Beth Wagner's Work Log (Isaac & Lee, Space Trucking, Sam Hawke, A Grotto of Poppies)

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  • I've been sidetracked this week with an unexpected project. I need to work on a few more things with it and get everything I can about it down on paper, then leave it until I can work on it again.
  • A massive head cold took me out this weekend. I had to cancel out of today's show.

    But instead I lay around drawing and inking, so work did get done.
    I'm getting on top of the Isaac & Lee comics so I will be able to work on the other projects that I need to get done.
  • This week I'm focussing on editing, and since all of my notes from my last round of edits has vanished in a puff of smoke, I'm back to not quite square one. Kind of like square... 0.5?
  • Okay, because I'm obsessing about Tedieval again, I'm going to noodle around a bit and see if I can come up with a storyline.
  • This weekend I finally finished penciling Isaac & Lee. I just need to get the pages "inked" and scheduled to post. That feels good. But it would have been better if I had been able to get this done in January.
    Basically, I'm about 1.5 months behind on my schedule and my writing schedule? Abysmal. I need to work on writing more....or at all.
    I think that I will have to break up my comics and writing into sections. I seem to have problems switching between writing and comics within the same day. So I think that it might work better if I have a "writing day" or a "comics day" and focus on just that for the day.
    I still need to know what my writing and editing pace is. I realise that I probably won't get to know what that is for a while yet. I'm just impatient.
  • Yesterday I went over my production plan. (Something that I should have been reviewing every week). I realise that I wrote it fairly open-ended just for reasons like this. Go me for forward thinking!
    Also, somehow I've managed to get ahead in one of my projects, but it was to the detriment of all of my other projects.
    I'm going to have to get together some emergency artwork as I managed to score a half table for Capital City Comic Con, Victoria, BCs major comic con. It's in about 1.5 weeks so this weekend will be my last minute printing and supply getting.
    So my worklist for this week is:
    - Create buttloads of art, sketch cards and mini paintings
    - Ink as many pages of Isaac & Lee as possible (at least two pages)
    - Edit Novel, even if it is only a few pages
  • The convention is coming up this weekend. Am I ready? Sort of? I need to remember that I cannot start major art projects before a convention (I will remember this only until the next show).
    I'm currently stressing out as to whether or not I should do some fan art, just to draw people to my table, I just don't want to get flack for it. I think I just talked myself into doing it and letting the chips fall where they may. It's such a small part of my work at this point, that I'm sure it'll be fine.
  • I just got back from Capital City Comic Con and I'm full of ideas and plan for upcoming conventions as well as a difficult decision for next year.
    My difficult decision being that I plan on pulling out of all of the big conventions in 2019. I will do small local conventions and I *may* do Edmonton (depending on how things go this year).
    I need to save up money and I need to take a year to focus on production. That is a hard thing to say because I hate the idea of having to start all over again with the application process. But when I do apply, I will need a different table than a simple artist alley table, so at least it won't be as competitive.
  • Tonight I am curling up on the couch (as I am completely exhausted) and I'm going to write up this week's to do list.
  • I call making a to-do list being productive...especially if you accomplish some stuff from it over the week :)
  • Thanks @TrevorAMueller!
    When I work on my to do lists now, they are relatively easily attainable for me. I save hard to accomplish and dream achievements for my goal lists. :smiley:
  • Last night I penciled and inked a page that's due...oh crap. I seem to have lost a day. It's due today. So I'll be letting people know that it's going to be a few hours late...

    I will get ahead in the comics. I swear! Once I get this Isaac's Run page done, I'm going to have to switch things up so that I can finish up the Isaac & Lee issue #11 arc and then I will flip back over to Isaac's Run and finish that arc.
    Then I'm going to be announcing a hiatus on those serieses until I get a couple of other projects done.
    Which will be me getting the Grotto of Poppies book inked and coloured while developing some other stories, specifically, Tedieval.
  • Sooo....I already penciled all of the pages of the story. I don't remember doing this, but I did it. That was so nice of me to work so hard so that I could simply just ink the pages. That's my goal for tonight and tomorrow, finish inking 4.5 pages before the long weekend so that I can work on penciling pages for the other comic and then I can take a break...to work on editing a novel. Yes, that's my "rest and relaxation". :smiley:
  • edited April 2018
    Over the weekend, instead of toiling away on pages, I forced myself to try to relax. It was hard, which means I was overworking myself and I needed to disengage my brain for a bit. That culminated in me spending Sunday just reading...mostly.
    I did do some work though. I got this week's Isaac & Lee inked and set to post. So I'll be working on inking at least one page this week.
    I also did a concept sketch of one of the thug villains from Tedieval, he looks like something from the Secret of Nimh but I like him just the same.
    image
    Then I also drew and began colouring a battle scene with the main character and an archvillain.
    I got a big response from the artwork again, which makes me even more impatient to get to work on creating a story (I've already gotten a couple of pages thumbnailed out.)
    Which brings me to this week's work list:
    - Ink at least one page of Isaac & Lee
    - Edit at least one chapter of novel
    - Create at least one sketch card
    - Review penciled pages of Grotto of Poppies
    - Work on websites, JP Wagner, my art site, Isaac & Lee, Tedieval (yes, I have a website for it now)
  • Inked one page of Isaac & Lee. Next up: edit a chapter of the novel. Tomorrow? Sketch Card. This schedule is doable!
  • Last night: migraine, no work done. Tonight? I doodle and work on editing. Basically work double time.
  • There has been so much personal stuff right now that I haven't done much in the way of work lately aside from some sketching. Although last week I wrapped the most recent Isaac & Lee Issue. The actual update will go live at the end of April which works perfectly because it's also Calgary Expo.
  • Instead of finishing the books that I was supposed to do, I dealt with massive migraine and more personal stuff and when I wasn't doing that, I began some sketches. Hopefully things settle down this week so that I can get everything finished for next week. We'll see.
  • I like that cover a lot. A lot of emotion and powerful imagery.
  • Thanks!
    I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
  • Building a website and working on new comic pages! So excited!
    One word: Tedieval
    It's going to be a thing.
  • This week I'm going to be working on the business end of everything (P and L statements etc..) then I'll be focussing on editing novels, with the occasional art and comic work.
  • I had been taking a break while I work on editing a novel, I have found that my tolerance for not working on comics is approximately 1.5 weeks apparently. Which is fine, I will use tonight to go to Cloudscape HQ and hang out while they have their meeting.
  • I felt very welcome at Cloudscape (I knew a bunch of them) and there were so many young people, making comics there. It was great! I kind of fell into mentoring people. It felt pretty good to be able to help people out which is one of the things I want to start doing more of.
    But baby steps. I need to be able to show myself that I can make the weekly meetings, once I am able to do that, then I will work on other things that I want to accomplish.
  • I had a choice last weekend. Between tabling at VanCAF or attending a writer's conference.
    To be fair, I got the table offer for VanCAF at the last minute and I had already paid for the conference by that time.
    I chose to go to the conference. I don't regret it. My only real regret? Not presenting at any panels.
    I went to sit in on the "creating graphic novels" panel. It was put on by a writer who I had never heard of and his presentation was so dry and wrong headed that I left part way through.
    I am carrying around a rant in my head now. I really need to speak to a lot of these writers about visual narrative and what this media is truly about. I have told many people, including other comic people that I am putting forward a comic workshop for next year. People are interested and they are listening.
    When I mentioned my plans to someone from a local comic collective, I got told that essentially I'm doing "the lord's work".
    That's me, the Canadian Comics Evangelist. :smiley:
  • I finally began colouring a book that I should have started last month. I've gotten most of the first page done. It's full colour and the file is a monster. But now that I've started, I should be able to have this story done by the end of the month! Then I'll likely be taking a break so that I can work on a different story.
    I think I'm beginning to get the hang of this book editing and comic creating balancing act.
  • Tonight is the night that I would normally pack up my comics and head over to the Cloudscape Headquarters for their weekly meeting. Because contact with people is important dontcha know?
    Anyway, I am having a problem with my CS6 photoshop that's on my laptop. It's weird and it's completely colour related which is why I'm only just now having problems with it. My point however, is that until I can figure out how to get a working photoshop or compatible program working on my laptop, I can't take my comics out unless I'm doing roughs.
    Yeah I guess this could be a Psychic Scream but I feel that this is kind of karma because that program well....yeah. Basically I'm getting what I deserve and now I need to find a solution to the problem.
  • June and July, I will be focussing on releasing one of my Dad's novel for beta readers. I'll still be working on comics of course, but they will be a more part time thing.
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