Ah, remember when people visited blogs, and people blogged, and people commented on blogs? Good times. good times.

Here’s a monkey (actually a gorilla) drawn in Manga Studio 5.

Now, on to business:

Numbercruncher 1 is getting closer. Very exciting. I’ve seen coloured pages, I’ve seen interior layouts. I am happy. Can’t wait for it to finally hit (not least because it feels like an absolute age since I’ve had anything in print…) Oh, since it’s solicited, here’s the unadorned Numbercruncher 3 cover. Hope you like it!

Dredd- on the final part now. Running a little late (gah! It started so well, part one was handed in a full two weeks ahead of deadline… oh well).

Bad news: I’ve gone entirely digital. Or, I’ve started to. See if, when it comes out in print, you can guess which page marks the first all digital page I drew (I did four pages digitally inked, then one page fully digitally). (Oh, and Tharg declared on panel ‘lovely’ – Tharg is like a stone, it’s hard to pry anything out of him, so this, I’m taking to the bank…)

I’ve been doing all of the numbercruncher covers in Manga Studio 5, but it’s only recently I’ve started pencilling them in it too. I suspect pencilling may be the last holdout. Happy to ink and colour on computer, pencilling still feels like I’m missing something – maybe a larger cintiq (if anyone wants to hook me up with a free 22″ HD cintiq, that’d be SWELL).

Starting to prep for what’s next, after Dredd -there is, of course, Monsterology – various delays have beset us – and there’s still some script due, but I can’t wait to put that to bed and see it in print.

Then, after that something research heavy, but brilliant writing, as you’d expect from … oh wait, I’d better now say.

THEN… another project,which is very experimental, and yet, something that harks back to an older form of comics. That’ll be fun too.

Plenty to do. In the meantime… ook ook.

Some manga studio colour sketches.

Sometime mortal enemy, occasional friend and often very angry man, Matt Timson suggested I give a triangle shaped brush a go in Manga Studio. Version 4 allows you to set the pen tip to a variety of shapes, “Polygon” is one of them. It lends a more brush like feel to the pen – at least it feels more brush like to me.

MS 5, unfortunately, while enormously more flexible in many ways, doesn’t seem to have the simple and effective polygon shape any more.

Here’s a HULK drawn in MS4 with the pen. Spot colour added in MS too.

Strictly speaking, this is my first drawing of 2013. (Brush and ink, with colours in Manga Studio 4)

It’s STILL fresh – it’s not late. Mostly.

And some annotations:

Pg 1: Arthritis, Asthma, Asperger’s.

I have arthritis in my fingers – diagnosed confirmed last year. To the best of my knowledge, even if it gets a whole lot worse than it is, it won’t effect the drawing – though it does make typing uncomfortable. I’ve met a few artists with far worse arthritis in their fingers than me, and they’re fine.

Asthma

Thomas, who we’d previously been assuming was a viral wheezer (which presents like asthma, but is slightly different -) has probably developed asthma. We had a few hospital visits with him, but less than the previous year, and, hopefully, we can make them less and less in the coming years.

Asperger’s.

Nathan is on track for a diagnoses with Aspergers. If he has it, he has it in a very mild form. We’ve bounced back and forth about whether to get a confirmed diagnosis (it’s a multi disciplinary diagnosis, with lots of stages). But, in the end, it’ll help the school to help him. (Aspergers is a mild form of autism, kids with it tend to be very bright, but very awkward social animals and have difficulty with some stuff and can excel at other things).

Of course, as the diagnosis was read out to my wife she kept looking at me, and I knew what she was thinking, it was “he is exactly like you”.

Those have been the big downs through the year, but, to be honest, we’re at the other side of each of them (to a greater or lesser degree) and while none of them are things that will ever really go away, knowing about them and being able to deal with them has made this year a lot easier.

I learnt to cook. Set out to do so, and largely did. I’ve blogged a bit about it previously. I’d like to take some sort of proper cooking lessons though, but I’m much more comfortable with hitting a recipe book and throwing something together. (In fact, I’m even comfortable making some food up…)

Annette started driving. We’ve been together 18 years this year (blimey!) and she’s had her licence the entire time, but this is the first time she’s ever actually driven. She doesn’t like it (but then, neither did I in my first year of driving). But it opens the world up a bit.

Decided not to do anything but local cons last year. 2D was enormous fun (though I lost my voice after the first night and was a fair bit wrecked after wards) and DICE was the most promising con of my career. Though, as is often the case, the initial excitement of possibilities gave way to the inevitable crash to ground realities.

Still, with a bit of luck, this year I can start following up some of the introductions made at DICE.

Page 2

Sketching/Kevetching/Wretching.

Actually did a fair amount of sketching this year, December saw an advent sketch a day. I enjoyed it, and will probably do it again next year (if I remember). BUT it stole time away from actually drawing comics (or playing with the kids) so this year, sketching to learn to draw rather than just for dicking around.

Kevetching, should be spelt Kvetching. (Which I knew, but forgot) one of many lovely yiddish words I love. Basically I did a lot of moaning.

Wretching. Ok, that’s just a fib because I liked the three words together…

Analogue to Digital (there and back again). I kept flirting with digital drawing (in fact did a few things ALL digital, including a cover and a few pages). I had my most successful attempt at going all digital – it lasted for three days.  This year, though, I’m not even going to try it (even with Manga Studio 5 EX coming out in the summer). Digital for cleanup/organise/colour, and that’s it. My brush inking has gotten clumsy and rusty, and I need to go back to it and relearn a lot of skills I’ve let atrophy.

And the rest. Well, it felt like a full year. This past year was the first one where we weren’t still in mourning for lost loved ones, and where no one spent any significant period in hospital. The kids were old enough to both be in school this year (so I actually started to claw back time) though my drawing speed started to slow down as doubt started entering my head.

So, you know, 2012, felt like a good year zero for a lot of things. 2013, I’m hoping can be the ground floor to a solid future.

Hope the new one is good to you too.

Pen and ink and brush. Really fighting with my drawing tools. I think they think I’ve neglected them. Toned and coloured in Manga Studio 5.

Stumbled across an amazing pic on the interweb – lighting was incredible on it. Thought it needed some batman, so I did a quick colour sketch.

(In manga studio 5)

That’s it, though, you’re unlikely to get any more sketches from me in 2012. And I’m determined not to hit the computer as much in 2013 – though I’ll try and fill a sketchbook.

Go Read Part 1 here, if you haven’t already, and here’s part 2… in Super Special B&W and red all over version, chums!

-pj

(I make no apologies for lack of likenesses! Nor for my lack of reindeer and certainly not for being late. Er…)