brian

Anti-Virus, Week 2

Dr. Ian Malcolm - Life finds a way.

Well, I guess I’ve adapted to this way of life…as much as one might be able. While COVID-19 is never fully out of my mind, I must admit that there have been a few times over the past week where I kind of forgot about it. Not in the sense that I don’t care, that it’s not concerning or scary or otherwise cumbersome to the psyche. I take in one news dump a day from the outside world, but besides that, I have been keeping busy and focusing positive energy on a variety of outlets. Oh, and housework because, I mean, if I’m gonna spend 23 and a half hours a day here, I don’t want it to be a dump.

Amanda and our youngin’ are out of town temporarily. (No worries—I wouldn’t consider it discretionary travel. They’re out on family business.) As such, I’ve been using my time wisely to get some work done (both for my day job and otherwise), reestablish good habits, and take the opportunity to relax, believe it or not!

Go on….

brian

Hard Reset

From Amazing Spider-Man #50. Image credit: Marvel Comics

I almost posted a very different blog about my 2020 plans and expectations, but I had something of a revelation today concerning my approach to creativity:

It’s not working.

It made the original blog mostly irrelevant, but there are a couple of key points that will sneak their way into this one, too.

My wife noticed that I have been upset a lot, lately. Stressed. Short-tempered. I can barely hold it together for five minutes with our daughter before I lose patience. She said that I seem miserable and wanted to know what I needed to make things better.

Go on….

brian

Quick Thoughts on “Finished, Not Perfect”

Homer's bad Florida costume for Lisa

Whoops! I got busy over the past couple of weeks, which has kind of wrecked my blogging productivity. I didn’t have quite enough time to get everything done just the way I wanted. I didn’t have time to get everything perfect, so nothing got done.

I did it wrong. I forgot the code: “Finished, Not Perfect.”

Go on….

brian

Cape Comic Con 2019 Memories and Momentum

Cape Comic Con 2019 Banner

I’m back after my annual March and April blog sabbatical, that period of time in which I almost never post any no good blogs. The reason? Well, other than creative angst and/or spreading myself too thin? Cape Comic Con preparation, of course! Cape Comic Con took place April 26-28, and as always, it was a wild weekend. During the three or four months leading up to the convention, a lot of work goes into not only getting myself ready for the show, but also helping with convention planning, organizing, and marketing.

Go on….

brian

How to Make Comics The Big Skink Way!

How to Draw!

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks telling you about these crazy comics that I make. But, I haven’t told you how I do it. How does a comic develop from that fuzzy idea I had at 2 a.m., stumbling around in the dark, looking for the bathroom, to a finished product on somebody’s bookshelf or in their Facebook feed? Read on. Despite the impostor syndrome creeping its way into the corners of my subconscious as I write this, I would like to believe I have done enough work to be able to tell you a thing or two about my creative process and why it works for me.

The most important thing to remember is that this is a guide, not a set of rules. Everybody works in their own way, and only certain methods and tools work for certain people. No matter your passion, develop a system that plays to your strengths.

Go on….