Diary Comics with Prompts

 

11/11/24 Memory and imagination (Ha-ha -- I just realized I drew the envelope wrong!
Sometimes the simplest things. . . )

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’ve sometimes felt disengaged from my comics-based sketch journaling process. My single-panel, sketch-plus-words format is OK for documenting something, but it can feel static (see below; cutline contains a potential idea). One-offs have no sense of sequence or the passage of time, which is part of what defines comics (according to Scott McLeod). When they weren’t made on location, my past attempts at autobiographical comics with multiple panels have been hit-or-miss. I usually tried the traditional three-panel story arc, but often my “story” didn’t feel like it had enough of a narrative arc, and I was forcing it to fit. I didn’t know what I needed. I wanted more structure . . . but not too much!

Earlier the same day, I had made this single-panel
comics about the interaction with the leaf raker. I like
 the implied simile of the leaves and the papers I recycled,
but I had to do it with words, not images. The multi-panel
approach lacks the simile, but rearranging the panels
might put it back in. Hmmm... something to think about.

In a recent YouTube video, Drewscape showed how he uses self-made prompts to structure his diary comics. The prompts can be changed easily to suit his subject matter for the day, so the format is not overly structured. At the same time, the prompts offer questions to respond to, so it’s easier than facing a totally blank page (or, in my case, a blank mind).

Shown at top of post is my first diary comics using Drew’s format. Using an old A5-size Moleskine sketchbook, I quickly drew a grid and chose the following six prompts: something I did; something I saw; a conversation (two middle panels); something that made me happy; something I ate. There’s no particular sequence for the events – except for the conversation, the panels could be rearranged on the page without changing the meaning – but I still have some sense of the passage of time.

Although it wasn’t necessary for the format, I also followed the spirit of Drew’s approach by drawing straight in with ink instead of planning first with pencil. I kept it simple by avoiding fussing about shading and other rendering tactics. I also avoided drawing myself, which is perhaps a comics cop-out, but it also helped me keep things moving instead of getting bogged down with how to draw myself. (Do you miss seeing me, as the narrator, in these panels? Should I draw myself more?)

I am especially pleased that I did all six panels from memory and imagination – no photo assist. That’s a big deal to me because I am always trying to practice drawing more from my head, and it’s always extremely challenging. This felt relatively effortless because I kept the drawings simple.

The only way in which I strayed from his format was that I didn’t label each panel to indicate the prompt, such as “Something that made me happy.” I didn’t have enough space in the small panels, and I think the prompts are implied anyway.

On this particular day, I had enough to fill six panels. That’s probably not always going to be the case, but then I can always choose other prompts – or make fewer panels. (Drew’s video notes include other potential prompts, and I can always make more of my own.) Of course, this six-panel page took longer to draw than my previous single panels, but I definitely found the result more satisfying and engaging. Although I probably won’t do it every day (and I give myself permission not to!), I am going to give this format a solid try for a while to see how it goes.

Healing Comics

 

4/26/24

When my interest in making diary comics was reignited last spring, one idea I had was that the comics format would be a way for me to process my feelings about my difficult years as Greg’s caregiver. In the seven months since he moved to assisted living, I’ve been making comics occasionally about my experiences and feelings as they were occurring; beginning with the present and working backward can be an effective approach to facing the past.

4/28/24

In the meantime, I read autobiographical comics (one favorite is Pittsburgh by Frank Santoro) and graphic novels (Fumio Obata’s Just So Happens is a stunning example) by various artists to get ideas.

5/1/24

In the back of my mind as I read, I tried to form narrative approaches to telling my caregiving stories. I knew that writing a book in this format, especially with little experience drawing comics, would be a huge undertaking that could take years.

5/6/24

What would be the purpose of making such a book? Primarily, self-therapy and recovery. Secondarily, autobiographical comics on the subject of dementia and dementia caregiving are probably rare (I could find only one). if I decided to make my book public, it could be helpful to other caregivers.

5/12/24

After much consideration, I’ve decided that reliving and re-experiencing feelings through writing, while potentially healing, would be too painful. I didn’t want to make the commitment of time and energy required to complete or even start it. Maybe someday, after time has done its healing work, I might reopen the idea. But for now, it’s closed.

5/19/24

Despite that, I have found the diary comics format to be helpful in processing current feelings. Shown here are some I’ve made since February.

6/2/24

8/29/24

Dejunking

 

8/9/24 Preserve & Gather, Crown Hill neighborhood

You may recall that I’ve been hauling stuff to Goodwill. It’s not just a sporadic thing; I’m on a huge mission to dejunk, unclutter and ultimately downsize my house. I won’t be moving for a long time, but I’m making a few long-needed home improvements that will require moving nearly all the furniture, so I’m taking advantage of that need to rearrange and change some of the rooms’ functions. (Some plans are purely functional, but others are exciting! More will be revealed eventually.) My goal is to make one trip per week to Goodwill or other charities.

Seeing and using roomy closets, drawers and cabinets are truly satisfying, making the project self-rewarding. Who knew that drawers were meant to slide open and closed without effort! However, I’ve only been at it a month, and I know it’s going to be hard to stick with this lengthy process. To stay motivated, I’ve been rewarding myself with sketching and noshing on treats after I’ve finished my weekly haul.

8/23/24 Doce Donut Boston Creme (imagination and memory)

Takeout only at Doce, which means "dozen"
in Spanish

Ideally, I like to sketch on location wherever I’m enjoying the treat, but Doce Donut Company (review at end of post) is a storefront only without seating, so I had to bring my Boston Crème home. For that page, I decided to sketch a few items that went out in that week’s haul. Although I do occasionally take photos of certain items that are meaningful to me before I get rid of them, these sketches were done from memory and imagination. (The salad shooter was an especially humorous exercise! I know I could have Googled for images, but that tool, which I used maybe only once or twice decades ago, was weird enough that I thought I’d try it completely from vague memory and mostly imagination.)

Of note here is that the week’s haul included four bags of art and craft materials, most of which were bad colored pencils I’d used briefly to review. Some were so bad that I would have felt guilty giving them to other sketchers at the next Gab & Grab! I feel good, however, giving them to Seattle ReCreative, a non-profit that sells donated materials to support schools and community organizations.

Art materials that I know I will never use again are low-hanging fruit in my downsizing efforts. The tough job will be all the many, many products I own that are decent to use but usually aren’t what I reach for. I could be happy with them – but they aren’t my favorites. Arrgggh – so many fall in that category.

I think I’ve finished the low-hanging fruit in most areas of my house by now – the clothes closets, kitchen, multiple junk drawers and even some books were surprisingly easy. Much harder and more time-consuming (and next to come) will be papers that require examining carefully (can they be tossed or do they need to be shredded?), expensive items (give away or try to sell?), some books, and items with sentimental value. Oh yeah, and all those art supplies.

Related to that: Writing product reviews has been an enormously fun part of this blog, but necessary to my downsizing mission will be drastically reducing (but certainly not eliminating) the number of new products I bring in. Sadly, that means fewer reviews, but my blog is still rewarding to me in many other ways, so I’m not concerned about the change in terms of my own satisfaction. If you follow my blog mainly for reviews, I hope you won’t be too disappointed by the change. Thanks for staying with me!

Doce Donut Review

Boston Creme made with a brioche dough -- yum!

No, I don’t intend to replace art supply reviews with donuts (at least donuts wouldn’t take up space in my house, but they would on my hips), but after last June’s personal donut tour of Portland, I couldn’t resist offering my thoughts on Doce Donut. Startlingly, this small local chain with a shop located only a couple of miles from home in the Fremont neighborhood had been off my radar until only recently! How that happened is a mystery, but you can bet I put it on my list of dejunking reward venues.

The other amazing thing is how I learned about Doce in the first place: Instagram had “recommended” a post from a young woman who had taken the Underground Donut Tour in Seattle! Whaaat??! How was that off my radar? (And shouldn’t I be leading it?) Upon further research, however, the tour sounded like a tourist rip-off: Participants walk from Belltown to Pike Place Market, sampling four donut shops in two hours, all for $60. That sounds a bit steep, and even I can’t eat four donuts in two hours (though I might not object to trying). More to the point, I was familiar with all but Doce, so joining the tour made no sense. I needed to test Doce on my own. (It turns out that donut tours are a popular attraction, and you can take one all over the US and outside it, too.)

Like my top pick Blue Star in Portland, Doce’s donuts are made of a raised brioche dough, which typically contains butter and eggs. (And also like Blue Star, Doce offers vegan options that are more like traditional donuts.) Although they offered at least seven or eight varieties the morning I was there, including a Churro Dulce de Leche that I considered for a while, I picked a classic Boston Crème. Holy smokes, that went down easy – light, not dense, and not overly sweet. It’s a good thing they don’t have comfy seating with a good sketching view – I’d be there way too often.

Diary Comics Catch-Up

 

5/20/24 imagination

5/24/24 Green Lake neighborhood

My diary comics continue, though not necessarily regularly. If I’ve had a typical day of the “usual” sketches made on location (especially now that the weather has been terrific), that usually takes care of my need to document my day. But sometimes things happen that I can’t sketch on the spot, and I still want to record them. That’s when I sketch from either photos or memory. I enjoy the “shorthand” of documenting visually instead of with words, which are fast and efficient but also feel dry and flat compared to sketches.

It’s fun to see the page colors change through these four weeks as I go through different Uglybooks.

All sketches in this post were made from life except as noted.

5/24/24 This page and the next one were made on the bus; I was trying to see whether
it was possible to use my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen on a very rough transit ride.

5/24/24

5/31/24 photo references (not much resemblance to any of us!)

6/4/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

6/14/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood

6/16/24 At my barber's shop, Wedgwood neighborhood

6/19/24 I went to a very informative presentation on how to downsize and get rid of stuff!

Diary Comics: Enjoying the Process

5/7/24 Imagination

Although I’m not making them daily as I was during my 30-day self-challenge, I’m pleased to say that I am still making diary comics almost daily, which is good enough for me. I don’t want to be compulsive about keeping up with any activity; I just want to be confident that I enjoy a new habit enough that it will continue to “stick.” Indeed, I enjoy thinking about ideas for diary comics, even if I don’t complete one each day. The ongoing thinking is a big part of the creative process and a worthwhile challenge.

5/4/24 Memory and photo reference

A few more learnings and breakthroughs:

• I’m relieved that combining drawings from life and drawings from imagination or memory in the same comics has become a seamless, liberating experience. (This was a big hurdle when I first began.) If I were pressuring myself to make all sketches from live observation, I definitely wouldn’t be making as many comics. In addition, some panels would not accurately illustrate what I want them to because I’d be limited by what I can see or draw at the time. Under pressure, they would definitely be less fun.

• I’m starting to care less about drawing quality and more about the story. While I always want my drawings to be as good as I can make them, if they aren’t quite right but they communicate what I’m trying to say, that’s good enough for diary comics. I certainly wouldn’t re-draw them any more than I would edit a journal entry.

5/13/24 Top sketch done on location; others from imagination and photo reference

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!

Metro Market Comics: Real Time and Memory

4/21/24 Crown Hill Metro Market

When Ching and I got together last week, it turned into an opportunity for both a real-time diary comic (Drewscape’s term for sketching on location with a comic approach) and a memory-based one. The first spread (above) is the “story” of things I saw at Crown Hill’s Metro Market café as we chatted and snacked.

Later that day when I was taking a walk, I started thinking about an encounter we had at the café (below). My page layout isn’t too pretty, but I’m pleased that the spread is a sequence of scenes forming a story arc. In addition, the text and images provide complementary information without being redundant. Reading the classic book about the comics genre, Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud, I’m learning that those elements are central to the definition of comics.

Yay – a successful diary comic!

4/21/24 comic diary from memory

Woman Who Walks Cats

 

4/20/24 diary comic from memory

For the second half of my 30-day self-challenge to make daily diary comics, I have been focusing on developing narrative – whether the content is drawn on location or drawn from memory or imagination. This one from last Saturday is the best example so far of the kind of comics I am aspiring to: written and drawn from memory but based on actual observations and experiences – and no self-absorbed bellybutton gazing.

Walking home through my favorite alley, I met a woman and her two cats. After our brief interaction, I couldn’t wait to get home to draw the diary comic as quickly as possible while the images were still fresh in my memory. My comic compadre Roy and I regularly exchange comics, ideas and resources and discuss the genre. He made the excellent suggestion that my comic would have benefited from a third panel showing the woman and her cats walking away, for example. The three-panel beginning, middle and end is a classic story arc that works well with almost everything. I concur that it would have been better to end with a third image. My limitation in this case was the page size and format. I couldn’t fit another sketch on the page (the other half of the spread had already been used for other sketches), and it didn’t seem “right” visually to put a lone sketch on the next page. Planning sketches on a comic page layout is similar to planning a composition – both of which take practice! But I’m learning and loving the practice.

4/17/24 memory sketch

Speaking of practice, sometimes I make sketches that don’t get as far as becoming comics, but I still benefit from the practice. Shown here is a scene I witnessed on a different walk. Spotting a bunny, a man’s dog suddenly went ballistic, startling everyone involved, including me. It might become a comic someday, but it was important to capture the gestures right after my walk while still fresh.

Evolution of a Comic Diary

 

2/5/24 Most of my early sketch journal/comic diary entries were simple observations I had made that day, usually on my walks.

Late last year I quietly (that is, by not sharing the results on social media) restarted the sketch journal habit that I had previously let fall to the wayside several times. Keeping it up daily, I reported on my progress in January.

3/6/24 I still find it especially challenging to imagine and 
then draw myself in various scenarios.

Around the same time, Drewscape’s YouTube videos and his comic book approach to urban sketching opened my mind to telling stories with multiple small scenes on a page. As often happens on the YouTube rabbit trail, I then became intrigued by the comic diaries of Drewscape and others. In fact, I revisited my own exploration of Lynda Barry’s books on comic diaries a few years ago. With all of these fascinating methods and ideas for telling personal, visual stories crashing around in my brain, my daily sketch journal habit began to morph organically (without my pushing consciously in one direction or the other). To reinforce the habit and encourage more organic morphing, I challenged myself (again, quietly) to make a comic diary entry daily for 30 days beginning April 1.

Since I’m more than halfway through the month, it’s a good time to share some of my progress and process (which actually interest me more than whatever results I may end up with).

As with other self-challenges, my objective is to avoid naval-gazing (which I do enough of in my written journal) and stick as much as possible to sensory-based observations and related thoughts. Although internal monologs are unavoidable when one considers the diary format, which by definition is writing for oneself, I try to minimize that.

4/2/24 More observations

With travel planned for the first week of April, I was afraid I’d have difficulty keeping up with my self-challenge while I was away from my usual routines. Instead, travel turned out to be an ideal opportunity for a comic diary. With ongoing family activities, I couldn’t always sketch when I wanted to or spend as much time as I might if I were alone, but I made mental notes to sketch from memory later. The small sketches were easy to make during moments of downtime. I also used my photos as memory prompts and sometimes for reference.

4/8/24 A comic diary page I made from photo references and memory.

As you can see from the examples shown in this post, some entries are nothing more than crudely illustrated notations similar to my original pandemic scribble journal. They hardly resemble “comics,” even the single-panel type. Although I’ve made some attempts at using a theme (“Things I Missed/Didn’t Miss While Traveling,” below), I still have difficulty with developing a story arc visually. (As a lifelong writer, I find it ironic and frustrating that it’s much easier for me to do that with words.) That’s my goal for the rest of the month.

4/11/24 A "theme" comic from imagination

The closest I’ve come to any kind of “narrative” is the page I made after I met a friend for brunch in West Seattle’s Admiral District (below). You already saw the sketches I made on location the same day; it was an additional challenge not to duplicate what I had already sketched from life. The comic diary page (made from memory and photos) has a behind-the-scenes feeling to it – editorializing about the sketches from life. I didn’t plan to do this, but it was another organic outcome: Making the urban sketches first helped to give narrative to the diary page.

4/14/24 Based on memory and photo references, this comic diary page
is "behind-the-scenes" of the urban sketches made earlier that day.

I recently had a V-8 moment which would probably amuse others: For most of my urban sketching life (which began in 2011), I’ve been very strict with myself about keeping the sketches I make from direct observation “pure.” For example, I would never start a sketch on location, then finish it at home by embellishing it with imaginative details or polishing it up by using photo references. Unlike many urban sketchers, I don’t even add color later. It’s just my personal policy: A sketch begun onsite is finished onsite.

In the same vein, making a comic diary that includes sketches done from life alongside those made from memory or imagination was unacceptable to me. I seemed to have an unconscious desire to protect the Urban Sketchers philosophy from getting muddied (as an admin for USk Seattle, I have enough work trying to explain that philosophy to new members regularly). To avoid potential confusion, I simply kept memory/imagination sketches segregated from urban sketches.

Suddenly one day, it hit me: This is my diary, for cryin’ out loud! Most pages will not be seen by others, let alone judged for mixing urban sketches with imaginative ones. Heck, I could put sketches made from photo references right there on the same page as an urban sketch! Lightning will not strike me down!

4/13/24 The statue of James W. Washington, The Brothers and the magnolia blossom were sketched from life. The donut and poke bowl were sketched from memory -- and all of it on the same page! Lightning did not strike me!

You’re laughing, I know. I’m sure most people never think twice about mixing sketches made from a variety of sources. But after being a dyed-in-the-wool urban sketcher exclusively for most of my sketching life, evolution comes slowly.

As for materials, I am staying simple: a brush pen or other black marker in whatever is my current daily-carry Uglybook sketchbook.

Using one Uglybook as a chronological sketchbook/comic diary
makes it easy to complete in two or three weeks.

Speaking of that, I am keeping up my personal pledge to completely fill each Uglybook before switching to a new color. Although I sometimes miss the fun of jumping from color to color, the much larger benefit is that I am maintaining chronological continuity in that one book.

I still use my daily-carry A6 Hahnemühle sketchbook when I want to use color, and I also occasionally use an A5 Hahnemühle when I want a larger page, especially with watercolor or chunky Derwent Inktense Blocks. With multiple sketchbooks, I can’t keep all sketches in chronological order, but I enjoy filling the Uglybook every day with something – a sketch on location; a sketch from memory, imagination or photo reference; a comic diary entry. (Another benefit is that I complete each 48-page Uglybook much faster now – in only two or three weeks.) It’s something I’ve always wanted to do for a long time but couldn’t figure out a way to make it work. That makes it especially satisfying now.

Dallas, Part 3: Travel Comic Diaries

4/5/24 On my flight to Dallas, I ruminated on my lunch, my flight entertainment, and my flight discomforts.

Just as Drewscape has inspired me to take a comic book approach to urban sketching, he has also prompted me to try my hand at making comic diaries. I have another post planned soon about how my latest sketch journal process has been morphing gradually into a comic diary, so I won’t get into the nitty-gritty here. However, I was surprised to find that my trip to Dallas turned out to be an excellent opportunity to explore comic diary approaches. Shown here are two page spreads I made on a flight and during a layover in Phoenix.

4/9/24 During a long layover and on the flight, I again ruminated on my lunch, a girl I had overheard on the walkway, and other observations.

The Conscious Decision to Draw

 

You probably think I’m obsessed with drawing dogs and cats lately – from photos and now from memory. I’m not really obsessed; it’s more that animated things seem to be easier for me to recall than houses or trees. It probably helps, though, that I’ve been observing a lot of pups and kitties.

Most of these are not much more than the animal equivalent of stick figures, but in several cases I didn’t draw until a couple of days after seeing the animal, and very briefly at that, so I think they aren’t too bad. For me, the key seems to be in making a conscious decision to draw from memory later. For example, if I just glance at a dog without the intention to draw it, the image of it disappears fairly quickly. But by making the decision to draw, even if I don’t have more time to study it than the same glance, my brain must go into “observational drawing” mode, and I retain more. Something like that?

Or maybe I’m overthinking this (as usual), and I’m really doing nothing more than what children do all the time: draw from a combination of memory and imagination. In any case, my latest sketch journaling attempt has turned into a fun yet challenging exercise.

This young dog sat for quite a while, looking at the attached human,
who eventually gave the pup a treat. That's when I realized training
was taking place. Who's a good boy!