Last time I posted a comic here I talked about working at a large scale and trying to think about the comics page as a painting or poster as well as a storytelling device. Creating something that works on a visual level when you look at it from far away as well as read it up close. This story was a perfect opportunity to put some of that thinking to a practical purpose: I actually made it for a gallery show, at a bigger size than I've ever worked before. A lot of the inspiration for it came from the Greek vase paintings on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art here in New York, though Rodin's erotic watercolors still hold as powerful a sway over my drawing as ever, maybe even more of one since I was trying to see if I could make fine art as well as comics with this strip. Frank Santoro's comics, as ever with these, were also a big influence. Most of the drawings here are from life in some roundabout way or another: the female figures are copied from a few life drawings I did back in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, and the male figures are yours truly, posing in the mirror. The flat color seems to be everybody's favorite part of this one. It's not often that works in painting, but then again these aren't quite paintings -- so there you have it, I suppose.
3 comments:
Can definitely see the Santoro influence but it's certainly none the worse for that! I think your figure work's getting stronger, too, if I may say so. Colours: BEAUTIFUL. And I think the overall design is pleasing, too--have you being doing those "composition exercises" that Mr. Santoro's been posting at TCJ? And--how did you get that thin white line?!?! Is it scratched-out colour? It looks too neat for that, though...and it doesn't look like applied pigment of any kind...
Have you ever thought about working "traditionally", black and white, with just ink, nibs and/or brushes? I think you could produce something of note with those constraints...
Anyhow keep up the good work Mr. Seneca! All the best!
I always do Frank's exercises, that's what they're there for! He told me once that the way to transcend an influence is just to go right at it and try to draw like whoever that person is until they're part of your style, so that's what I'm doing.
The white line work is gel pen, actually -- lo-fi but very effective.
I often think about doing a B&W comic -- I really like the look of my pre-color inked pages -- but I always want to do my stuff a little different. I'm going to do an all-pencil minicomic at some point (hopefully soon), and the book I do after the one I'm working on will probably be Just ink and white paper, but with color ink, blue or brown or purple or something.
Thanks for saying nice things!
That's pretty sagely advice about assimilating style, I reckon. Thanks for clearing up the white-line question, it was doing my head in a bit, actually!
I should check out those Rodin watercolours.
Keep at it!
Post a Comment