Drawing Time

"Tuff-Girl"
Graphite pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)


"Sea-Bolt and Tuff-Girl"
Red pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)


"Cloudbuster and Tuff-Girl"
Red pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)


"Rip Tyler"
Graphite pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)


"Supergirl"
Graphite pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)


"Harley Quinn"
Graphite pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)


"Supernatural High"
Graphite pencil and marker on card stock.
13.97 cm x 21.59 cm (5.50 in. x 8.50 in.)

With the intent of sketching something with every paid order, I brought a small stack of half-letter cards to the Long Beach Comic Con. Although I can draw a recognizable character in under a minute, the result may not necessarily be of the highest quality rating, but it's a neat trick at parties. With more time, I can do better, plus I can add shading and color as limited to what I had on hand. So at slower points during the con., I drew these to build up a stack of give-aways, as an alternative to forcing the patron to wait for a custom drawing, especially since the sketchbooks weren't designed for more than an autograph. The samples above are what were left over at the end of the con.

Sharing space at the Silver Comics booth, it was natural to match up it's heroes, Sea-Bolt and Cloudbuster, with Tuff-Girl.

Rip Tyler is the Las Vegas lizard-man who's extortion business frequently encounters a hiccough named Tuff-Girl.

Supergirl (© DC Comics) - another drawing of Superman's cousin.

From the Barnes & Noble booth across the aisle from Silver, one of girls was dressed as Harley Quinn (© DC Comics). I didn't require more inspiration than that. Another girl was dressed as Harley's compatriot Poison Ivy, that sketch was snatched up.

The Silver Comics' booth neighbor was "Supernatural High," (© Supernatural High) a comic that's about, as far as I could tell, a private high school for kids with supernatural abilities.

Tee Is for Tuff-Girl

Front tee-shirt design on fuchsia.
17.78 cm x 10.16 cm (7.00 in x 4.00 in.)


Back tee-shirt design in fuchsia.
21.59 cm x 10.16 cm (8.50 in. x 4.00 in.)


Mock-up of design placement on tee-shirt.



Debby, Mannequin head art.
Digital color over scan of cleaned India Ink.
3000 x 2400 pix


One of the most compelling things about using "Tuff-Girl" as the character's name, is it's potential to be adopted by patrons who don't even have a clue about the comic book character. Just as it is with "Wonder Woman," wearing the name on your shirt is a declaration. Not so much the declaration, or a least good ones, are names like "Spider-Man" and "Matter-Eater Lad."

So printed promotional tee-shirts are a natural complement to the books I hope to eventually print and sell. I'll probably branch out to promotional accessories.

If you search the internet for "Tuff-Girl," you will probably come across several apparel companies by a similar name. Some body has the trademark for the apparel category, but I can't tell from the search results which if any. I have the TM for print publishing, but for promotional purposes, I can churn out the tee-shirts.

As a further matter of branding and distinction, I pair the word "unstoppable" with the name. The eventual book and web-site will both bear the name "Unstoppable Tuff-Girl." It's funny how, since a year ago when I made that decision, the word "unstoppable" now pops out to me in advertising I see and hear.

The last, bottom image was made to top a headless body form on which one of the tee-shirt was displayed at the Long Beach Comic Con. Although I printed it at near 16" tall and glued it to a butterflied file folder, it still was a wee bit small for the form. The drawn image had the head about 9 cm (3.5 in.) tall, the largest I've yet done of a finished image of Tuff-Girl or her civilian identity, Debby. This is remarkable to me, I mean, shouldn't I be drawing these characters all of the time? The red gem on the necklace here, is also the most detailed and finalized I've yet depicted it. Largely, there hasn't been a need to finalize the setting design, which again for branding purposes should be distinct. This one is close, but needs a little more refinement.

Silver Comics at Long Beach Comic Con, 2009

Johnny (center) and Vince are here to help you with all your "Silver Comics" needs.


Convention attendee eagerly browses through all the Silver Coimics mechandise, while a stoic The End on the far end looks on.


That's me, Bryan, with a fresh selection of sketchbooks and women's tee-shirts on the side of Silver's space.


The inaugural Long Beach Comic Convention (LBCC), Oct. 2 - 4, was quite an enjoyable little convening of comic book enthusiasts. Now, San Diego's Comic Con International (SDCC) has long become it's own incomparable mass media event, so SDCC aside, Long Beach made an respectable first effort compared to other such cons I've attended.

The space was maybe six-times the area of a basketball auditorium, nearly evenly divided into four major areas: exhibitors (mostly publishers), dealers (mostly folk selling or trading things not as creators or publishers), autographs and artist alley. Comparable in my memory to the space of first New York Comic Con of threes ago, about half that of Wonder Con in San Francisco two year's ago, or about equal the two dealers' rooms at Atlanta's Dragon*Con. You could easily see everything in one afternoon if you didn't stand in line for an autograph or to meet one of the many guest artist.

It was here the Silver Comics made it's first convention showing since it's first about three years back at SDCC. This time, they had an impressive, much coveted back wall of promotional posters or cover art, nine action-packed issues including an "annual" and lots of tantalizing branded promotional items; the wooden yo-yo's and pin-back buttons dispensed from a 25-cent gumball machine were popular.

Even with out the big two super-hero publishers, Marvel and DC, occupying floor space, they still loomed over the crowd by way of their affinities - the things they spent time exploring. To be sure, the toughest thing about being a small, unheard-of publisher is getting folks to stop and look at your stuff. With a terrific looking booth, branded bags and free-for-kids coloring packs, Silver Comics probably was the discovery of the con.

And I sold a couple of sketchbooks.

I am grateful to Johnny Ortiz for sharing his booth space. He provided a nice spinning rack for the books and body form to display a tee-shirt sample. But he's also provided good examples brand building and overall stick-to-it-iveness.

Long Beach or Bust

"Bustin' Free"
Digital composite of black India ink on Bristol board and color marker.
20.32 cm x 25.40 cm (8.00 in. x 10.00 in)
2009

From the galley of thumbnail images in the previous entry, you can spot the inclusion of a single full color page, or pages in this case because it exists as a triple page gate-fold pin up.

Above is the piece cropped to 8 x 10 in. pretty much the scale it was drawn. As is my now standard practice, the final black inking was done right over the rough construction drawing in carmine red pencil. The red lines were subsequently digitally erased.

After marker proved it was going to be temperamental by smearing the ink, the color marker comp. was instead done on 20lb copier paper over the ink on a light table. Some color did bleed through to the inked board, so now that board is just a spotted step in the process, another artifact destined to be lost in my piles and files.

Admittedly, the background isn't very accomplished. The color and tone selections are reactionary for the figure to stand out well and the hatching just fills in negative space.

---
At the Long Beach Comic Con, I sold about half a dozen copies of sketchbook No. 2, and I don't think anyone unfolded the gate-fold. Probably, because it's tucked in so tightly. Hopefully, it's a nice surprise for my patrons.

Tuff the Presses

"Unstoppable Tuff-Girl Sketchbook No. 2, Galley"
2009

Around 10 p.m. EDT Sunday evening, I finished numbering the last of 100 - 8.50 in. x 11.00 in, 48 page sketchbooks.

Yea!

At least seven days behind schedule, but still, "Yea!"


BY THE NUMBERS:
Printing run, books: 125 (25 artist proofs, 100 regular run)
Sheets: 1,625 (125 for covers, 125 gate folds, 125 activities, 1,250 interiors)
Folds: 1,875
Cuts: 500
Staples: 625
Printing time, estimated: 47 hr, 30 min
Book design time, estimated: 30 hr.
Production time, esitmated for trimming & binding: 25 hr
Waste, estimated: 180 sheets, 300 staples
Dummies (prototypes for binding and layout planning): 3
Activity page prototypes constructed: 2
Int jet cartridges, estimated: 10

Oh, yeah. It sure felt like more - across the board.


You can catch me at the up-coming Long Beach Comic Con (Oct 2 -4, 2009) at the Silver Comics booth (booth #252) with my stacks of sketchbooks, No. 1 SRP only $5 and No. 2 $10, but I'm willing to deal and trade.
http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/

I've got 8 artist proofs remaining; of the 25, I've sent 12 to Merrill Hagan who scripted the 12-page adventure in the beginning of the book, 1 I've archived, and 4 I've already handed out. Maybe I'll see which of my Facebook friends wants one.

TAGS December 16 & 17, 1993

12/16: Shoppertunities.


12/17: Happi-ness is...

December 16, 1993: In my failings as a writer on TAGS, it seems that up until now (and not until about the 90th strip in the series, these two being #59 & 60) I had never explicitly said what these characters do. In the beginning, it's obvious that work involves some sort of restaurant. The heretofore unmentioned set-up is this: the restaurant is located in a Disneyland-type theme park for the logical reason that I used to work in a few restaurants in Disneyland (1987-95). The name of the park is Happiland, and it is "The Dizziest Spot on Earth."

In keeping with that real-life model, there of course is a Happi World, a Yokahama Happiland, Happiland Europe and a retail store, Happi Shoppe. Now, having never mentioned Happiland in the strip, there could not and can not now be any significance to the TAGS reader of what the Happi Shoppe is. But it IS Christmas, and every one is excited, so I ask you to go with it.

(L-R: Monster, Evan (Corgi), Barron (Teddy bear), Wensdae (weasel), Polly (penguin), Nick (skunk), Rudy (pig), Heidi (gopher))


December 17, 1993: Now, if "Happi" is a stand in for "Disney," then what is the stand-in for Mickey Mouse? The answer: Benjamin Raccoon. Yeah, I figured that would fall flat on the ground. There's not even alliteration like "Rascal Raccoon."

Oh well, that actually plays no importance to this strip, because that's not a Benjy plush that Heidi is holding. That's a fox who's name I can't even remember right now. And to further compound the trivia, the greeter is an un-named lizard; and while I like her design, you will never, ever see her again.

- - - - - - - - - -
I'd like to keep track of how many appearances these character have made. I think this is Evan's first. However, the "Search Blog" function dosen't seem to be working to-night, which had been a big help in the past. If it starts working again or I can set aside the time to actually review the actual drawings, then maybe in the future I'll have some numbers for you.

Buckle Up, Buttercup

"Tuff-Girl Buckle Replica, activity sheet"
Digital art.
20.32 x 25.40 cm (8.00 in. x 10.00 in.)
2009.

Wanting to include some sort of bonus activity sheet as part of the 48 pages of the sketchbook, I decided upon this paper replica of Tuff-Girl's belt buckle, which you may download here (hopefully) after clicking the image to view the full 2400 x 3000 pixel image. 110 lbs card stock should work nicely. Photo stock probably not so much with the gluing involved.


NOT-SO WASTED EDUCATION:
As my years of a mechanical engineering student stirred from dormancy, the whole design project from cut-out to page was quite its own beyond the sketchbook.

First, as I've said previously, the creation of vector art is in plain words, "a pain."

Second, I elected to refine the design of the buckle face for a third time.

The orthographic (blueprint) plans were completed rather quickly, the top, bottom and side views being simple trapezoids all with the sides angled the same.

However, the paper plans had the added work of calculating and designing the partial cone shapes at the corners.


THE WRENCH:
After successfully assembling a prototype (all this with only a galley of preliminary layouts for the book), I thought to take it a step further by incorporating flaps on the back creating a cover you could wear to cover your belt buckle.

No, I couldn't let it be.

All the pieces including an interior stiffening brace laid out with directions on a 8.50 in. x 11.00 in. letter sheet meant the completed buckle had to be about 20% smaller than the one above. Of course, you can print it out at whatever scale that pleases you, like say 4-ft tall with head, arm and leg holes.

It did probably require 40-plus additional man-hours on top of, I guess, the 40-plus I had spent to get to the prototype stage, and to all the uncounted hours working (and still am working) on the sketchbook.


I like to complain.


It will be worth it, though.


... until I decide to design a "deluxe version!"


post-script:
If you need to know, the buckle is supposed to be red and black, but I opted for a dark gray because the ink-jet sheets were coming out a bit damp with full, mixed black. As it is, the print out should appear to have the blackness of newspapers or construction paper.

Book a Trip to Las Vegas

"Unstoppable Tuff-Girl, Sketchbook No. 2, Cover"
illustration: Carmine red Col-Erase pencil and black India ink on Bristol board.
13.97 x 21.59 cm (5.50 x 8.50 in.)
2009

Closer than I was before, yet much more to go. This bound collection covers about three and a half years of Tuff-Girl related sketches, rough drawings and doodles. If all goes as planned, it will be 48 pages including 36 black and white pages, a gate-fold poster, a single fold activity page, and the four pages of the cover.

The technical aspects have the pages printed in signature of four consecutive pages each on once-folded letter-size (8.50 x 11.00 in.) sheets. Rather than being saddle stapled like the average comic book magazine, the interior pages are stacked together and stapled front to back near the spine. Then the cover is glued at the spine around the pages in square-bound fashion.

The revised goal is to print and bind 125 copies by September 14. Entirely a hand-made undertaking, I think 125 is quite sufficient. At least the labor is free.

Cover price: a competitive $10.

I can offer no more commentary about the process of book design and binding.

About the actual artwork contained, with most of it I'm at peace, which is to say I don't have that itch to re-draw them. They are what they are. The cover and the gate-fold, however, both gave me the darnedest trouble, because, I suppose, they're the main selling features.

Check here again in 13 days. We'll see how it goes, won't we?


Oh, and if you like the Las Vegas sign logo, this is how I did that:
I used the power of computer image manipulation. First the sign was roughly incorporated in the layout in light pencil. From photo reference of the actual "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, the "Tuff-Girl" version was designed flat, front on. Over a low-resolution scan of the rough pencil art, the logo was manipulated to achieve the desired perspective effect. With that printed out, it was transferred in pencil into the tight pencil drawing, and the whole finished with black India ink. -- Easy.

Tuff-Girl Roulette

Tuff-Girl, Las Vegas (cover to sketchbook No. 2)
carmine red Col-Erase pencil on Bristol board
43.18 cm x 27.94 cm (17.00 in. x 11. 00 in.)
Sept. 2009

Last year, I drew, re-drew, and inked an image to be the cover of my second booklet of Tuff-Girl sketches (monotonae entry Apr. 21, 2008). I had the idea that I wanted to have the option of it being a wrap-around cover illustration, but also to at least have it be something in a horizontal landscape format where most of the illustrations I already had were in a portrait layout. I even brought it to full completion with digital color.

With the twelve pages drawn of the most recent "Tuff-Girl" story (the one I've been working on on and off for two years) completed in roungh pencil form, I thought I could finish the sketchbook.

I a way that many artists regard their own works, I decided I wasn't happy with the year old illustration, and so re-drew it once again. The compostion is improved on a number of accounts: the left and right wings are better filled out respectively with a Vegas styled chapel and limo turned on its side; man-lizard baddie, Rip Tyler is introduced to the scene better relating to the twelve page story; and the famous, albeit modified, "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign is at a more pleasing angle in the layout. Tuff-Girl is smaller as a sacrifice to make the roulette wheel's perspective more believable.

The central, foreground thug (Doug) comes in to the cover from the left, rather than moving away and out of the older cover. In this way, I used his body to cover a lot more dead space.

Despite her smaller size, I think the drawing of Tuff-Girl is better this time around, with a bit more arc and off-vertical angle to the pose, and more twist to to her body. Even having her left arm angled forward looks more natural than back as in the older version.

The book itself will be a 5.5" x 8.5", 48-page collection of Tuff-Girl related sketches from the last three years. I complicated the project with the inclusion of a gate-fold and cut-out activity and at least two new sketches intended for the book. Rather than saddle stapling twelve sheets together, I will be attempting a square spine "perfect bound" approach, requiring ten folded sheets, each making up four consecutive pages combined with the gate fold and activity sheet. The cover adds four more pages to the count.

Hocus Pocus

Dazatta attitude explorations (Royality)
color pencil and color ball point-pen ink on paper
21.59 cm x 30.48 cm (8.50 in. x 12. 00 in.)
Sept. 2007

Dazatta is either a Gypsy princess or a princess of an Arabian desert kingdom. In that she's a made-up character from an as-of-yet uncomposed fable, her royal lineage, back story, motivations and even her name are all in flux.

In the mix of the seven regular princesses of Royality, she has the singular talent of controlling magics, often with two wands. She's more spoiled and elitist than the other princesses; a lot more than Snow White and Cinderella. Being so far from the comforts of her desert home, however, the medieval castle and temperate climate housing their highnesses, presents many challenges - wait until her first winter storm.