[dc]T[/dc]his comic does not lie (much). While I can grow a beard, of sorts, it never fills in completely. It just–stops. The hair on TOP of my head, however, grows like a patch of weeds in a bucket of plant food. As this strip shows, I am a big fan of the National Hockey League.
Hmm. That axe looks familiar.
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I look at each strip as a learning experience (and this is only my sixth strip). With this one, I tried using a Micron brush pen to fill in the beards and my eye-patch.¹ I also used the brush to outline my hair and the computer. I regret using the brush for the computer. For the hair, it kind of makes sense. Part of the reason I like drawing/inking on paper is the lack of an Undo command. Sure, I can fix somethings in post, but I like not having the option to ‘Apple+Z’ everything.
I learned I should really sketch the ‘bones’ of the characters in every panel first, before working on the details. Instead, I worked one panel at a time, which wasn’t a good idea.
This was the first strip where I created the panels ‘in post.’ I am on the fence about this for future strips. However, if I did more pre-panel stuff in the original drawing, say I at least sketched where I wanted the panels to go, that might make the final product look better.
Now I have two strips without stick figures. I always forget the ‘extras’ which come with full figures: noses, ears, hair,² and clothing. I used some of the character building principals from my Preston Blair book here for the Other Guy (big jaw, barrel chest) and myself (weak chin, skinny).
The third panel³ is a reference to one of my favorite novels, The Long Ships. If you enjoy adventure stories, it is worth checking out.
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¹ I don’t really wear an eye-patch. Details are in About.
² I really have to practice drawing hair. Yuck.
³ I purposely did not draw my viking with a horned helmet.
