Weekly update: Liar! Liar! Monobriar!

I made up the word ‘monobriar’. Just fer’ rhyming’s sake.

Hello again! Hope you are well!

At the time of typing we are still in the midst of the global virus, with most people staying home and/ or avoiding contact.

I’d normally be doing my weekly update from an empty house on a Saturday morning before heading into my studio – haven’t been there for a few weeks! But we are all in lockdown together. Strange days. I am just glad everyone is well.

My missus set me up a working space in a spare room and it’s been a godsend.

Usual examples from drawing book are above. Including the Monobrow character who has become part of my wee world – he totally snuck in on me! I also seem to have fully adopted the lettering stencil thingy!

Been at few other things this week, below is a warm up doodle I did in ClipStudioPaint – a wee nod to the wonderful WFMU radio in New Jersey, catch them online. You’ll find excellent company there. Due to the COVID19 situation they are still running operations, but with a ‘skeleton crew’ – hence my appreciative doodle.

Keep safe. See you next week!

Nulsh

Weekly update: Keeping safe with da’ bangers n’ da’ mash!

Hey there amigo! Hope you are well?

At time of writing the world is mostly in ‘lockdown’ with the spread of covid-19 virus.

Thinking about it now I would have expected more creative time this week, but the opposite has been true.

Still doing my daily book and drawing whenever I can.

My lovely missus set up a makeshift office in a spare room – which has been fantastic as I can no longer go to my studio in Glasgow city centre.

A time of adjustment mi amigos.

So up the top are three recent daring book pages, given a quick colour in Gimp as I listen to WFMU and sup coffee. My Saturday morning ritual.

Below are some examples of other malarkey I’ve been doodling this week.

Keep safe, see you next week.

Nulsh

Weekly update: What’s in a name? Asked the Portuguese Man O’ War.

‘Greetings traveller!’

Hope yer’ well.

So with isolation and other happenings things have been slow this week. However, I had more time to focus on creating my malarkey.

As ever, there are some recent pages from the ol’ drawing book above. The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice my ‘typo’ on the first drawing – should ready ‘almost light’ – but as I am prone to do, I lost concentration when doing the lettering. I could’ve fixed it in Gimp etc. but mistakes are great!

Also noticed I had a few pages on the bounce where I was using peoples’ names. The ‘John’ above is clearly inspired by John Fahey (a huge inspiration for me) and the lady? Well the name Lydia to popped into my head at the time. Go figure!

I am still ploughing away through my new strip. Attempting to create a platform for random spontaneity that is easy to produce and flexible.

One of the things that happens when I do my warm up drawings is that new characters begin to form subconsciously – recently this chap with a zig zag mono brow has become more frequent (below is a random doodle on my mobile phone of him while I was waiting for call the other day). Looking to work him into my new strip if I can.

See ya’ next week buddy!

 

Weekly update: Worries dreams and the joy of pencil.

Howdy!

Hope yer’ well.

As ever we kick off with some recent drawing book pages – the three above. And as ever, quickly scanned and given a splosh of colour – by ‘quickly’ the whole process can be done in 10 minutes.

I am trying to settle on a working process of this for my ‘proper’ comics – will be make things loads more efficient.

Also the crappy page quality in my new book has been overcome by using a thinner and less heavy pen. Now using a Winsor & Newton Fineliner – as opposed to my preferred Staedtler Pigment Liner (1.2). I was initially missing my thick linework, but this switch has made me rethink some of my drawing practices.

Also I am doing loads more pencil work now (example below), and have gotten back into just pure random drawing in pencil, which was pretty all I did when I was a lad. Great fun!

Until next week!

Nulsh

 

Weekly update: Stealthy stencils!

Ey up! How are ya’?

Starting off is the usual examples of pages from my drawing book – I trust you’ll notice the splendid lettering? I found some stencils and have been using them with abandon. I will get fed up – but it’s fun for now, even when I make ridiculous spelling mistakes!

The main thing for me this week has been storyboarding and creating the basis for a short animation project. I’ll need to keep that stuff under wraps for now, but as I am doing this project 100% digitally I have had to get totally comfortable with the drawing software.

Which has actually gone quite well. I like using drawing software, but never get the ‘feel’ that I get from traditional drawing. So I have tinkered with all sorts of things – but recently I have been finding my feet with Clip Studio Paint, which has an excellent interface and good drawing tools.

Last week’s warm up illustration (Gorbals Vampire) was kind of the start of it, but even with warm up drawings (like the one below) this week I am able to produce decent images really quickly. Which is totes handy for storyboards.

Until next week amigos!

Nulsh

Weekly update: Batman and the iron teeth.

Hello!

As ever, above are some recent pages from the daily book. Oooh! I can see a line in there – edge of the page or whatnot. Ooops!

And below we have an illustration I did this morning – 100% completed in Clip Studio Paint. I rarely do the whole shebang digitally, but this was a worthwhile exercise as I am starting a new ongoing strip which I am hoping to do completely digitally.

The image is of the Gorbals Vampire – based on a theory of the source of the incident in Glasgow where armies of kids massed to the Southern Necropolis in the city as there was rumoured to be a giant vampire with steel teeth!

Caused a bit of a stooshie back in the day.

This all came into my head as there is a new Batman movie being filmed in Glasgow currently – using the OTHER Necropolis as a backdrop. Me an ma’ muckers got chatting about all things Necropolis related.

Was quite chuffed how well Clip Studio Paint worked out – and how quickly I was able to get the illustration completed.

Awra’ best.

Nulsh

Weekly update: Geeza kiss!

Howdy! You well?

Some pages from the drawing book above as ever.

Was going to post some of the new sketching malarkey I’ve been up to – but short on time today.

This week I began storyboard work on a short animation project I am collaborating on. Initially scoping out a 1 – 2 minute teaser trailer, to get timing and stuff sorted before the real animation work starts.

And also started on a new strip – which I’ll show some excerpts of in the coming weeks.

Cheers fer’ now!

Nulsh