Heather Makes Comics

2010-02-28T06:14:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone,

I'm over at www.heatherbryant.net now! It's still not completely finished, but enough that you can get a good idea of what I'm up to these days.

-Heather

2010-01-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Cover for American, Eh? #4. Being laid out for printing right now. Hope to have it in the Etsy store by early February.

2010-01-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

First color illustration from Juniper Key and the Very Serious Girl.

2010-01-05T07:53:00.000-08:00

Back in Rhode Island, but nursing a cold that I think my gram gave me. Good trip, saw lots of family, which was awesome. I'm thinking of spending this week taking it easy and adding watercolor to my Juniper Key illustrations, and get those done and ready for press. Lots of plans for the year. First of which: registering to exhibit again at SPX (Small Press Expo)!

Away until Jan. 5th - Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T15:19:00.000-08:00

Just about finished American, Eh? #4 - Michael will lay it out for printing while I go back to Canada for a week and a half! A much-needed vacation, where I'm going to focus on Cake Brat and sketches for comics about being in Japan. When I get back Jan. 5th, AE4 will go to the printers and #5 will get started - about the first time Michael and I went back to Canada together to meet my family. A classic memory, for both us and for my bemused, very opinionated family.

Anyways, not the greatest update, but I can show a few finished pages of AE4!

2009-12-15T13:37:00.001-08:00

Been very busy trying to finish up AE4 before Christmas, but for now, here's a cool, trippy claymation video by a band I've been listening to a lot lately while working on pages:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puph1hejMQE

2009-12-02T08:40:00.001-08:00

I am really psyched to be working towards a real website - hopefully I'll have something up in early 2010. The goal is to be live, at the very latest, before the con-season starts up in May. As usual, I'm relying on the always reliable Fonz (from AE#2, you might remember) to help me out with this stuff, since I'm clueless.

American, Eh? #4 is speeding along at a great pace. I'm pretty happy with myself, actually. The goal of being done by Christmas seems extremely do-able at this point. That means for the first time, I will have completed an 20-page issue of AE plus cover in under three months time, which is the fastest yet. It may not seem that fast on first glance, but I work multiple jobs, so time management gets tricky. This is the pattern I aspire to keep up moving into 2010, hopefully I can stick to it.

I penciled the last page of Juniper Key. Will ink it probably tonight after work. That makes me a little sad. :-( Guess I better write a sequel. I've really liked drawing these wacky characters, and they've grown on me even more than before.

2010 is going to be the year of hustling, pushing the product and making things happen, on a lot of fronts. I think it'd be a good year.

2009-11-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

I hate when you make a thumbnail sketch of a page, then pencil it in blue, then sit down and do the panel borders, then start writing out the words when it strikes you: this isn't right. This isn't working.

But you ignore your thought and keep writing out the words because you've got a deadline to hit, but still it nags at you.

Then you sit back and realize: "shit. I have to redo this."

It would have been nice to see the error *before* I did all of busy work.

2009-11-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

Note to self:

When you're upset, if you've had an awful day, whatever, go into the studio. Even if you think you don't want to, you're too tired, you're too emotional. Do it. Sit down, uncap the pen, wet the brush, and put on your music. It makes you feel so much better, so much steadier, every time. Remember that.

2009-11-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Good things this past week and a half or so:

1) Registered and confirmed for the New England Small Press Assembly, which will happen in Rhode Island next July. Also awaiting a decision on the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which is May. Thinking also about Boston Zine Fest, Maine, SPX again... we'll see about New York.

2) American, Eh? is in Ada Books in Providence and Harrison's up in Salem - just promo copies for right now, but hoping to establish a relationship and get the books regularly in the stores. Will be taking trips to Worcester and Boston this winter to see about other sites for distribution.

3) First sale on Etsy! Three books gone. Very nice.

Not bad, not bad at all.

On the production front, my goal is to finish American, Eh? #4 and Juniper Key and the Very Serious Girl by Christmas. Then, when I go home to Canada for my annual two week vacation, I can have peace of mind..... and not bring ink bottles on the plane. I can start sketches for Cake Brat (hopefully figured out by then what I'm doing with the concept) and maybe my long-dreamed-of project of comics about going to Japan with my mum three years ago, but those are slow, dreamy pencil sketches that I can do in front of a fire sitting with my brown dog.

Juniper Key is steadily coming to a close, which is exciting. I just finished the tenth illustration out of twelve, not including the cover (which I still have to decide on). Right now, they're just inked - I'm scanning them and then I will add watercolor to the images and rescan. Just want to preserve the original images in case I screw up. :-)

American, Eh #4 is shaping up to be a challenge, mainly because I'm making it so. I read a review of the earlier issues that talked about how simply drawn it was, and for whatever reason, that kind of irked me. And I read somewhere else an artists' quote that said people who don't bother or concentrate on background details are lazy and missing out on half the impact.

Now, of course that's not true of everyone, but I'm the type that stuff like that sticks in my mind (AE#1 was heavily influenced by another quote I read that said that comic panels should be at least 50% black, and look how dark it is in parts!). So AE#4 has been a different animal. I'm concentrating heavily on background and especially texture. That's something that's been missing from earlier issues: parallel lines, cross-hatching, stippling, etc., just to add that texture and dimension. You can see from an earlier post on this blog Page#1 and how much detail I put into that first page - that was a headache, but I can't deny that it's a strong image. Add to that those Hitchcock stills, again from an earlier post, with all that tiled flooring and it's been more work. But good though. I think whoever made that quote was right.

2009-11-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

American, Eh? was reviewed by Eden Miller of Comicsgirl:

"It's a quiet story, and Bryant presents it in an unadorned away. She does a lot with a little - her strong lines capture body language and facial expressions beautifully. I was surprised at how much this affected me." Link.

2009-10-30T10:17:00.001-07:00

I'm starting on a somewhat ambitious two pages in American, Eh? #4. This issue takes place heavily in a college film class about Hitchcock and Welles, where I worked as a projectionist for a very tough professor. In that class, we screened "Notorious", starring Cary Grant and the wonderful Ingrid Bergman, and the professor focused on a particular segment and the revolutionary camerawork. It's that segment that I want to depict in two pages, because it was a real turning point for me. But it's hard to figure out how to depict a film in comic pages. I'm thinking four to five long horizontal panels on 1 1/2 of the two pages to mimic the typical movie screen, but can I get the impact of the segment in so few panels? It's something I'm puzzling over this afternoon. I also don't have a copy of the movie, even though it's one of my favorites, so I've got the segment on YouTube. The part I'm talking about is from 4:00 to 4:36. Video. If you're curious, it's a significant segment because of the extreme long crane shot down to the extreme close-up of the hand and key, plus a few other things. It was a pretty remarkable shot at its time.

Boston, Syndicate Product and Lap Cats

2009-10-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

So Boston was a bit of a bust - I realized as soon as I got there that this might not be the best environment for my kind of stuff. I was in the same room as a artist who worked on The Darkness, for god's sake, and surrounded by banners and prints of Elektra and Wolverine. Where does my admittedly slightly-to-extensively girly stuff fit in? So I made about enough to pay for parking and buy a cheap bottle of red wine. It is what it is.

I spent a bunch of the time at my table penciling pages of Juniper Key ( up to the sixth image of about twelve) as well as a two-page Cake Brat story for Syndicate Product, a zine that has a call for entries for stories and comics with the theme of "CLEANING." I just finished inking, scanning and cleaning them up tonight - sent it in about five minutes ago. Here it is!

And just for fun, this is the common occurrence when I sit down to work on my comics, or even work on work:

Boston Comic-Con this weekend!

2009-10-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

I'm prepping to exhibit at the Boston Comic-Con for the first time this weekend. It's going to be a much different experience from SPX, in both good and bad ways:

Good: Local! Only an hour's drive, and I can sleep at home in my cozy bed. Also, can make contacts with local indie-friendly stores as well as other local artists, hopefully.

Bad: I'm on my own. Michael can't come the first day to help because his school has Homecoming. Plus, I've actually never driven in Boston before - I always drive to Quincy just outside of the city and take the MBTA in and around. So it's going to be a long day of figuring things out and manning the table alone for 7 hours.

I'm also taking a chance and bringing some prints of artwork with me to see if I can sell them. I noticed at SPX that a lot of comic artists also had prints of work, and some sold. So why not give it a shot? This is what I'm bringing - if I have any left afterwards, I'll put them in the online store.

2009-10-13T09:26:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm rearranging shit again, as best I can with Blogger and a very limited knowledge of HTML. Trying to keep it as clean and easy to read as I can, and trying to make that banner that was previous here work - it's too damn big on the blog, but the image itself is teeny! I don't get it. I'm going to take up the offer of a friend for a real website, but for now, this is it.

Was MIA due to prepping for Canadian Thanksgiving and my family around for the weekend, which was very sweet, and I made a truly kick-ass turkey. Also working on winterproofing my three-season room / studio so that I can actually use it this winter instead of squirreling into the small spare room. I'm starting with those plastic window insulators. Fingers crossed.

Boston Comic-Con in two weeks!

2009-10-05T15:48:00.001-07:00

Page 3 of Juniper Key.

First page of American, Eh? #4.

2009-10-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

Just started penciling page 3 of Juniper Key in time for tiger kitty to jump unexpectedly into my lap and onto the page with dirty paws. ARGH.

2009-09-29T17:03:00.001-07:00

Stuff I like the best so far, in no particular order, as I continue to burrow through the pile of comics I brought home:

Fun in Jammies! And the so-nice Emily Adamo (and Greg!), who were my neighbors at SPX! First of all, great title. Second, one of her characters plays a pink pigtailed gnome in World of Warcraft, just like I did. How weird is that? www.funinjammies.com

Dar: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary - Where has this comic strip been all my life? This chick is hilarious. And Michael and I have a new sound to make at each other: GNARM! www.darcomic.org

Outreach – I think I have a new idol in Raina Telgemeier. The two minis I picked up are all weird, funny moments from her teaching comic workshops and doing outreach with kids. I eagerly await the release of Smile, a GN about when she knocked out her two front teeth - didn't win the raffle for a free pre-release copy. Bugger. www.goraina.com

Karma Shmarma – The issue I picked up was really good. Documents the author’s discovery that his cancer had unexpectedly returned. By the end of the issue, I was looking forward to getting the next, until I went to the website and saw: Mark Griffin. October 1, 1972 - June 2, 2008. What a horrible shame. Although it’s unfinished, you can read the pages here: www.ourfriendtheatomrecordings.com/karma/index.htm

Neon Girl – somewhat reminiscent of the graphic novel Ultra, this book about superheroines smacking each other around in a streetside cat fight was pretty funny. Also by the same author, Dennis Pacheco: really liked his mini comic “bizchochito.” www.pigeonholepress.net

ShitHole – Comics about 6 girls sharing the same house. Messiness, fighting, bitching. Yeah, I could relate. www.maidenhousefly.com

Something Like Falling – I was really impressed by the artist Ben Bishop’s portfolio – all pencil, fantastic detail and shading, beautifully done. And he’s only 23! I think he’s going somewhere. Story kept me engaged – interested to see where it goes. You can read the first 30 pages I did here: www.bishart.net

Yay for SPX! Thanks everyone!

2009-09-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a pretty darn successful weekend at the Small Press Expo! Met lots of nice people, talked to a few publishers, and made $160, which is not half bad for first convention ever. Lots of thoughts, shout-outs and plans for Boston Comic Con in a month to come. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who bought books!

Two Days Until SPX

2009-09-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

Working, working, working towards the dream.

2009-09-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

I wrote a kids' book about a year ago: Juniper Key and the Very Serious Girl. At the time, I didn't think I had the skills to illustrate it, since I'd just started making comics and learning to ink with a brush. It was something I wrote for fun, derived from a weird dream I had years ago about a frizzy haired professor pushing a little girl down the street in a big, puffy, red armchair.

A year later, I decide that I wanted to try it - I want to finish this sucker and get it in print. I want it to be more delicate than my usual style, with more color and detail. My inspiration is Jill Thompson - I love the lightness of her work and use of detailed watercolors:

http://www.jillthompsonart.com/

So tonight I took my smallest brush and very slowly, very painstakingly, inked the first picture for JK. And you know what? I enjoyed it! I liked working in such fine, light detail, even if my heart was in my throat doing it, scared to screw up. It's in black ink, but fine enough that if I use bright watercolors, it won't be the dominant layer. About halfway through, I actually felt mad at myself for not trying this earlier!

2009-09-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

I finished Dislocation #2 (London, Sister) this week - it's four pages of black and white images illustrating a short poem I wrote a few years back. I'm putting the words in now, and then will make photocopies for SPX, fold them up, staple, and sell for a quarter. I'm also halfway into Dislocation #3 (The Local).

Funny thing, as I do these mini-mini comics, I feel like this is some of my best inking! Figures, right? But it is much more landscape than I usually do, and I've always felt stronger with backgrounds and landscapes than with people. Or maybe all this practice is paying off.

Messy desk. I tape the art to the windows to dry because a certain white kitty with long hair likes to walk across my desk all the time. Menace.

Tonight I scoured the Net looking for stories of people who worked in bakeries for stories for Cake Brat comics. I'll have a book of 10 comics to sell at SPX, plus a 3-page peek in the Quarter Comics basket. I started Cake Brat just for fun, but now I think I probably should try to keep up these comics and post them online. I'll post a link to the Cake Brat site, maybe see if I can submit some to other sites as well and get some buzz.

Cake Brat is a fun departure from the more serious, more true-to-life American, Eh? and Dislocation comics - just little stories of people working the night-shift at a quirky bakery. Good rest for the brain, and the hand, since I use pens instead of the old brush. More to come on that.

2009-08-28T18:33:00.001-07:00

Sitting in front of the television, doing character pencil sketches and portraits tonight in my big old sketchbook instead of inking / doing non-photo-blue penciling of pages. It's nice to take a break from always pushing to create comic pages.

2009-08-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

Cover for American, Eh? #3. AE#1-3 will be available at SPX in Maryland and at the Boston Comic-Con.

2009-08-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

Working on finishing Dislocation #2, which is one of a few mini-mini comics I'll be selling at SPX in September for 25 cents. I did a Cake Brat comic two days ago, which was the first in a while. Felt good! though I'm a little shaky with the art style since it's been so long. Michael just laid out American, Eh? #2 for print, and he'll do #3 for me hopefully this week. I still have to script #4, gotta get on that.

2009-08-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Cover for American, Eh? Part Two!

I was delayed a week or so due to a death in the family and a whirlwind weekend in NYC, but I just finished editing all of #2, now starting to scan and work on #3. Thinking that if I scan and edit three pages a day, I can be done with #3 in a week or so. Then lay out both for printing, get some quotes and keep working on both Cake Brat and Dislocation, which will be mini-comics of poem-stories and images.

SPX in one month! Gotta hustle!

2009-08-01T16:47:00.001-07:00

Just finished the last page of American, Eh #3! Working on the cover now. Next up: another Dislocation mini-comic while scripting AE #4 and scanning/editing and laying AE books out for printing.

2009-07-29T14:36:00.001-07:00

Test. Seeing how big the posts are. This blog's a nice color. I picked it for Jodi because she's a purple person. That comic she did in Julie Light, about Julie's chosen name for herself as Purple Unicorn Star? Yeah, that's pretty close to the author herself. I'll just tell you that.