Bible Stories

I've always been a fan of the 'vase;' the second-in-command. The one who does a lot of the legwork, but doesn't complain out of duty or honor or what-have-ya. In works of fantasy, he might be a brooding giant of a man with an axe or hammer. Or an old man who sees a vision of himself in the protagonist. Or maybe a scoundrel-with-a-heart-of-gold turned comic relief. Basically, I enjoy perspective from the side. What's happening in the background. What happens when "Exit our hero stage left?" If an author or cartoonist can effectively portray what the ordinary mook is thinking when his chief isn't around, then I'm duly impressed.

Which is why I did this series of four comics.

This is the first one I did. I remember the process of looking up how, exactly, to make the panels show up. A rare occurrence of something being easier in MS Paint than Photoshop (oh wait). The story goes that Jesus went to the temple, and when he got there, money changers and double-dealing merchants were getting rich off of things like the Purpose Driven Life sacrificial animals. Jesus became angry and started throwing things around saying his Father's house wasn't meant to be used like this.

This one makes me laugh. I don't recall if it was a decision to make these panels so close together and dark... or what. Anyways, Sodom and Gomorrah has just been destroyed. Lot and his wife are leaving, but she decides to look back. Lo and behold, she is turned into a pillar of salt. A very tasty pillar of salt. I really like the cross hatching on the hem of her skirt and sleeves.

This came from a sketch I did in my moleskine during church one Sunday. I eventually had to sketch it out a bit more delicately. Savvy viewers will notice my ability to copy and paste the same scene twice in order to come up with three panels. I've often wondered if these should be flipped horizontally.

 

This was the last, and most complex, strip I ever did. I was intent on making more use of my sketchpad to create more ideas for panels rather than copying and pasting. The second panel makes me happy because of the different perspective on the Unnamed Disciple's face. And the third panel makes me happy because of the way Chinstrap is shoveling food into his mouth. I think perhaps, Christ should actually have feet, but then, maybe his robe is in the way. Incidentally, this story of the disciples falling asleep while Christ prayed before his death always perplexed me. I mean... it seems ridiculous that these men who'd braved storms and excommunication and destitution just... dozed off. Ridiculous or endearing, maybe. In the end, they were just men. Men who got tired, scared, and sometimes made mistakes.

I certainly hope your soul is now a little lighter after that romp through the Holy Book.

Shalom!

The Second Product

So months passed between that first project I did and this next one.

I tried coloring that project. But it seemed difficult given the fact that there wasn't a clear background. Or even a top or a bottom. This is what inevitably arose:

Like watching gorillas fingerpaint, n'est-ce pas?

I found I was having troubles with wide-selection tools because my lines rarely, if ever, connect. I couldn't get the paintbrush tool to put down an even coat of paint without overlapping and changing hues. Note the dark-blue stripe at the bottom of my shirt-tail. Even then, the palette of colors I used didn't exactly feel right. Indeed, the number of problems in this painting probably outnumbered its pixels per inch.

Eventually I decided to put this one aside.

Fast forward a month or so. The middle school I taught at (note how I say taught, that's foreshadowing) let everyone know that a budget crisis was in the offing that year. The rumor was that all the first and second year teachers were going to be laid off. There was such distrust and dark looks around the building that everything seemed to be sliding out of control. So I drew this while my children were taking their exam.

I'm not one for much introspection, but that face just about summed up my feelings that week. The story ends with me and about 300 other teachers being laid off. I tell you, the oddest thing was being in a job interview and realizing that not everyone knew this was going on.

Anyways, to the inking process! As you can see in the sketch above, the legs aren't quite complete. A fact which will come to bite me as I scan this in and begin to trace over it:

 
So I'm falling very quickly, and I decide to cross my ankles. That'll help. I also manage to shrink my legs down to about the length of my arms. And my feet to the size of my hands. Note the lack of birds in this picture. The sketches were just a bit too rough for me to make anything out of them onscreen. One thing I'm proud of is discovering the Clone-Stamp tool to make all my clouds. I like their tails. I decided I needed some words in the air. I was experimenting with different fonts and finally settled on this one. That's Latin up there. Real Latin.

So this, I believe was my first real success with coloring. In fact, the end product actually looks just that: a finished drawing.

The poem is "Looking Forward" by Rachel Hadas. Hopefully she won't mind.

Should I ask her?

Los saludos

So I'm trying to get fair shakes into the blogosphere. I don't really have all that much to say, BUT I do have a lot of art and amusement a-flowin' through my pen. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is my stuff.

 This was my first real attempt at digital inking through Photoshop CS3 (thanks again, Brandi!). I drew this on a scrap of paper while hosting the Anime Club at my last teaching job. Yes, I hosted the anime club. I don't know if every school has them, but if mine was anything to go by, they definitely shouldn't.

At any rate, I was asked by one of the teachers to have the kids draw some pictures for the yearbook. While they were drawing, I figured I'd join in (being that kind of teacher). We were watching Vision of Escaflowne while doing all this, so I tried drawing myself as a big burly guy with a sword and an eye patch. Didn't pan out too well. I sketched out a rough picture of me carrying the anime classic Gigantic Gourd of Sake with monk prayer beads. Oddly enough, no one seemed to get it.

As Escaflowne continued, I noticed that a lot of the characters did that dramatic point/cape flapping pose. So I ended up drawing myself in that pose. You might be thinking vanity is a big problem for me, but really it's not. It's just one of the first things I learned how to draw the same over and over again. So I keep showing up in my own drawings. Although I am a bit vain. Not much though.

Why I chose boars, I'm not too sure. I think it's because I was watching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann back then. Y'know... the pig moles.

So a quick youtube tutorial later, I scanned this in and inked it up. And now, little man, I pass the watch to you. [ding]

So come back in a day, and I'll have more art and amusement for you. Tally-ho!