Interlude
It was the great comicbook artist Wally Wood who said, “Why draw, when you can swipe.” I have a confession to make; I am an unabashed swiper. You may ask yourself; what is a swiper? Well a swiper is an artist who takes a drawing of another artist and copies it, whether it’s a certain pose, a face, a background, etc. Now I don’t do it very often. Almost everything on here, I draw from my own memory using skills acquired by years of sketching superheroes, barbarians and warrior maidens. But now and then, perhaps because I’m struggling with a certain pose or I have trouble visualizing a scene in my head or I just want to pay tribute to a great artist, I’ll swipe something from one of my favourite illustrators and post it here in my comic. For example, not to diminish the power of the first panel in todays comic, but I admit I swiped from one of John Buscema’s panels that he drew for the Conan the Barbarian comic. I’ve posted a pic of the original for comparison below. John is usually my go to artist where I get all my inspiration from. Avengers #76 was the first comic I ever read and it was his work inside that book that hooked me for life. His work continues to amaze and inspire me.
As for todays comic, I hope you enjoy this little sojourn into the mind of our heroine. Agnes has a rich imagination, but I’m starting to think that the story I should be telling in this comic is of the “real” Sonya and not of poor Agnes and her tribulations.
That’s not called “swiping” (or “stealing”); it’s called “using references”! Seriously, anyone who’s ever been exposed to a (still) life drawing class where the teacher has produced a person or group of objects and said “draw that” has worked from references. The difference these days is that it’s very much easier to get a (digital) copy of $work to use as a reference to the specific pose that you want for a character.
I think the difference is working from a live model or a photo (for reference) is completely different than copying from another artist and calling it your own. I was being slightly facetious with the whole swiping thing. For my own personal drawings that I don’t expect anyone to see, I’ll copy from a favourite artist for practice or if I don’t have any ideas of my own at the moment. I find it helpful in my own drawings if I can see and understand how they construct a figure or a panel. On occasion, as in todays strip I’ll swipe a favourite drawing just for fun. When I do that though, I will state that that’s what I’ve done. Even so, I feel that I bring a bit of my own swing to the swiped drawing. I will use photo reference a lot to work out a pose or a a hand gesture, etc.
While I really like the fantasy elements in the comic, (and would not be opppsed to seeing more) I would still tie it all back to Agnes’ cosplaying. It gives you greater flexibility in your storytelling, more options for humor, and you can play around with other genres later on if you want.
As for swiping, it’s a time honoured tradition among science-fiction/fantasy illustrators, so I wouldn’t feel too bad about it.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your views on the comic Balthazar. I’ve been struggling with exactly what I want to do with this comic. There is so much story I want to tell, I was going to take it in a much different direction, much more complex, but the weekly aspect of the strip restricts what I can do in that respect. But on the other hand, I love the premise as it is now; a comic about a Cosplay girl. I believe it’s unique and it does open up all kinds of opportunities. I know that it has seemed all over the map, but the strip is still meshing and that’s the beauty of having my own strip. I can play around with things and just have fun with it and hopefully give some enjoyment to others as well. But I am genuinely grateful for your opinions. They give me a good idea as to what route I should be taking. Thanks!
Quite a beautiful strip. I agree with balthazar; it would be great to see occasional bits and pieces from the tales of Sonya Crimson, Mistress of the Sword (you showed in Barwench Tales that you can handle epic adventures quite well, and it helps in painting a picture of just *what* it is Agnes is cosplaying) — but I think the focus should still be on Agnes herself.
Thanks, khelatar! Your’s and balthazar’s comments really help my decision towards which way the strip should be going. That was the idea that I had from day one…weaving some hardcore sword and sorcery within Agnes’ ongoing storyline. I just wasn’t sure if it was working or not. I wanted the wider appeal of a humorous “gag a day” strip while still writing and drawing some cool fantasy sequences. That way I get the best of both worlds and the reader does as well. Once I get doing more than one strip a week, I think that formula will work out much better. And thanks for your comments regarding Barwench Tales. I tried my best with that strip and wanted it to be amazing and epic, so I appreciate you mentioning it. I will always remember my stint over there with great fondness 🙂