TAFKA Im in Bristol, and I have seen a more independent comic shop in town that looks interesting but has crappy pram acsess.
We are just round the corner from the convention when it hits town. I completely forgot about it this year as I was wondering around in 'pregnant reality disruption field'.
Iv been told off for what looked like driving traffic through my blog on hear before but Ill post up a sneaky link to one of the non political cartoon strips on my website.
(Im tidying it up for the elections hopefully, so it a bit messy)
Link:www.bluelou.net/trans1.html
Im in the process of construction a graphic novel based on a story I told my DD when she was little because her hands were cold one night and I forgot her gloves. Its taken about 5 years to write the blasted thing, Iv drew the ruffs first to visualize the story.
Im extremely dyslexic so it been a bit of a nightmare. Its only 30 bloody pages long.
I swore id never do a kids book, but I always swore Id never have kids.
Iv given it to a mate to see if she can tidy the bloody thing up, before I can get to the fun bit of construing it, this time Im doing it in color and using more dip pen rather then ink and Photoshop.
The last graphic novel I made was for a show called the 'Birds of war' and I had delusions of Sacco in an anti war theme.
I made a big version of the comic and presented in the gallery.
The large copy has been signed by most of the top political cartoonists in the country who turned up for the show along with the likes of Simon Bieasly and Brian Talbot who were about the year I took it along to The comic con hear in Bristol after TBOW show.
The problem is I keep insisting on writing my comic strips as well as illustrating them. Also, Just as Im on the verge of a brake, something always happens. An example: I was recommended to Ian Kats editor of the 'Guardian' as a cartoonist and he emailed me in person to ask me to send him some stuff over. My Brother was in a hospice and was 2 weeks off dieing from cancer when I got the email, I had, to say the least, lost my sense of humor at the time, and posted some piss poor cartoons back to him.
The last one was I was talking to Private eye about doing something for the website,and was going to to some spec work, was looking into doing kind of anamated gifs and the like, couldent sit at the computer for throwing up all of a sudden two days after I talked to them.The little blue lines on the majic pee stick was the only line I made for a long time.
Illustrating is a very time consuming activity and when there?s mushed banana on the floor and the evil creativity killer pixy of 6 months old, its a bit of a fight for that space/time to make things.
Im currently planing to construct (Seriously) a giant play pen 5 squared meters big with all my equipment and computer raised up on a 4-foot shelf out of his reach (DS). Im getting rid of the sofa and replacing it with bean bags and a old futon on the floor, I live in slightly stupid accommodation and the main room is difficult to baby proof, its new function is to be a art studio and baby safe play area, I don?t feel its as bad to put him in a baby cage if I?m in there with him as well.
I drew my first self published comic 8 years ago stood up during most of it production with all my art stuff on a shelf to keep it out of the way of my DD. She would occasionally try and crawl up my leg as I stood holding a small drawing board between nappy changes and the like. (Gasps of horror from good mummy?s) I was a lone parent at the time she was a toddler and it was one of the ways I had to do things to keep drawing.
Sorry this has turned into a bit of a long-winded whine about how to cartoon with infants around, its what Iv spent the day trying to work out.I have a couple of months left befor he gets mobile and theres a election comeing.
Im vistaing famly next week so I maynot be able to go online for a week hope this thread may be still knocking around when I get back.
Sorry again about the epic novel of this posting,..im going to go and express some milk now and shut up...