I might have a common theme, but if there’s no story arc to determine the sequence, it’s not a deliberate sequence, is it? Hmmm.

4/29/24 Northgate

I kept reading, and the answer came in McCloud’s second book, Reinventing Comics: the Evolution of an Art Form, which continues where Understanding Comics left off. I realized that I had been taking the term “sequence” too literally – a series in a particular order such as A, then B, then C. Showing a simple example, McCloud indicates that a “sequence” does not necessarily have to follow a story arc or logic:

For even a few simple lines, when placed in sequence, can capture the rhythm of the unbidden images our eyes encounter every day.

In the very next panel (all of McCloud’s books are written in an ingenious comics form), he puts to rest the other aspect that I had found troubling:

The rhythm, not of a narrative, a story, or a play put on for our benefit, but of the simple experience of being alive on Earth.

From Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud
(apologies for the poor image; the book will not lie flat in my scanner,
so I had to shoot it with my phone)

What is an urban sketch if not a drawn observation of the simple experience of being alive?

And with that, I felt satisfied: My urban sketches – the simple stories from my walks – can be comics, too.

Geek-worthy study

Diary Comic Challenge Follow-up

 

4/22/24 I paused Fran's recorded Facebook yoga class to draw these poses.

As reported mid-month, I gave myself a challenge to draw a diary comic daily for the 30 days of April. Although I completed the challenge, some “comics” were not much more than single panels of sketches accompanied by words. I tried to up my game the second half of the month by working toward a story arc in each comic or at least some kind of narrative. Again, some were hardly worthy of being deemed “comics” (reading Scott McCloud’s books has significantly raised the esteem of the comic genre in my mind). However, I did learn a lot from my practice, and I think it shows in these, which are the best of the second half of April.

4/24/24 Drawn from memory and imagination

In addition to the regular practice, an important goal of the self-challenge was to see if I even liked making diary comics. Indeed, I enjoyed it very much and intend to continue – maybe not necessarily daily but often enough to maintain the habit. As long as I continue to grow creatively and learn from it, any activity is worth doing.

Drawn from imagination and photo reference.

(Some comics I am not sharing because they are, after all, my diary and therefore personal. However, I probably will share some eventually as my exploration of diary comics continues.)

5/1/24 I didn't get around to making a comic on April 30, so I finished up on May 1. Although these were drawn mostly from memory, for the last one I Googled "dog peeing" images to check my work. Studying the images impressed me! Dogs keep their heads low to shift more weight to the front and improve their balance -- just like I do in some yoga poses. Drawing from close observation always results in learning!

Seattle Chinese Garden for International USk Week

 

5/1/24 Seattle Chinese Garden

When I looked at my blog to see when I had last sketched at Seattle Chinese Garden, I was surprised to find that it was six years ago. I think USk Seattle has met there since, but I must have missed that outing. In any case, it felt familiar yet fresh to be back there again with other sketchers.

Since the garden’s annual Peony Festival is next weekend, we were all hoping we’d see some blooms, but our recent weeks of cold must have discouraged the flowers. I know how they feel, since I was fully dressed for winter – sweater, down parka, gloves – and I was still chilly from the brisk wind, even though the sun was out. As a result, my choice of sketch subjects on Wednesday morning were determined by whether I could stand in the sun.

I began with a curved pavilion rooftop where Tom was sketching (upper right, top of post) and a peek of the “Dragon Seeker” stone sculpture (lower right), which was made in Thailand more than a century ago. (I sketched more of the carp the first time I visited the garden in 2015).

Wandering through different parts of the garden, I came upon a bamboo grove with lovely sunlight filtering through. Of course, a scene like this begs for watercolor, to which I sighed and conceded. As usual, I felt the obligatory tug to use a medium that would be a struggle but that also compels me (below).

Bamboo at Seattle Chinese Garden

Relieved to be done with that, I continued wandering the well-tended garden and made two more additions to my main comic-y spread. It’s always satisfying to put a few finishing borders and captions on.

I busted open a fresh Uglybook this week. The blue
pages are darker than I prefer for the toned way I like
to work in these, but my current comic format is more
flexible, so we'll see how it goes.

In case you can’t read the sticker (made by Kate), May 1 – 7 is International Urban Sketchers Week (see the hashtag #USkWeek2024). Sketch groups around the world are having events this week to raise awareness of USk and, of course, to sketch together as we did.

Caffe Ladro with Soundtrack

4/26/24 Caffe Ladro, Roosevelt neighborhood

After sketching at Caffe Ladro last week, I looked back at the sketches I had made the last time I was there. The subject matter I chose was mostly the same, as was the basic style (using colored Uglybook paper in a tonal way). But composing a variety of snippets together on a single page somehow gives them more of a theme, as if they belong together and are not random.

Reading Scott McCloud’s books on comic design has made me more aware of sounds as a part of the medium. Like “BAM!” and “CRACK!” and other noises comic super heroes make as they bash their enemies, all sounds in comics must be evoked with written words. Caffe Ladro was playing a steady ‘70s soundtrack that day, so I put some lyrics in the borders.

I don’t know if McCloud would say that I’m making comics, but my urban sketches have taken on a different dimension influenced by a comic style. As someone who was never interested in comics as a kid (let alone as an adult), it surprises me that the style appeals to me so much. But like anything in art, inspiration sometimes comes from unexpected sources if we stay open to it.

This dog didn't make it into the comic, but he was still worth sketching.

H Mart Food Court

 

4/25/24 H Mart food court, Lynnwood

Roy and I are both on fire with diary comics. This time we met at the H Mart food court in Lynnwood for lunch, comic talk and real-time comic-making. My goal was to look for a visual story and create the story arc on the fly, but I didn’t find one. It’s OK, though, because I had a lot of fun sketching small food court scenes and arranging them in a visually appealing, comic-y way. I think of any drawing like that as good practice for when I do see a story.

Sorry that I had to cut the spread to make the images large enough to be readable. In this case, it doesn’t matter if you read left to right first or top to bottom. But if sequence were important (as it should be for a true comic), I couldn’t necessarily cut it as I did. You can see the full spread below.

Technical note: Sometimes I feel cramped by the page-spread size of my usual A6-ish-size Uglybook, so this time I grabbed a larger-size Uglybook to see how that feels. It’s exactly double the size, and its opened-up landscape format has a long and narrow comic strip feel. I wouldn’t take this size on my walks, but it’s ideal for places like cafes and food courts where I have a table.

The full spread and the media I used: Pilot Juice and other acrylic pens and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Dual Pens.

Downtown Mill Creek

 

4/23/24 Downtown Mill Creek

After a meeting with Gabi Campanario in Mill Creek, I had an opportunity to explore this small suburb about 20 miles north of Seattle. Starting at the Saw Mill Café where we had lunch, I wandered down Main Street and around the town center. A short walk away is the entrance to North Creek Trail, with the creek below and surrounded by trees. The town was so peaceful and quiet that it felt like 6 a.m.

By 2 p.m. when I was getting ready to leave, it was warm enough to take the top down. On my Interstate 5 drive north, I saw a stunning view of Mt. Baker, which I can’t see at all from Seattle. On the way home, Mt. Rainier was out in all her glory. How fortunate I felt to live in an area where I can see two spectacular peaks coming and going.

Yowza! That was one fabulous avocado toast!

About that avocado toast mentioned in my sketch notes? Holy-moly, check it out at right! It’s a far cry from the usual piece of bread with a few green slices!

Technical notes: I meant to sketch these vignettes with a comic-like design, but it turned into one of my least attractive attempts at that. I tried to cram too much on the page and ended up with a mess. In addition, my color choices weren’t the best. I like the bright red Flair Dual Felt Pen, but the green Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen Dual Tip Marker couldn’t stand up to the red or the yellow Uglybook.

The Shapes of South Lake Union

 

4/27/24 South Lake Union

Spheres selfie

Although the wind and drizzle made Saturday morning feel colder than 51 degrees, USk Seattle made a good turnout at South Lake Union. With rain in the forecast for the throwdown time, I was glad I had gotten a tip from Gabi about The Stumpery, which has a large sheltered area. Part of Amazon’s Urban Arboretum near the Spheres, The Stumpery is a collection of old-growth cedars that originated in the Olympic Peninsula. Some as old as 500 years when they died, the stumps attracted several sketchers (one made a cameo appearance next to the Space Needle in my sketch).

The star of the sketch outing was the vintage Elephant Super Car Wash sign. Amazon received the sign from car wash owner Bob Haney after the business closed in 2020. A beloved Seattle icon for more than 60 years, the elephant gave several sketchers an opportunity for a pop of pink.

In my favorite way lately, I walked around the South Lake Union area dominated by Amazon buildings and tried to capture a variety of small shapes and textures (top of post). Although the Amazon Spheres were another favorite subject among sketchers, I had sketched them often enough in the past that I didn’t feel compelled to sketch them again. Instead, I made a selfie reflected in the Spheres’ geodesic glass panes.

By the time I filled the spread, my gloveless hands were starting to complain. I retreated to Kitanda Coffee to warm them up and finish writing the captions on my urban sketching comic page.

Ameya, Natalie and me at Shake Shack.

After the outing, Natalie and I stopped for lunch at Shake Shack, where we met Ameya. He had missed the throwdown, so it was fun to share sketches over lunch and do a little more sketching as we chatted.

4/27/24 Shake Shack with Natalie and Ameya. (In case you're wondering, SLUT stands for South Lake Union Trolley.)

Despite the cold and rain, it was a terrific day of sketching with my tribe in a part of downtown that’s full of dynamic urban shapes.