Row 80 Update - First Draft Of Rough Sketches Done

Reconnecting With Old Friends

A bit of an interesting week. 

I reconnected with an old friend (as in someone I've known since we were kids). It was the first real conversation we've had since high school (20 plus years ago). She's friends with my sister so we roughly had kept up with whats going on with each other via each other (and of course Facebook posts), but we ended up striking a conversation this week.

And she is a published indy author. And she got interviewed this week as well. 

Rough Draft Complete

I've completed the rough sketches for each panel in my first comic. The early panels are closer to finished drawings than the later ones. This was because for my confidence I needed to make them more complete. 

And one of the best things about committing to doing this as a comic as opposed to just keep doing drawing exercises is that it has forced me to learn how to draw things that I never would have attempted otherwise. 

I'm not saying I'm an expert yet, but I do see massive improvements from when I first started. I'm to the point now, that I can figure out the curves and lines in a photo or drawing. 

This Week Goal - Scan and Test Flow

Now that I have roughs - I can do a test scan and layout. Just to see how the flow looks. Right now, there is no speech bubbles - because a comic has to be like a movie. If you can't figure out the basic story with just the pictures - you've failed.

I hope this week to actually complete my first panel. 

The Best Batman Movie Is Animated And Great For Family

I watched "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" this weekend. It is one of the DC animated movies from the team who did the "Batman: The Animated Series" in the 1990s. Which while technically created for kids - are good enough to be very watchable for adults. For Batman fans they are actually the definitive voices (if you need to win a bar bet - ask "who has played Batman longer than any other actor" - answer Kevin Conroy) and characters. 

I really thought this movie would just be a good way to kill some time. I didn't expect to love it. Much less think it's perhaps the most perfect Batman movie.

When I first watched "Dark Knight Rising" - I enjoyed it. But after thinking more about it - as a Batman fan, it's deeply flawed. Batman spent most of his time in the comics fighting your run of the mill bad-guy, not just super-villians. He's also a great detective - though I don't think any movie has shown that aspect.

What I loved about "Mystery of the Batwoman" - is that you got several defined characters. Including 3 different women who were drawn pretty but not bombshell. And all were powerful women - in many ways the equal to Batman. 

And we got to see Bruce Wayne - not only having to act the character of a playboy (has to have the appearance that he's so vain there is no way he could ever be Batman) but actually dealing with (a) his uncomfortable inability to describe his relationship with the real Batwoman (Barbara Gordon -voiced by Tara Strong who with her voice alone can make one forget about Anne Hathaway slinking around in "Dark Knight Rising") and (b) actually falling in love with Kathy Duquesne. Who is the daughter of one of the bad guys. And in showing that comics are much more advanced than real movies - she's black. And it's absolutely, positively, no big deal. Not even mentioned. 

And we have to see Batman having to play detective - "who is the fake Batwoman and what are they after"? 

Finally - it's fun. Super-hero movies should be fun. Alfred gets his verbal jabs on Batman. Seeing Robin act like a kid as much as a super hero. 

Also as an aspiring artist - I learned many points about drawing while watching this movie. My sketch on this post is my attempt to copy a scene of Bruce Wayne and Kathy Duquesne. It's my best sketch of a woman.