Getting into gear again
At the last HRCAW Meetup, I realized that I am perhaps the most remedial member of the group after seeing the progress and talents of the members who attended. Beforehand, I honestly thought I was at least somewhere in the ballpark of getting ready to get started, but it dawned on me that, despite the stable of characters in my head, I don’t have any concrete relationships or solid personalities…at least, not enough to sustain a regular comic. I’ve done two storyboards for two different concepts, and I have another several that I’ve explored a bit, but I gravitate toward only one to three characters from each concept, and there is a stylistic difference between the others.
And of course, there’s the whole problem of not actually having put the characters to paper in a while.
Initially, I dismissed the problem of not having a cohesive storyline or relationship matrix by just assuming I’d do an amalgamation of everything in my head (sorta like Bloom County), even going so far as to include myself, as the cartoonist, breaking the fourth wall in conversation with my characters.
That’s easier said than done, though.
I’m still exploring ideas, but I’m finding it’s becoming clear that I need to buckle down and nail some character sketches so I can go ahead and start drawing strips.
I’m going out tonight to see if a change of scenery will help to get the graphite rolling. I’ll report back afterward (it’s about time for me to hook the ol’ scanner back up).
