Writing About Stuff You Don’t Know

So, I decided that I wanted my most recent story to take place in the 1840s in “Mexico,” which was kind of still all up in California, etc. It also centers around daguerreotypes, the original precursor to the photograph. I’ve been alive since the 1990s, and I live all the way over on the East Coast, and use a digital point-and-shoot. Here we go.

Things I had to research:

Daguerreotypes-

appearance, process, equipment, timeline

Mexico/California timeline 1800s

California aridity, precipitation maps

Individual city histories

Map of California, 1840

Men’s clothing, Mexico, 1800s

Women’s traditional clothing, Northern Mexico/California

Native plants of California

Arid landscapes, California/Mexico

Joshua tree details

Villages in Mexico/California, 1800s

 

So far, that’s the extent of it. Yes, you can write about things you don’t know about, but it may take a lot of research, and proper research, too. Assuming you want people to read your story, someone’s bound to read it who actually knows what they’re talking about, and you don’t want to have a million mistakes for them to catch. I’m currently freaking out because I think this will happen to me, despite all my research, because I’ve had serious issues with the women’s clothing research. Why don’t I just change the location further south?! Then, I would know what they’re wearing… Anyways, this is the beginning of the end here, since it’s the first day of finals week, so soon, everything will be finished and ready for summer! …Right… I still have to pack everything up and move to an apartment down the street. Still, exciting! Stressful, but exciting, as always.

Hemlock

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post anything, and I’m still way too busy to post what I’ve really been working on, but I did a quick drawing of the main character, Lumi, of Joscenline Fenton’s story, Hemlock. I accidentally saved the file in a really awkward way, but I can’t get back to a scanner for a while, especially with finals and all. I’m way too busy with weaving, repeat pattern design, and finishing some sample pages for a comic pitch, and yet… I’m going to the beach tonight with swing club! Hey, if I can’t go to Animazement with my friends back home and hang out with them all weekend, you better believe I’ll take a couple hours for a break with my SCAD friends for the last time before summer!

I’m finally going to be getting a start on that website with the help of my friend, Nicole, though it will primarily be as a portfolio site, and then maybe later in the summer, I can actually get some sort of comic-y thing going on. I’m exhausted right now, so I’ll update some more later on. I can’t wait until summer!

To and From School Today

For those of you who follow my tumblr, I’m sorry. There will occasionally be the double-post here and there, but I try to keep at least some of the content fresh and different.

Things I’ve done while riding a bike (that I think are at least mildly impressive):

1. Had my hands off the handlebars

2. Put my feet up on the frame

3. Zipped up my jacket (you try doing that one-handed while also steering)

4. Eaten a sandwich successfully (no spills, no messy fingers, no sacrifices, exactly how I wanted it)

So, finals are upon us here at SCAD, and although I’m at least sort of excited for two of them, the other one I was more excited about a week ago, before my teacher kept holding me back on stuff. Oh well, course evaluations are open!  For comic book scripting, we’ll be sending a submission packet off to a publisher for the first time, and for weaving, we’re doing our own thing, and mine should be really relaxing and great. Hopefully, once I finish all these crazy finals, I’ll at least have a little time before starting my internship so that I can work on my own fun stuff.

Lastly, I don’t know what this is, but I know it’s amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyARHscb8mU&feature=feedf

Tea Series

I did some sketches a long while ago for ideas for a tea-themed anthology, which we haven’t been able to produce yet, since a lot of the people I would ask to join are working on finals, or have just graduated and are looking to get a job. However, I finally got around to doing some clean line art for one of the images, so I figured I’d color it up and all, and here it is. The line art was actually done a few weeks ago at least, so I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the face, but I’m pretty pleased about the general atmosphere of the piece in the end. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do the next two soon enough.

A bunch of my friends are graduating this year (or have graduated) and are going away, and I want to make some sort of gift for them, but I don’t think I have time… I’m really disappointed about that, but I have a lot of school work to do.

New Websiiiite?

If anyone remembers that comic I did last year about the two girls in the apartment, you may also remember that I uploaded it to my online portfolio site. Originally, that was hosted by deviantART, and was all I really had. Now, however, I’ve got my own domain name and hosting for my own site, and I’m slowly trying to learn to use CSS and Dreamweaver and stuff. If anyone has any advice about that, I’d love to hear it. For the moment, my website is just serving as my online portfolio (EDIT: due to some crazy issues, this will be unavailable for a while), and using a pre-existing gallery program. Later, I will hopefully get everything up and running for comics and more fun stuff.

In the mean time, here is a picture I’ve been working on that you may have already seen if you stalk my tumblr. Also, if you know weheartit.com, I have an account on there filled with all kinds of things I like, but I try to be very discerning about what to add and what to leave out so that you’re guaranteed a beautiful stream of images. http://weheartit.com/cottonbook

Derby Devils full comic

EDIT: Alright, here’s the final thing! Just a fun little four-pager, but I hope you enjoyed it!

I don’t know if y’all remember this post, with my plans for this comic, but yeah, it’s here now! This is something I did for the Savannah Derby Devils for my Intro to Sequential class. I got some really good critique from my class and my teacher, so I’ll know what to do for next time.

Yeah, It Rains in April Sometimes

So, if you want to lose your lunch, go search for pictures of that.

Anyways, April’s almost over, but back toward the beginning, this happened. I drew the comic, inked it, and didn’t post it until now…

I’m really busy with school work and not feeling like doing any (avoiding homework at this very moment!), so that’s why stuff is taking a long time. I will not have an Artist’s Alley table at Animazement after all (hurrah, alliteration), but I may or may not still be going. We’ll see.

No, I did not really get trenchfoot, but I did have to walk around in soaked shoes and socks for the next two hours, so that was interesting.

I recently started reading more of Italo Calvino’s book, Cosmicomics (not actually comics), and I had forgotten how awesome they are. I really really like the short stories in there, and apparently Google Books has it, so you can go read it there! Sweet! I also found Ubermensch! by Kim Newman in an anthology on there (Vampire Anthology???) and that’s pretty great if you have any knowledge of mainstream super heroes, which most Americans do. I have every intention of going out and picking up Cosmicomics, and one day, I hope to also get my hands on the short story, The Pukie. One day…

Business Time!

I like that episode of Adventure Time…

But no, the title of this post is really referring to the fact that I got my first professionally printed business cards today! Hurrah!

I got them from MOO, which allows you to have up to 50 different designs or so on the backs of your cards, with full color on both sides! They came in a cute little box, which I would totally use a lot more if it wasn’t for the awesome business card wallet that my friend Kelsey gave me. I also got a sticker book. You can have up to 90 different designs on those, but I got about 12.

All of the stickers and business card designs are (obviously) my own work, and I’m really excited to use them, although I’m suddenly really self-conscious about the business card designs. They’re not all… perfect…

But I will probably have them at Animazement this year (still debating on getting a table), and if you buy something, you get a card and a sticker, so be sure to come by and visit the Child-Eating Books tables!

Kate Beaton is Awesome, I Wear Her Art on a Shirt

I got my awesome Hark! A Vagrant shirt with the Brontes sisters on it, and it’s currently my favorite shirt to wear. I feel like a little kid, or my friend Carl, trying to wear it the very next day after laundry for the past couple of weeks. Looove. Kate Beaton is not only hilarious and a super history person, but a fantastic artist as well, so I’m proud to have some of her artwork on my clothes.

At long last, here are the final projects of everyone in my Intro to Sequential class, a pile of mini comics! I was very proud that the majority of them were decent or even giving a good feeling after reading them. Mine is not in the pile, since I only made enough complete ones for the class, but I’m sending an envelope full of reject ones (not used for the final copies due to minor imperfections), and hopefully they won’t be hugely disappointed at how weird they are. Anyone who wants one of those mini comics is welcome to email me or comment or whatever, and I might just send you one!

So, maybe I’ll post some stuff I’ve been working on lately! We shall see! I’m almost done reading 100 Years of Solitude, and it’s been fantastic, so if you’ve thought about reading it and have put it off because it looks like a lot, it’s actually much quicker of a read than you’d think! Next, I’m moving on to Good Omens, which I hear is hilarious, so I’m excited. Also, I want a DFTBA university shirt.

A Strange Premonition

One day, Jina, having grown out her hair again, awakens to find that I have braided my hair into hers.

o.O

In other news, I have not been updating due to pure laziness. Stuff coming up soon!

Reading: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Watching: All the Vlog Brothers videos on youtube that I tragically haven’t watched since 2008-ish (also, Scrubs, Adventure Time, Anthony Bourdain, and The Devil’s Backbone, which was an awesome movie)

Listening to: Pomplamoose (If You Think You Need Some Lovin’, Another Day, Mr. Sandman cover, Expiration Date, etc.), Janelle Monae (Many Moons), Cold War Kids (Hang Me Up to Dry), Nouvelle Vague (Dance with Me, Teenage Kicks, etc.), Emilie Simon (anything on her album Vegetal, or the European soundtrack to March of the Penguins, which is all by her), and a ton of other stuff.

Drawing: