The semester has ended (still some grading to plow through!). This is a mixed blessing. More time to work on The Book, but limited large scanner access. So it's back to scanning in tiers on the Brother printer/scanner for a bit. It actually worked out pretty well today. But I do much prefer a large bed scanner. So much easier, such better results overall.
Into the next page:
Lots to unpack on this one. First, I'm quite pleased with it.
Narrative: Other than it happening to me, transgender identity isn't a significant part of this page. This page is intended as a meditation on Curt's mindset. We're all heroes in our own minds, and I thought a page showcasing some of his philosophies might be useful. It's too easy to just paint someone as a villain and let it go at that. One of my favorite films, Princess Mononoke, has a very complex villain who could be considered a hero in some respects. I've no desire to make him a hero, but showing some of his perspective helps the story, and it's the decent thing to do.
I originally considered carrying the page title's "gospel" theme further and having him preach from a lectern. But it didn't work visually all that well, and I thought it might cause confusion about his character. He was far from religious. He was agnostic and ridiculed people of faith. I considered doing a second, similar page, quoting him talking about the stupidity of other people, but decided that this would suffice. His actions tell the story, more than anything.
Layout and design considerations: usually, I see the finished page in my mind before I start drawing. Not so here. This went through several evolutions, until it became his soliloquy. After abandoning the lectern concept, I wanted to keep the page title (rendered in Photoshop for fun). So the visual theme called for something preacher-ish to reflect that. I thought about televangelists (reminded of Lenny Bruce describing preachers as "those who save -save every penny they can get their hands on."). That led me to the spotlight and arms up pose of the first panel. The quote about emotions in the second panel is something he said quite often. It's so stark and shocking, so cold and sad, it screamed for chiaroscuro. I am fascinated by the shadows in the third panel. The lettering on one line of that panel got away from me- again, Photoshop to the rescue, using my favorite comic body copy typeface, Scott McCloud's The Sculptor! For the last panel, I tried it with and without my face included. Visually, it works better without, but I think it's necessary to remind readers at this point that the character (me) is living with the snakes in this guy's head. Also, I tried to indicate that he was inches from me and screaming so hard his face turned beet red, because that's how it was.
My only layout regret for the page is the lack of substantial backgrounds. But they will be back next week, so no worries. Loving the lights and darks on this page!
Tools:
- Canson Bristol Board
- Lead holder and #4B lead
- Triangle, T-Square, Ames lettering guide
- Faber Castell eraser
- Micron markers .02, .05, .08, 1.0 and Brush
- Dr. Martin's Black Star Matte Ink
- Brother scanner
- And our old friend Photoshop
Next: page 25 of this chapter.
