Finished the page today. There really wasn't much I needed or wanted to do except put up the text. That was easy enough though I had to redo it a few times as it just wasn't what I wanted. Easing into the refrain, then the last verse. I've been consistent but I still need to pick up the pace somehow.

Meant to post this yesterday as that's when it was made. I'm trying to make more entries about process and as such, take more WIP images as I go along. I like how this is going and likely won't change too much about it. The buildings are all from photos I took when in LA though none of them are near each other. One of them is actually a total amalgam as I took the front, duplicated it and sheared it to make the side. Up in the far left corner is a very famous landmark, the round office building destroyed by aliens in "Independence Day," though I've cut it enough that it shouldn't be noticeable. After seeing this, I decided to go back and add line detail to the sketch as the folds, in this case, aren't working the way I want. The sky was a blowup of an overcast cloud in a panorama shot, dumbed down to three colors with them re-colored so they were a lot less contrasty than they were. I like how they came out as, to me, the sky still looks overcast. This page is the most obviously photo-reffed one I've done so far, but once the text is in, that will recede somewhat.

 Managed to get this done this morning before tackling other things. The colors are...bright. Digby might be on some kind of trip or dream or something. I managed to deal with the issue I was having by basically not dealing with it. An overall overlay was used though I'm still pissed that my custom one simply would not work the way it always has and should. I just hope I don't keep running into that problem. Page 123 done.

 Got started on the new page today which is the most abstract of those so far. I got the drawing done easily enough, got things shaded and then vectorized. Things were going along just fine but then AD simply wouldn't do what it's supposed to do. Some areas of the overlay simple WILL not let me cut areas out and when merging the pieces that make it up, closes open areas that are supposed to be there. Might have to rethink this mechanically because otherwise it'll be a pain in the ass. That being said, I was able to add highlights to the hands a lot more easily than I thought. So we'll see where this goes.

 Got this finished today as I'm home sick from work. Another monday, another case of laryngitis which came out of nowhere and brought no other real symptoms with it. My voice is just a ragged mess. There wasn't as much to do as I was afraid there would be. The text was fairly straightforward. I thought about making it a bit more psychedelic but changed my mind as there's already enough going on here. I wonder if anyone will think Digby's tripping through this whole thing and why not? I like to think of it as a metaphor for him dreaming of making some kind of Big Time. Another one down, many more to go.

 Starting later today at work so managed to get this new figure in before I had to leave. All that's left is the text. So far, this is my favorite page of the track. It's kind of nuts.

 Didn't have a lot of time tonight but I managed to get the last of the three spinning figures in. Again, colors are not final but I'm happy with the movement and sketchiness of the style. Progress.

 Got some work on this done today, though it turns out not as much as I thought. After getting this far, I need to take another reference photo and do another figure to complete the 'spin,' which is also  mentioned in the lyrics. I really wanted some elongated, warped characters and that's what I have. The colors, again, aren't final but they're close to what I want. I'll keep playing with relationships and blending modes.

 Didn't have the wherewithal to do the figure work for the City Silent page and I'd already started in this sketch a few days ago so decided to finish it. Likenesses for celebrities are hard. That being said, I'm pretty happy with this one. It's minimal but I think it's still obvious who it is. I could see me going back to tweak this in case of some kind of show, for a final, but I think it's otherwise done. There's a lot of observation in this and a LOT more editing when it finally got to the vectors. I try to leave as much out as possible while retaining likeness and balance of features. Also, watching a documentary series on Warhol made me want to do a little more with portraits, an itch to scratch. I think it works and made me happy to do it.

 Finally got started on a new page. I wanted a feeling of space without distinct boundaries. I started with a photo I took of an roll up steel alley door, tilted it and tossed it into vectorizer. Then I did three separate pages of overlapping graffiti, each having three layers. Then each page was warped into position in a more or less distinct 'plane.' Each plane was sent through vectorizer separately and tossed into AD. The colors may or may not be final but I think I got a balance I can at least work with. Progress is progress.

 Final version. Are your eyes bleeding? I took the color palette I used on the previous page and adapted it to this one. It's doing what I want to, giving a more fantasy and graffiti feeling to the space he's traipsing through. I'm thinking now that I might start to do away with the realistic aspects entirely and just have him walking through planes, walls and ceilings of graffiti. Why not? Then I can bring it back to a more realistic setting by the end of the song.

 Worked today, came home and napped, had the weekly podcast movie to watch but managed to get some more work done on this. Played around with colors, graffiti and text. The balloons are pretty much done, but I'm still working on the background. Getting closer.

 Had to work today as well as do rehearsal for the "other" podcast so didn't have a lot of time. Still managed to get in a second figure and do a slight adjustment on the lower one. Getting there. Will probably not do a third figure as things will get too crowded.

 Not a huge bit of progress but some nonetheless. I got the graffiti of Sad Cat done; lowered its opacity to let some of the texture show through and added a layer of 'paint' below the lines. Then I went into the garage and, using a fish-eye lens, posed for some reference. I have more than I need, thinking I was going to have three figures. Don't know that I'm going to have room for all three. Got one drawn and rendered. Colors are subject to change. There's a lot more graffiti to be done for the walls, too. Still, progress.

 Started the next page. The top is the photo montage I made from three different photos I took when last in Boston. The two 'walls' weren't even in the same city; one is Waltham, the other Belmont. The pavement is actually from L.A. Warping them together, I got something I really liked. Translated that into a 3 color vector and threw an overlay on top of that. The color might not be final, but I like what it's doing so far. The graffiti on the door was done on the ipad. There's no blending done with it yet; I will likely lower the opacity and use a blending mode for it as well. But warped into place, I think it works. I'll like cover the walls with more graffiti to the point that the photo details won't show much but will just give the right amount of place. Then I have to get some reference photos of me at weird angles so I can draw Digby in there. I want to do more work like the top photo. That was fun and works, to my eye, really well.