American Horror
Horror stories are more terrifying when they're true.
Sorry that was depressing.
Look at this picture of my dog, Emi.
Disclaimer.
There are many MANY difficult things happening in the world. I don’t mean to imply that the bits I’ve used in my comic are more important than others. The headlines I included were only about the US and represent a small fraction of the disturbing news I’ve read since the start of Trump’s second term.
Another (less awful) thing!
I’ve been drawing this comic on and off for a while, intending it to be an example for an exercise about creating two different settings and weaving them together into one story. The idea was, set up one reality, and then introduce another using a slightly different format to differentiate it from the first one - like how flashbacks in films are often in b&w or sepia rather than in full colour.
So, this comic was supposed to be an example for that, but… it ended up longer and a more complicated than I’d planned! Once the settings were established I decided to conflate them further my mixing the realities together! Aaaahhhh!
Why? Why can’t I stick to a plan?
I have almost no ability to visualise things in my mind. When I think about something visual, I kind of know it, I feel it, and I have a conceptual understanding of it, but I can’t PICTURE it. I don’t sit down with a clear mental picture of what I’ll draw, instead I sit down with a feeling and intention, and then explore with my drawing until I find an image that matches that feeling and intent.
Finding meaning works in a similar way. I usually start out with a few story components that I FEEL are meaningful together, but without knowing exactly HOW. As I work on a comic, I kind of poke and prod it’s components, trying to work out how they relate, what they have in common and where they contrast. I hold them up to one another and see if they agree on anything. This process genuinely feels collaborative - I repeatedly throw ideas at the comic and it responds, making connections I wouldn’t have thought of alone.
The fun bit of creating a comic for me, is that exploration, the surprise of arriving at an outcome I had NOT envisioned.
For me, a good plan often results a terrible comic. There’s no discovery! It transforms from a creative exercise into a technical exercise.
Collaboration can be unpredictable, and this one went off the rails and arrived at a different station.
Next post will be about using a formal change to differentiate two different settings and weaving them together into a single narrative. I’ll make a short, clear example for it and send it over.
But in the meantime… American horror!
Parallel Worlds exercise coming soon!
Bug yah then.
xo
f
Ahh I love how you weaved reality with the video game! It was a really impactful way of talking about the stuff going on right now and how it makes us feel (I relate a lot particularly living in Aus as well!)
I also really relate to what you said about discovering your story as you’re writing it and how it sort of becomes a collaborative process with yourself and the page. Love how you articulated that!
That comic was intense. Your observation about the US in Late Stage Dementia was brilliant.
Reading about your process of creating as a person with aphantasia, was inspiring, thoughtful, and gave me food for thought.
This morning I was writing in my journal about an experience I had yesterday. There are no photos of the experience and that made me contemplate how I could make a comic of the experience.
I want to make something quickly, but my art tends to come so much more slowly. Like you, I love the feeling of what I can't see in my mind's eye appearing like magic.
I also get impatient with my challenges at making the images appear.
I actually opened your post today because I wanted to study how you create your sketches. I feel like I get so caught up in details and struggle to let go and simplify.
Thank you for sharing your art and your thoughts and realizations about how you create.