January Summery

I don't have the time to update this diary like I was once able to. The main reason being, of course, is that I'm concentrating my time on drawing comics instead. This is the way it should be, I think. However, I thought I'd at least set myself the task of doing a monthly update. A brief summery of events which I'll write up at the end of every month.

Here's January. Snow, snow, snow, as we all know. Fun for a while and then a tiresome endurance test.

I'm continuing to do agency work, mostly at a local care home, with occasional shifts thrown in at the hospital (surgical wards). Hard work. I limit myself to a maximum of three shifts a week (because I can). Mostly two. It's not bringing me in much money, but I don't need a lot because I'm holed up here at my parent's house for the duration. And, of course, I can spend time drawing up stories and working on various art projects which will make me money down the line (somewhere).

The publication of Psychiatric Tales from Blank Slate is due quite soon. Bloomsbury will be publishing a US edition in 2011 (which seems like a long way off, I know). An interview with me, done by the excellent Matthew Badam, has just appeared in the Big Issue. A full transcript of this interview will be appearing on Matthew's blog later this week. The book itself will be launched at the UK And Webcomic Thing at the end of March (London). Please come and meet me there: UK And Webcomic Thing

I've had some difficulty with volume two of Psychiatric Tales. I did a few pages, but have put the whole project away for the time being. I think I'm just exhausted with this subject and need a longer break before going back to it. It's not that there aren't plenty of other subjects to tackle, so much as I feel that from an illustration point of view, I've used up my bag of tricks and need to develop new approaches. In the mean time I'm working on the last third of the Activate webcomic strip The Streets Of San Diablo. I've now reached page 67.

See the two new pages of The Streets Of San Diablo. See a rain of arrows and big red cannons with feet. Up now at that fine web-comic collective Activate

Tony Blair Strip

Big Blue Versus The Lord God Almighty

Three page story strip, which eventually will tie into the Super Sam and John Of The Night, stories. Probably.

Grey Doodleland

I'm going to start doing a series of black and white ink drawings with the intention of selling them. For years, I've been colouring my work using photoshop and the disadvantage of this, is that there really isn't any original artwork left fit to sell. It all ends up on the hard disc, so that only prints are available to buy. Not only that, but it's so long since I last did any crosshatching, that I've basically forgotten how to do it. So the image below is a sort of half and half picture, where I've tentatively tipped my toe into crosshatching again, before launching myself into the depth of a real non-photoshop ink drawing.

Grey Green Orange Town Drawing

It's been awhile since I've tackled a big drawing. So here is one. Pencils, pen, and then photoshop for the colours.

Art Tips

Art tips. These days I draw on A4 sheets of photocopy paper and I use Pilot techpoint pens to ink with. All pages are scanned into the computer, where I adjust the linework and drop in the colours, using photoshop. You can spend a fortune on art materials or buy cheap stuff and find that works just as well. There's little point in following what other people do as, in the end, it's what you yourself feel comfortable with. Try a load of different things and see what works, is my advise.

Some early drawings from a time when I'd just started to use photoshop.

Diablo At Activate

Two pages from my continuing webcomic The Streets of San Diablo. Check out Activate for the story so far.

Death And Uncle Bob

I've written a number of stories over the years about Uncle Bob. In which, the aged Robert Merrison tells tales of his extraordinary long life, to his two nieces. I gave up writing them a few years ago, disheartened by my lack of success in getting a publisher interested. The stories are possibly too dark and violent for the average nice middle-class children's publisher. Kids seem to love them though.

This short tale is unusual in that it doesn't involve Bob telling any sort of story