Another redraw in the current style. I think the Hirschfeld inspired style is the way to go. Also, adding shadowing gives the characters a little extra oomph. I think Crow here especially looks a bit more European which doesn't bother me a bit. Keeping things smooth and flowing will make it more interesting to work in the Japanese aesthetic I also want for page layout. Anything that excites me to draw and get this thing going is good. Looking back through all the prelim stuff I've done for this shows, I think, a lot of growth. Let's hope it pays off. Haven't had to do this before.

Another redraw. I'm getting a handle on this kind of style and think it's far more energetic than what I was doing before. The time has come to settle and move on, though so I really need to just plant my feet and get on with it. While Tamino was a combination of Ukiyo-e, cubism and the style of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show (which is a kind of take off on Raoul Dufy), this one seems to be a mix of Hirschfeld, Ukiyo-e and Warner Bros. old school animation. Or so I think.

And here's one of Mikilo in the more flowy style. I don't think it's -quite- as successful as Crow, but it's more fun and interesting, I think than the drawings before.

Did this today sort of in response to having re-watched an excellent documentary on Al Hirschfeld. While I'm not a lifelong fan of his, I suddenly became interested a couple of years ago and, being someone else who really appreciates lines it seems a natural connection. Something I used to do with my work, a long while ago, was to look for ways to connect lines all over the piece, to bend anatomy so that these lines and angles converged. It eventually led me to cubism or something like that and I moved away from it. Today, I reconnected with that and, yet again, reworked this image. Why do I keep doing this? Since I've recently realized that no one but me is going to be reading Ghiroy (except, perhaps for you, Vince!) it really doesn't matter what I do with it. No one's waiting for it or interested in it. So I might as well make it something I truly like or even, perhaps love. So, this. There's a fluidity to this that I like. I don't want to riff off Hirschfeld, but I can be inspired by him. And so I was.

This was something I've been thinking of doing for a few days. It's a self portrait. I was feeling down, not very special and, honestly, a lot like this old sneaker I've only just replaced. But there's also something really comforting about an old pair of sneakers. They fit exceedingly well, I've had them for a long time and been a lot of places in them. They're 5-6 years old, have climbed Palatine Hill, wandered about Venice, Vienna, Budapest, Boston, Michigan, transitioned me from one job to another. At home or work, winter or summer, these are my shoes. They've had their laces sewn into the knot because they used to come untied multiple times a day. I slip in and out of them with ease but they never fall off. I'm going to miss them if I ever throw them away. The more I think about it, the more they really do represent me. I only drew one as I wanted a feeling of being incomplete about the image. Maybe I'm thinking too much about this. Or not enough. Pen and ink.

Another simple image as I play about with colors. With the sky being green most of the time, it occurs to me that at sunset, it fades to a dull kind of yellow. The sun does the same kind of thing. Lots of nice, purple shadows in this case. Also threw a filter over Mikilo to dull him and bring him into line with the shadow color. I think his new coloring works pretty well. And the logo looks nice. Just a sketch.

Stole this goofy pose from Conan, which I was watching. It's kind of this VERY Conan Conan pose though really, it's kind of silly. Just wanted to draw something having to do with the comic as well as try out a new logo. Now all I have to do is write and draw a comic to go along with this. *sigh*

Did a quickie self portrait today, deciding that the usual poses for selfies was boring. This is me, pretty much just going 'meh.' I'm pretty happy with it, though this particular nib is getting a bit rough, which is too bad as it's one of the Schulz nibs. I still have a few left but they're limited, I'm sure. Just a bit of fun.

Nothing too much here, just a more detailed image of Rooster. He's the first character I've killed off, though, now that I think about it, the fates of Guz and Tamino aren't 'continuing,' though neither is really 'dead,' either. The dark background of this and the recent page of the comic is meant to signify death. That starburst behind him is a kind of halo, though this one centers around his heart, not his head. I suppose it's meant to symbolize passion or something. Rooster, like the rest of the mice was rather directionless, wandering, perhaps even lost. Certainly blind to a greater world. Maybe that's a theme behind these characters. Or perhaps I made it all up.

I haven't done a page in this comic for a bit. I get distracted, things come up, there's travel, etc. I want to get this done, though, partially because I want to include it in a volume like that I did for Tamino that will collect all the short story comics I've done up til now. As I've mentioned before, this comic has changed direction quite a bit since starting it. I'm starting to wonder if that's just how I work, that spontaneity is a part of my process. This comic, originally meant to be a snapshot, not unlike "Sound and Fury," illustrating the lack of grandeur in the lives of these characters, is now more about death, grieving and the inability of (specifically male) characters to express their feelings. The little captions at the bottom of the page, originally designed to help my partner be able to read the comic and then used to somewhat comedic effect will now be instrumental in how the story finishes. Now, I just have to finish it.