What's Love Got to do with it?

Yeap, yet another crappy image I did on the book and rejected.  This is actual the third version of a similar image.  I had several takes of it.  This was going to be the final one and I rejected it as well.  I decided it did not have enough movement in it, although I loved it at the time.  Now I am happy with my progress on the book so far.  Yesterday and today I did some very good work and I think I will finish at least one more page of it by tomorrow.  I am happy with the progress, although I was hating it yesterday.  Thus is the way of art.  

E.W. Forge

I Hate This!

I hate it!  I hate it!  I hate it!  

I hate working on the illustrations for this book!  Why does it have to be so damn hard?  It's no wonder I never went into the arena of comic books.....I suck.  I want it to be easy!  I want it to just flow.  I want it to be a one shot venture.  That is what I'm use to.  That is what it is like for my more artsy art work; why not with this?

One of the main problems, as I have mentioned before, is the fact that the porportions that I have choosen to give to Our Hero:  Barrell Chest, Broad ass shoulders, Tiny waist and, boney legs and big hands and feet, little head.  The man is a mess, but I thought it made him look comical, but it really just makes him a nightmare to illustrate in certain situations.  

Of course I stand by the fact that anything can be drawn, it just falls on me to find the voice to draw it   Take for instance the crappy drawing above.  It is from one of my earlier attempts at illustrating this darn book.  See how much it such and this is one of the simplier situations I have written Our Hero in and still it sucks.

The other problem is that I am too darn stubborn to admit that the porportions don't work and am unwilling to bend and make changes to the character.  So really, all of this is all my fault, so I really don't know why I'm complaining.  

I will say this, as I hope it is evident in prior post, that I have gotten much better with the drawing of Our Hero.  This blog will show both good and bad drawing in the evolution of this book.  This crap ain't easy and I want to share my burden.  LOL

At any rate, I woke up around four in the morning and do a great deal of work on two pages from the book.  I am kind of proud of the work I have done since I did not get anything completed over the weekend (including posting to this blog).  

What's so funny about the lack of blog entries is that I am just lazy.  I mean, I have bunches of drawing to choose from and the printer is right next to my bed.  I don't have to do much but scan and post.  Still, I'm just too lazy to do somethings sometime.  I'll try to do better.

E.W. Forge 

Up Up and Away

This is my favorite picture of Our Hero to date.  It is one of the few times that I feel like his proportions work.  I needed to put a shadow underneath him but didn't.  LOL

Yes, I am still working on this thing.  I need to concentrate.  It kills me to have the perfect idea for what I want the picture to tell, and can not get it to come to life on paper.....I even have a stick figure sketch to work from, but I don't even know how I got that crap to work.  lol.  Anyway, I sleep most of the day away, so it would be nice if I could complete two pages tonight.  

E.W. Forge

From the Back

Yet another sketch of Our Hero.  A current sketch, I might add.  I did this sketch of Our Hero this year, but I inked it with a pen while I was at work.  Yes, I inked it at work, but only while I am sitting around killing time.  It is just another form of sketching.  When I actually did this sketch of Our Hero it was only my attempt to get an idea of what Our Hero would look from behind.  His hands are all wrong, but that's okay.  That is what sketches are for, right?  Right.  

Anyway, as far as the illustrations of the book are concerned, I got a lot done on yet another page.  I am very happy with most of it.  Just for the record, when I say I have most of something done on a page of illustration, it means that I have the characters down, I have just not gotten the back ground completed.  (Did I mention how much I like the work I did on my cover?  It is not fully complete, but I think it is so cool.)

Anyway, I am about to work on yet another page before I go to sleep and prepare for work tonight.

E.W. Forge

What kind of Hero needs glasses?

I think I need glasses.  Which sucks.  

I drew this sketch of Our Hero today, but it was not a morning sketch (more like mid-morning).  The pencil drawing went off without a hitch, but as I was attempting to do my version of inking it the picture began to blur.  This is not the first time this has happened, with both inking and reading.  I really should go see an eye doctor, but I'm still in a sort of denial.

I don't really know why I'm in denial about it.  I actually have always liked glasses and I for one find them to be sexy as all heck.  

Anyway, I drew this because I am attempting to post something with Our Hero on it for everyday, since I can't post my actual illustrations.  

So, here is were we stand.  I finished, sort of, the page I was working on yesterday.   I say sort of because I'm not one hundred percent satisfied with it.   Now I am working on one of two of the other pages that work with that illustration.  

E.W. Forge

Morning Sketch

This is a morning sketch.  You all know what morning sketch is, right?  It is like morning wood.  It means that I woke up with Our Hero on my mind and I took my sketch book and cheap as ink pen and doodled this sketch.  For the record, just for too much information sake, I sleep with my lap top at the foot of my bed along with my sketch book, pencils and other drawing utilities laid to the side of the bed.  Yeah, I know....but since I don't have an end table and most inspiration  comes at night time, it is good to have the tools of the trade nearby.

Today I worked on another page of the book, but did not finish it.  I know, I need to do better, but I had today is the day I go to visit my family and by the time I got back home, fixed me some to eat, ect, ect....it was too late to do anything more.  However, I plan on completed that illustration tomorrow, before I go to bed before work.  So, tomorrow, hopefully, this post will be about how proud I am about finishing yet another page of my children's book.

E.W. Forge

It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's a Moth?

Just another sketch of Our Hero.  This is a sketch of what I hope looks like Our Hero's attempt to take flight.  I hope it is as nice and akward as it is suppose to appear.  As you can imagine, Our Hero would not be graceful in anything that the does.  This image was actually sketched sometime this year, but I inked it this morning, while waiting of a Reverse 9-11 class to commence.  

Just for the record, this is my day off and yes, I do plan on actually working on illustrations for the book.  

E.W. Forge

Colored Cover (Throw Away)

Okay, this is another cover picture  that I drew and colored with prima colors.  Yes, those are the colors of Our Hero's costume.  He's a hero, I never said he was a fashion plate.  I actually did this image last year and was not happy with it.  As you can tell, Our Hero is still just not quite right, although I kind of like the sum of the whole parts (whatever the hell that means). 

What don't I like about it?  Well, I still don't think I have Our Hero down pack.  I know what you are thinking.  How are you trying to complete a book when you don't even have you main character down to the way you like him?  

DON'T JUDGE ME!

Anyway, this picture kind of gives you a better idea about the design of Our Hero's costume.  The front of it make one great big, misshaped H.  I thought it was pretty cool.  I think I will do some post comparing Our Hero's costume to some more classic super Hero costumes that have stood the test of time.  What do you think?

Anyway, I don't think Our Hero is lovable enough, just yet....at least not in this image.  I don't think I have completely capture the level of naive, vulnerability that I want him the have.  

I know you are probably wondering who the little boy is too.  Yeah, I have not officially introduced him to you yet, but he is a key figure in the story of Our Hero.  Trust me.  What do you think of the kid?  Cute?  Likable?   

E.W. Forge

Discarded Page

Yeap, you guessed it.  This is one of the discarded illustrations from my book.  I actually really liked this drawing.  This is the best drawing I have done of Our Hero, to date  I really love the way that the pavement benethe his feet is collapsing under his weight.  Just how heavy is that damn elephant?  LOL

Hell, as I look at it I might still use it for the story.  It's a pretty cool image; don't you think?  I know it is hard to tell what story this picture is trying to tell, but I think it stands alone pretty well.  You can't really see the whole image, because my scanner is not large enough to capture the entire image.  Sucks, huh?

Anyway, it's mother's day and yet another day that I will not be working on the book.  Still, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you wonderful mothers out there.  Much love from me and the entire cast of HERO in our Town.

E.W. Forge

Badly Inked

Yet another more recent picture of Our Hero, in a lame attempt to get to know the workings of Our Hero's body.  It was originally a pencil drawing, but of course I had to go over it in ink to get it to pick up on my scanner.  

Take a good look at this drawing and you might get yet another idea of why I hate inking.  I'm just not very good at it.  Of course I did a quick ink over of this one, because I am trying to post something everyday, no matter how many people follow this blog.  

This blog is more for me than anything else.  If I can make myself post something everyday, maybe it will help me complete this book before the year's end.  

E.W. Forge

What is the saying?   "Steal from the best and make it your own."  LOL.  I'm not sure who said it or even if I quoted it correctly, but what ever.  The above little sketch was actually pencil drawn yesterday and crudely inked today, so that it would show up when scanned.  Anyway, it is based on a drawing that an artist by the name of J. Bone did.  J. Bone is now my new favorite artist of all time.  You can check out his art work at http://blonesmen.blogspot.com (Man's Adventure).  I have no idea how I came across his art work, but however I did it lead me to googling his name and finding his blog.  Maybe one day my work will be well know enough that you can goggle my name and find me.  One can only hope.  

Anyway, I didn't work on my book illustrations today.  I actually over slept.  For those of you who don't know, I work nights.  So, normally, when I get home I got directly to bed and wake up around ten in the morning or so and then later on that even.  Today I sleep past one and the only reason I woke up is because I had the strangest nightmare.  One that actually jolted me awake with a shriek (it was actually a scream, but that doesn't sound very manly.  LOL).

On the other hand, I am very, very happy with what I have done with my cover.  I took it to work with the intention of working on it during my break time, but never got around to it.  I try to take my pencil drawings to work with me so that, if I take a break, I can do some inking on the pencil drawings.  So far, I have never had the opportunity to do so.  

While we are on the subject have I ever mentioned how much I hate inking my work.  It is so damn tedious and boring.  I think the reason I hate is so is because it is so time consuming and it just seems so damn redundant in nature.  LOL.    

E.W. Forge

Yet Another Cover

This sucks!  

This morning I went to get a hair cut.  While I was there I spoke with one of the barbers, who also is a bit of an artist.  He was glad to see me, because he had come up with a some characters of his own, that he was going to attempt to make into a comic strip or something.  We discussed the ordeal of cartooning and character development.  I let him know that I had been attempting to become a syndicated cartoonist since I was seventeen years old and it is not an easy task.  Of course, I still encouraged him, because it is all subjective and what do I know; not being a professional cartoonist in any right.  

Anyway, when I got home I decide to make yet another attempt to create just the right, eye catching, cover for my book.  You see, I know the old adage about not being able to tell a book by it's cover, but I think when it comes to Children's book that you want to book to be judged by the cover and then let the inside speak for itself later.  LOL.

It's very challenging, attempting to come up with just the right image to sale your book.  Like other items in the book, this is about my third attempt to get the cover just right (the image you see above is but one of many attempts).  I actually like how Our Hero came out in this picture.  I think I got the proportions of his body, the flow of his cape, everything just the way I wanted it.  However, the little boy (who I will not divulge his purpose in the book yet) is all wrong.  His body is wrong.  It is way to long, making him give the appearance of someone much older than the age that I picture him to be.  And yes, you can gage his age from the length of his body, even though he is a cartoon.  So there!

The other problem with this image is that I think Our Hero looks a little too majestic and I am working on always having him look awkward.  This is a daunting task, for me as an artist.  I think it goes back to me not taking time to really get to know my character, before I attempted to put him on paper.  The reality is that once I decided how I wanted Our Hero to look I went straight from the concept drawing, into attempting to bring him to life into comic form.  The result was me changing Our Hero and then attempting to take that changed image from the never seen comic page, into the pages of a Children's book in progress.  

I really hope I am not getting in over my head here.  I really want my book to sale, even if it's not but twenty -five copies.  This cartooning this is in my blood.  I get more joy out of creating, developing and drawing cartoon characters then any other thing in life.  And that's saying a lot.  The idea of bring a character into a family's life that they can love and enjoy just makes my heart feel warm.  I know that's cheesy, but it true.  

Anyway, this attempt to get what I promise to be my last Book Cover idea, onto paper is hard.  Once again I have Our Hero's upper body just the way I want it to be, but I can't get the lower part of him the fit the mold of his upper part.  The proportions are killing me.  It is so damn frustrating.  And the fact that I draw with too dark of a lead, which makes the erasing more difficult and thus the image less clean is not helping either.  

I would really like to have this cover page completed, or at least close to it, before I shut it down and have to go to work tonight.  But as it stands, it looks like I am at a stalemate.  Suck!

E. W. Forge

Our Hero from the back and to the side.

Today I spent the majority of the day waiting for my brother in law to come and pick up a couch I was giving to my niece, who just moved out on her own this past week end.  That bastard said he was going to be here before noon and he never showed.  Now the cable guy I will wait for, but not family.  Anyway, after finally growing tired of waiting on him, I went on a comic book hunt and bought a back of FanBoy Comic Book Art Board.  Yeah, that is what I'm using to draw my illustrations on.  

I worked on one of the first few pages of illustrations for my book today.  This is literally the six time I have tried to draw this particular scene.  I really should just change what I have going on in the scene, but I kind of like the idea and I should be able to get the crap right.  Every time I think I have it perfect I look at it with fresh eyes and decide that it's all crap.  

The problem is perspective.  I suck at perspective, always have and always will.  I don't have too much experience having to draw things in prospective.  As an artist I normally just draw the human figure and although there can be a level of perspective in drawing the human form, it is not where near as taxing as trying to draw the perspective of streets and stuff.  At least this is what it is like for me.  SUCKS TO BE ME.  

However, this time I think I got it right.  I THINK, but the reality is that I thought I got it right the five times prior too.  We'll see.  Regardless, I will most likely post those bad boys for you at some point in this blog.  Plus, who knows.  Maybe some day someone will want to buy the unfinished works.  

The picture above is just a little 3.5 x 5 inch sketch of Our Hero.  In this sketch you get an idea of just how awkward I have made Our Hero's body for me to draw...and I'm just too stubborn to give up on this incarnation of him.  I think it is unique.  Also, I thought you might want to compare this sketch to the cartoon with Our Hero in a tutu.  In this picture I have attempted to show a little muscle definition .  Not much, but a little. 

E.W. Forge.  

IHOP Sketch

Have I mentioned yet how lazy an artist I am?  

This morning, after cleaning a portion of my house yesterday, I went to hang out at my favorite IHOP.  While I was sitting there I did these face sketches of Our Hero.  I was just trying to get more familiar with his facial expression  I know that most cartoonist normally do like a spread sheet that just focus on drawing their character's face showing different emotions.  Well, I don't actually KNOW it, but I've seen it enough that I just assume it to be true.  LOL.

I however I'm more of a snapshot cartoonist.  Which means that I draw everything more on the spot.  This is because I am a lazy artist.  I don't normally want to take away the spontaneity of drawing.  Well, that's what I tell myself, but the reality is that I am just hella lazy.

What I am really trying to learn to do is show emotion on Our Hero's face when he doesn't have eyeballs or eyebrows.  

The other problem I have as a artist is that I don't like to show movement in the face of my characters.  Does that make sense.  Let me explain.  You know how normally when you smile, frown, ect. that the face moves?  Well I don't like to do that.  I want the face to stay the same.  This is something I need to learn to get over.  I know, I know.  Anyway, I randomly drew these faces with a pen, while I was waiting for my food and talking to my waitress.  

The picture above the faces is a sketch I did a little earlier this year.  You can see the difference in him and the original.  Isn't he cute.  I love the concept of Our Hero, but I think I made his chest to barreled, his waist too thin and his arms and legs too damn lanky.  Not to mention his broad ass shoulders.  All of these things make him a nightmare to draw, but I'm gonna make it work, because I love the idea of him.  

E.W. Forge

Hero in a Tutu

This, of course is not an illustration from the book.  It is, in fact, an example of the type of silent humor I was trying to use with Our Hero.  In this particular comic (which should speak for itself), Hero is a part of a children's ballet class.  Watch as Our Hero stands among the little one's like it is the most natural thing in the world, much to the shock of the dance instructor.  

As I look at this picture, which I actually drew a few years ago, I find myself enjoying it.  I still find it funny and I love the simplicity of it all.  As you can see, when I first drew Our Hero, he was meant to be easy to draw, much a single line drawing.  As I show more pictures you will see that I have seriously over complicated Our Hero.  I thing that is part of the reason why I have problems putting his in certain situations, because his body is so hard to draw.  

Anyway, as I look at this comic panel, I really am considering revisiting this comic.  I think it is "Far Side" funny, in that quirky, fish out of water, type of way. 

Okay, on to the book.  As far as the illustrations on the book, I have not worked on it at all, since my very first post.  My plain is to clean up my filthy house and then and only then will I treat myself with working on the book.  

E. W. Forge

Anatomy of a Hero

This is Author Willey, aka Hero.  Well, this is one of the very first incarnation of him at any rate.  Our Hero, in Our Town, has changed a lot since I first created him back in the nineties.  When I first designed him I was thinking about the Mighty Heroes.  Does anyone remember the Mighty Heroes?  It was a cartoon I use to look at growing up.  All of the Heroes were quirky and inept.  

Hero follows a long line of inept Super Heroes, except that this Hero is black.  I am a firm believer that kids that look like me need a hero that looks like them.  Just like little girls that look like me, need a princess that looks like them.  I hear that Disney is finally working on a cartoon with a black princess. and it's about damn time.  Disney has created a major, motion, animated cartoon, using every ethnic group but black folks.  What's up with that?  But I digress.  

This, as I stated before, is one of the first incarnations of Hero.  This was the image and costume that I thought was the very best thing going.  I also thought it would be a cute and creative idea to label every aspect of our hero and what makes him who he is.

I've since changed Our Hero, once again; making him taller and lankier.  The problem with the way I have drawn him is that his proportions are all off and it makes him hard a hell to draw.  I am constantly drawing him in an attempt to get to know his body and movements.  I realize that this is probably not unusual for cartoonist, but it sucks for me.  I'm what you would call a lazy artist.    

I originally created Hero to be used as the main character in a Panel Cartoon, but soon after I created him I came up with a somewhat comical verse to describe Hero.  Once I wrote this poem I thought it would be great if I turned that verse into a children's book.  So now I am currently attempting to turn this poem into illustrations that will translate into a children's book.  I gotta tell you that it ain't easy.  

However, I am dedicated to completing all of the illustrations for my book before the end of the year.  It is going to be hard, no doubt, but I will am going to try not to procrastinate in this endeavor to write, illustrate and publish my very first children's book.  I think it is going to be a hard journey, but worth it if I can make it happen.  I created this blog to document the progress.  I also bought this MacBook to aid me in my Journey.

E.W.Forge