DRAWN & ABANDONED (For Patrons' Eyes Only!) (Patreon)

Struggled  on an ink drawing for a couple of days. I know when I have to struggle  with that much intensity it won't be my best. Struggling to "save it".  Ladies and Gentlemen. I have given birth to an "ugh, throw it away".

The top half, which you see here, is not an unspeakable disaster, but the inking is too heavy (I'm going to use a thinner brush for her uniform next go), and I lost control of her pose, losing the right swing. The legs I kept covering in white gouache and reworking, but all limbs do work together, and Uhura's weren't. I realized it was time to call it quits. The time & effort spent breaks my heart, but what are you gonna do? Will Eisner said about himself that after all those years, he could still make a bad drawing.

I  admit to myself now that I can't go straight from completing a pencil drawing to inking without breaking from it to regain a "fresh eye". I know what I  want too well. I'm too good now to automatically accept the first attempt. As long as the situation allows, I won't settle for "good enough", which this was. If I was  working on tough deadlines again, it would have to be different.

I  thought about sending it to friends on Facebook to get their reassurance/approval,  then admitted that, no; if I wonder whether it's ok, then it isn't ok.  The buck stops here. Remember that, kids.

***

"Fashion isn't a simple stringing together of objects, but a stringing together of signifiers."-Jean Baurillard, 1970.

The same goes for drawing characters and backgrounds. Every bend of an arm or leg, the arrangement of trees, the props, should all be used to signify and communicate to the total drawing. Then it composes beauty, clarity, and tells a full-blooded story, even if you aren't trying to tell one. 

Dec.'s Patron PDF Bonuses are being scanned now. Thanks for Your Support!

Happy 2021; a Saner New Year!!

Best Wishes,

Milt