100 Bullets and Creative Control

I recently saw that 100 Bullets is going to be made into a TV series on showtime. This is really exciting news to me, as I love the series, but I am still hesitant to fully embrace the idea. I am really curious if the depth and complexity of the book will come out in the show. Too often I feel like characters or storylines are changed to be more appealing to a mainstream audience, or because someone with some power had a personal problem with the original content. All too often I think that this happens when a generally more ignored art form( I so wish it wasn't this way) is brought into a more mainstream public form such as TV or Movies. I really hope this doesn't happen, and I'm really looking forward to seeing more on the series.

On the topic of creative control, and being able to say what you want to say, I think that part of the reason I am so attracted to comics is because of the freedom that comes with creating it. It can be as introspective as a journal, as biting as the harshest social critique, tell stories just as effectively(if not moreso) than film, and as visually beautiful as any other artform. One of the primary reasons that I make comics is to tell stories, and as these epics swirl in my mind and take form in art or scripts or journals, the thought of someone one day desiring to water down my ideas, or change characters to better appeal to an audience just doesn't sit well with me. If changes are made I believe they should be made with full co-operation from the creator or author. If that is not the case, I just cannot agree with it. As I think about 100 Bullets being made for TV, I really hope that Brian Azzarello has a hand in writing the script and laying it out. His book is genius, and I hate to see it twisted into something that it wasn't intended to. DC owns all rights however, which means this may not happen.

I can't say myself that if presented the opportunity to change my stories to bring them to a wider audience, I wouldn't do it, but I know that I would want a say in what was being changed and why. Some scripts are so perfectly poised, so masterfully constructed, changing things could drastically deform the original meaning, or destroy it all together. People rework masterpieces all the time, but I feel that in the pas 50 years, more classic content (ie Shakespeare etc) have been reworked over and over, and content that was original in the 50s and 60s is know being remade over and over, even movies and ideas from 5 years ago. I don't really know that this is a good thing, and it makes me feel like the creative industry as a whole is in the doldrums right now. I will say however, that I feel like the comics medium, as a whole, still has alot more innovative and creative stories and ideas being presented that aren't being done elsewhere.



I want to see some more hard questions asked, and more innovative stories being told that push the mold in any medium. Entertainment should be more than just a way to relax, it should force you to ask questions and think. I hope that the next decade will be known for bringing this about on a grand scale.

Smuggler's Run

Smuggler's Run

Thumbs are done for my short! I enjoy looking at all of them and seeing them done. I might change a few panels here and there but overall its the point!

All I gotta do now is start the actual art and write a little dialogue here and there!

Workspace and process

Work desk with some thumbnails

Thought it would be fun so show a pic of my current workspace. Its a little cramped, not exactly prime, but it gets the job done!

Here you can see some thumbnails for a short comic I'm working on that I'm calling "Smuggler's Run". Its a Sci-fi tale fraught with mystery and danger. It should give me a good chance to practice drawing some detailed interiors as well as some space ships. I am hoping it will be accepted into an anthology that one of the grad students at SCAD is putting together. I just have 2 more pages of thumbnails to go and I'm ready to start on the real deal!

I have had these two pads of Strathmore 200 comic paper sitting in my closet for about a year now. This paper is not 2 ply, so doing anything but pencilling on it is a little difficult. When I spotted blacks on it with the india ink a few months ago the paper started warping a little, and the crow quill tore the paper way to easily. In general I feel it is actually a pretty poor choice for doing serious comic work on, however it occurred to me that it would be great for doing thumbnail work and layouts on. I really like being able to see the pages side by side, not only does it help me envision what the reader will see as they turn the page and open the book, I like being able to look over the entirety of the project and see what Ive gotten done so far.

I don't know if Ill keep working like this once this paper is gone as it is pretty expensive for thumbs, but I just may if I find it to help my process alot.

Thats enough for now, I'm going to have a really busy week coming up, I've got work at the old establishment Monday through Wednesday, and then I'm heading straight to Savannah with Kate come Thursday morning. We are going down to find an apartment, so wish us luck on finding a good place!

More break time sketching.

Skeletons Sketch

 Sketch I started today at work. I decided to finish it off this evening when I got home.

I had a chance to look at Frank Cammuso's sketchbooks a few weeks ago, and I was struck that he did everything in pen. He actually said to one of us looking at it that the only rule he had for the book was "pen only".  I think its really ballsy to do that, and as I dont have to worry about showing sketchbook work unless I think its really cool and awesome and stuff, I think I am going to start doing my sketchbooks in pen too.

Also I have a large mosquito bite on my hand and it really itches. Here's to not getting West Nile.

Auctions. Yup!

I put some stuff up on Ebay! I'll be continuing to sell off some of my collector's items over the next few weeks!

Links!

Master Chief

Cortana

Warthog

Final Fantasy Cloud Standee

I'll update this as I add items or sell them!

Life portrait I did on my 15 minute break at work today of one of my co-workers. I did the pencil and then broke out my brush pen for some fun :P

Blade Runner Fan Art

Deckard from Blade Runner. Watched it the other day and got me itchin.

Alien Concept design for a short comic im working on this summer. Still havent figured out a name but I like the look!

Summer time in PA, Chomp Ilustration, and other such thoughts.

I am back home from Savannah now. I finished my SCAD quarter strong, all the grades aren't back yet but I am keeping my fingers crossed for that 4.0. It has been good being back, seeing friends and spending time with my lovely fiance.


Its also been a little stressful! I currently have literally $20 to my name and while I am starting work tomorrow at Wal-Mart, I won't be getting paid for a least another two weeks! Since I am also moving to Savannah in the fall for at least the remainder of my SCAD education, there is alot of planning and organizing and situating that needs to be done in the next month. I have decided to sell of my car as it is of little use to me once I live in Savannah, and since the transmission is totally shot, I feel like paying anything to replace it at this point will be a net loss. Hopefully someone will want to pick it up for a few hundred bucks to get parts or mess around with fixing. It's a toyota, and I took good care of it overall so it should be in pretty repairable shape.

I haven't done any serious drawing since last monday, and its starting to KILL me! Tonight there will be some drawing done for sure! That being said I have a fun illustration that I did for my friend Ian McGinty as fanart for his comic Chomp. He is hoping to pitch it and get it published sometime in the next year or so, and as I think its freaking AWESOME I was happy to do some fanarts for him!

Check it out!

I had a great time drawing it, and Ian was pretty pleased with it as well!

Also please keep in mind that I am still open for character drawing commissions! They start at $10 and go up with more characters, backgrounds, etc. Please email me at erykdonovan@yahoo.com if you have any interest in getting one from me.

Fun "Poem"

If I could have my way with the Day, how would I have her? She'd be dry and warm, but a cool breeze across her flesh, She'd be full and shapely, every minute filled with pleasant action. She'd be long, tall perhaps, well rounded, some work, some play, all fun, and filled with love.

 Found that in my journal tonight, and thought it was fun. I'm sharing it!