Sabbatical, Day Two (Chasing Bolland)

I was determined to finish last night's second page before packing it in, and it cost me a little bit this morning. I want to be up by 6:30AM and at the drawing table by 7:30AM every day, and wasn't there until 9AM. Not that big a deal, except the page I was working on was more complex than the two that preceded it, and it took longer to finish. Add to that the fact that for whatever reason, I was terribly distracted today, and found myself taking continuous breaks.

So I clocked-out at approx. 6:15PM...mere seconds before our power went out due to a blown transformer up the street. (Electrical, not CGI.)

It was also a weird day at the page, because it was the first time I worked on a narrative with these characters that are based so directly on my friends. Making them take shape, and having those little moments where they really, really looked and moved and just felt like their real-life counterparts , that's a blast.

In-between pencil strokes I got my spare computer wired for sound, so now I can enjoy iTunes while at the drawing board. Then once the power was eventually restored, I got Wayne to take a photo of me at the drawing board, as proof that yes, this isn't a hoax. I'm creating a comic-book here folks. Step right up and see the Devoted Fanboy and his Delusions of Grandeur in Graphite Black & White!

Day Two also saw the introduction of intermittent flashes of panic. Moments where I'd stop, look at my artwork, realize that I aim to work on a level of artists like Brian Bolland, who is one of my favorite artists ever...and then I'd feel my brain send out signals to every nerve ending, signaling contraction into a fetal position.

Then I'd push past it and keep drawing. And then I'd look at it again and realize this is the best stuff I've ever done. Seriously, RedGlare and BrightStar are adorable, and Deathglare...man, he's just wicked. He may be my break-out character. After years of thinking about it, I finally got to let him do his destroying thing. And he's one mean mo-fo.

If I can work at a speed of one and a half pages a day for a couple of weeks, I'll finish this book ahead of schedule. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

6:30AM. I can do it. I can.

Yep. More to come.

Today's music choices: Alicia Keys, Maxwell, Prince