Category: Comic Cons

“…starting something new before finishing the last thing(s)”

On By hesirIn Comic Cons, Comics ArtLeave a comment

So here we are, it’s the week leading up to Thought Bubble 2023 / TBF23. Just days away really.

I’ll be there (with Sarah too, which is great, as it’s always more of a fun weekend when we are there together), and I’ll have the usual array of comics and prints (and maybe even two new banners, see the side panels in the art above).

I’m looking forward to seeing some regular faces, meeting new people, as always happens there, and to catching up with old friends too (as we have often used the event as a focus point for our Norwich Art School friends meet-up).

But, regarding the comics and prints, particularly the comics, I’m hoping this is the last year I have to turn around to people who arrive at the table in eager anticipation of something new (and I love these people for that enthusiasm I really do, please don’t stop asking!)  only to have to say, “No, sorry, I’ve no new Cthulhiad comics again this year… I’ve just been too busy with other stuff.”

Unfortunately this year, I will still be saying that.

And it makes me crazy in the brain.

I’d really hoped to have something new on the table, but it just didn’t happen. I talked about it with Sarah on a number of occasions, but the year just seemed to slip through my fingers, again.

It’s not like I can’t show people that I’m working on those other things (at least the comics ones), you can see that happening in the posts from earlier this year. 

I’ve new work on Book 3 of “The Lance” (ie the final part of my two books The White Ship, and Drakon), and I started a whole new thing, well two actually, one a book looking at a retelling of the events around the life of the Gorgon, Medusa. Which I’m really enjoying working on (see some sketches below). 

The other being a set of short fantasy adventures, which would be cool to have more time to work on, but might have to take a back burner seat while I finish these other projects. There are others too, some even scripted already, but they’ll be even further back, on the back-back burner if you will.

Earlier this week on a forum for creatives (admittedly in a different medium, i.e. not comics), I wrote the words, “…in the rich tradition of starting something new before finishing the last thing(s), I’ve started toying with a new thing”…

I think this is part of the issue… so many ideas, and never enough time… or never enough well used time.

The other reason is, I’m just working… ie, not on my own personal work, per se, but on collaborations and work for hire, for or with others. This being where the money to live and pay for things like printing and being able to even think about turning up to events like TB comes from.

And once you start doing that, it becomes incredibly hard to step away from it and find the time to work on your own things. Any free time you do get, you think, “Will I have the time to make some significant ground on that big project? To do it justice? And if not, why not do something smaller instead?” Which, when you do that, all you have done is started another thing you haven’t finished, and once again you’ve got yourself caught up in a self-perpetuating cycle.

It’s not like I haven’t been here before, here’s my old DevArt profile pic from 2003, twenty years ago…

Half of something, indeed…

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really been thoroughly enjoying the professional work I have been doing. 

I’ve produced some of my strongest painted work of my career over the last year or so*, I’ve made some of my favourite comics art in that time too, done my first solo painted cover (I’d definitely like to try more of that). Even produced things that have inspired me and given me a way forward for some of those personal projects that are sitting in the wings. And gone back to my roots, laughs, by taking on duties on a western** comic… I’m sure you’ll here about that in the near future.

*much of which again, isn’t going to be seen, even in my portfolio for a while as I’m under NDAs until the work is out in the world. All of this makes it look like you aren’t working and producing new stuff, but that’s the business.

** my first fully finished self-published comic was a western, called The Indian Fighter – currently out of print.

Add to all that, this recurring (post Covid?) brain fog into the mix, and, well… you get the picture.

…

So, what to do?

Well, I guess this post is really me just saying, that I need to have a serious think about how I organise my time.

I need to fit in time for those projects of my own that are sitting there almost ready to go, but are just not being done or finished. 

I’m hoping that this coming year is the year I get the balance right.

In the meantime, I’ll see you this coming weekend. And though for those of you who have bought my stuff in the past there might not be much in the way of new or unseen, it will still be great to say hello if you pass the table.

Look, new banners!

Regardless, let’s just have a great festival, and as always chat and rave and rant about our love of comics. It should be fun, come and say “Hi.”

We’ll be at table B34 in the DSTLRY Hall.

See you there.

g,

Some bonus coloured Cthulhiad Art…

Making use of this thing…

On By hesirIn Comic Cons, Comics Art, Conventions & Festivals, Sketchbook1 Comment

The Pandemic… Lockdown… it feels like it was an event horizon. It pulled a whole bunch of time toward it, stretching it, making it both vast and now weirdly disconnected and disorienting as we figure out how to go on.

In all that time it seemed like I was busy with other things, I seem to have just utterly failed to use this blog, this site, whether to update anything about my comics work of late, or to just post the occasional piece of art.

I need to change that.

Going forward, it would be good to use this thing not only for promoting work or the thing I’m currently working on, but to add process stuff and again, and maybe get back to doing some reviews of other peoples stuff.

But changes are afoot. The livery of my show stands has been pretty CONsistent for the last few years… with that clunky old b/w image of Harry from The Cthulhiad making my stand look like an old grainy silent movie cover on a shelf full of contemporary blue rays, laughs.

But this year I’m going to look at changing it up, to try and match the way my work output has changed…

The images above show the artwork for my new Con/Event Banners.

It’s odd, but I had a whole bunch of plans for my comics, first just before Brexit, then just before the Pandemic Lockdowns, both events unceremoniously brushed those plans off my drawing board and into the bin beside it… these plans may get revived at some point, but at this moment it’s not really worth going over.

Then, as happens, other things turned up. I’m not going to go into too much detail, but my work sort of diversified. No sooner did it seem that I decided to go full time in comics, and had started to build up a steady-ish stream of work and on going projects, things that I could showcase at Comic Cons and other events than the lockdowns seemed to close some of those doors. But as those doors creaked half-shut, occasionally banging against the doorframe, another set opened. Namely those into the world of TTRPG art. I’d been a fan of fantasy art since I first was able to buy my own books. And my early art output was definitely influenced by that genre. I’ve always kept a hand in, but this was a chance to really go for it and try to split my work down the middle.

On the one side, my expanding work in comics, mostly indie, mostly black and white, with a typically historical, 18th/19th century illustration influence, or with a focus on creatures/monsters, and other genre stuff.

On the other, full colour painted, fantasy art, whether as illustration for ttrpgs or as prints (and maybe somewhere further down the line even a high fantasy genre comic (check out lower down the post for more details on that).

All of this allowing me to lean into my love of fantasy art and characters that you can see in my Sketches From The Margin sketchbook (above), and in my supplement for DMsGuild (ad’ video below).

So, that’s that for this post… not much more than a regret that I haven’t posted more, a note on how my work output has split into two distinct types of work, and a tease that I might well be looking at writing a drawing something akin to a fantasy comic…

And on that note, some fantasy comic art in the wings…

…who knows? Maybe these will amount to more than just Half Of Something.

Hull & Bridlington Comic Con, plus Radio!

On By hesirIn Comic Cons, Conventions & Festivals, Events, PressLeave a comment

I was fortunate this year to be asked to speak live on Kofi Smiles‘* No Filter show @RadioHumberside about Comics and Social Media (if you missed it https://bbc.in/2OCDz1J ) with Lee-Ann Williams from @HullComicCon and Artist/Illustrator Jemma Klein, which in turn led #IronShodApeComics being asked to guest at Hull Comic Con and later Bridlington Comic Con, which was great!

*Kofi’s a big fan of comics if you hadn’t guessed – check out his Comic Box Rumble podcast here.

So, I got to speak on panels at each Con’ (the stage at Brid Spa adding to the fun there) with the likes of Russ Payne, Russ Leach, JAKe, Abbie Stabby, Lee Bradley and Rachael Smith, and of course meet a bunch of people* at both events, chatting about comics, art, art education and drawing etc, as well as selling a few comics and sketchbooks etc.

Hey, and if you are reading this and your the attendee who forgot to take their books away with you, please text me your address – you have my card – and I’ll post the signed books out to you, just put your name in the text okay. Cheers.

Anyway, you can find some links to my twitter threads from the day below. Hull Comic Con was an amazing Venue as it was partly held in Trinity Church, crazy.

And then at Bridlington… at the equally amazing Brid’ Spa.

(The photo above courtesy of Abbie Stabby, cheers – that’s her work in the foreground, go check out her work)

So thanks again to Steve, Lee-Ann and everyone involved at both venues, including all the volunteers who made it such a great day for everyone. I’d definitely love to part of next years events.