Page 4, Cosmo's Apples

The kids follow Cosmo to the apple tree!
Please come back next Monday for page 5!

I changed the focus of this page to be the children's point of view as with the previous pages.  Originally. the large rock was going to turn into the Troll himself. Also, I was looking for a spot the kids to return to over and over (that will be explained later) . I wanted their attention to be on Cosmo not on their immediate surroundings....more later..

Page 3, Cosmo's Apples

Lets follow Cosmo into the woods...he's not afraid of any Trolls!
Please come back next Monday for page 4
I started with the kids having any argument about whether or not to follow Cosmo...the lower panel ended up as a page lead off of Cosmo leaving for the woods....followed by the kids....again using original sketches on inked pages adding panels and shifting order....all resulting from not having a clear story first before spending time sketching....

Page 2, Cosmo's Apples

Cosmo is a strange member of the village, but seems happy and harmless...
Please come back next Monday for page 3!
I was trying to show Cosmo as an outsider and a strange but harmless character. Someone the adults may not respect but the children would not fear.  Someone who maybe overlooked but understands more than most.  Originally,  I had him dancing in the rain then followed into the wood by the kids...but after I drew it out I thought it jumped to much form panel to panel without telling a good story "in between the panels".  So I  redrew and added panels and an extra page,  showing more of an event and more of Cosmo's character....I find I am circling back quite a bit for lack of a clear story...need thumbnail much more for revisions...

 

Page, 1 Cosmo's Apples

Here the kids meet Cosmo coming out to the woods inhabited by a scary Troll....
and Lady Ellis who warns all the children of the dangers in the woods...
Please come back next Monday for page 2!
I jumped straight into thumbnails in Magna studio without a clear idea of the story.
I was more concerned with the sketches and thought I would figure out the dialog later and just fill it in. Unfortunately this would be a big problem...and resulted in rewriting and story line changes, throwing away sketches. This sounds like a basic process issue but it is hard to recognize until I have more experience.  I added a whole intro panel on top, as well as the kids in the middle before Lady Elllis tells her story.  I will refine the stages of development and hopefully improve my workflow, not skipping ahead and missing key refinement steps. Next time I hope to spend time with plotting out the whole story first.  This sounds so basic, don't get ahead of yourself. I would save the bottom panel for later in the story .....

Cosmo's Apples Cover

Here is the cover and first page of "Cosmo's Apples"
There is path that leads to a small village in the woods.  The
sign says beware and stay on the path...was planning on a Monday
post but forgot about going on Vacation...so posting early!


Here is a rough first draft for the cover...I decided to make the village a little more castle like and show the path leading up to the village gate....

Cosmo's Apples Therapy

Please look for page updates on Monday mornings.

I have not been posting in a while so I am trying to get back into it.  The above is not fiction, its just what we all go through sooner on later.  I am trying to share a bit more on this post than I have in the past.  Drawing and sketching can be very therapeutic at times. It can help you share in pictures what is difficult for me to put into words.  Few people visit this site so I guess I shouldn't worry about getting personal, but sometimes its hard to know what to share in a post. The short comic this page introduces is just an improvised fairy tale I told the kids one night. I have always loved comics as a way to tell a story and this is my amateur attempt.  What makes this important to me is the escape it offered from real events going on off the page. I hope you enjoy it , I will post a page a week on Monday mornings and add some process notes....thanks

Evening TV

Sketch done a while back, while watching everyone crash on the couch in front of the TV!

For Mom

...

talking tree

Took a walk with the kids today. It was through the woods in  a lite rain. We came across this old and very wise tree. The "talking tree"will be a wonderful addition to our lists of stories....

Chop Lady

This is a scene from about 1991. While in Taiwan my sister-in-law took me to a little shop to get a "chop" or Chinese signature stamp.  This older woman was in a tiny closet sized shop carving details into these little stone blocks.  Behind her was a small dresser, in the the top drawer she kept her little dog....it was a great trip...I used Manga studio for the main ink work and used photoshop custom brushes for the dresser details, back panels and crosshatching.  

Robot with jets

 So I thought.would try a Demo. I downloaded "Cam_Studio" and it seemed to record... but after 30 min. of  sketching nothing recorded.  So I guess lost the recording... if anyone has tutorials or suggestions please comment.

girl in red

found a few older paintings to post .....

Ethan and Natalie feeding the birds

This is a still from a short story I have really fallen behind on. It was done on my tablet, in Manga studio...I liked the expressions and the rendering of the bird.  Hope posting will get me back in the mindset of completing this.  Give me a +1 for encouragement....eh?  Hope to post progress with pages soon.

Looking forward to Ann Arbor on Sunday.

Gertie and Dutch

My Aunt Gertie sent me a letter telling a story of life on the farm.  She would ride a horse down to the pasture and collect the cows returning them back to the barn.  One day a neighbors bull got out and chased her home.  After getting home safe the horse stopped so quickly it sent Aunt Gertie into the watering tub.
Here is the scene as she races home yelling for "Daddy"...great stories from the farm.

Process

Ed,
      Thanks for the comments, I used "Manga Studio" Software. It is a great program for line work and layout of multiple pages. The  pen sensitivity is better than "Photoshop" or "Sketch Book Pro" but "Painter" is still good for color and line. . although I got away from Painter because of glitches in the software. I do a lot of drawing on the couch with my "Motion Computing Tablet". .. an e-bay purchase a few months ago.  Otherwise I use a Cintiq Display.   Below are some process shots.... I hope they make sense. I use separate layers for line, thicker line and large dark areas. I use standard Manga brushes, but am starting to experiment with custom brushes.
     Again, thanks for the interest.... Let me know how  your story is coming along.... I still have to send my finished Mini Comic in!.. . . just a few tweaks left... . follow me here or on Google plus. . .

Deer

 here is another work in progress.. . . . I hope to have a finished Piece up in a few days. . . . Also, went to a one day Mini Comic Event, today will share results soon!

Dear Aunt Gertie

I have a wonderful older Aunt Gertie on mom's Side. She is a country girl through and through ...She is in her 90's now and tells wonderful stories about life on the farm. For years she wrote letters to the  local paper as Gertie, your "Country Cousin". As kids we would visit the farm. It was always an adventure, open spaces, the horses and cows.... and itching for days because of my allergies to hay! . . .But playing in the barn was worth it.... Recently she wrote mom about an old story of raising a runt pig as a young girl. So I thought I would do a sketch to thank her for the Story.... I hope she likes it.... will give an update when I can. Everyone should have an Aunt Gertie "Country Cousin"!!!

Hold still

Here is a panel with the kids meeting the animals from the woods.  The raccoon and friends meet the children as they sit still in the in the forest.....I did this in Manga studio on my motion computing tablet, mostly at bed time....no word balloons....should have figured all the dialog first.  Now I am doing a great deal of writing and formatting because I got to far along with the drawings not enough planning in roughs....live and learn.

the road to Evergreen

Started a new story about a couple kids, the woods and a Troll.... here is page No. 1
Wondering which Cover To go with. ...any Constructive opinions welcome.

Monsters again

 Been Looking At "Creaturebox" for inspiration those guys are great!

Great Tutorials and fun stuff!