Writing a graphic novel..

At some point in our lives, we all ask ourselves, 'how do you write a graphic novel?'. Well it is actually really easy, you just need a couple of conflicting characters in some sort of setting and let them..conflict with each other... But if you put that amount of effort into your GN, it would be shit and no one would read it. The trick is trying to do a decent job. Trying to give your vision the respect it deserves and execute it in the way you want it to be. But that can take a lot of work, and you could end up with no comic which is what I've got at the moment. A year and a half into this project.

How do you write a graphic novel?

I've been googling that question for a couple of days - trying to get some tips out of other artists doing the same things. Its surprising that the most reoccuring theme in all of the blogs and articles is'nt something like talking about story structure/plot etc. Its more about surviving the self-doubt and anxiety that comes with the job. Somedays you get nowhere and you don't know what the fuck to do. Which makes you feel like shit. And the only thing you do is just think about it. Do nothing and think about it.

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." ~William James

I found a website full of procrastination quotes the other day and most of them sum up a lot for me.  If you don't get down to brass tacks, you are forever hanging back in some fucked up space. But its what artists have to do!! You gotta go through this phase of stagnant bullshit in order to get on the road to creation. This is especially true for young inexperienced artist who have yet to find their creative process. I watch this amazing talk by John Cleese on creativity. He talks about an open and closed state of mind. An open state of mind is all about creating. Its the state of mind wee kids have when they're playing in the garden. There is no time restrictions, no chores or real world problems to distract their wondering minds. Close state is the way you think when you have to deal with the real world. Pay rent, get a new filter for your car, get insurance for your shit...It completely destroys any creative thought. Obviously you need to survive in the real world so you can't always be floating around in la la land. What Cleese talks about is isolating yourself in a time/space oasis for a period of time. A place with no connection to the outside world. No flatmates around, no T.V, no cell phone, and no FACEBOOK (a concentrated version of our social life) and let yourself drift over to an open state of mind. For me, and a lot of others, this oasis is my bedroom. (I used to work in my studio but there are a lot of distractions). Like Cleese addresses, it takes a while to get your mind warmed up creatively but after a while, things start rolling. And it is this persistency and patience that gets shit done!




So yeah procrastination can get on top of you when your finding it hard to answer the questions your project throws at you.  So I guess a true statement would be to say, 'If you don't know the answer to your questions, be patient, don't get distracted and the answer will come to you. Going back and doing a bit of research always makes you feel better as well. 

I read an article about a dude who has been having trouble finishing his graphic novel. Well, finishing any project he starts really. Which is like a lot of us people. Unfortunately, sometimes its not good enough to dream, you have to make it happen too. But that is skill that can be acquired through a bit of understanding of your creative process.

Check it out:
http://www.austinkleon.com/2007/07/03/how-to-write-a-graphic-novel/

http://www.stopprocrastinatinginfo.com/procrastination-quotes.htm

Non Photo Blue/Non Repro Blue

I've finally found out what those blue pencils are called. The ones that are untracable to photocopiers and scanners... They're called non photo blue pencils. Repeat, non photo blue pencils. Now when you walk into your art supply shop, you can ask for them and not just "a blue pencil". Its the pencils animators, designers and comic book pencilers use. You don't need to rub them out, you can just ink over them and whamo they're untracable when scanned. Any old blue pencil doesn't work, it must be a certain blue that the copier can't pick up...