Original Art Sundays No. 259: Sharp Invitations: Curt, p. 13

Posting on a Sunday again. That's good. Life remains hectic, but I turned a corner on a couple things in my personal life this week. I won't elaborate here. Suffice to say that some things are more manageable.
When we left our heroine (me) and Sara, I had just spoken my attraction to her.
Read on.

Just the facts, ma'am: That's exactly what she said to me before we kissed.
Sara was not the first trans woman I was interested in, but (not to deride her predecessor), she was the first one that mattered. The previous one was an act of desperation as my marriage was ending and I was feeling unloved and running scared. Was this also desperation as Curt's abuse began to manifest itself? Maybe on some level, but the most important thing to me was my attraction to her. Then and there, nothing else mattered.
To be completely clear, and for the umpteenth time, this is not how Sara looks, nor her proper name.
Technical notes: the inks were fairly cooperative today. When considering the background, I went with angled strokes, a technique I used on a page of A Private Myth years ago. It works to make the figures pop.
The lamp, however, is another story.
The intent was to anchor the setting with an element from the opposite side of the room, 90 degrees off. That way, when you see the lamp on the opposite side, you have a sense of motion and place.
Nice idea, but I don't think it works.
For one thing, while it's technically accurate, the lamp is pretty blah to look at, and adds very little visually. For another thing, it doesn't really communicate space the way I hoped it would. When I was done with it, I thought it was a separate and rather boring drawing that just happened to be on the same board. So I took the lamp out. Here is the result.

I hope you agree that it's better this way. I continue to work on my environments, but the old axiom remains valid. Sometimes less really is more.
I used one of my favorite devices here, making a complete border by dropping out opposite edges. I like that one. It gives a sense of unity, while still allowing plenty of air.
Materials used on this page:
Canson recycled Bristol board
Ellipse templates, triangle, T-square
Dr. Martin's Hi-CArbon Walnut Ink (continue to love this stuff)
Princeton #4 round synthetic brush (also rapidly becoming a favorite)
Crow quill pen and nib
Faber Castell 20% gray brush marker
Magic Rub eraser
Next: either the next page of this story or the long promised new Tranny Towers piece.

Original Art Sundays No. 249: Sharp Invitations: Curt, p.7

The next page is done, so here we go.
When last we left our heroine (me), she was happily surprised to find that Delia had told her boyfriend she was spending the night with her.
Read on.

Much I like here, a few things I don't. There's enough background/environment to give a sense of place, but not so much as to detract from the action. Just a hint of a dresser and a lamp (which I still have but now sits on my desk) to give a sense of place. I did some preliminaries in which my usual dresser top clutter was included, but decided it was too much of a distraction. This page is about one thing, and the dresser ain't it.
The layout is simple. Two panels without dividers, split by shift in viewpoint and in action, implying closely timed moments. I'm using the old trick of dropping borders to slow action, but using a partial overall border to contain and define the area.
I thought a lot about how raw to make the sex scene. I shied away from showing The Act, partially out of my own modesty (which will be blasted out of the water in upcoming pages anyway), and partially out of respect for Delia. If the real Delia is reading this, she's probably howling with laughter at that. Then again, maybe not. She always could surprise me.
I stole a bit of a Frank Miller trick in the first panel. In his image for the Images of Omaha collection, Miller used cast shadows on the bedding to define the form beneath. I could have pushed it further, but my art tends to be of the less is more school, and I'm good with where it ended up. The shadow creeping on the wall from the lamp still needs a bit of clarity- possibly I'll just use Photoshop, since everything else on the page is working very well.
After much consternation, I elected to completely remove the dark background on the two-shot in the bottom tier to concentrate on us girls.
Delia's comment was very telling. In the next page, I'll tell a bit more of her story, but not much, because it is HER story. While she once laughingly told me she'd share her story with anybody, that's her choice, not mine. Here, you get just enough that it helps define our relationship.
Again electing to work in ink rather than pencil. Curt's story (of which this is still part) will be told in pencils, inks, and photography. I just hope the bouncing between media doesn't detract from the flow.
Materials used on this page:
Canson XL Recycled Bristol.
#4 and #2 lead and lead holders
Magic Rub eraser
Pro-4100 India Ink. This stuff clogs my crow quill nibs like crazy, but it's great for brush work.
#1 Sable brush and #4 synthetic brush
Ames Lettering Guide (yes, really), 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 tech markers
Ellipse template
I'm emotionally raw today, as I prepare for a new class I'm teaching starting Wednesday night and am writing a very emotional postscript to the current work, possibly the most honest part of the whole book. Still, it feels good to stay on self-imposed schedule with this.
Next: more of Delia by way of Curt's story.

Original Art Sundays No. 248: Sharp Invitations: Curt, p. 6

Posting a day late. I anticipated being tired from Pride and completed this week's page in advance, but I didn't reckon with just HOW tired I'd be, so failed to post last night!
When last we encountered our heroine (me), she had met a charming and buxom young (and I do mean YOUNG) woman with a guitar in the Loring Park. Their hands touched.
This page has little overt trans content, beyond my presence, but is important in other ways. The event is the beginning of my re-asserting the bisexual/lesbian part of myself. I thought that, as a woman, that might and might not be part of who I was, and this part was the same scared little rabbit I was before coming out as trans.
It's amazing how many things we can hide when we're trying to be honest.
Read on.

 What I like about this page: the pacing and layout are right. Initially I had reservations about the sliced angled panels, but it struck me as a way to slow the moment down while maintaining the tension between the principals.
The line of music, loosely rendered, is an ersatz version of the melody to Holly Near's classic song How Bold. This is a song that I would play while dancing and exercising alone, while I lived with Curt, when I thought of Delia.
The trembling tails of the word balloons echo the tone of the moment- soft and eager, yet afraid the whole thing would fall apart at any moment.
It's worth noting that if Delia is reading this, she's probably howling with laughter. She's much more self-assured than this implies, and has such a fericously independent streak that she would NEVER say she belonged to anybody, as is implied in her last line here. But it's verbal shorthand for a very long, elaborate conversation we had that day.
What I don't like about this page: the backgrounds/environments are better, but still need work. The candle on the mantle gave me an excuse to stipple a bit, always fun. The backgrounds disappear in the second and third panels, replaced by a large grounding area of black. This is a little bit of a cop-out, but not much. In that moment, everything did fall away except the two of us, at least as I experienced it.
Also Delia's facial expression in panel two and mine in panel three are a bit wanting. I find drawing left face profiles very challenging. Judging from the few I've seen in comics in my research, I'm not alone in this.
We're coming up on a big scene in the next page. I've been stalling on it a bit, but the core of this work is honesty first, cutting myself slack second, so we'll jump in.
Net seven, as they say in the business world!

Original Art Sundays No. 247: Sharp Invitations: Curt, p.5

Beginning the post before midnight, so technically still a Sunday post!
I had a devil of a time resolving this page/section of the narrative. In the draft version, two major people enter my life and the relationship with Curt takes an unnerving turn, all on one page.
The more I looked at it, the more I realized that I was trying to rush through/gloss over one of the more awkward spots in my life, either before or after transition. That one page will now be four, possibly five pages. Given the scope of the events covered, that still may not be enough. The important thing is to let the story breathe, without bogging it down in tedium or omitting crucial information.
Here's the revised version of this page.
I'll post the original draft after I've completed this segment.

I'm also trying to get away from telling and getting back to showing. No flashback narrative on this page!
This page reverts to inks. I'm a bit rusty, and my inks were gummy, making use of a crowquill almost impossible, but it's a poor workwoman that blames her tools. I may redo this page yet again. I don't mind the rough, raw feel of the rendering of Loring Park in the first panel, but the building, shot straight on like that, looks rather flat.
I've changed the name and the appearance of the woman I met in the park that day, as I've not been in contact with her. I've been trying to let people know when they are included in the book. If I can't contact them, as is the case here, I'll make them anonymous, while holding on to the events in question.
Also hand lettering this page! With this sparse text, it seemed superfluous to letter digitally.
I will review the work when this chapter is complete, to see if it flows with the jump from pencil to ink. As alluded to in a previous post, the last page of this story has another jump in style, so I suspect it will be okay.
The poses in panel two are consistent with the idea that characters' positions should do at least as much to convey story as dialogue.
I debated the merits of throwing in a background texture on panel 3 and decided against it. Backgrounds/environments remain a tentative area in my work. But I like the rendering of the figures in panel 3. Just enough dry brush to make it interesting, and a good variation of line weight.
The last panel just fell into place. Once I realized I was concentrating on the hands touching (which, believe me, was a very potent moment!), the silhouette became the way to go. I do so love a good silhouette.
I'm working through detailing my past stupidity.
Understand me on this one. I don't think I was stupid to be with her, or to commit any of the actions that follow in this story. My stupidity is the same here as it is in most of my stories. If I had just been honest from the outset, I would have saved myself so much trouble!
But in order to be honest with somebody else, you have to be so to yourself first. And at that point, I wasn't there yet.
Next: page 6 of the expanded Curt story.

Original Art Sundays, No. 242: Queers and Comics Drink and Draw

After months of working two, sometimes three, jobs and dealing with writing assignments, I'm back in the art saddle, so to speak!
These illustrations happened as a result of my attending and participating in the Queers and Comics conference in San Francisco last weekend, which was possibly the best conference I've ever attended. In addition to my contributions to the Queers and Underground Comics and Trans Cartoonists Navigating the Industry panels being well received, I got to spend some time with old and dear friends, including Trina Robbins and Roberta Gregory, and make some unexpected new ones. The Queers and Undergrounds panel was satisfying in that I thought I had little to contribute compared to some of the luminaries on the panel, like Howard Cruse and Vaughn Fricke (with whom I later had a wonderful chat), but I held my own. And after the Trans panel, some folks asked where they could buy my books, so courtesy of the Dealer's Room, I sold come copies of Surrealist Cowgirls and the draft edition of Sharp Invitations.

The first night, Thursday, had an opening ceremony I passed on to share a couple drinks with my gracious host Noel in a Castro bar. However, I did attend an opening at Strut, a community health and wellness space for Gay, Bi, and Trans men that doubles as a gallery space.The opening of the work of Salvador Hernandez culminated in a Drink & Draw. The models were bears and leather boys. 

All the poses were short.

This was done before the poses had officially begun.
I was a bit apprehensive, as it's been a while since I've done live model drawing, but the key remains constant.
Remember the basics. Build the figure from the inside out, rather than trying to do an outline drawing. Looking around between sketches, I was surprised and dismayed to find so may artists trying to do an outline. The teacher in me wanted to take over, but I held myself back.
This was one of the most relaxed and easiest sketches. The subject sat relatively still for most of five minutes, enough to get a sense of mass and proportion and a sense of place.

The first official pose involved two models. This posed some foreshortening challenges, as one subject was prone while the other kneeled. I struggled with proportion issues on the feet for a while, then made the deliberate decision to concentrate on overall mass.
It was a special challenge to map lights and darks, since the light was gallery light- very bright and even, and offering few cast shadows! Still, something as simple as a hint of a cast shadow beneath a chair can do wonders in this arena.
As the note indicates, this was a 10 minute pose.
I wasn't particularly interested in facial expressions on these, but I did want to get a reasonably accurate sense of facial features and proportions.

This was part of the penultimate pose, another duo. I found the pose intriguing and the relative size variations of the two men a fun challenge.
I found myself losing my place in mapping the relative features and seemingly simple, yet not really so, proportions of the front and back gents. To try to remedy this, I went in with a brush tip marker and did some outlining in spot color. I think the decision to stick to one additional color was wise. Had I more time, I could have done some fun things with pushing background tones in both graphite and rust tones.
It should be mentioned that, aside from this one, these pieces are all done on marginal tooth sketchbook paper with #3 and #4 graphite pencils.
I was also the only person I saw using an eraser!
Please. It's not cheating to correct as you go. It's smart.
I took out quite a few construction lines, but elected to leave some in, as they add to the overall feel and energy of a piece sometimes.

The final pose of the evening was a complex interlocking of all the models- eight, I believe. The alternated facing front and back and linked arms behind the backs of the gent next to them.
I found this pose impossible. It was a fairly long pose, 15 minutes if memory serves, but I started three times and grew increasingly displeased with my results each time.
I made a deliberate decision to edit, and concentrated on a head shot of one of the leather men.
In retrospect, while this would have benefited from some background tone, I'm pretty happy with it as it is. There's a sense of confidence and repose in the face that I find very satisfying and reassuring. It's nice to end a session on a good note. While some might find it cheating to do a head shot in a figure drawing session, the reminder that this isn't a class applies to me too. The only people I'm answerable to in making my art are me and any clients/readers I may have.
Additionally, this is a good sketch, especially for the three minutes I took for it. Since photography was verboten during the session, you'll have to take my word that this is a reasonably accurate representation of the model's face.
At one point, I got frustrated by the barrage of testosterone I was drawing. This is not to disparage the models or the venue. I just wanted variety. At that point, I started drawing another artist, a young lesbian who was sitting directly across from me.

This is the first of two drawings I did of her. The second, which I liked much better, I gave to her. She left almost immediately after I did so!
When I saw her at the conference the next day, I apologized for my presumption and said I hoped I hadn't freaked her out. She replied no, she had to leave at that time as her girlfriend was picking her up. She added that both of them loved the drawing!
I'm very sad that this conference doesn't happen again for two years. I talked with one of the organizers, Jennifer Camper, about having one in the Midwest, ideally in Minneapolis. She opined that a smaller one might be a possibility. After watching her run about madly for three days, I could see her point. I still think it's a good idea. Not that I need another project, but I plan to bring this up to some friends and see if it goes anywhere.
Next new art: the anniversary sketch.

Original Art Sundays No. 131: Tranny Towers, Ch. 33

Only four left after this one! Another page I rather like.

Notes:
Could have pushed the darks farther in the "open background" panels, 4 5 and 6.
I had more plans for Leiko's sister that were never realized. Think about it. She came out before she was 9, in the late 1960s- gutsy kid! She's been through a thing or two. That doesn't excuse her tactlessness, but it does explain it to some extent.
The chapter title comes from a Peter Gabriel song on the "melt" album.
The cafe' where they're eating, Ruby's, was a fixture for me and Jenny. At Pride this year, I glanced across Loring Park and had a pleasant/sad moment looking at the space, occupied by a totally different business now. Amazon Bookstore, which was next door, has since moved a couple times and finally closed for good earlier this year.
This is another page which was chopped up and printed in irregular tiers without my knowledge.
Prior to doing the following episode, I was informed that the strip would most likely be cancelled. I altered the plot lines of the remaining strips accordingly.
Next: it burns....

Best comics of 2010: No. 7: Batwoman: Elegy (spoilers!)

There are spoilers in this post. The story's been kicking around for a while, but a caution seemed apropos.
An elegy is "a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead." That's the dictionary definition.
In Greg Rucka's stunning work, it's a lament for lost career, lost love and lost family, all lost to a gay woman's integrity.

But like all deaths, each implies the possibility of new life.
Kate Kane's relationship is lost to her nocturnal activities as Batwoman, a role she undertakes out of a sense of moral necessity. The first death. This is in itself a departure, as most who associate with Batman's mission do so in response to some sort of violation.
Kate's sister is lost to terrorists, the price of her father's military career. The second death. However, the sister resurfaces as the insane villain The White Queen, a sort of female Joker (though that description does not do her justice).
Kane's own military career is truncated by her honesty about being lesbian. She chooses to honor the cadet's code: a cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, nor suffer others to do so.  Like Margarithe Camameyer before her, she chose honor over career.
The last death.
Her choices were always moral, never easy.

Following her discharge, Kate meets Renee Montoya, closeted Gotham cop at the time of their meeting, who later assumes the mantle of The Question.
Like Bruce Wayne's parents, Kate is attacked by a mugger. Unlike them, her attempt at self-defense succeeds. Declaring herself a soldier, she looks up after her assailant has departed, sees a silent Batman, then the Bat signal, and knows what her next uniform will be.
This is strong on so many levels. It avoids the standard saw of a woman becoming a hero after being attacked. I agree with the late Kate Worley. Rape-based origins are insulting and unimaginative.
Most male heroes have something taken away from them- parents, family, career, home. Most female heroes have their bodies violated in some way. Seeing this tawdry trend reversed here is refreshing.
Greg Rucka is no stranger to writing realistic, strong women. His work on Whiteout and Queen & Country are exemplary. I even liked Countdown to Infinite Crisis. And I loathe most of those sprawling, galaxy chanign events storyline.
And the sexuality is not played for shock value. It's simply an important part of who the character is.

I must comment on the art. I've admired J.H. Williams' work since I first became overtly aware of it in Promethea.  Here's his cover art for Absolute Promethea, book 3.

Williams' work has that photo-realistic aspect, but coupled with a strong and highly informed design sense (his Promethea covers included homages to Parrish, Warhol, Peter Max, and the Superman/Spider-man crossover) and an incredible imagination.  Along with Haden Blackman, he's writing and drawing the new Batwoman: Zero series.
The page designs of this book are remarkable, not just for their clever and effective visual elements, but for the successful integration of those elements into the narrative. Anyone with technical skill can toss around pretty pictures and shapes. It takes storytelling talent to not let those elements get in the way.
Most significant and least discussed visual element of Batwoman: Elegy: her costume.
For decades I've been playing with a superheroine costume that's functional as well as aesthetic. I mean really. Look what Saturn Girl "gets" to wear for a fight.

And Phantom Girl...

And Dawnstar!

I'm not talking about politics as much as I am strategy. Imagine flying through the air with huge portions of your body exposed, to say nothing of the difficulty of fighting in such unlikely togs.
Batwoman has designed her costume more as a military uniform. Every part of it is geared towards its combat capacity, from the materiel used to her hair!
And those boots! Finally, a superheroine who doesn't wear CFMs to fight!

  

Granted, the costume of Andreyko and Sale's Manhunter from 2005 was also built around function, but not BY the heroine.

Kate Kane is strong, smart, resourceful, impassioned, beautiful and gay. Batwoman: Elegy is a great read.

Tomorrow: Best of 2010 No. 6. It's all about the writing!

Couple pre-Valentine's images

An hour early, but what the hey.
Usually this day doesn't bother me, but this year it's a bit of an irritant.
Valentine's Day. Grr. A paean to straight people, many of whom also chafe at its baggage and expectations. 
Years ago, Jenny and I went to a Valentine's screening of CRUMB. It began with some great Betty Boop cartoons, then a wonderful set by the Penguin Cafe' Orchestra. During the intermission, the manager made a short announcement. "You may wonder why we're showing this film for Valentine's Day. Well, we think that most people's relationships are at least a little messed up, no matter how hard they try. And we thought that no matter how bad your personal relationships were, they had to be better than Crumb's, so we wanted to give you hope."
I can't quite hang with that level of cynicism about the whole thing, but my usual idealism about love and romance has been a bit tattered of late.
So I hope my ambiguity on this issue doesn't deter your enjoyment of the day. Please enjoy these images that reflect my current antipathy towards romance.

I love the Art Deco typography on that one! But I'll let the next two speak for themselves...

 

  

And then there's...

Now that's better.

Charm School gives me hope.
This delightful comic from about 8 years ago tells of the romantic contest between a gorgeous butch vampire, a mortal and a witch.
And it's a book that openly acknowledges the lesbian relationships but treats them as a matter of course.
So refreshing.
Full of songs, spirit and passion, this book is just plain fun. I need to dig out my copies and get them to the binder, so the volume can hold a place of honor on my shelf, like it deserves!
Quite honestly, I had no idea what I was going to say when I started writing this. My love life has been mostly theoretical for the last 5 years. But even with all the frustrations relationships bring, I still want one.
I guess as messed up as romance can be, we still need it, and at its best, it's so amazingly joyous as to be worth the rest of the craziness.




There you have it. Hope springs eternal!

Original Art Sundays, No. 27: A Private Myth, p. 5

The scanner was not my friend today. All those lovely drybrush notes - gone.
Panel one is barely legible. Shame, that,  as the art turned out rather well!I was so enjoying the inking process this time.
I will rescan and repost tomorrow, but I wanted to stay on track with my self-imposed deadline, so am posting now. I'd run back and do it now, but I have other deadlines to consider.

 

There are several things about this page I really like. The feeling of our as-yet unnamed heroine (I know what her name is, we just haven't gotten there yet) being trapped and isolated in the last panel is quite compelling. The open panel center page is clean, and I love the way panel 3 turned out. The tone on panel 3 is a scanner artifact, but I might keep it. Trying to lose it drops the drybrush tones off her temple, and I think it works with the mood of the panel.

Relettered in Photoshop except for panels 2 and 6.

In terms of narrative, this serves to reinforce the point that lesbian and gay relationships are no easier than straight ones.

Again, a better version tomorrow.

The Princess and the Princess?

Okay, I confess I'm quite excited about Disney's return to traditional feature animation.




However.
Snow White: boy gets girl. Sleeping Beauty: boy gets girl. Little Mermaid: boy gets (fishy) girl. Beauty and the Beast: (fuzzy, scary) boy gets girl. Hunchback of Notre Dame: (handsome) boy gets girl. Lady and the Tramp: boy gets girl.
Okay, that last one is just too wonderful for words.
Great stories all, but isn't there more than one note to played in the symphony of LOVE?
The closest animation has come to gay issues is the Showtime series Queer Duck. There are gay characters in Drawn Together, currently in rerun on Logo, which also has a gay anime' series and Rick and Steve, which is puppet animation a la George Pal.
But it's mostly pretty bad animation. It's what the great Chuck Jones called "illustrated radio", for the most part. Also,most of what is out there is pretty guy-with-guy centered.
There are a great many gay male stories in anime', and much about transgender cahracters, but few lesbian stories. Also, call me a snobbess, but something about the visual style of anime' leaves me cold at times. Not that I don't love Tezuka, but I'd rather read it than watch it.
I like traditional Western animation. And I'd like to see a braver use of the art form.
There are beautiful and sensual stories of men and men, and women and women, and people everywhere on the gender and sexuality spectra, hooking up for physical pleasure, affection and just plain sharing life.
Some studio is missing a bet by not trying to tell a genuine love story about GLBT people in good animation.