2009/09/24 - Jirou

Yesterday I went out for lunch and didn't realize that the leaves were turning colour until that day. It was very beautiful. Autumn is already here upon us. Can you believe it? A year has passed since I decided to draw more comics.

A few days ago I finished the pencils for OSCP4. It is something like 95 pages. I wonder if how many pages I will have to throw away and whether what I have right now makes any sense at all or not. Comics take so long to do yet they are so easy to read quickly. What takes me several months to produce probably only takes an hour to read at most. How long will it take me to ink all this?! D:


I scanned in and started inking parts of the first page today. Here is a part of a panel. I'm kind of out of practice. Already I feel that the drawing is going to superior to OSCP3 in so many ways. I can't even look at OSCP3 without cringing or thinking about how I would draw a certain thing different. If I start a new comic project someday I want to try doing it in a different style.

It has been a while hasn't it?

So much has happened in the past few months! I went to a lot of events over the summer including TCAF, MoCCA, and Otakon.  I am not sure if I will be going to SPX or APE or not but deep down in my heart I really wish I could go!  I already signed up for Canzine in Toronto which is happening this November 1st though. :D I hope to see some of you there! I should have a new zine and mini comic out by then. Please look for it!

I'm working on the pencils for OSCP4 now.  I'm 34 pages in!  About 1/3rd into the comic... Can you believe it? It was around this same time last year that I drew and finished the first issue of OSCP in two weeks. D:  My artwork has changed so much since then.  It is really embarrassing just to look at it and realize how bad my drawing was a year ago.  It is still really horrible (as in needs more improvement as always), and though I am happy for improvement it is kind of bad how there is no consistency between issues

From June 2008


From May 2009

I think it really helped me to keep my lines simpler and thicker.  I guess the art has gotten more stylized, and it has helped that I am more familiar with my characters as well.

Inking my pencils has really helped me improve as through the process I realize what is drawn poorly and what I can improve on.

The difference really is astounding!  And already my pencils are so much better as you can see from this page for OSCP4!

Anyway, I'm going to keep working hard.  Thank you everyone for your continued support! I'm going to try and update this blog more frequently as well. :D

2009/02/16 and 03/08

Whoa- long time no see- I've been so busy with school and drawing comics that I forgot that I had a blog or a website to even update. D: Anyway, I just did a massive update on the website a few minutes ago. I finished inking the third issue of OSCP today except for three pages that I am dreading to ink because they are so boring. D: D: I am accepting preorders for the third issue. But it is kind of thick (about 75+ pages) and so the price has to go up. Which is kind of sucky. *A*; I'm so sorry that it is so expensive. (>_<; Who is going to buy this? OMG. >_<;

From 2009/2/16


From 2009/03/08

I've been trying my hand at brushwork but wasn't able to apply any of these skills for the comic I just finished since I can only draw monsters well with it. Also, my brushes are already starting to curve instead of having nice points like when I bought them. Maybe it is because of how I hold the brush...

(click on the image to see a larger size)
That duck in the corner saying "OH BOY OH BOY" gets me every time. I need to make a comic featuring this duck. If only a day lasted more than 24 hours, then I could get done all of the things that I want to do. orz

Oh yeah, some of my screenprints and some paintings are up at an exhibit at the RPS Collective in Oakland until April 25th. You can buy some prints and copies of OSCP#2 there as well. Photos from the reception and other info can be found here.

2008/12/19 - Jirou and Winter Comics!

Jirou looking kind of scary. I wonder what is on his mind?

And I updated the website with winter comics for a comic anthology I participated in called "White Christmas".  The anthology is so awesome though.  You should check out each and every one of the artists who appear in the book. All of the stories are really excellant.  It was great fun being able to participate in this project.  Thanks to Colleen and Laura for pulling this book together!

HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING: christmas comics
36 pages long, featuring comics by Jordyn Bochon, Greg Denton, Jesse Jacobs, Laura Kenins, Jody Kramer, Chris Lockerbie, Colleen MacIsaac, Saicoink, and Leslie Supnet.

I have one or two extra copies left.  Let me know if you want a hard copy. Printed and bounded with love in Halifax.

2008/11- It's been a while!

I haven't posted in such a long time! Things have been hectic here as my schedule hardly affords me any breathing time or sleeping time. Canzine went without a hitch. It was a lot of fun to be hanging out with other artists and people interested in self-publishing and zines and mini comics. It's not the most ideal place for comics though there were some cool artists to attend the event. I'll be posting more about the books I bought sometime soon when I have the free time. Next time if I do attend Canzine again I'll be sure to book my own table.

Anyway, a big thank you for everyone who stopped by the table and to those who picked up copies of OSCP. I hope that you weren't so surprised with the content and that you were able to have some enjoyment from the books. D: I worry about this so much. *_*;

I just finished a six page comic for a Christmas-themed anthology my friends are putting together. I'll post more information on the project as I learn more. My story isn't all that hot since I am out of ideas and all that- but there are some excellent artists to join aboard the book so it should be worth your while. :-)

I have some exciting projects lined up for the coming months including an online version of OSCP and some illustration projects. Look out for it! I'll post news about it as things progress. In the mean time, I need to figure out how to survive what is remaining of this term in school.

Here is Oscar from one of the working sketches for the web comic. It is a prologue to issue one and takes place during Junior year when Jirou first meets Oscar:

After I complete that I will have to work on redrawing all of issue one. So many things to do... orz Who knows what the future will hold?!

2008/10/21 Canzine!

I will be attending Canzine this year in Toronto on October 26th, Sunday. It is a one day event. The 5$ entrance fee gets you a free copy of the magazine Broken Pencil and access to lots of cool zines, books, comics from independent presses as well as many interesting events.

I will be attending with Kim Hoang, Wai Khan Au, and Phil McAndrew. I think our table will be located under the name Bella Torta Press.

Open Spaces and Closed Places #2 is printed and ready for sale at Canzine. I guess you can say it will debut at Canzine.

The artwork this time is has improved a lot over the first issue. It's really amazing what I am able to accomplish in two months. I'm really excited to hear people's reaction to this. (But filled with shame and embarrassment at the same time for this and the first issue). orz

Things I will have for sale:
- OSCP #1 & #2
- Gilles & Sylvie mini comic (new!)
- Interchangeable Ogata Calendar
- two mini linocut prints
- two different kinds of postcards
- and buttons----

If you buy something from me I'll most likely give you a button for free- but only if you're nice to me. :-) I look forward to meeting people at the event. If you actually have read this blog, let me know. *A*;

On Saturday I'll put up more information on how you can order OSCP#2 over the Internets. I'm still busy preparing some extras for those of you who purchase a copy. :D

2008/10/12 - Not amused

I've been busy, not really wanting to talk to people or contact them or whatever because I've been working on the second issue of my comic. *A*;  Sorry about that.  Once I finish it for Canzine, I'm going to be able to move on with my life, read more and study more, and most importantly get in contact with people again. *A*;

Anyway, here is a panel from a page of the comic that I finished inking today.  It takes me so long to do inking- like it took me four hours just to ink and edit this one page (editting includes adding tones and blacks, etc.).  I have 10 pages left to ink and three more pages to pencil and ink as well.  I'm using a combination of digital inking and brush as well.  The brush is used for the more dynamic and weird stuff because it lends itself better to that.  Digital inking takes a really long time, but because I can't draw, it works well for what I'm doing.

The comic will be about 32 pages + about 6-8 pages of extra materials, depending on how things go with time.

2008/08/26 - Trashy Shoujo Manga

Click on the image for larger version. Have you ever read tacky 70s shoujo manga before? It is my bread and butter.

2008 - Ogata Calendar

I finally completed the calendar featuring minor character Ogata from manga series Hikaru no Go. If you don't know who Ogata is I think you can still enjoy this calender if you have kind of suits and glasses moe or like interesting kimoi illustrations. The calendar goes up until the end of 2009 so you can use it for a long time! You can alternate between seven different illustrations.

It is a wall calendar that has been put together entirely by hand. I cut the illustrations, cardboard, and calendar portion by hand- so this is seriously a kind of DIY project.

Retailing for 5$US/CDN + 2$ shipping for US/CDN and 3$ for International. Drop me a message if you want one! I only have 18 calendars left! I also have three more copies of the Oh! Gotta Go doujinshi we created last year. All of the stories are very strong in of themselves. You don't need to know who Ogata is- we kind of created a kind of Ogata that isn't like the Ogata in the original manga and anime. It's totally awesome. Please check it out! These are probably the last three copies that you can actually purchase.

I will be creating a website for the calendar sometime soon. D: D: Hopefully in the next week but there is so much going on right now. :-(

2002 - Sarah Follows the Leader (2)

I have always really liked this panel. It is Sarah and Borgia climbing out of an abandoned building found on the school grounds. I never draw trees or backgrounds of buildings or anything so something like this was quite a feat for me. Even now looking at it makes me happy.

Now I don't draw the word bubbles right into the comic like I used to here. Now I draw the image and panel fully and add in the word bubbles only after I have finished inking and everything.

2002 - Sarah Follows the Leader (1)

I have a lot more free time lately so I started to look at some of the old things that I drew. This panel here is from the comic I drew for the anthology Doujisoup back in the day. The title was "Sarah Follows the Leader," though now that I think about it the title doesn't make much sense when you read the story. Re-reading the story now, six years after I have written it is a rather strange feeling. It is as if I am looking back at myself from six years ago. Looking at the art I used to draw I feel that many things have changed and it makes me kind of sad. :-(

Anyway, I decided to take the time to scan some of my old comics and feature in this blog some of my favorite panels from these stories I drew. I don't have the computer files on hand with all of the editing so here you will get the images in their raw form.

To describe this image here... Borgia had accidentally knocked down a door to a closed off room, hence her position on the ground like this. I really like this kind of contrast between black and white. The comic I drew before this one in 2001 called Shashinshuu had a lot of play between bodies of black just like this. During this time I was drawing a lot of oekaki as well and was at my height of competence in this area (using the mouse- I did not own a tablet). I really like this. I don't think I could draw something like this today.

This comic and the ones I drew for Doujisoup had really haphazard panel layouts as I tried to be "creative" but only ended up putting too much information on to one page. This is a problem that I still face today with my comics- that I end up with crunched layouts and too many details that don't show up in the reproduction.

Today I found Lareine doujinshi I drew from the same period in 2001 and it is kind of embarrassing to look at since the line work is not that great. But there were some really good panels so I think I will try to scan these another day.

2005? Karl and Vasek

I started this comic several years ago about two brothers named Vasek and Karel inspired by the works of Czech brothers Karel (writer) and Josef (artist) Capek.  I drew the comic in a whimsical style borrowing some elements from Josef Capek. The story was based on a dream I had about a magical princess who could change her shape.  Well, I shan't say more lest I ruin the story!  Actually, I have only finished four pages and am at a stand still.  But I am quite found of this little story and the pages I have inked and lettered so when I find the time I will try to finish the rest and try to make my first comic book in three or four years (?I'm not really keeping count) after I redraw and revise the pacing in 'Finland Sardines'.  The book will be comics that children can read.

The challenge thus far has been trying to keep the story interesting, but after a period of some odd years, I would like to believe that my drawing skills have improved so perhaps it will not be as diffiult as it was several years ago to finish the story.  I hope to pick this up someday soon since I believe wholeheartedly that it can be something beautiful once I complete it.

2007 Mr. Ogata & His Fish (preview)

It is quite amazing, but I managed to finish a 11 page comic with pencils and inking in a week and a half. D;  I guess this happens when you haven't drawn any comics in two years or so.  I am joining with a couple of my friends to create a book about Ogata.  I don't usually draw this kind of fan stuff, so I guess this is a sort of rare opportunity for me.

I messed up on drawing his glasses in the final frame.  If I have the time I will go back and reink the frame.

How do you usually draw comics?  What I tend to do is to make pencil sketches and using a light box, ink through that way.  There are people that can do pencils and then do the final without a light box which I think is very amazing.  Using the light box can be tiring because the light is bright, and it can strain my eyes.  The box is also very hot as well.  So often times, the most I can manage to do is ink two pages and take a rest.  Well, I suppose I should take a rest anyway after all that work!

I wish that there was an easier way to do things.  I enjoy my pencils a lot and have found that it's easier to re-do panels if I still have my pencils.  I also do not have to worry about erasing after inking if I had done it directly on the pencils.  

I had some more interesting things to say about this, but now I'm really tired so I guess I might go back and edit this later. :-(