Reviews and drawing update

 I've finished all the writing and thumbnails for all 5 issues of Mary Boys: All Stitched Up, so it might be time to actually tell people what it's about. But first I'm enjoying knocking out a few pages of pencils. This time round I thought I'd give digital pencils a go, mainly because I tried Clip studio and liked the perspective tools. It saves a lot of time and mess getting the rules out, especially for small awkward panels, like this one:

Yes, I am extremely late to the party, but that's fine since I did everything traditionally before so this all feels like a real doddle, provided that the plan of printing it all out in blue and then inking it traditionally works out. I still need to buy an A3 printer and give it a go.

Mary Boys : Beefheads got a mention and review on Awesome Comics Podcast today. Give it a listen here:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/2rIarUc4dgdgP3y1xYOJYX?si=pvYoW4MlSoOmyPDtU0epQg They're a fun bunch, so give their other content a listen too. I really enjoyed their discussion on the Bojeffries Saga, a little-known gem from Steve Parkhouse and some northerner called Alan something. 

We're at 114 sign-ups to the mailing list. I'd like about 800 before we launch AND we only launch when the campaign book has been drawn. Still a slog, but things are happening. If you haven't signed up yet, then now would be as good a time as any: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/--2802154/coming_soon#smallpress

Progress update - new Mary Boys comics

I don't know about people who do this kind of thing professionally but when it comes to writing comics I don't consider the scripting part done until the thumbnails are finished. 

This is because I always seem to get new ideas when I put pencil to paper. The pacing also really solidifies when I start putting everything into panels. While I'm sketching I find that redundant plot bits become easier to identify and edit out. I'm constantly updating the script with new dialogue from freshly-gained insight.

I'm sure there is a sound scientific reason for why this happens. I think it's because different parts of the brain only really start talking to one another when the physical task to marry words and pictures arises. Like two foreigners from different countries desperately working together to decipher a London tube map. 

For what it's worth, my process can be summarised as follows:

First I will write a story outline setting out the plot in the most basic way, identifying triggers that drive the story forward and making sure that actions once set in motion are resolved. I will have a good sense of who my characters are, how the story begins and where I want it to end before I move on to the next stage in which I start sketching panels. After this I will start thinking about dividing the panels into pages, making every page as interesting as I can with some sort of visual 'punch'. 

The comics I make are A4 in size (that's 8.3 x 11.7 inches for any Americans reading this). This is the standard size for UK printing paper. On this page I draw a smaller page of 4.1 x 5.8 inches (A6). The point of the margin is for inserting alternative panels or notes to use in the pencil stage. 

In the A6 page I insert the desired number of panels ranging from 1 (splash) to 8, but typically my pages will have between 4 to 7 panels. The number of panels chosen will affect the mood and pacing of the story. I recommend that you read Scott McCloud's 'Making Comics' on the various uses. Will Eisner's 'Sequential Art' is another invaluable resource.  

Anyway, the new Mary Boys is called 'All Stitched Up' and it will be told in 6 parts. I have thumbnailed Part 1, which is about 18 pages. I expect the remaining parts will be of a similar length. Experience has taught me to thumbnail the whole story before starting pencils. It saves having to redo a lot of work further down the line when you realise something's amiss story-wise. 

In other news, we are running 'second chance campaign' for the Mary Boys: Beefheads project on a new crowdfunding site called FundMyComic. The books have already been printed and fulfilled to our Indiegogo backers, so this new campaign is to sell some left-over stock. 

Please follow the link below to check out the new campaign:

https://www.fundmycomic.com/campaign/148/mary-boys-beefheads-second-change-campaign

One more before I dive in

Let's get slaughtered

Get your meme's. After Article 13 becomes law we will all have to use public domain images for our meme's so I thought I'd get in early. 

Character designs

These guys have been kicking around in my brain for years. The fleshing out process left me with a very good idea of who they were and what they stand for.

Harry

Parrish - the 25 facial expressions challenge

The boys

Research

I've been skulking around several of Bristol's churches in the hope of finding one that would fit the bill for the Mary Boys' church, but they are all either too big, don't have the elements required for the story, or simply weren't built in the gothic style. Finally I cut and pasted a church from several different sources, but mostly St John's on the Wall and St Mary's of Redcliffe.

St John's on the Wall

St Mary's of Redcliffe

St John's on the Wall