Weekend Update!
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 03:08:20 PM
NEWSFLASH! A weekend update actually on a weekend (if you're on Central Time, of course...) What a concept!
Brief one, this week.
I didn't *quite* get everything done I'd hoped to, last week. But four of the last five pages are drawn, and so this week, I start coloring those pages of the last chapter that need coloring, and we begin final layout.
I should soon have a handle soon on how long this last bit will take.
"Last bit."
WOW, that is fun to say.
It is almost an unreal feeling to have the final chapter all drawn, and staring back at me. (Save for that one page, and the double-spread I'm still hoping will make it into the book).
In the meantime...here are a couple of photos from the studio, last week.
My studio mate was VERY helpful, as you can see. That's probably why I got so much work done.
She's a lovely old cat.
And dig my amazing pandemic hair! I have passed my Carl Sagan-stage bangs, and am now dangerously close to a Paul McCartney-circa-"Wings-Over-America"-stage mullet!
Be safe and well,
- John
Monday, Monday...
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Nov 10, 2020 at 01:36:20 PM
Hi, all!
It's another Monday "Weekend Update."
OK - as of this morning, I had three pages left to draw: a one-pager toward the start of the story, and a two-page sequence towards the end.
Much like the sequence I showed you recently, this two-pager marks an important moment in the story, and just needed more space. So I increased it to four pages. It works really well, now, and I should have those pages finished tomorrow.
That would then leave the single page left.
I should have that done by the end of the week.
I'd still love to include a double-page spread I mentioned before, as well. I'll work on that as I start the final coloring and layout of the last chapter. I don't want it to hold up production, but I'd love it if it can make it in.
(If it can't, I can definitely use it for something else, but I'll have a sad).
I wish I could show you some of these pages, but these last ones are all very spoiler-y.
Instead, here's Studio Cat, up on some original artwork:
She's a lovely old girl, and incredibly sweet. She's a formal feral cat who hung out by the house, and then became my studio companion.
Anyway, final coloring and layout should begin next week. Once that happens, I'll probably be able to start giving you an actual countdown to getting this to print, and getting PDFs to you!
I'm ridiculously happy with how this is turning out.
Have a great week,
- John
Another Monday Weekend Edition!
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Nov 03, 2020 at 12:10:41 PM
Remember last week, and that page that I said I was thinking about abandoning, and turning into a longer sequence?
Well, here it it. Along with the point of abandonment.
To me, it just was trying to do too much, story wise, on a single page. It felt rushed, and it felt like it deserved more space.
So here are the pages it became, last week:
I just noticed I need to touch up Ken's glasses in the middle panel of the first page. And backgrounds need to be added, but that should be a breeze.
The Tao of Igor is at a point where I really don;t want to add any more pages to it - it's going to be a big bloody book.
But this sequence was well worth it.
OK. The elephant in the room. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Literally a historic day, for the US and the world.
I don't know about you, but I'm nervous as hell.
But anyway...just in case you CAN...and just in case you HAVEN'T YET...here's the gang's view on voting!
Stay safe and stay sane, everyone. Indugle in self-care if you need to. Here's hoping the next week isn't as rough as some are predicting.
We'll get through this together.
- John
Weekend Update (Monday Edition)
almost 4 years ago
– Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 12:45:31 PM
Shortly before bedtime, last night, I remembered everything I had forgotten to do, during Sunday,
One of them was the Weekend Update.
Sorry, all!
ANYhoo...
Lots of drawing was accomplished last week. So, yay!
There are a few of pages left to draw. I’m adding a couple, because one sequence seemed too squashed, timing-wise, to fit on a single page. So I adding two pages. These should take very little time to complete. Possibly finished by tomorrow, even.
There’s a two-page spread I would *love* to include in the book. It fills out a sequence nicely. But it will be tricky to draw. If it looks like it will postpone things any longer, I probably won’t add it.
Apart from those, I’m pretty certain we’re down to the last three pages that need drawn. One page involving Igor, and the other two…well, that’d be telling, now, wouldn’t it?
None of these are particularly difficult pages. The difficult ones are now behind me. They came out better than I could have hoped for!
The final chapter will end up being 44 or 46 pages long (depending on if I can get that nifty double-spread finished in time). It's twice as long as I thought it was going to be, originally, but I am over-the-moon happy with it.
I’ve called “The Tao of Igor” a “celebration of conventions” before, but it’s really the last chapter that’s totally over-the-top celebratory. Completing it during this year of cancelled cons has been bittersweet, but it made me realize just how much I love them. I’m hoping this love shines through, when you get your copies.
Many of the last chapter’s pages are colored. Once I finish these last drawings, I’ll begin coloring the rest, and sending them to layout.
There’s a five-page “bonus” comic that I’d love to fit into the book, but if that doesn’t happen, I’ll send it out as an extra PDF, later. It’ll just have to go in another collection. Which is OK – it’s really got nothing to do with the Tao of Igor storyline, itself. Just the gang on an adventure, as their RPG characters.
Anyway, here’s one of the pages I drew last week.
Two small notes:
(1) Back in the day, I very well might have simply cut-and-pasted the con committee chair’s pic throughout the first eight panels. Possibly moved her eyeballs up or down. That's no fun. Drawing it all, however, was.
(2) Yes. Yes I *did* have to go back through the Dork Tower online archived to find a reference for Igor’s gerbil cage.
This was a comic from 2003!
That is one long-lived gerbil!
I hope you and yours are well, and more stuff is coming next week!
We're entering the home stretch.
Stay safe!
- John
Weekend Update Six
almost 4 years ago
– Mon, Oct 19, 2020 at 12:24:55 PM
This is a REALLY short update, as I had to spend much of today prepping for and then running a Zoom D&D 5e session for my daughter's 12th birthday, with some of her friends.
It’s the first D&D I’ve run since the start of the pandemic. It was also my first attempt at running a game via Zoom. (I've got Roll20, but haven't yet finished the tutorials).
It was a lot of fun, though DM’ing for 11- and 12-year-olds is obviously far different than for adults. I need to get better at it – though my daughter had a lot of fun, and the kids are asking for more, I can up my game.
Anyway, the highlight of the week, as far as the Tao of Igor goes, was finishing some pages that – I’ll be honest – petrified me. But they came out great.
I can’t show you them – they’re VERY spoiler-y. By the next update I should be able to start showing you pages again: I’ll be coloring some of the remaining pages from the last chapter. They're nice enough, but give nothing away.
Not much was accomplished, layout-wise, this week. That should start speeding up in the next week or two.
As I said: very short weekend update, this week.
I hope you are staying well, and that you and yours are safe.
- John
