Tuesday 18 August 2020

Flight Of Fancy?

Hello faithful reader (Illustrated Ghost), among others!

I don't want to preface this post with much, and I especially don't want to make any grandiose statements about hopes and plans for this one, I just want to start it and talk about it, and with luck, see it through.

But what is it ?!!

It is, as Mr. Ghost requested, a longer format story. The working title is "Flight of Fancy". 

DON'T CUE THE TRUMPETS!  Please!  No fanfare.  Let's just do this thing... quietly.

I'll try to do a new post weekly and that will likely be just one page, but today, I give you two pages.


 
Page1
 
 

Page 2
 
Ok. REALLY rough. And as you can see, drawn on lined paper. I'm using cheap "exercise" books that have three holes and are staple bound. The lines are helpful for creating panels and the low quality of the thing means I am not very precious about it... yes, I still hesitate if I decide I need to erase a good drawing and better it, but less so than if it was done on nicer paper in ink.

Of course, hand lettered text that will probably change. Maybe at some point I'll figure out how to create my own font. Always wanted to do that.

What I like about pages and what I've found pretty easy to do, is to use the motion and direction of the planes to "suggest" how the reader should move through the page. I find they read very quickly. I also like how some drawings and word bubbles cross over the panel lines. I think those "tricks" pop the viewer out of thinking of this as just a comic and also make the drawings/pages more dynamic.

The drawings of the planes are already better on the second page. I'm not entirely up on how they (Canadian CF18 jets) should look, but right now (in the early, rough, don't get ahead of yourself already stage), they'll do.

Surprisingly, I really like how the rocky landscape is going.They're fun to draw, and really enhanced with a bit of cross hatched shadows. 

And I'm also trying to employ the technique of putting something in the last panel on each page to inspire the reader to turn the page and keep reading. 

I hope you like what you see, I hope you like the next instalment, and I hope, without getting too much ahead of myself, that I can keep at it!