Can you be both Fast and Good? I tend to find I'm slower than I want to be. Is there any way to speed up the process - yet still maintain a high quality level, and not look rushed?
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"Where there is no vision the people perish." - Applying that to art: Brilliant.
"If one has a clear cut idea of what needs to be worked out in the layout/rough stages, then the final execution is almost anticlimactic."
...and that is where I think I have the biggest struggle. In my head, once I've finished the layout and placement of items, I tend to think I'm done. I've done the exciting part, now I have to dive into the tedium of all the nitpicky details and then...I stall.
But I still would like to be overall faster. I like the timer suggestion - I've tried using it myself in the past, but I kind of kept losing the stop watch.
Will consider the ideas.
Aside:
I saw an exhibition of Daumier works at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa a few years ago and his work blew my mind. What you see in books and on the web indicate a fantastic artist. Seeing his stuff in real life was a whole other story. One would do well to study him and his approach - especially if you're into caricature (and even if you're not). I think he would've been one of the earliest cartoonists - not just an illustrator, a cartoonist. Art, Comics and Cartoons all owe some sense of debt to this man's work - even if inadvertently.
Always learning. Always willing to learn more.
Kind regards in Christ Jesus,
Alec
But that's a really interesting point, and one I'm going to consider strongly.
it cost me i think just under a grand and is the only art tool i need. my hang up with the cintiq is that it isn't portable- what's the point in it if it restricts you to your desk? i think that if i were to switch to a cintiq, i would be taking a step down.
i'll also admit there are differences with tablet pc's and i've known people with less than optimal results- but for my HP Pavillion tx2000 seriously, it is amazing. very good pressure sensitivity. it's great. now i will say that the screen is not as big as a cintiq- but i can zoom in to whatever i want- so why should it be? i love that it is smaller! its even smaller than most laptops- people often wonder if it is a netbook- it's a little bigger. but for me, just about perfect for my needs. and with zooming in, i typically draw things much bigger than you would on paper, anyway.
i will admit, tho, that using a tablet is a good expereince. however, having a tablet pc is a different world. drawing on the screen is so much better than drawing on a tablet. if you can get a tablet pc or a cintiq i would reccomend it. but if you can't- you can still get very good with just a usb tablet. i know people who were for many years and or are now.
Navigator eh? I'll have to look at that.
Maybe they will come out with a tablet PC with enough sensitivity soon, but honestly how many of us draw away from our tables anyway.
This would be a fantastic thing to have for on site client discussions. I can then sit there and draw it on the spot, add the colors etc. with them pointing at things. The iPad is touted to possibly have this capability - though I have no idea how good it is for that purpose. Also the prospect of buying several thousand dollars worth of mac ready software slightly dissuades me from getting one...(though. want. bad. even if for testing comics on it.. :)
Today I signed up for a Livestream Procaster account and used it for "Real Time" approvals. 30 mins of sitting and drawing with a client as to opposed to 3 hrs. of guess work after a telephone conversation.
I'll be using it for more of the same in the future - even if there is a slight lag with the client seeing what I'm doing. Depending on the network speed may vary.
Off to find this Navigator thing.
Well I converted to all digital some time ago. I love the fact that I don't have to scan. I think the ctrl-z though may be a potential bane rather than boon. Sometimes I find myself undoing for hours on end.
Hm. Well it looks like I'm somewhat on par with some things, may be a little slower in others. I guess it boils down to if you want it done well, it takes time. I just wish I was a little faster in the process.
I'm finding the more pre-prep done, the faster it goes to produce the final product - but all the research needs to be done up front...so in the end it works out to be about the same. I also find firm deadlines help.
I will be more than happy for any additional tips or suggestions. Any insights in how to "draw what you see"in your head quickly? More think, less draw?
I may seriously have to start considering hiring out pieces of my pie. If anyone is an inker or colorist and would like to have their name on file for potential projects (no guarantees, just name on file) drop me a line at my e-mail which can be found off my website: target="_blank">http://www.ihorace.com Give me your rates per page or per project and approximate time it takes you to do a page. Also a link to your website for samples. IF YOU HAVE NO SAMPLES ONLINE DON'T BOTHER. I won't even consider it. No attachments. You can send links to .pdf's of your comic samples.
This will allow me to do two things: a)Help me possibly speed up future projects and b) Get an inventory of talent that I may or may not tap in the future.
I know I can go kicking around the boards here (i have) but this could save time. Now it's my turn to go run around and see what everyone is up to.
Again, any additional tips or insights would be appreciated!
So Marin- and thanks so much for the kind words! i hope some of these things i've learned can help others!
the place where this doesnt' hold true, i'd say, is when a person is focused on a particular part and so well at it that it is faster for him to jump in, do his inks, and then pass it on to the colorist. (or scanning person... etc) that is where the assembly line comics works. when pepole are so strong on one part and not as strong on others. and truthfully, no matter how indie you are, everyone is probably stronger as a writer or artist (and then as type of artist or type of writer... inks vs. pencils and plot vs. script...) that's why a lot of indie creators will do their own thing, but then mainly on draw for marvel or write for dc. look at bendis. he drew his own comics for years- but have you ever seen him draw a marvel comic? it isn't that he can't draw- but he is most successful writing for other artists.
so if you can get 5 people to all do their strongest bit and not the other parts that they aren't as strong on- especialy coloring- there are many pencillers who dont' color their own stuff since other people can color faster and better- and i know peole who can color at almost unbelievable speeds. seriously. in fact tho i'd guess many colorists also draw- there are few who color and draw professionally.
that would be when assembly lining was best when you could get 5 people who are all especially fast in their field of expertise- with no one doing parts which slow them down. and there's always the real time factor of having multiple people work on the same book at the same time. you could overlap many hours. i've known of a whole comic to be turned in a weekend from start to finish.
so how to actually speed things up?
honestly- i'd say go digital. seriously.
if you are letterring, toning, or coloring, you've pretty much got to do it digitally to keep up nowadays. some people sill letter or tone by hand- but i think that digitially comes out better (unless you are going for the by hand look- and only then, should you do it if you are good enough that it looks better than digitally).
writing is probably, with few exceptions, done pretty much all on computers today- and i've seen script writing software that helps even that speed up- but i work from actual scripts so infrequently that i've not tried it.
in fact, a place that i speed things up is that i typically write in thumbnails. that way i can get mroe of my original ideas out first and then tweak from there. only when i work with another person or need to show an actual script do i write it all out- therre's so much in a comic that is hard to display without images. so many panel descriptions, etc.
and then we're down to pencilling/inking. there are plenty of people who do this all digitally- but i'd say most are still doing pen and paper and i respect that.
if you go all digital- you save time scanning and managing paper- but then you also don't have that paper art to sell or whatever.
going ditigal ultimatley gives you more control over what you're doing. my favorite way to describe this is that you can't "control z" a pencil. the trade off is that you can end up spending longer trying to get things the way you like them, since you can attain that degree of precision you're looking for!
i know i can work faster on a computer than drawing on paper. also- i typically skip a step. usually, an artist (or when i'm on paper) sketches, pencils, and then inks (and there can be a couple stages of pencils). on the comptuer, i really just sketch and then "ink" i will do a little sketch refining- but definitely not as much work as "pencilling" or you could consider it like i completley skip "inking"
so those are some ideas.
also if it takes forever for you to do any step and it represent what you're looking for, then get someone else to do it!
Does the factory system actually speed things up? And is it more cost effective? i.e. individual penciler, inker, colorist, letterer vs. the individual who does it all?
Thanks for the insight Daniel - I hope they not only help myself but others as well.
Seriously. I have one friend in particular who every month does a full comic, from writing to drawing, coloring, lettering- all of it every month. he does 11 issues every year and then spends his off month especially to work on his own animation that he does top to bottom (save voices and he does buy the music...)
on top of that he writes and often draws layouts for usually at least one book for other people to draw, color, letter, etc.
and he'll probably do a short story in black and white for some anthology or something about every month, too.
but he seriously draws, i bet, for 15 hours or more every day.
or there are guys who are faster like mark bagley- every wonder who Ultimate Spider Man reached 100 issues in less than a decade? I read in an interview that he can draw maybe 1 and a 1/2 comics a month- sometimes he'll have more than one book going- but since USM was selling well, they just let him and Bendis (who write a lot of books a month) get them out about as fast as possible.
So if you can work 16 hour days, you could probably get twice as much work out, while not really working any faster.
(and seriously, a lot of us "bivocatinoal" guys do that anyway- just not all drawing. we'll work our regular job for 8 + hours and then come home and draw for a few more after that!- but then our trade off is that we're switching gears, which i think helps the creative process...)
but i think the main thing is to find what time frame works for you. if you do webcomics- don't set a weekly goal of strips that you can't meet. i know that if i draw a lot in a week, i can do like 4- at least. and that's either doing 1 strip for four evenings, or doing a little every day. in the summer, when i'm off work, i can do much more than that. because of this, i post 3 strips a week- and in the summer or other school breaks, i'll build up my catalogue- i'll admit, i've been busy with my seminary work lately- but i am try to typically be a couple weeks ahead, especially in case something happens- that way my strip can continue. there have also been times when i've had so much ahead that i've had a week or two here or there of daily strips, which is also good promo.
but if you know you can draw 2 strips a week, i'd only post 1 a week- agian, so you can get ahead.
when you draw a monthly comic- you don't have that luxury which is why often times, popular artists will do 3 or 4 issues, then there'll be another artist, and then they'll get back on the book. But they probably plan this. they know they can do like 9 issues a year at the quality that they, their publisher, and their fans want- and so they plan it as such- also, you can then either plan 9 issues a year or to have fill in artists- for indy books, typically they'll just do 9 books a year. for company owned books, it'll often be 12 with other artists.
the other good format of the graphic novel is that you don't have a monthly deadline. you just have whatever deadline you need to pay your bills! also a good reason to have another job- or somethign you can fall back on when you're not a popular artist anymore- and face it- comics styles change so much- very few comic creators can have prominence for more than one decade- and if they do it is usually becuase they have a style that is popular on its own and does not follow trends. just look at your 90's comics- which creators stuck around? Or, maybe they were coming into their own in the 90's and in the past decade they were "stars" (as was the case with many artists)- and then look at those who were building in the last decade but are now coming to prominence.
anyway- the GN format is good since you pretty much finish the entire book before it is released. the hang up with mini series is that they don't always finish- especially if they're not making money.
also, i would say it is a good idea to finish an entire project before it is released (unless it is ongoing) so that if sales do warrant it's full relase it is done and you aren't the one stuck with people wanting to buy your book- but you not having a book out- next thing you know peole forget about you. i've seen popular books fall away, not because people wouldn't buy them but because they weren't finished for whatever reason.
so basically find your own pace- one that works for you and you like the quality- and if you're trying to feed yourself, one that can support you financially.
if you find you are slower, it is especially good to finish the work first before it is released
and then whatever schedule you make, stick to it so people aren't stuck forgetting about you and putting their money elsewhere...
I tend to do everything on my projects from pencils to full color. Comic pages doing that full process takes me 3 days approx. A standalone illustration usually takes me 3-4.
I would love to speed things up - both for being able to get more work out and for just upping the speed factor.
How much time do you give yourself for prep work?
Thanks Bob.
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