Eric Orchard's Blog, page 41

Off On Another Adventure

We decided at the last minute to take our annual trip out east. I don't have a lot of time so it'll be a working trip. We'll be setting off today before noon, stopping overnight in Montreal ans pushing on to Halifax the next day. Once again I will attempt to work in the passenger seat. That's always been my least effective work place but maybe it'll work this time.

I'm in a good place professionally and am feeling pretty hopeful these days. I have 2 comics with publishers, Maddy Kettle and one other. I just picked up Maddy again and it will be done pretty soon. On top of that I'm working on two pitches with two authors, one for a series of novels and one for a comic. So, I feel like things are going in the right direction.

At the moment I'm finishing up the last few commissions. But those are just about done.

My current approach is to put finishing things above looking for more work. I've said this before but I'm spread too thin once more. If there's one thing I've learned it's to know what I can actually handle.

A Sketch And Some Preparation

A litt;e sketchbook sketch to share today. I'm always torn between drawing big eyed characters and dot eyed characters, I find them both aesthetically really interesting.'

And it seems the family is making a last minute trip to the east coast tomorrow. I'm packing up my work and am pretty much ready to go already. A drive from Toronto to Halifax with a brief stop in Montreal. It'll be a short trip this time. We're planning a proper visit at Christmas time, by train.

In any case I'll be away from the internet for a while. I'll be doing some advance posting but my internet access will be limited to cafes and wireless rest stops along the way.

Talk to you soon!

Catwoman

I felt a bit under the weather yesterday so I took some time off and ended up reading a big pile of Batman comics. And I did this sketch of Catwoman on my iPad using the Procreate app. Catwoman can be a visually really interesting character. It'd be really fun to do a comic set in the Batman universe some day. My favorite Batman comics are the ones that have Batman as a sort of super detective and that really use the geography of Gotham. I find the city in Batman comics a bit underused. So much potential there. 

Cat Island Rider

A Cat Island sketch I did a little while ago. I think they need mounts and I love owls so this makes a lot of sense to me. Working on rewrites right now. I think the story got too elaborate and I'm pulling back a bit now. Looking at the format too and trying to figure out the best approach. I'm really looking forward to getting to draw this one.

Huge thunderstorm just passed by. The power even when out for a bit. That never seems to happen in Toronto. 

Tree Spirit

A pencil drawing of a mask. This is for a project that just popped up and I can't say much about yet but I would LOVE to see it happen. It's very rooted in faery and all ages fantasy, with heaps of Froud, Henson and stuff like that in the mix. 

Big Bad Wolf Commission

Here's another commission, and gosh this one was fu to draw. It's Zeke Wolf from the Three Little Pigs short in Disney's Silly Symphonies of 1929. He's been in a number of Disney films since, including Who Framed Rodger Rabbit. I'm slowly wading through a bunch of work. I'm eager to do some new projects and I can't get there fast enough. 

Dog

I just finished another big stack of commissions and am getting nearer the end of them. Today is dedicated to the Cat Island comic, getting thumbnails and dialogue worked out for the first story. I think it's coming together well, the process is like assembling all these pieces that are already there in some kind of coherent form.

Above is a digital drawing for yet another project. Which means I'm going back and forth between three books. I really want to get down to one book like a normal person but there's lots of work first. 

Jack Pumpkinhead Of Oz

Here's my ink and watercolour picture of Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz. I love drawing pumpkins.

I'm about midway through the commissions and have a big stack to colour right now but need to switch gears to get some writing done today. Which is easier to find ways to procrastinate with than drawing, in my case. But I have a story all planned out so now it's about filling it out.

And we have internet again! And a phone! Glad to be once more connected to the world. 

Cat Elder, Commission

It's nice wen a commission leads to an insight on a story you're writing. I felt that Cat Island needed a strong grown up character, a guide for the younger characters. Otherwise it felt out of balance. I kept drawing a grizzled old male Cat Islander but it didn't feel right. So while doing a commission this character appeared out of nowhere and the problem was suddenly solved. I'd always wanted to have an older female character in a fantasy story. Very happy about accidentally meeting this girl.

And, in the it never rains it pours category, Henry has managed to soak our only phone with a mysterious sticky substance, totally ruining it. So, now we have no Internet or phone. And of course an important business call came through yesterday that didn't manage to reach me. I set up another call but boy it's frustrating being cut off like this. I'm still posting from the library. Which is kind of nice, I love hanging out in the library.

Library Cats

Here's a detail from a commission I completed earlier this week. I'm posting from the library because my internet went down today. And it looks like we are going to get a new provider so I might be offline for a while. Or only online at the library, which is across the street so not a terrible hassle. But if you're trying to get a hold of me it might take a bit for me to get back to you for the time being. On top of the internet our pretty elderly dog has gotten sick so I guess we will be putting our money into vet bills before internet for a little while. I think I'll remember this summer as a challenging one. But by October I should have one book finished and another one otr two well on their way. so it'll all be worth it.

If you've asked for a commission and haven't paid yet please do so as I'm using Paypal to do the commissions in order of when you've paid, it just makes it simpler for me.

Maybe no internet for a while will be a good thing. Les Google search tangents and more drawing. Here's hoping there's a silver lining.