John Welding Drawing and Illustration

At Last...Die at Midnight: The Hunt

2012-01-25T21:25:00.001Z

It forms the first part in a dream trilogy and Die at Midnight was never meant to take this long. It became a project that was done in the background to other projects. A way of practicing my art, trying out different software and hardware techniques, that a paying client isn’t necessarily prepared to finance. It has taken nearly 20 months to finish the first 14 pages which is something of a record for me. The well worn theme of transformation is in the art style, from pencil to ink to brush to digital ink, it's all about change.

Does it make sense? Well, it’s based on a dream that I had, like most dreams it is ultra-real until you tell someone about how fantastic that dream is, then it loses compression, deflates and dies… horribly. So I have taken license to make it, hopefully, more enjoyable to read.

I made the layouts above not long after the dream and they have been invaluable in keeping me on track. I am glad that I can put that sketchbook away and start on the next bit.

Autobiographical Shropshire 2005

2012-01-06T17:34:00.000Z

More found artwork from old CD Backups, this time from the year 2005. Helen and I spent a week in a cottage in Church Stretton, Shropshire. We took our bikes on the train from Wakefield, I remember most the stunningingly steep Shropshire hills and the changeable wet warm weather.

I kept a note book of the trip, which over the week degenerated into embarrassing stick figure drawings as I became more and more native, adopting a lifestyle of eating, drinking, exploring, cycling, sleeping. I am not sure where the title came from, I've a feeling it was from my universal creativity theory and drawing style at the time of using thin lines with thick brush strokes to achieve what I thought was balance in an image.

Like a lot of my comic work, the plan was to do something a lot longer. I managed three of the pages below then had to take on illustration work which paid me some of that icky money stuff to keep up the pretence of a normal life. I have added in the alarm clock at the beginning and the notebook page at the end to round things off a bit.

Diary Pages June 2006

2012-01-06T16:22:00.000Z

Although these officially went under the 'A Life of Magic' heading they were also an excuse to record everyday life. The life of a Freelancer can just evaporate, without any human contact to measure daily time by. No regular journey to work, no communal lunch breaks. This was my way of recording my life as it went about it's merry way.

Gone is the friendly open line of the years earlier months artwork and I went back to using a fine liner pen and brushpen in a heavier more direct style.

I don't think these pages ever saw print, they might have had a brief airing on my website for awhile, which was never a very good place to show multiple pages of artwork on. The amount of thumbnails and design headaches it incurred never really worked. Which is why I am using Blogger and their wonderful LightBox View to show these comic page images.

Day by Day Diary Pages August 2007

2012-01-06T14:29:00.000Z

And in August 2007 it all came to a grinding halt. The cartoony and colourful drawing of the past few months ended in good old black and white. It wasn't a time thing , I think I still had the time to make the pages it was just that old chestnut... motivation. If I had to draw ‘me’ doing something mundane one more time I would scream.

Day by Day Diary Pages July 2007

2012-01-06T14:13:00.003Z

July 2007 diary pages. By now I am getting a bit bored with the discipline of doing a page a day and towards the end there are slight changes creeping into the format. This has always been my problem with drawing comics and maintaining a style that can be identified by potential readers. Although I think now in my drawing's there is a 'weldingness' in the quality of the work that can be sensed.

I really regret bartering the price down on a pair of jeans in that charity shop.

Day by Day Diary Pages June 2007

2012-01-06T13:23:00.001Z

A months worth of diary pages ending with the Great Agbrigg flood of 2007, oh what tiring times they were. Hunkering down to day to day survival, no electricity, heating or ironically water. Relying on the church for tea and toast and a hot meal a day. It’s not in these pages but I strongly remember listening to Arcade Fire in concert on a battery powered radio, sat on the door step and watching the sun set.

Day by Day Diary Pages May 2007

2012-01-06T13:06:00.002Z

More autobiographical stuff that has been lost in a digital time warp. These did appear on my website and I blogged about them in the early days of this blog but always felt they never really got seen. It was one of those periods that I decided to do a page a day no matter what the outcome. Like a lot of diary comic work it works better with many entries, slowly building up the bigger picture over time and pages.

Angry Ant Man

2012-01-05T16:39:00.002Z

I was looking for images to put on a Tumblr site as a sort of archive for my illustrations I have done over the last 10 years when I came across this lurking in a folder. It pre-dates my Blogger site by a good few years and I don' think it's been seen by anyone. (I did print up a few copies for friends but who knows where they are now).

We still get ants in the kitchen since 2003. Some years they swarm some years they are shy.

Hand Made Diary Comics 2006

2012-01-05T16:05:00.000Z

'A Life of Magic' was a three issue diary comic I started in January 2006 as a new year affirmation that daily life was good. I hand made 20 copies on my home printer of each issue, and sold a few through OK Comics in Leeds, the rest were given away to bewildered family and friends.

Hand making comics on a cheap ink jet home printer is a shocking waste of time. The copies are not water proof, the print time per page is horrendous and I grew to loath the sound of a grinding paper jam.

The original artwork was drawn with an antique 0.5 Rotring Rapiograph with the use of a handmade light table, tracing over roughs to layout the image and text onto A4 sized paper. Again, the aim was to do a page a day in my spare time, to get me drawing on a regular basis, and again after three months I had had enough of the discipline and gave up on the comic strip.

In the Wild Wood...

2011-12-11T10:55:00.001Z

Die at Midnight

Page 11.

Die at Midnight

Page 11. A little bit of drawing detail.

I am enjoying the mark making and the looseness that the brush pen brings. Although I know where this is going (the dream is thumbnailed in a note book from a few years ago) the getting there is taking some interesting routes. The drawing style is all over the place, I'm experimenting with my style in a public blog. I thought I had it with the pencil page drawings a few pages back, when I compare them to the brush pen pages I know what catches my eye the most. But that's the point of experimenting right? Trying to find a new way of doing something for your self, in this case it's storytelling and drawing.

(For the first time in a very long time I am getting lots of encouraging comments from this Blog and from Twitter. Not a huge amount you understand but more than my fair shares worth, which is a brilliant thing. Drawing tends to be a solitary pursuit and I have worked on drawing jobs by job basis for nearly ten years, which usually means a 180 Degree turnaround in thinking, if not the drawing every few weeks. So thank you people, you get to live another day.)

A Couple of Rejects...

2011-12-09T13:47:00.001Z

Panels that were not working in the bigger scheme of things.

Drawing with Kaitlin

2011-12-04T10:17:00.001Z

Spent Saturday night in a restaurant with family and with my niece Kaitlin,

drawing some of The Apprentice characters with her.

Drawing Dream Things

2011-12-01T11:47:00.001Z

A couple of brush pen sketches I coloured up.

The characters are from dreams and will one day

find their way into Die at Midnight.

'The Apprentice' Comic Strip...

2011-11-22T11:01:00.001Z

So, by now the secret is out across the internet. There is an Issue Zero of the new children's comic The Phoenix, Ben Haggarty and I have got a five page comic strip called The Apprentice residing within it's freshly hatched pages.

Issue one of The Phoenix, featuring lots of lovely other artists (not I) will be available in the first week of January 2012 through subscription (check out The Phoenix website for details) and hopefully through more traditional outlets. But that's 2012, for now you can get issue zero by going to the Phoenix website, it may not be that straight forward for some but with a little effort you will be sent a pristine copy of this 32 page full colour, story-centric issue in a special printed envelope... for FREE.

Internet ordering process explained more eloquently than I ever could here by Mr Neil Cameron... and also here by The Etherington Brothers.

Notes on Making 'The Apprentice'...

2011-11-22T10:36:00.000Z

The Apprentice

Five Pages, The Phoenix issue zero
Carries on the candle lit world of Haggarty and Welding, where magic
and the devil are never really that far away.

Blue pencils for The Apprentice Page 1.

Drawn A3 size.

Experimental page, using pencil and Photoshop.

Because of the panel count at this stage I decided to go with pen and ink for the finished strip.

An earlier attempt at pencil and Photoshop.

Pencils without Photoshop.

The strip printed in The Phoenix issue zero.

Changes...

2011-11-17T19:02:00.001Z

'Die at Midnight' Page 10

Drawing style and colouring has changed a bit. I am justifying this as the dream world is different from the waking world. In truth the human character has been in the dream world for a lot longer than he suspects. This dream sequence is now riffing on the sensation of being able to run fast and athletic within the dream. Freed from mortal constraints, like the kids you see doing Par Kour in the city centers.

The drawing is more detailed, pen rather than atmospheric pencil. Tree moss and individual leaves are now visible, being able to see clearer as his transformation takes place. There is a colour halftone effect thrown in with the colouring and finger print overlay, which is not really visible on this web jpeg web version.

Drawing and Redrawing

2011-11-14T17:16:00.001Z

Die at Midnight Page 10 (well, most of it).

Started using a Pental Colour Brush to draw over my rough pencil layout yesterday. The top frame came out great, off character with the rest of the strip, but looks great. By panel three I was losing panel one's quality and so decided to go back using my Faber-Castell Jumbo Grip (sharpened in a style to impale vampires with). If I could start all over again... from birth, I would love to have a style like the first panel and be working on a series of graphic novels called 'Car Killer' or some such the like.

'Die at Midnight' Page 5 was drawn with a Pental Brush, the rest has been done using the Jumbo Grip, which is, (checks the website Faber-Castell website)... HB lead and a lot of Photoshop colour texturing over the top.

My drawing alters from day to day, morning and night. If anyone has any tips on drawing in the same style for the next 20 years I'd be eager to hear them.

2011-11-14T13:45:00.000Z

'Die at Midnight' Page 10 Panel 1

The Redraw.

But there is something about drawing with a brush pen that will not let me go. After redrawing in pencil I intended to to scan that in and get on with colouring in Photoshop. But after scanning a little devil on my shoulder said 'go on... you can ink that panel now'. Which is what I did, along with the rest of the page...

'Die at Midnight' Pages 8 and 9...

2011-11-13T13:55:00.001Z

Pages 8 and 9 from 'Die at Midnight' an ongoing

comic strip which incorporates several of my recurring

dreams and nightmares from recent years.

Originally there was to be more internal dialogue on page 9, as in the

thumbnails. I have edited it down as it just seemed to be describing and the

repeating the images. Wandering (or sleep walking) into a forest seemed to work

better from the characters perspective, without dialogue and savoring the moment.

The thumbnails for pages 8 and 9. I guess these are the closest record to

how the dream actually unfolded. I plan on putting 'Die at Midnight' online when this first

segment is complete, in approx seven pages time. The project is something I am doing

in-between illustration and comic strip projects for others and so I'm taking it as it comes.

What I drew today 9th November 2011 Part 2

2011-11-09T23:14:00.000Z

'Die at Midnight' the rest of page 9.

What I drew today 9th November 2011 Part 1

2011-11-09T23:11:00.000Z

'Die at Midnight' Page 9 Panel 1

What I did drew today 3rd November 2011

2011-11-03T19:08:00.002Z

In between jobs at the moment but will be starting on another Cordwainer of Scarletwell Street story very soon. Spent an hour researching and then felt the need to draw freehand with a Joeseph Gillott 303 Extra Fine nib and Higgins Black Magic ink. The nib is scratchy but gives a great line to draw with.

Photoshop Colour Layer

2011-10-25T18:08:00.000+01:00

In an effort to show you what I'm working on at the moment, yet being as vague about that work as possible, I present the Photoshop colour layer for page 4. Black line work and crosshatching will be overlayed, making pictures a lot clearer. For the publishers and writers involved, I apologise for being so damn slow.

Crosshatching Heaven...

2011-10-21T14:39:00.002+01:00

I'm on my third Uniball Eye Micro pen today. I haven't used three band new pens so they were probably nearly empty anyway. The amount of crosshatching I am doing on this latest project certainly sorts the pens out from... lesser pens. I like using them because when they are new, they glide across the page and make crosshatching easier to to. I have tried to research crosshatching techniques to see if there is a right way of doing it but there seems to be a lack of information on the subject. So as always with my drawing I'll make it up as I go along. I am working A3 size for reduction but have cut the pages in half so I can get them on the scanner for colouring in later.

Prelim Sketch...

2011-10-18T15:21:00.003+01:00

A brush pen sketch for one of the larger panels I'm working on at the moment.

I like the immediate quality of this and wish I had the guts to sustain it as a style.

Work in Progress October 2011

2011-10-17T12:27:00.000+01:00

After all the excitement of Blogger and their Dynamic Views this blog has gone quiet of late. Reason is I am working on something for a publisher, so a certain amount of compression time is needed before the work is released into the atmosphere. SO in the meantime here a e few vague photos of my desk.

I can say, because of the panel count I have had to adopt a slightly different drawing style to get the detail and clarity of the panels to work. Penciling pages and using UniballEye Micros to do the inking.

Getting into my stride...

2011-10-03T15:31:00.002+01:00

'Whatever is in my blood now is drawing me outside into the moonlight and into the woods'.

Large panel pencil drawing from DaM, page eight.

Something I can't discuss has just come through on the illustrator hotline, which means I will be busy for the next few weeks. Fingers crossed. I will let you know more about it when I can, in the meantime I keep making this stuff from the dream Die at Midnight.

The Midnight Hour Approaches...

2011-10-01T19:02:00.001+01:00

Spent today out of the hot sun, colouring up these pages for Die at Midnight. I was going to wait until I had lettered them to post them here but I like them so much I want to share them now.

I like the roughness of the pencil and I am learning to not worry about the colouring so much. Most of it is done freehand without the need for flats or accurate pen selections which to be honest in the past have driven me mad. Saying that, my recent investment in technology and software has made things easier and a lot more natural.

Page 7 Original Pencils (and a bit of a colouring process explanation)

2011-10-01T12:27:00.000+01:00

Original pencil drawing before applying colouring in Photoshop CS5. Which usually involves using Burn and Dodge on a R153 G134 B117 (Light Cool Brown) coloured layer Multiplied over the Pencil Artwork. It helps to change the size of brush via the keyboard as you 'paint' and to set the opacity of the brush to around 40% to build up layers. My favourite textures, like fur and concrete, are then overlayed as well as layers which are flattened and Cut Out and Poster Edges filters applied, using Overlay in the Layers Palette.

It's also worth looking on the net for custom texture brushes for Photoshop. Some really simple designs are extremely effective, especially when they 'rotate' in their pattern. Lost & Taken is one of my favourite sites for Texture inspirations.

Basically I throw everything into the mix. I try not to use Undo if I can help it, if a layer combo doesn't work I tend to turn the opacity down to 8% and flatten it into the image any way. Mistakes are part of the process, a bit like 'physical' art.

My colouring secret that I can't tell anyone involves the colour R54 G47 B45 (Darker Cool Brown), applying Lens Flare and Gaussian Blur and then using the Overlay filter. It really makes the colour on the page come alive. But like I say, It's a secret and no one will understand my blabbering on enough to make it work for them.

Transformation Ahead...

2011-09-29T23:43:00.003+01:00

Pencilled another page to my ongoing recurring dream 'Die At Midnight'. After my brief encounter with inking on the last page (see September 8th post*) I'm back using pencil and Photoshop on page 6. The above was drawn with a stub of a Blackwing pencil. I'm fitting this project into my spare time, which is why it's taking so long to get to page 13. Next, I get to draw transformation and wild wood scenes which I'm looking forward to, after all this moping around with an animal bite it's time for action.

* I'm using the new Dynamic Views Template with this Blog, features are promised in the coming weeks but as of now I can't find a way to link to previous John Welding Blog entries.

* Aha, found a way of linking to posts... http://johnwelding.blogspot.com/2011/09/blog-post.html

Think of the Day

2011-09-28T14:23:00.000+01:00

Another one of those beautiful September days. Doors are open, radios can be heard, the cat's asleep in the flower bed. Wasps are hovering over the Ivy. It really is too good to be sat inside worrying, if I was to counsel myself, it would be 'get out there, on your bike'.

Drawing with a Carbon Pen

2011-09-27T19:18:00.000+01:00

Getting the hang of drawing freehand with a Platinum Carbon Pen, watercolour applied over the top.

Sketch Book

2011-09-21T19:19:00.000+01:00

Not particularly impressive looking notes and sketches for new characters, photographed late in the night from my note book. My drawing has been in the doldrums of late and this is my attempt to get back to basics, by slowing the process down. When I draw a line I am thinking about what direction I am drawing that line in and doing the opposite to what my instincts tell me. Sounds confusing? It is, but that is the point. To break my drawing habits and reset the drawing bone so it is stronger than before.

Jaume Plensa at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park

2011-09-18T12:47:00.000+01:00

On a spur of the moment descion to defy the Gods of rain and Public Transport we headed off to the Yorkshire Sculture Park to see the Jaume Plensa exhibition. Considering what I do for a living I’m not really interested in Art. If it doesn’t involve considerable amounts of drawing and speech-bubbles then I tend to move on.

I was prepared for a day of ‘Meh’ and was underwhelmed by the works. Huge pieces that might have well been manufactured by machines, that wouldn’t look out of place on business estate roundabout.

The Meh stopped when I wandered into the underground galleries and found the Alabaster Heads. Large scale, elongated heads, simple lighting making them glow. It’s hard to judge if the heads are In meditation, contemplation or Death. But their collective presence is undeniably powerful. I sat in the gallery for 10 minutes watching the heads and watching the people around the heads. Stunning.

http://www.ysp.co.uk/

There’s something in the Bicycle Shed...

2011-09-17T12:41:00.000+01:00

Found this lovely looking critter sheltering from the rain in our bike shed today. He was still there after a few hours, trying to cram his head behind the shelf racking, I’m no animal expert but this behaviour seemed wrong. Putting on a pair of heavy duty garden gloves I managed to extract him, claws screeching as they dragged along the metal shelving. Once out of the shed I checked him over for wounds, or anything leaking. Physically he seemed fine, just very scared of something. I spent an hour sitting with him, which is enough for any body, so with a swish of his very long tail he was off, back to the mean streets of Agbrigg.

There’s nothing the English like to talk about more than….

2011-09-16T12:32:00.000+01:00

There were some great looking skies last week, the cloud, rain and sun effects and a memorable Harvest moon rising orange into the night sky. Late afternoon sunlight through storm clouds at an oblique angle. I think Autumn is my favourite time of year, it's dramatic.

DaM Page 5 Detail

2011-09-08T18:34:00.003+01:00

Pencilled and inked page with a Pental Brush Pen and then coloured and lettered in Photoshop.

Today's Drawing

2011-09-05T20:17:00.004+01:00

Part of a pencilled page for the ongoing Die at Midnight Dream.

Dream Comics Index

2011-09-02T19:44:00.002+01:00

I have updated my website with web versions of my dream comic strips. You can find them by clicking here.

A Dream From a Few Weeks Ago...

2011-08-29T19:05:00.008+01:00

Machine Gun Rattle...

2011-08-29T19:00:00.003+01:00

This was a dream I had a few weeks ago. Pretty much how it happened in the strip, using a machine gun to stop a fall from a very tall building. Watching the character falling and working out a way to survive his predicament was exhilarating. The Doc is of course up to no good with his experiments so the younger character had to run for his life, I laughed when I saw the machine gun emergency cabinet. It makes sense to have them in all millitary bases with sinister going ons. Toilets in dreams are weird and signify a lot of repression. I enjoyed the dream and making the comic strip version of it.

I don't dream all the time, every few months I might have a great dream. A bit like inserting a Dvd or an old VHS tape into a player, sitting back and watch what is going on for the night.

Slightly clearer web version here.

Dream Comics

2011-08-28T19:29:00.019+01:00

I have not been happy with the Word Press site where I have been putting my Dream Comics, so today I am closing that site down and importing anything of worth over to this Blogger site. The first one was 'Birds Nest', the second (presented here) 'Lost & Found' and soon to be followed by 'Machine Gun Rattle'.

A Day Off, It Rained

2011-08-23T12:00:00.012+01:00

We're back in our old stomping ground of Whitby for the day, having stowed away on a coach for a few hours. Most coaches to this part of the world can take over four hours from Wakefield, this one got us there in three and we got offered tea, coffee, biscuits, and three types of soup to keep us happy. It's not a regular service but one of those day out type trips and today's event is Whitby Folk Week. There's a real otherworldly quality to walking around drizzled streets, hearing musicians playing in pubs and on the streets and sitting on the harbour wall eating our chip butties.

Even though the moors were covered in mist and drizzle and black cloud, the Purple Heather looks amazing, I spent a few years at the end of the Nineties living in amongst the Heather on a farm near Goathland but I've never seen the Heather looking as intense as it looks today. Maybe the coach has tinted windows?

Early(ish) Riser

2011-08-22T12:55:00.000+01:00

I can't remember why I was up so early this morning. I don't remember being unwell with headaches or upset stomach or flu. I don't remember the cat causing a fuss and destroying the wood work with his claws. Maybe I just went to bed early? Anyway, I was up with the Sun, wandering around the garden with my camera marvelling at the light and wondering why I don't do this more often.

Today I Found A Dinosaur

2011-08-20T11:44:00.000+01:00

Today I went walking the Agbrigg fringes again with Helen. Tried to draw from observation but I really struggle with the process lately. I'm drawing all the time, but projects involving drawing from my imagination has put me into a different mode, what I draw from memory feels more real than drawing from life. I find the camera is now my best friend for recording life, sorry pencil, I'm sure it will all change back again one day.

Summer's Nearly Over

2011-08-15T19:19:00.003+01:00

Trying to get away from the computer I been out walking the past few days. I joined Helen on one of her jaunts around the fringes of of our neighbourhood, Agbrigg armed with a new camera. I want to get back to recording things around me and as my drawing seems to have moved in a different direction for the time being, photography seems like a good answer.

The Soldier and Death

2011-08-05T21:11:00.002+01:00

It's always a pleasure to do a drawing for Ben Haggarty, this is detail from a poster for his story of a Soldier, a mean old Tzar and lots and lots of naughty devils. I saw the story performed in a cold and foggy February this year, a real change from the heat of the past few weeks.

2011-08-05T00:00:00.002+01:00

The character of the Old Soldier developed over a few drawings and discussions with Ben. I think we got the right one in the end. I will post more details about the show when I get them, it's a great story to see told.

Devilish Devils...

2011-08-02T19:57:00.000+01:00

Spent the day drawing and redrawing and enjoyed this the best...

Medieval Characters...

2011-07-21T15:53:00.001+01:00

I have been designing a couple of medieval characters. Here they are in their early stages, using symmetry and overlay to create something new in them that I can not see yet. They are the skeletons which I shall trace over, altering an arm gesture here and slight facial change there to get away from complete symmetry; which apparently, the desire for is a sign of madness.

Drawing in Leeds

2011-07-20T12:58:00.004+01:00

Went to the Royal Armouries yesterday for a bit of 'visual' research, they didn't have any displays of what I needed (Tsar/Russian type uniforms) so ended up drawing a bit of the Tiger Hunt display to flex my drawing muscles more than anything else. Will do the research I need on line some other time.

We found time to people watch and draw from the lofty heights of the first floor of Pret A Manger in the centre of Leeds. The afternoon sun was streaming through the glass and it felt like a green house. Just like summer. Good to have the heat experience.

Not all my drawings were that good,but the aim is not to get hung up on details but to move on to the next one. That's how you get better at this isn't it? This is different drawing to what I have been doing in the comfort of my own home, hopefully it all goes into the mix for a more rounded scribbler.

Late Night Rambledrawing

2011-07-19T00:04:00.001+01:00

He's all over the press at the moment for some reason or another, today in the UK he's the villain but that might all change, and then change back until it's all a bit fuzzy. Public opinion seems to be on the side of whoever feels morally outraged on a particular day. Although public opinion has nothing to do with it I think, politicians are seizing a chance to appear right and good after their recent expenses bashing, nothing really changes.

At his peak Murdoch 1981 drawing was from a black and white photo in the weekend newspaper, Murdoch 2011 from a bleached press photo in the back of his car. The photographers flash unintentionally creating too much red and giving the popular zombie flesh eater appearance that seems to be so in vogue these days.

Blog Redesign Sighs...

2011-07-14T18:42:00.002+01:00

It's that time of year again where the Blog gets dragged through an interface cleaning machine. I really liked the last design, it got me away from the sparse white graphic design that a lot of artists Blogs seem to go for. I liked my name in flamboyant multi typefaces that took up half the page. I liked the blurred images in the background hinting at lots of exciting stuff and the use of orange to hi-light headings and links, and well once, someone told me that orange was my psychic colour.

So that means something right? I guess the reason why artists go for clean looking designs is that they want their work to shine over the design of the Blog, which when it comes down to it with most users isn't that cutting edge. Too busy doing other artforms to get involved with web design. So I have gone down the sparse route (again) hoping that visitors like the refreshed look. It's taken me the best part of a day and two egg sandwiches to get it this far, looking sparse and grey (white is too bright for me) hoping that the work shines out over the frame work.

Midnight Sketch Book...

2011-07-13T13:42:00.011+01:00

Last night I stayed up way past my bedtime, awake on paracetamol tablets with extra caffeine. Having not felt right for a few weeks it seemed the thing to do after a day of feeling extra 'out of sorts'. The good thing that came out of it is I managed to draw something that I was at least half happy about. Even if it was a slavering beast that took no thought at all. But maybe that's what I needed. Just the action of drawing and not feeling too precious about it.

I liked it so much I scanned and coloured it in. By this time though I was ready to sleep (Caffeine has that effect on me). I did a few other sketches, again nothing to do with anything in particular, random marks that I enjoyed making. So the question is, was I feeling better and that allowed me to draw, or did the act of drawing heal me? I like to think the latter.

I have been using a lot of ink and pens recently because I enjoyed using ink and pens. Using the pencil was great, I got my fingers grubby and thought twice about touching my touch screen telephone. Graphite was in, if not under, my skin. I get bored really easy which is why I like using the computer. It makes my work look new to me, keeps things fresh in my eye.

And there's always that voice in the back of my head saying that if I'm an illustrator I should be making work in colour, because statically that's what people like. By this time I have been to bed and woken up feeling pretty good. So I finished off what I started the night before. And yes, I prefer the original pencil drawings over the colour ones too.

Thackray Museum Leeds

2011-07-01T15:01:00.004+01:00

I spent yesterday morning skulking around exhibits with a few friends, doing visual research at the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds. Grimy reconstructions of Victorian life housed within a magnificent building which itself was an old workhouse. Managed to do a few sketches in the dim light like this one of Mary Holmes on her death bed being administered her last rites, that and the acrid artificial smells made me feel suitably depressed. Afterwards, we nipped across the road to cheer ourselves up at the spectacular Beckett Street Graveyard, where many of the workhouse 'inmates' were buried. A blue plate declares that the grave yard holds over 180,000 bodies. That's conjuring up images of mass pauper graves, bodies pilled one on top of the other. The sun came out and we caught the bus back into Leeds Town Centre.

Hot as Hell...

2011-06-28T18:52:00.004+01:00

This is a sketch book drawing, done while tinkering with a laptop, syncing files. I am not using my big monitor and computer at the moment because of the amount of ThunderBugs in the air today. After the heartache of my lovely shiny 24inch monitor getting a tiny pest trapped inside the screen last year I am trying to avoid attracting the little blighters. Yes, it is now dead and fossilised between the plastic monitor layers and in death, resembles an apostrophe on screen) this may not seem like a big deal but when you use a monitor for graphics, artwork and proof reading it can become irritating. PC repair shops are not set up for dismantling modern screens on monitors, so they tell me.

Lost and Found... Finally

2011-06-22T23:28:00.000+01:00

Meanwhile, back over on my dream Blog I have posted three pages of comic artwork. The idea came from a dream I had a few months back. Like a dream it seemed really powerful but now with time in-between it seems to have faded. I think the next ones will have to be more immediate, black and white with an ink wash. The colour looks great but is another element that gets in the way of telling the story.

(Funny thing is a few weeks ago my friend Justin had mentioned visiting an amazing place called Santiago, in Spain and a quick Google visual search reveals it to be similar like the place I saw in my dream. Coincidence, or... Guidance?

Making it look effortless.

2011-05-31T15:24:00.005+01:00

Finally get a bit of space to draw up the second page of a three page dream. I am trying to make the drawing look effortless and today that is taking a lot of effort.

Not sure what the dream means but then do they ever mean anything in the waking world? Saying that, my friend Justin went walking to a town in Spain called Santiago recently, I looked it up on the web and it looks exactly like the town in my dream. I have never been there, but now it is imbued with a magical property that one day I might go there and fulfil my destiny.

What the dream meant to me at the time and what it will mean in comic strip form are two separate things.

Bird Nest Dream

2011-05-05T18:56:00.002+01:00

This is based on a dream from last week. I’ve changed the characters and settings to protect those from my past and to make it more interesting to draw. Did she leave amicably, was she murdered? Like most dreams it’s pretty boring but the feeling of melancholy pervades everything in this world.

SUDDDENLY, THERE WAS A KNOCK...

2011-04-28T13:27:00.005+01:00

Not entirely happy with this, but I needed a break from the storyboarding I have been doing this week. It came about from feeling accused on my front door step for not joining in the social fun that is Satellite TV. I don't mind the product, it just seems heavily aimed at people who already have enough to shell out on a regular basis. And the Free bit, just owning a TV incurs the cost of a TV Licence so at what point does it start to be free?

Today’s Drawing 4

2011-04-25T15:34:00.003+01:00

Another Vaguetorian.

Today’s Drawing 3

2011-04-23T23:36:00.003+01:00

I tried digitally colouring this pencil drawing to little effect, so left it alone. I like the original.

Today’s Drawing 2

2011-04-23T00:08:00.003+01:00

Whilst crosshatching in my drawing room, I was struck by the word ‘vaguetorian’.

Today’s Drawing 1

2011-04-22T00:02:00.002+01:00

This is what I saw…

2011-04-14T20:03:00.002+01:00

As I Fell Asleep.

Chinese Dirt Dragon

2011-04-14T19:57:00.002+01:00

…Or as we like to call him, Jack! Not allowed to talk about what I’m working on at the moment so here’s something I was doodling. Pen, Brush Pen, Water Brush and Water Colour with a tiny bit of digital tweaking.

Warm Ups

2011-04-14T10:59:00.002+01:00

Warm up drawings from yesterday using a variety of materials, from dip pen and ink above to fibre tip pens, brush pens, pencil and watercolour below.

Lucifer’s Boots

2011-04-13T13:20:00.002+01:00

A box arrived today. A box of sample stories I illustrated with Justin Neal a few months ago. Lucifer’s Boots is the first in a proposed set of instalments featuring short stories about ‘The Cordwainer of Scarletwell Street’ for Jeffrey West Shoes.

I went into the Leeds branch last Sunday but they had given the last of their story sheets away and had to beg a copy or two from the Manchester branch. The parchments were wrapped beautifully in a blood red bow and presented to their customers when purchasing finely crafted Jeffrey West shoes. My black Clarks-go-anywhere-boots felt quiet ‘shy’ in comparison to the hand tooled Dandy’s on display in the shop.

So much is reported about Rip-Off-Britain, it's nice that in this age of austerity there are companies still willing to add something extra to their product, providing an inclusive experience for their customers. .

Printed double sided on heavy stock
265mm x 425mm

Colour Testing

2011-04-09T16:17:00.005+01:00

This is a freehand dip pen drawing colouring test. The left hand one is coloured using a crayon sheet overlayered on the drawing and then digitally altered and tweaked to get the combo right. Even though I’m handy with digital colouring It took ages to get the balance right and even then it felt ‘fake’. The right hand version with watercolour added took half as long to do but in my eye is more successful. It retains more of the freehand drawing than the one on the left and is a happier image for that.

The great thing about Blogs is I can talk to you as if I have something to share, where in reality what I'm doing is talking to myself, working out what works and what is mud. If I was in an office or shared studio, criticism would happen naturally, but as a freelance artist, there’s me … and the cat.

I have been here before, working out a style and convinced that this will be the way to do it and then right at the last minute, I chicken out and revert to a way of doing things that feels safer and more controlled. Although this time, I am convinced that this will be the way to go.

Box Fresh Books

2011-03-30T15:41:00.002+01:00

Got a call from the Faceless office today, informing me that a box of ‘Stories of Movement, Migration and Home books’ had arrived from the printers. I casually fired up the Welding Cycle and pedalled like mad to get my first glimpse of what I’ve been working on for the past few months. First impressions are… IT LOOKS GREAT!

Book Details
’Stories of Movement, Migration and Home’ is a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and delivered by Faceless for the people of Agbrigg and Belle Vue. Between September 2010 and March 2011 we worked with and interviewed people who live, work and visit the area, exploring the different heritages of the diverse communities there.

A4 100 Pages
2 Colour Hardback Cover, B/W internal pages
14 B/W drawings illustrating the text.
Retail Price £15.99

First edition 150 copies.

www.facelessco.com

Book Covers

2011-03-24T15:11:00.002Z

Got the invite for the ‘Stories of Movement, Migration and Home’ book launch today. I’m pleased with how the A6 card looks and if the A4 book comes out the same, it’s going look good.

If only for a few days…

2011-03-24T13:55:00.002Z

It’s been a lovely few days here in West Yorkshire, signs of spring are every where and I have had the doors open to the garden. Finally, after a long cold winter of uncomfortable clothes, darkness and a churning heating system I can – oh heck, my hay fever has just started!

Storytelling from last Friday, (better late than never)…

2011-03-16T16:02:00.002Z

Watching storyteller CONRAD BURDEKIN tell the ‘The Battle of Wakefield’ amongst the ruins of a cold and wind swept Sandal Castle on Friday 11th March 2001. An energetic performance which involved the children in the audience going on a long march and even some heckling from the Yorkists in the crowd. I like drawing while listening to stories, it’s a way of isolating yourself from the real world and entering the shared imagination of the story.

Tuesday Morning Warm Up Drawing

2011-03-16T13:33:00.002Z

Yesterday's freehand warm up drawing of grubby Jack on sofa.

Pilot Drawing pen 02, Pental colour brush, Scanner and digital overlay.

More Illustrations for Oral History Book

2011-03-14T15:00:00.002Z

Here are a few more Black and White illustrations for the Oral History Book I’m working on. The book captures the stories of travellers old and new and people local to the area who have spent lives living and working in and around Agbrigg & Belle Vue. They gave their time freely to have their history recorded, because one day, even the memory of something as mundane as washing your clothes on a Monday will be lost.

Deadline Time Approaches…

2011-03-10T20:27:00.002Z

More illustrations for the Oral History Book I’m working on. Got the final text through today which means everyone is now waiting for me to finish the artwork and lay it out in an orderly fashion.

It’s annoying when you start a new pad of paper half way through a project and find out that it’s slightly different to what you have been using. This happened with the layout paper even though both pads were identically marked. First pad smooth and tasty, second pad rough and slightly sour. Not that it notices in the final version of the drawings, now the fine liner pen I’ve been using is on it’s way out. This is why proper illustrators use traditional refillable tools.

Agbrigg Illustrations

2011-03-06T11:35:00.002Z

Spent time yesterday redrawing illustrations for the Oral History Book Project. My first attempts didn’t quite match up with my recent efforts, which I thought were better. These are made using a light box to trace off elements with pen and brush that are needed then moved around to make the picture work, to place emphasis where it’s needed.

For instance the Truevine Charity Shop above, their A Board sign is in need of repair, as a local Agbriggand’ I walk past the Truevine nearly every day and the picture above is how I remember it. The book is all about capturing peoples memories and listening to their side of the story, so it only right that the illustrations reflect this too.

Pecha Kucha Sketchbook Pages

2011-03-04T14:46:00.002Z

Not particularly good pages from an evening of Pecha Kucha, things went at such a pace it was difficult to keep up with the talks and presentations and draw at the same time. Each of the subjects was very good but Bob Clayden’s on making pinhole cameras from out of absolutely anything light-tight caught my attention.

The Art House

Green Communications

Home Town Illustrations…

2011-03-03T13:14:00.002Z

First of the illustrations for the Agbrigg & Belle Vue Oral History Book I’m designing and illustrating. Colour is available to me but I’m thinking about what an image will look like surrounded by text. Even the monotone colours and textures distract. Maybe text around it will make it ‘fit’ in better?

At this stage I have decided to go with a fairly flat ‘greyish’ overlay, it seems less distracting to the eye and I’m having to restrain my use of inky textural splats too. I don’t want them looking like graffiti or blood stains, this is Agbrigg after all.

Drawn freehand A5 Size with a UniPin 0.3 fineliner and a Pental pocket brush pen, digital colour added over the top.

Getting to Grips…

2011-02-25T16:59:00.002Z

I have been tinkering with my website recently. One major change was getting to grips with a new web authoring program called WebPlus x4 by Serif. Having used Dreamweaver Mx for the past few years, the frustrations it created getting simple things done, like text and image alignment, had come to a head. WebPlus is much better to use. I’m not a web designer, but I like the look of a nicely turned out web page and WebPlus is aimed squarely at someone like me.

Automation is a good thing when I have no inclination to get to grips with HTML code and technology in website presentation has gone far beyond what I could ever hope to achieve. Saying that my website is still pretty simple.

I wanted to stream line the drawing things I have done in the past so have concentrated mainly on the projects I want to continue to do, which is the drawn storytelling in theatre, comics and books.

And maybe get away from drawing Devils all the time, I don’t want to attract their playful attention any more than necessary.

john welding illustrator website

SketchBookery, Knives Out…

2011-02-24T21:06:00.002Z

Again, more doodles from my sketchbook, not related in any way , just getting used to doing a bit of drawing. I’m designing and illustrating a book of Oral History Stories and the typography layout phase means a lot of staring at a computer screen trying to make things fit. I’ll talk about the book more soon as the illustration side of it kicks in.

Drawn with ball point pen and dry brush watercolour, the Moleskine I’m using is the thin paged variety and it seems to like me using a dry brush, what more could I ask for. Knives? I don’t know why Knives. Perhaps they are chopping vegetables.

SketchBookery, A Couple of Devils…

2011-02-24T21:00:00.001Z

Unrelated doodles from my sketchbook. Drawn freehand with a Ball Point Pen and Water Colour. It’s been a fine day out side with birds Twittering (and Face Booking. Oh… never mind) away, even managed to get out on my bicycle for a bit of manly exercise. Didn’t go well, ended up in a near feint (White out vision and unplugged hearing, you know the sort of thing), due to the lack of exercise I’ve had in the past few months.

Devils and Dry Biscuits

2011-02-23T20:31:00.002Z

Sketches made while watching Ben Haggarty perform The Tsar, The Devil and 3 Dry Biscuits at the Unicorn Theatre 19th February 2011.

Drawing Practise and the Necessity to Do It

2011-02-15T12:38:00.002Z

So while I spend my days formatting a book, I am also trying to get some drawing practise in. Images from the web and clippings from news papers are useful for this. My brain is occupied with the minutiae of designing and illustrating a book of Oral History Stories for Agbrigg & Belle Vue, which needs to go to print mid March, and I’m aware my drawing hand is out of practice. This is a sketch of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet and author of The Soul’s Expression. I can’t remember how I got to the web page with a tiny grayscale picture of Liz, but I liked it enough to make my version of her in my sketchbook. Not happy to present just the sketch I decided to put a digital overlay over the top of the original ball point pen drawing.
		And these two scoundrels are conspirators in the assassination of members of the American government led by John Wilkes Booth 1865. At this point in the day I have a sick headache, so I’m listening to electronic/industrial ambient music on my head phones with a blanket to keep warm. Can’t remember where the words came from, just a mix up from a mash up from what I was listening to. Note to Self: Cross hatching can be very therapeutic in these circumstances.

Unicorn Theatre, I’m On My Way…

2011-02-09T23:09:00.002Z

Ben Haggarty, international storyteller, is performing at the Unicorn Theatre 15 –20th February, and for part of it he’s using the drawings I did for him for The Rabigoodbegone Kamishibai (紙芝居), literally "paper drama" style storytelling. Most splendid.

Details for the Unicorn Theatre can be found here…
www.unicorntheatre.com

More Biro Monster Madness

2011-01-21T11:41:00.002Z

Another drawing, another batch of drawings to colour up. This is a quick upload, a drawing I really enjoyed doing from Ben’s storytelling description. Mary in monster mode. The finished drawings will be in bright colours, so I’m taking this opportunity to enjoy the pen marks while I can.

Ten Banners for Portobello

2011-01-21T10:21:00.003Z

While I have been working in isolation over a hot computer, in the real world the Portobello Banners featuring images that I created, in collaboration with Faceless and members of the Portobello community, have been installed. Manygates Lane connects the Visitor Centre and ruins of Sandal Castle with one of the major roads into Wakefield.

View Larger Map

If you want to find out more history, head on up to Wakefield Museum. There’s a large scale comic strip (Ahem…) that explains a bit about what might have happened 550 Years ago at the bloody battle where Portobello now stands. But do hurry, because the exhibition comes to an end on January 29th 2011.

Colouring and Backing Up Illustrations…

2011-01-20T20:05:00.002Z

I have been busy the last few days colouring up the Rabigoodbegone illustrations for Ben. All the biro line work is done and scanned in and I am now methodically working my way through the pile, colouring the drawings which are to be printed out at A3 Size. There’s over 30 illustrations for the project, so I am now very glad that the computer I was using before Christmas decide to give it’s last gasp, and forced me into buying something a bit more… substantial.

I have also updated my Computer Back Up plan. There has been so much digital artwork going through Welding Industries of late, that I was having waking nightmares of computer crashes and losing work. I own a clunking big External Hard Drive which has to be plugged in and powered up which was always a bit annoying to do. So I got a neat little external hard drive which is the size of a Moleskine Diary and comes with software which makes backing up less stressful, you just point it towards the folders you want copied and, touch wood, it does it.

Above is part of a biro drawing coloured with a digital overlay. The finished drawing has a Devil Rider and a foreground which has yet to be added.

‘Colouring Up’ the Devil

2011-01-13T14:52:00.002Z

Detail from coloured version of the Devil sketch I posted the other day. I treated the biro digitally, by altering the Levels manually to blacken up the lines and to clean up some of the dust and speckles surrounding the drawing, which the scanner had picked up. Then roughly coloured the shape with brushes keeping the colour scheme muted. Creating a duplicate layer I applied the Cut Out filter and turned the Layer Opacity to 80%, which solidifies and makes it more of a ‘Comic Strip’ image.

Angry Devil Biro Sketch

2011-01-13T14:37:00.002Z

“…when the Devil gets vexed his pale white skin turns a little bit pink; his pink skin turns a little bit red; his red skin turns a little bit scarlet; his scarlet skin turns VERMILLION. His horns stretch up and his tail stretches down, smoke comes out of his ears and nostrils and he began tearing the ground with his hoof.”

Words by Ben Haggarty

From My Drawing Board Today

2011-01-09T12:46:00.002Z

I am still working on a series of illustrations for my story teller friend, Ben. Bit worried about the amount of times I am drawing the Devil of late. I hope it doesn’t act as a drawing spell and attract the Devil’s attention. I’d drink tea with the ‘Him’ but that’s as far as I would go, far too busy to get up to mischief these days.

Drawing direct with a biro onto layout paper and photographed with the midday sun streaming in through the window. It’s freezing cold outside and I’m stuck indoors (Hurrah), drawing and finding new ways of doing future projects

Remember ‘The Battle of Wakefield’…

2010-12-21T13:56:00.002Z

The Battle of Wakefield exhibition is still on at Wakefield Museum. It’s had great reviews and plenty of foot fall, escape the madness of the shopping centre for and hour or two and pay a visit. It’s free and on at the Museum until Jan 29 2011. (As with most things in this chaotic weather it’s best to check if the Museum is open first before making a long journey).

Wakefield Museum Link

Work in Progress

2010-12-21T12:04:00.002Z

This is what I’m working on at the moment and into early next year. A series of images for story teller Ben Haggarty based on a story he tells called… but that would be telling just a little too much at this stage.

An A5 Biro drawing scanned at high resolution with digital colouring and textures over the top. Having used pencil for awhile it’s nice to get back to something that is a bit more inky. Biro gives a softer line than a dip pen or marker pen and drawing direct onto layout paper is easier if a bit of redrawing is required. I’m not a puritanical Biro purest like some people out there in internet land but I can see how it could lure you in. Being able to ‘feel’ a drawing as you make it has many benefits and is just down right enjoyable too.

Lucifer’s Boots!

2010-12-21T11:10:00.003Z

The Cordwainer is down on his luck in the economic climate of early 19th Century and in a fit of desperation, late into the night, calls forth Lucifer who ties him into a deal tighter than an eight hole lace up boot.

These are details from a series of illustrations to go with a short story called Lucifer’s Boots featuring ‘The Cordwainer of Scarletwell Street’. Written by my good amigo Justin Neal for a shoe manufacturer based in Northampton who has some lovely gothic looking shops around the UK. The plan is to publish the story in the style of an old penny broad sheet, with the story and illo’s on one side and a big picture of ‘Lucifer’ to watch over you all, on the other.

Multitasking…

2010-12-13T16:16:00.001Z

Doodle done with a biro whilst scanning another image in at Hi-Res image for a banner display. With my scanner humming away I’m thinking of another story I’m working on at the moment, trying to nail one of the characters I posted on Friday. This is Mary, she’s a being a unnameable creature to confound the Devil and… uh - oh scanners finished scanning in at 1200Dpi, time to get back to banner display.

I Feel Better For That…

2010-12-12T10:43:00.000Z

Not much drawing done today. Another attempt at the Christmas shopping, trudging around ‘The Ridings’ looking for gift inspiration, which is an oxymoron in and unto itself. The Guardian Weekend magazine distressed me this week with the manfume ad on the back cover. Matthew McConaughhey air brushed to artificial perfection a bit to far… felt like I had to rough him up a bit before the mag goes into the recycling bin.

Friday Already

2010-12-10T18:18:00.001Z

A sketch from a storyboard I’m illustrating at the moment, panel 26. Digitally darkened from a pencil drawing in a Moleskine sketchbook. The extreme Weather of late is getting better, a heady 10 degrees on Agbrigg Road, which is melting the ice so it’s even more hazardous to walk on. Has to get worse before it gets better. Went into Leeds to attempt my first stab at proper Christmas shopping and failed. Came home with a headache and a copy of Mesmo Delivery Service… for ME!

December SketchCrawl

2010-12-04T19:32:00.001Z

December SketchCrawl was at Wakefield Cathedral. Spent time with a few others looking at the carvings and bits of sculpture that adorn the insides.

Surviving November

2010-11-30T12:30:00.008Z

What a week. Thursday I had dental fillings which have given me constant toothache since. Apparently it might ease off, it might not, time will tell. I'm left with the possibility of a root canal in the next few weeks, Ho-Hum. I'm fed up with dentists messing with my teeth. "The operation was a success but the patient died" keeps popping into mind.

Friday morning my computer's Hard Drive refused to boot up. Hurah! That means I get to go and spend £700 on a new computer, at last. On one hand I get a nice shiny up to spec machine that I can sit in front off for hours and hours going "oh" and "Ah!" and on the other, Christmas is just around the corner! I could have spent time and less money sorting the Hard Drive, but you know, sometimes you have to know when to give in.

Sunday, climbing the sofa and stuff stacked in the corner I fell off a shelf and landed on my left side. Battered and bruised. Ridiculous!

Nice things have happened in between. Seeing friends and visiting the Harley Gallery and Open Studios. Helen cooking some lovely meals and watching snow fall to erase mud and coal from my world, at least for a few hours.

Have been doing a few storyboard sketches too for a story by Ben Haggarty. There will be about 29 when finished so I had better get on with it.

Stay warm.

Work in Progress…

2010-11-17T12:09:00.004Z

Screen shot of what I’m working on right now. Colouring ‘flats’ and listening to Fever Ray.