Eric Orchard's Blog, page 55

Start The Year With A Robot!

Happy new year everyone! I hope the holidays were great for everyone and I hope this year is a wonderful one for you. Here's a drawing I did last year for a charity auction to help Japan recover fro the devastating earthquake. Here's hoping for a better year in that regard. I'd love to see more peace, prosperity and compassion this year. Things we could always use more of.

I'm posting this too because I've started scripting the Robot Museum book again. I started scripting it as an illustrated book but it came out as a comic, I think it's a process that's becoming second nature to me, I just find it's an easier route for me to write tat way rather than in prose. After working on and off on the Robot Museum the story finally came together over the holidays. So, I'm taking this week to fine tune it and start thumb-nailing before tackling the second half of Maddy Kettle. I'm still not sure how or where to publish Robot museum, there are so many options these days it's hard to know what's best. I'm also thinking I'll do it in pencil and digital, which is a medium I find I do a lot of my strongest work in. All I need to do is find the right paper....

In The Bat Cave

Here the adventurers find themselves in a strange cave in Arizona. Right now I'm working on page 39 of Maddy Kettle and I think I'll be able to finish page 40 by tomorrow. So, things are moving right along. A couple of big life changes coming up, As I mentioned yesterday we'll be moving in the Spring. We're already apartment hunting for a place downtown. Also, I'll become a stay at home dad. At least until H starts school. We figure it's the best way I continue these projects. 

Back From Christmas Town

We got back from our Christmas holiday last night and it was one of my bestest Christmases ever. It was great to be with family and just relax. I managed to read three books and watch two movies, play video games and start scripting a new story. And I didn't feel stressed or tired the whole time. I need to take more breaks, they're so productive for me! Above Henry is trying to catch a remote control helicopter, which is an example of the kind of activities we took part in. I also got to try astronaut ice-cream for the first time, which tastes exactly like ice-cream except it's room temperature and it's crumbly and dry. Very weird. We also discussed future plans and it seems we're moving in the Spring. Another incentive to get the first Maddy book finished. Right now I'm back to work, inking page 38 of Maddy Kettle while Julie and Henry get caught up on sleep. After I get to page 40 I need to pencil another 20 pages and start the process over again. I didn't make it to page 40 by Christmas so let's see if I can make it there before new years day.

Merry Christmas!

Jingle Bats

I'm about three quarters finished inking Maddy Kettle page 37 right now and when I'm done I'm doing some last minute tweaks to a science fiction webcomic for Tor. I could probably push on to page 38 of Maddy but I think I'll leave it there and start my Holiday. My plan was to finish up to page 40 but 37 is fine. After I'm done page 40 when I return from Ottawa I start penciling the next 20 pages. I've settled into 20 page batches which seems to work really well. In Ottawa I'll be writing my science fiction story Robot Museum and reading lots of science fiction. And of course relaxing. 

Three More Days Of Drawing

Well, with three more days of drawing before I leave for Christmas I've made it to page 35, which is pretty good. I won't make it to 40 like I had hoped but will at least get to page 36 which is more than fine. I've finally finished a really difficult scene so the next few pages should go easier. I find the day time desert easier to draw than a dark cavern. 

Lost!

Here is the cloud exploring gang lost in a cave in Arizona. I just finished inking page 33 and I expect to get to 35 before we leave for Christmas. Not where I wanted to be but close enough, really. Before I start page 34 I need to fix my studio, I misplaced a piece of art and completely took my studio apart and now there is piles of artwork all over the top floor of the house. It looks very daunting to deal with. I think I need a better system. I also need to send off some final, late Christmas cards. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break. I filled my Kindle with a bunch of science fiction book I've been wanting to read and I bought a new sketchbook to develop a new idea in. 

Gearing Up To slow Down

Just putting the last touches on a Maddy Kettle page before I take the rest of the day to work on business stuff. Which is a lot less fun than drawing or writing. Maddy is still going well and will still be done by Spring but I'm looking ahead to what I should do after Maddy and am revisiting the Robot Museum, see the Mimblebot pictured above. I'm reading a lot of science fiction lately and have a real urge to tell a sci fi story with lots of pictures. I'm thinking something not strictly a comic book though. I'll be off to Ottawa soon and am I'll be bringing just a sketchbook for writing with me. Also a ton of reading material, of course. As the first Maddy book gets closed finished I'll be talking a lot more about this project again. 

Into The Cave

Sorry about the lack of posts! I've been so busy with the comic I barely have time to raise my head. And this is a particularly difficult sequence, Maddy, Harry and Silvio find themselves lost in a dark cave, with strange sounds all around them. So, lots and lots of shading.This page took so long I'm actually running a bit behind my self imposed deadline, instead of getting to page 40 by Christmas I'll probably somewhere between page 35 and 37. Close enough, I think. Overall I'm still on track.

On breaks I've been reading Fantagraphics first Pogo collection, which I simply can't say enough good things about. Run out and get it as soon as you can. 

Balloon Down!

Another panel from Maddy Kettle, this one took a while. Am very, very honoured to be included in this piece from The Idler with a group of incredible artists.  I answer a few questions about my influences and projects. And it's by a writer whose work I really, truly love Rosemary Van Deuren, both as a journalist and a novelist.


Now back to working on Maddy, right now they are in a mysterious cave in Arizona and there is a n inexplicable snoring noise coming from the darkness......