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5/2/02 - Well, it looks like the fates smiled kindly, and a car is now part of this venture. Thank you everyone for the wonderful suggestions. And so many from Seattle, I've been wanting to get up there and must do so soon again. But for now, it looks like we're going to the central Oregon coast, likely the Yachats area. It'll be nice, and I realized, I actually have not been outside of Portland (aside from a day in the Columbia Gorge) since September. Not that i haven't felt adventurous, simply finances. So yeah. and I am well underway to finishing the strip through Tuesday so that i don't have to even think about it.
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5/3/02 - Amazing, I actually finished the strip through Tuesday, and so it will automatically update and all everyone will be happy and i will have a nice little escape to the coast with bread, fruit, chocolate, and cheese.
kisses,
-christopher
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5/8/02 - I had a fabulous weekend: having long conversations, searching tide pools for star fish and sea anemones, eating far too many sweet baked goods, and barely resisting temptation by a siren in guise of a Radio-Shack clock with an alluring brittish accent.
But returning has not been good. I was in a daze all day Tuesday, and at the end of the work day I had a bit of a panic attack and came home stunned. I think before going on vacation I had effectively numbed myself to how much I hate my situation, and escape has given me perspective enough to bring it back into focus. This does not make me happy as I see no current alternative of any notable improvement.
And so I've just been snacking and trying to get, even slightly, into the frame of mind to do another Bruno. I did manage to dredge up a strip out of the conversations I had this weekend, and I like the strip, I think it's a very good strip; although it's funny, her face in today's strip is the part of the strip which most moves me, I think it really describes how I've felt all day.
Anyhow, I guess I feel like I'm posting some redundant pity-party drama up here fairly regularly. But it's no drama, it's no crisis. It's merely a Bruno annotation, sort-of a explanation of where Bruno comes from. This has been my daily life for years and years.
I guess because I have a very optimistic, hopeful, and striving attitude (you may not believe it, but it's true) I have used my difficulty in being happy in life to create beauty and to seek out amazingness in my life. Maybe someday I'll throw in and let myself be simply sad, and in that, find actual happiness. Who knows, but truth often works in such ironic ways.
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5/9/02 - And so I'm feeling a notable bit better today. Funny, isn't it? I mean, nothing is different in my life, just feel okay today. I think yesterday was partly caused by seeing what a shambles my apartment was and how behind I was on all sorts of side projects. And so I've just been cleaning and working, and everything seemes to be pulling together. So it's partially outside sources, but also, my emotions are just not very faithful subjects it seems. You know? happiness today, but what does tomorrow bring? Aside from more cyncisim today?
Ah well. heh.
So yes, Anyhow, the reason I posted both yesterday and today's strips together, is because I am very very pleased with how the two strips interact. Both that it is a sequence (I had so much fun writing/drawing lenny yesterday, i simply had to again) but as well that they are designed to go together. Again, remember that I write and draw the strip to fit in the books as much (if not more) that i do for the web page, which means two per page stacked on top of each other. And so I needed to do the insert-frame of a character again (implying the phone conversation), and decided that I needed to make the insert wider rather than taller, to balance the two, so that they don't feel repetitive. And I saw that bruno needed the attention for her mood in the first strip, and in the second, lenny could come foreward. Plus, Bruno was at such a great angle in the first strip, that it was a good chance to change her angle (plus her postions echoes her mood: she is at an angle in the first strip, in a way that it gives almost a small sense of virtigo; while in the second strip, she is calm, relaxed, grounded, horizontal), and also I think the transition of her poses simply works really well as a staggered sequence (am i totally too-much geeking-out or back-patting for you yet?). The other thing about these strips, especially the first one, is that I was tempted to do it as two overlapping frames like this:
Which seems like a really good idea, and works well, but it's part of the many rules I hold myself too. It bring me back to philosophies I may or may not have spouted about how restrictions often are the best way to expand (bruno has many rules like this: single weight line width, tempered drama on hot-topics, attempts to not break her reality, first person who speaks is always on the left. Other rules I've slowly broke, once I realized the value and could use these techniques responsibly, such as: minimal to no black areas, or Bruno is ALWAYS in the strip as it is a story of her perspective). Anyhow, so with Bruno, the rule on this one is that I have tried and make it a goal that the frame/border is passive, which goes against what many good illustrators believe should be done (look at Calivin and Hobbes sundays, where the frames actually express tone). But I think this staticness works with her tone. Her world has little drama, even the scenic pictures of Europe of the Columbia gorge, it is simply a contained world. it happens and then it rolls along. And so I think the choice i made keeps the simplicity, but as well gives these strips a very graceful interaction between the two panels.
Anyhow, gloat gloat gloat. I done good i think.
Oh, post script here. The original time i used the sort-of inserted-frame was way back in 1997, but i never forgot how good it looked, just never found a real use for it again in the strip until it hit me I could use it for the phone thing. This is the link to the week, but the small version so you don't have to bother is this:
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5/13/02 - Hey, so yeah, Saturday's strip was kinda crappy, was feeling a bit under the weather friday night (thus the inspiration), and this weekend it just kinda got worse until today, sunday, I've been in bed sleeping for the later half of the day, and it does not look good for me really to solidly (to do any work) get up until morning. Not sure if i will make up strips or how i will juggle/handle this week yet, not really pressing on my mind right now.
My best,
-christopher
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5/14/02 - First off, the movie they just watched, the title is written in the strip's right margin (as per usual), it is "The Sheltering Sky". Secondly, I would like to apologize to any who thought yesterday that I was too depressed to get out of bed. I guess I wasn't to clear in my writing. I was not depressed, I was simply fluish, feverish, sore-throatish kind-of-thing. I've been fighting it for a couple weeks now, and it finally caught up to me this weekend. And although I'm not totally over it, I feel much better today.
I'm still not sure how I'm going to balance the week (for the books, I need to keep the strips in pairs of twos). I may do two strips one day this week, or do a double-sized strip one of the days. I've also considering just dropping saturday's strip from the book, but I likely won't do that.
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5/16 - Thursday (written on Wednesday night)
Well okay, this is simply no good. I thought I was feeling better and so since I had plans (which I had made a week ago) to go and see "101 Reykjavik" (which is this really amazing movie from Iceland) Tuesday night, I though I could venture forth and do it. Monday night I made sure to finish Tuesday's and most of Wednesday's strip. I did even finish wednesday's strip on Tuesday at work (during breaks), but still I got home late from the movie, and had other work that needed puttering too, and I didn't get to bed until 1:00 (currently i go to bed around 11:00). And tonight, i'm wiped. I've been wiped all day, and crabby too. And so I got home from work and have spent the last two and half hours only doing Bruno, and I did finally write and letter the strip, and I have it blocked out and the reference photo all in place, and then I begn to draw it, but i just can't. Feel like total crap, headachey, can't focus on the paper at all, and I just need to go to bed. now.
Sorry, although... heh, this may solve my problem of needing an even number of strips this week. :-/
my best,
-christopher
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5/17/02 - OKay, well, I'm feeling a tad better... albeit mostly due to the Dr Pepper i drank earlier to be anywhere near bright enough to draw the already-day-old strip. I'll try to to really take it easy this weekend (yeah right). On a brighter note, I may be switching jobs soon, although I am not yet counting my chickens.
Oh, and i think this may simply be a 4-strip week. Simple as that. Can't think of possibly currently managing otherwise. Sorry!
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5/20/02 - can I just tell you how happy i was with the new Star Wars? lots of focus on character, riddled with small little classical references to art and religion, the special effects were generally inobtrusive, and there were no annoying ewoks, little annikins, and Jar-Jar was put in a VERY small role. Lucas even cut out n-sync! I'd say i'd put it in with as enjoyable as the first two, although "return of the jedi" DID still have Harrison Ford, who makes most movies worthwhile. Kinda like Bill Murray. Bill Murray made some of the dumbest movies in history, and every on he makes worth watching (well, "scrooged" irks me, but... i digress). But yeah, not that the new Star Wars is without criticism, I have plenty. But it was reallllly enjoyable.
And yeah, today's strip was exactly what i felt up against once I got home and knew I had to do a strip. :)
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5/25/02 - Just a notice that there will be a Sunday strip just because, and there will also be a Monday strip, in case you thought there might not be (It's Memorial Day in the US on Monday).
So yeah, I'm still here. The week just began rough. I did begin a new job midweek though, and that seems to be helping a lot.
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5/27/02 - I know this likely seems odd, but since April 15th, I have been drawing Bruno on cardstock instead of in my sketch pads. The reason? Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9:30pm NYC time, I will be selling Bruno original drawings, starting from April 15th, 2002. All since then will be for sale except for last week (Chinese gardens) and the Columbia river gorge strips, which i will be holding on to as i do hope to have a local show possibly, so am slowly collecting some good local ones.
Why am i doing this? I have a big debt to pay at the end of July is a big reason. But also, I know that a LOT of you have requested to purchase originals, and I know that for me, owning originals of another's work, just makes me very happy. Which is also why i tried to make them VERY affordable. Essentially they will mostly be going for $60 apiece. A few of them i simply liked too much, and so i priced them slightly higher. And in three cases, where a dialogue kinda' extended for two days, I'm offering those bundled. If they don't sell bundled, i'll seperate them.
Umm... what else. oh, how long will I be doing this? I'm not sure. i might just do it for a couple months. I might do it until demand slips. I might do it for a year. I might just do it indefinitely. I have no plans. But I will probably do it until at least this debt is covered, unless of course they don't really sell well at all.
Oh, and just worthy of mention, the printer tells me that book #7 should be done early June, so it will be out very very soon. yay!
So, aside from all this news stuff, how am I doing? Doing okay. Been drawing all weekend. Nothing much to report. Just kinda' trying to think. Find my way again.
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