WRITING CHARACTERS WITH RICHY K. CHANDLER
Royal Festival Hall, London
Saturday 20 October 2012, 2pm
As part of the excellent WIP Comics Group, I’ll be running a workshop on writing interesting, distinct characters that readers care about. Attendees will get to put the ideas into practice.
Click here for the event’s Facebook page.
Should be good clean creative fun!
Today I put on my Creative Scriber hat and headed over to Chelsea College of Art and Design. I nearly left the house wearing my Cowboy hat but noticed just in time.
For those who don’t know, creative scribing involves listening to a lecture or group discussion (usually as part of a seminar) and visualising on paper the key points being made, using words and more importantly pictures. Today, there were many talks happening simultaneously as part of a busy seminar so I had to scramble round with my sketch book and sharpies, listen in and pick up points where I could for an intense 75 minutes.
Okay, so these are drawings rather than paintings, but “Who Draws the Drawers” is too much of a tongue twister.
Occasionally in the class I was attending, the model would cancel at the last minute, so instead us arty types would sit around and draw or paint each other. It’s a whole new set of skills, drawing a moving subject as oppose to a professional model, sitting still for ages. Also, as all the models in the class have been women it’s been the only opportunity in the class to draw guys…
Ink portrait 13.3.12 (1h 10 min)
Ink portrait 13.3.12 (1h 10 min)
Pencil portrait 11.7.11
And here’s a couple more pencil portraits…
Pencil portrait 8.11.11 (20 mins)
Pencil portrait November 2011
Richy’s Portrait & Life will return in Portrait & Life Part 6!
Laydeez Do Comics is a fantastic monthly get-together where fans of comics and art (of any gender) listen to creators talk about their work and get to mingle, chat and eat cake.
I usually go there to check out the other speakers but in September I’ll be making the leap in front of the audience to show some images and talk about my work, focusing particularly on Lucy the Octopus but touching on mini-comics, Wallace & Gromit, Almost Naked Animals, music and ceramics. I might even have a few things on sale.
Monday 10 September 2012
6.30 – 9.30pm
The Rag Factory 16-18 Heneage Street, London E1 5LJ
Entrance: £1.50 (including cake!)
I’m also looking forward to hearing the other speakers on the night…
Louise Crosby, artist http://www.facebook.com/SeeingPoetry
Louisa Parker, artist www.louisaparker.com
Panel from Laydeez Do Comics June 2012 Blog
You can get a taste of the evening in the blog I created for June’s Laydeez Do Comics.
Here’s a drawing I did for the excellent X as Y blog – a genius idea from the mind of illustrator Haillie Bateman. The purpose of the blog was for arty types to send in self-portraits of themselves as their opposite gender.
This was a challenge. My brain throbbed as I contemplated the alternate gender version of myself. Then I decided to just have fun with it…
Richelle – Myself as a lady!
Now the blog is going to keep going with regular changes to the dastardly challenges it sets for its contributors! Will be interesting to see what develops…
I had a fantastic weekend at the Caption Festival in Oxford. It’s an amazing annual comic convention (the UK’s longest running) with a focus on creators talking on panels and running workshops. Lovers of the comic medium and creators alike mingle freely, without hour long queues for book signings or paying to get an autograph from your favourite 1980’s TV star. I enjoy huge shows like MCM Expo and Thought Bubble too, but it’s good to get a picture of the whole spectrum of comic conventions out there!
I’ve been to Caption a few times before (including my first one five years ago, when I had to rush back from Oxford after my wife’s waters broke) but I think this has been my favourite. There was a good mix of smooth running panels, I knew lots of the lovely attendees plus I got to meet for the first time some amazingly talented people…
Some of the casts of panels on editing and Myriad Editions
Above you can see my doodling done during a panel entitled Shedding Light on the Dark Art of Editing Comics. It was great to hear perspectives on editing – a side to comics which is often overlooked by fans and publishers. The panel included Woodrow Phoenix, Corinne Pearlman, John Anderson and Hannah Berry, held together by one of hard working Caption organisers David O’Connell.
This was followed by another great panel on publisher Corinne Pearlman’s Myriad Editions. This included creators who have had their books released by Myriad: Nicola Streeten, Darryl Cunningham and back for more panel fun, Woodrow Phoenix.
Lovers of the comic medium and creators alike mingle freely…
Caption organiser and Journalist Alex Fitch reading the new Almost Naked Animals magazine which I wrote a comic for
Day Two of the show started in a delightfully social way with some familiar friendly faces from the usually London based Comic Gosh!p Book Club, a fantastic graphic novel reading group run by Mike Medaglia and Mark Haylock. In this session we were discussing Maus (Art Spiegelman) and My Cardboard Life (Philippa Rice). The general consensus was they’re both a bit good!
Other Gosh!pers included David O’Connell, Selina Locke & Jay Eales (former Caption organisers who stepped in to help out this year too), Lisa Woynarski and Elliot Baggott.
Gosh!pers try to find stuff to say about Maus and My Cardboard Life
Next up, I was on a panel myself alongside some amazingly skilled creators: Playing in Someone Else’s Sandbox (Self-published vs licensed characters) featuring creators who have done incredible work on their own characters as well as other people’s… The line up featured David Baillie (via Satellite), Charles Cutting (creator of a webcomic based on characters and situations by H. P. Lovecraft entitled The Dream Quest of Randolph Carter), Al Davison (artist for Dr Who comics) and Robin Etherington (who has written for… pretty well everything, including Star Wars, Wallace & Gromit and Transformers).
It was so nice to hear about the process and struggles that other creators go through in working on licensed characters. I talked about capturing animated characters in comic form and the difference between the two mediums, so Wallace & Gromit and Almost Naked Animals came up a lot!
Robin Etherington watches David Baillie discuss his writing work on 2000 AD and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Al Davison, me, Charles Cutting and Robin Etherington
Next up was a panel from creators of the fabulous Phoenix Comic. Great to hear the magic involved in putting that together. Seems like everyone is really having fun working for it! Great to get to meet and chat to these talented folk!
Doodles of some fine Phoenix Comic creators.
The line up featured (as below) Adam Murphy (Corpse Talk), Robin Etherington (writes Long Gone Don), Patrice Aggs (creator of Blimpville), Neill Cameron (artist on Pirates of the Pangaea and Daniel Hartwell (writer on Pirates of the Pangaea).
Real Phoenix Comic creators, and mediator David O’Connell
The final panel of the event was entitled America is not the Only Fruit which discussed looking outside Anglo / American comics for inspiration, with manga creators Rebecca Burgess, Sarah Burgess, Joe Morgan and Jade Sarson, and bandes-desinées-inspired David O’Connell (Tozo) and Garen Ewing (The Rainbow Orchid). All were kept in line by Caption organiser and Comics Journalist, Alex Fitch.
Creators inspired by a world of comics
So well done Caption! Another great year.
Looking forward to hearing some of the panels being broadcast on the Panel Borders Radio Show and podcast over the next few months.
Had fun making this card for my son’s birthday.
He felt the characters should look happier. 5 year-olds are harsh critics.
Scooby-Doo, Pikachu and Yoshi enjoy biking fun!
Here’s another recent card. This one was for my nephew who fits the subgroup of humans who like both Family Guy and Lucy the Octopus.
Lucy the Octopus and that dog from Family Guy
And this is my son’s birthday card from last year, where I managed to squeeze in far more characters.
Peso the Penguin (Octonauts) at the top. Next line down shows Rastamouse, Scooby-Doo, The Cat in the Hat, Lola (Charlie & Lola), Hong Kong Phooey, Charlie (Charlie & Lola) and Shaun the Sheep. Middle row shows Mickey Mouse then on Scooby’s back is Panny (Panda Go Panda), Humf, Peppa & George (Peppa Pig) and holding on to Scooby’s tail is Pikachu (Pokemon). At the bottom in the water is Ponyo and Nemo (Finding Nemo) and finally bottom right is Stitch (Lilo & Stitch).
Best get thinking of what to do for his 6th birthday next year. Hopefully stick men will be all the rage by then – that should save time.
When you’ve worked closely with someone and consider them a good friend its easy to take for granted what an incredible talent they are. Such is the case with my Rosie and Jacinda collaborator, Manga artist and Fashion illustrator, Zarina Liew.
As part of the International Alternative Pres Fair this past weekend, Zarina ran a workshop on her techniques for using coloured inks. The fact that so many talented creators (plus me) were there to soak up some of her skills shows how respected her technique is.
Zarina showing how its done
Zarina began by demonstrating her arsenal of methods. It all got quite physical using blowing, splattering, washing and dabbing. A great antidote to the cleanliness of creating art on a computer (though Zarina is great at that too)!
Workshoppers busy inking, including Paul Shinn, Karrie Fransman and a smiley Sally-Anne Hickman
Zarina definitely made it look easier than it is, but managed to show everyone some basic ideas that they could utilise in their own work.
Getting to grips with the techniques
Putting the techniques into practice. At Zarina’s wise suggestion I added a bit of highlight to this with Photoshop later.
Ian Rudd and Van Nim relax after some intense inking
And here’s what Zarina herself managed to come up with seemingly effortlessly and in just a few minutes. Having worked with her, I know she can produce great work really fast!
Zarina’s own workshop piece
For more of Zarina’s work, check out her site: cobaltcafe.co.uk plus her webcomics Le Mime and the forthcoming The Higgs.
I’m pleased to announce I have written a 4-page Almost Naked Animals comic which will be appear in Titan‘s Almost Naked Animals Magazine, out 16 Aug 2012 in the UK and 16 Oct 2012 in the USA.
Art / lettering is by the very talented Dill Tasker and the whole thing was pulled together by the great Martin Eden who is also the creator of the (equally fantastic but very different from Almost Naked Animals) comics, Spandex and The O Men.
For those not familiar with the Almost Naked Animals cartoon (showing on Cartoon Network and CITV), created by the amazing Noah Z. Jones, take a peak here! I had a party getting to know the show and characters – nice when watching cartoons counts as research.
It’s a fast-paced, zany, irreverent world where shaved animals wear underwear and run a hotel. Yeah, yeah – sounds like a hundred shows we’ve seen before but give it a chance!
It’s been a long time since I’ve sold my wares with a table at a comic show and the MKomix event last night was a lovely one to return to. There was a friendly and chilled vibe in the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes as I joined some familiar and some new to me indie comic creators, including organiser Paul Rainey plus David Baillie, Jay Eales & Selina Lock, Sean Azzopardi, Karen Rubins, Jon Scrivens, Dan Lester, Jade Sarson and Amy Letts.
I had the pleasure of meeting Laura Watton for the first time in person and realising I’d bought a Sweatdrop collection she’d worked on many years earlier. Was also great meeting my table mates and fellow Londoners, Avery Hill Publishing.
All in all, a good evening. Thanks to all who came and asked me about my work and those who bought some of it! My new Lucy the Octopus Tasty Taster Comic was my best seller of the evening!
The night was rounded off by driving home with Alex Fitch, David Baillie and Dan Lester, failing to find a Little Chef so opting for a Chinese take away eaten in the open air in Dunstable. If anyone passing through Dunstable, pops into the China Express, I recommend No 74.
