Eric Orchard's Blog, page 56

Silvio Hanging Out

Here's a panel of Silvio making an escape. The book is going pretty smooth right now, I still have about 10 pages to finish before Christmas but I'll be happy with seven. I'm a little bit absent from my blog and online life in general, but lots of art is getting made. 

Thanks For The Art Emerald!

I love getting fan art! I'm always surprised when it happens because the book isn't even out yet, but I guess it says something nice about the characters that I do get fan art.

These wonderful drawings of Silvio, a kangaroo rat and Maddy are a collaboration between Emerald and her dad Scotty Ewing. Thanks so much to both of you, this makes me so happy!

A Fine Desert Night

Here's a recently inked Maddy Kettle panel. They are having a meal of "moon beans" in the desert having just patched up their hot air balloon. Right now I'm on page 28 and my hope is to get to page 40 before Christmas, when we go to Ottawa. I'm starting to have doubts I'll hit that self imposed deadline, looking ahead at some of the pages I pencilled are waiting for inks they look like 40 or 50 hour inking jobs. However, I have no other commitments until then so I'll do my very best. 


Changing the subject a bit, I was reading a line from Alan Moore about writing, and how he writes by creating a world, which suggests characters, which in turn suggests the stories. I already have a pretty good idea of the world where Maddy Kettle takes place but this made me feel like I could go a lot deeper. And right away, after a few lines, everything started to make more sense.

So I started with an image of a small squirrel in a squirrel sized Victorian spaceship, jalopy and ran with it. 

It starts "The Cloudscape is mostly twilit and sometimes very dark"


With my schedule as it is it'll probably take months to finish a story. I write in a tiny lined notebook I carry with me and fiddle with when I have a moment. 


Also, I wanted to let everyone know that writer and artist Terri Windling appears to be going through a difficult time. She is truly an amazing talent. You can learn more about her here, and how you can help. 

Beans In The Desert

Finished up a book cover yesterday so it's back to Maddy Kettle. Still trying to hit the page 40 mark by Christmas, I'm on page 26 right now so it'll be a bit of a challenge. My mom came up from Halifax yesterday to help out, not with the comic but more like moral support. So now Henry won't be standing on my head while I draw in the evenings.

The prints are selling really well! Thanks so much to everyone who bought one or some original art. I really appreciate it. I've also set up a donations button on the right here. Don't feel compelled but every little bit helps. I'm not making much income while doing this so I'm more or less trying everything I can think of to keep things rolling.

I may cut back on blogging a bit, just to get more work done. I'm thinking every second day through the holidays. 

A Comic For Everyone!

The Storm In The Barn by Matt Phelan is one of the most unique and compelling comics in years. Drawn in a gorgeous and loose pencil line with soft colours evocative of memory and faded photographs is a joy to read and look at. While evoking a deep sense of American, dust bowl history this is still a fictional story, with the feel of folklore.

This is a must have all ages comic.

On Amazon.

Matt Phelan's website

A Peek At Christmas

Here's a little Christmas drawing I'm working on, this isn't the first time Silvio has appeared in a Christmas themed drawing. I started this in the tiny window of time between sending off edits and waiting for responses for a book cover.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas, I just realized I've been working full time without a real break for about three years. And i think it's starting to show. I'm getting a bit cagey and weird. I also realized that with Julie working at school until seven at night and then when she comes home she puts Henry to bed  I'm just not seeing any adults at all, for days it seems. Sigh. 

Prints For Sale!

Just in time for Christmas I've put three new prints in my Etsy store. Each one is 15 dollars plus shipping. I'm doing this in the hopes of making a bit of income through the holidays so I can work on Maddy Kettle with maybe a little less strain. Every purchase is a huge help to me and will help me complete the first book. If you have any questions feel free to email me at eric.orchard@gmail.com

The first 10 orders will receive a free Maddy Kettle minicomic!


Link to my Etsy store.

A Comic For Everyone!

If you love fantasy adventures I can't think of  more perfect book for you than Scott Chantler's award winning comic Tower Of Treasure. Fast moving, a lot of fun and beautifully drawn, this really is one of the best fantasy stories out there, in comic or book or movie form. I think what really makes this book special for me is the combination of humour and fantasy, this aspect is so well done. The story is fairly light, but well written  and the main character Dessa, an acrobatic thief is a wonderful character. This book is a must for your all ages comic book shelf.

Also, a great idea for a Christmas gift! As the season gets closer I'll be posting more books I think would be great for anyone of any age to find under the tree.

On Amazon 

F Is For Fideal

An evil water spirit of the Highlands. The personification of entangling bog grasses and water weeds.

This will likely be my last Alphabeast until after Christmas when my deadlines should be manageable again.

More amazing Alphabeasts!

Toronto Christmas Train show

[image error] The first salvo of Christmas has been launched! We went to the very fun and throughly Christmasy Train show this afternoon out by the airport. I don't think I've heard Henry say "wow" so often in one day before. His favorite is the bottom one, a train stuck in water. He can't stop talking about it. It was pretty cool. The two leveled outhouse was pretty funny. The guy who made it said it was his commentary about capitalism.