Back into the Action

August 1, 2013

Even if I can’t post pages as regularly as I’d like a few updates on what I’m up to and why I’m being delayed seem to be in order.

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Following on from the shift into more actiony content last issue this trend continues and as such I’ve got a few more challenges ahead. I’m sure I’ve already said that generally athletic/physical stuff is an area of comics I don’t have too much experience in drawing; although given how many comics I read with an action lean you’d think I’d have osmotically absorbed a bit more of it…

Anyhow, Branch has always been something of a learning experience and rather than find a shortcut, like an idiot I’ve set myself a complicated setpiece for my next page.

Above is a rough draft of my main panel’s background, although  ‘background’ might be the wrong word given how a certain character will be interacting with it. There are two main challenges presented; the raised perspective – something which nearly always gives me trouble – and the poses themselves which will be done in a three stage montage in order to clearly represent the action taking place.

There’s potential for it to go very wrong but that said I don’t think I’ve drawn anything quite like this before so as en experiment it should at least be interesting, just please don’t crucify me when I end up with bobble-headed characters :P

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Posted by Ozy

Issue 3, Page 1 (+ Bonus Ranting!)

July 25, 2013

BranchISSUE3page1jWell, here’s to a solid start for Issue 3 but then why wouldn’t it be after so bleeding long?

Seriously; I know I’m terrible for making excuses but this has not been a good month for me. Right from the start I’d decided to force out regular releases no matter what and give my working process the nitro-boost it oh so desperately needs. For a plethora of reasons, that simply never happened. I feel like I owe answers as to why this is being held up so much, but I really don’t want to degenerate into self-indulgent ‘why me?’ whining either; plenty of people I know do comics as an aside from their day job and still manage to keep up a decent production rate, so that excuse really won’t fly.

Still, I like to be honest about my thoughts and feelings so getting to the point I have to admit I’ve been in something of a dark place lately. There have been plenty of commitments and set backs along the way, but it’s my motivation that’s really taken a beating these past few weeks.

Indulgent as it may sound I draw as an outlet first and foremost, there isn’t a huge amount I can claim to love about my life but creating comics, breathing life into a story that I can claim is truly mine gives me a glow inside that almost nothing else can. Whether what I create is any good is up for debate and perhaps on some level this will all sound pretty damn selfish, but considering how submissively I live the rest of my life, how often I get shoehorned into things I don’t want to do, am told I can’t do things or am told I’ve failed or missed the mark it seems a small thing to ask.

It’s maddening that I keep missing my own deadlines, but that may well be the root of the problem; they are my deadlines and mine alone. When a work related e-mail lands in my inbox, when someone asks me a favour, when an argument kicks off the pad closes, the pens go away, the file is shut and another day’s delay is slotted onto my release schedule.

It hurts not just because I want to finish what I start and see the story through to the end, but also because this is the only way I feel I can express myself without compromise. Something that is entirely me and not what someone else wants me to be, wants me to do, or wants to hear.

Sure, I want people to like what I make – I doubt many people can claim otherwise – I welcome constructive criticism and hopefully by meeting my own standards I can meet some of my readers’. Regardless the top of the agenda remains the same; I just need to get more done in less time. Maybe I need to say ‘no’ to more things, perhaps I need to reign in my OCD tendencies some, one way or another I know it can be done. A page a week, at least.

I need to make it happen and I need to make it happen soon.

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Posted by Ozy

Issue 3 Cover + MCM London ComicCon (October)

June 26, 2013

It’s the boys in blue!

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Ahem, that is to say that with the appearance of a notable police lieutenant in this issue it seemed fitting to adopt a bluish tone for my cover this time around.

This one proved rather tricky for a number of reasons; excluding cleanup, colour and text – and unlike its predecessors – I drew it up by traditional means rather than digital, naturally resulting in much head banging – not the rock ‘n’ roll kind – and some copious use of Tipp-Ex along the way. I also learned what a potential nightmare drawing someone holding a submachine gun can be and do not get me started on that bloody monorail train.

Still for the most part it seems like the ambition paid off, the finished composition is suitably striking and different to the previous covers while staying within the same stylistic boundaries. Finishing, annoyingly I realised Scratch and Curt aren’t casting a shadow on the floor thanks to neglecting it in my original draft where their feet go out of frame, but hopefully it’s not too jarring being disguised by the colour-contrast between subjects and backgrounds. If anyone asks I’ll just say there’s a high-power directional spotlight behind them…

Anyhow, as usual I’ve been way too quiet for way too long but my work gears have been a-turning and all being well I should be posting a stream of exciting new stuff in the more immediate future – or rather I’d better because I recently confirmed I’ll be on a table at the London MCM Comic Con again this October! Can’t say I’ve attended two cons in a year before and naturally I went through a signature phase of nail gnashing indecision but it seems like a good move. A year is a long time to hide in a hole by comic standards and even if my promised next UBER issue isn’t realised by then at least I’ll be making some kind of appearance.

Also as usual I’ve completely failed to keep up with other people’s blogs/comics, rest assured I’ll be dropping in soon for my usual rounds of praise/harassment ;)

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Posted by Ozy

Issue 2, Pages 6 + 7

May 30, 2013

As promised:

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BranchISSUE2page7j

I’m rather pleased with page 6 and the sense of energy carried over from its predecessors, Scratch actually looks like she’s running – instead of dancing as in my early sketches – while the background work and people give a sense of place I often worry is lacking in my recent efforts.

Page 7 isn’t so successful but it’s worth bearing in mind I raced through it in a blur of caffeine and panic to meet the print deadline; the establisher in panel one is modest but efficient, setting the scene without resorting to my usual OCD detailing tendencies while the general flow works pretty well. Not amazing but at least not the distaster I had feared.

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Posted by Ozy

London MCM Comic Con May 2013: Reflections

May 30, 2013

MCMcomiccon

It’s been too damn long since I last posted something, but I have been busy – indeed that’s why I’ve lost touch with my updates for the past month or so – so getting straight down to the obvious I thought I might kickstart the old WordPress by briskly mulling over my recent survival of London’s MCM Comic Con and what the future might hold…

First and foremost is the matter of my second issue.

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Thanks to various RL distractions, responsibilities, diversions and good old-fashioned poor preparation my page count for Issue 2 pre-Con rocked in around 7 pages excluding the cover leaving me with an unpleasant decision to make; either attend the Con with literally nothing new since last year or release new material in the form of a woefully slim volume. After much tooth gnashing and angst ridden indecision I begrudgingly settled on the latter with the compromise that I would add it as a freebie with Issue 1 and include my short Replay Value to create better value for money.

Needless to say this was not a profitable move, but it felt like the best way to apologise for my stagnation while moving forward even if only a little. It’s a lack of progress which doesn’t stem from laziness or lack of enthusiasm – as I’d literally always be happy to sit down and draw a page – but rather the excision of Branch from my Masters project. Whereas I’d then forcibly made time for planning and drawing in relation to my academia, since graduation I’ve felt bound to pursue things relating to employment and voluntary activities leaving Branch simmering somewhere on the back-burner, often for whole weeks at a time.

There is some good news though; in spite of my own regrets most of the feedback I got at the Con was really very positive with even the criticism I received being constructive and valuable. There was no hiding the brevity of issue 2 but the majority of folks who bought and browsed it at least seemed to like the new content and wanted more. It’s also worth noting that the second of the issue’s last two pages – which I shall be posting shortly – was a 24 hour effort; a desperate, rushed effort certainly and nowhere near my best but it at least proves that the possibility of a decent production rate is there, all I have to do is grasp it.

Additionally outside of the comic itself I’ve made considerable improvements to the way I promote myself; I’m not up there with the people flaunting 6ft banners yet but my presentation and general visibility were both a massive leap over that flat-issues and cloth arrangement of 2012. This time I had a decent stand, an A3 poster and – crucially – a stack of rapidly diminishing business cards. My sales were decent if not exactly earth shattering but it’s nice to think so many passers-by were interested enough to want to look me up later.

As ever with my life uncertainty abounds as to how things will go from here but the one thing I absolutely need to make sure of is that my next issue is a 20 page+ barnstormer of a comic. I know it can be done within this year, I just need to get disciplined and force myself into a balanced production schedule; I’ve made too many promises and received too much support not to make the most of this thing and turnout something truly worthwhile in the near future.

Concluding on the matter of support I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Nikita for all the help on my table, Chris/Ushio and Josie K for putting up with my annoying banter, Chloe, Lee and Kat for letting me stay over and anyone who was kind enough to stop by my table or buy issues of Branch – My thanks to you all!

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Posted by Ozy

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