Last week I had just finished page 70. This week I’ve made a good start on page 73, so I’m making progress but am shortly going to put Satin and Tat aside for a short while as I’ve had a commission elsewhere. (Yay!) I’ve been listening to a really excellent podcast recently, as recommended byContinue reading “Graphic memoir as social history”
Category Archives: Cartoons
Pacing and jumble sales
Last week: I’d just pencilled page 68 of an estimated 170. This week: I’ve just finished page 70. Why an ‘estimated’ 170 pages? Because although I’m working from my own dummy copy of the whole book in thumbnail form, printed out and stuck together, now and again I come across a sequence where I haven’tContinue reading “Pacing and jumble sales”
Draw the Line in the USA and other comics stuff
This week’s half-hour roundup, on the editorial process of having a comic book published, planning graphic novels and surprising myself by making a pitch.
30 minutes on comics
I’ve got a big, seemingly insurmountable problem, that I keep turning over, poking at, and carrying on regardless: that problem is time.
Draw The Line: seize the means of production
This is going to be the last in the series of posts, at least for now. It’s turned into a massive epic — sorry! But I’ll try to divide it into short sections so you can skim to the parts you find useful. If I’ve missed anything, please do comment below and I’ll be happyContinue reading “Draw The Line: seize the means of production”
Draw the Line: the Unbound years
This is a series of blog posts documenting Draw The Line, a project that brought together over 100 cartoonists from around the world, each depicting a positive political action. This is part five. You can find part one, documenting the final product, here then part two, which explains how the project was born part threeContinue reading “Draw the Line: the Unbound years”
Draw the Line: online launch
This is part 4 of the Draw The Line story: you can find part one here, then part two and part three. So, at the end of the last post, we were just getting artwork in from the 100+ artists who had each illustrated whichever political action they had been allocated. My inbox was bulgingContinue reading “Draw the Line: online launch”
Draw The Line: the brief
This is the third post in a series of – oh, I don’t know, maybe five or six? We’ve already looked at the end product of the Draw The Line project and how the idea began. In this post I’ll try to cover the practicalities involved in managing a remote art project with more thanContinue reading “Draw The Line: the brief”
Draw The Line: the beginning
Yesterday I started blogging the story of Draw The Line by describing the end product: our beautiful book. Now let’s go right back to the beginning, and look at how the project came about in the first place. This is a story I’ve told a lot over the past four years, in various blog postsContinue reading “Draw The Line: the beginning”
The Draw The Line story
Apologies for the grandiose title: I’m not really envisioning this becoming a Netflix miniseries. However, there is quite a bit to say about the Draw The Line project. Here we are with a gorgeous book, lots of good reviews, demand for a second print run, and having made a decent donation to a charity thatContinue reading “The Draw The Line story”
Shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel competition
My work in progress, Satin and Tat, has been shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel prize. Surprised? Not as surprised as me. You should have seen me squawk when I got the email. It means a lot, and here’s why: Since lockdown began, I haven’t been able to draw any comics at all. IContinue reading “Shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel competition”
Panel Show: exhibition report (and Leeds has a zine library)
I did say I would report back from the Panel Show exhibition at Sunnybank Mills in Farsley, and here it is! Thanks so much to Beth Dawson (whose work is also in the show, and whose comic is available to buy in the gallery shop) for taking me there. It’s a beautiful place — asContinue reading “Panel Show: exhibition report (and Leeds has a zine library)”
Talking to students at Leeds Arts University
I still feel slightly odd to have been invited to give a lecture at an actual university: I mean, that’s for legitimate artists, surely? Aha! Get thee behind me, imposter syndrome! In fact, this was pretty much the subject of my talk. That is to say, at what point in a non-traditional route to aContinue reading “Talking to students at Leeds Arts University”
Darryl Cunningham, Robin Ince and Draw The Line in Brighton
Wondering how to cope in an increasingly depressing world? Well, one thing you could do is come and see some people discussing comics which are all about that depressing world. I’ll be talking about Draw The Line at an event in Brighton on November 3, run by Myriad. But I’m just the support act:Â topContinue reading “Darryl Cunningham, Robin Ince and Draw The Line in Brighton”
Panel show at Sunnybank Mills in Leeds
Just a quick note to say that a page from my graphic memoir-in-progress, Satin and Tat, is on display in the Panel Show exhibition at Sunnybank Mills, Farsley, Leeds. The show runs until November 10 and also includes work from Darryl Cunningham, Joe Decie, Kate Charlesworth, Katriona Chapman, Luke Pearson, Zara Slattery and many manyContinue reading “Panel show at Sunnybank Mills in Leeds”
Satin and Tat: study sketches
Sometimes it seems like the more you learn about how to make comics, the longer it takes. While working on Satin and Tat, I’ve changed my habits a bit, placing much more emphasis on preparation. Now, before I even put the final strokes to paper (or screen, since it’s mainly digital work), I’m working onContinue reading “Satin and Tat: study sketches”
Draw The Line at Sunday Assembly Brighton
I had the great pleasure of talking about Draw The Line to the Brighton Sunday Assembly last weekend. As I’ve previously mentioned, Sunday Assembly is a monthly meet up that encourages attendees to “Live better, help often, wonder more”. It’s a bit like a church service in format, only instead of hymns you have popContinue reading “Draw The Line at Sunday Assembly Brighton”
Laydeez Do Comics: award and festival
It’s the Laydeez Do Comics festival this weekend, at the Free Word centre in London. Why not come along? Laydeez Do Comics is a “women-led but not women-only” organisation with chapters in cities across the UK and beyond. For the past couple of years, they’ve run an award for a graphic work in progress byContinue reading “Laydeez Do Comics: award and festival”
Retreating to Pulborough
I’ve just spent the weekend with five other comic artists in a remarkable house in the countryside. The plan was to go somewhere with few distractions, and indeed Michi Mathias, Rich Pettitt, Zara Slattery, Simon Russell, Hannah Eaton and I spent a couple of days with our heads down, ploughing through our different comic projects.Continue reading “Retreating to Pulborough”
Draw The Line: hooray for publicity
Like buses, they all come at once. I’ve had three excellent opportunities to speak about Draw The Line recently, and now you can choose whether to enjoy your update via the medium of print, podcast or in person. What is Draw The Line, do you ask? Well, you can find out through any of theContinue reading “Draw The Line: hooray for publicity”
Myfanwy Tristram 