Search and Research #164

Well, I meant to have this up yesterday, but when I sat down to post it, I remembered I hadn't yet scanned the strip (I usually scan the strips right after I finish them). I finished this one a few days ago, but wound up being busy afterwards I guess. Anyway, here is the penultimate (always wanted to use that word!) strip in the "SCOM tells a story about working in the Library of Congress" storyline.

Strip #165 will be a color strip and it will have 14 panels, so it'll take me a little longer than usual to complete. I'm going to try and finish it before my day job gets crazy in preparation for the beginning of the fall semester. If that happens, it will be the most quickly completed color strip in recent memory!

 - eli

Search and Research #163

Still exploring the intricacies of dramatic lighting. I mentioned before that I've never really drawn in this style before although I've long admired the look of that noir drawing style. In the last panel I figured that if the lights when down, SCOM's screen would be the only thing giving off light, and tried to use that to inform my lighting decisions.

You'll also notice in panel three that I've employed an interesting little lesson I learned a while ago: The expression of a character speaking must match the emotion of the last thing he says in a panel, not the first. People tend to read the word bubbles and then look at the pictures, so, if you don't match the expression to the last emotion, the pictures won't make sense. I learned that back in Search and Research 93 where SCOM discovers his missile has been replaced by a telescope. His face matches the first part of what he says rather than the last part, and the panel just winds up being weird because he looks mortified rather than slyly pleased. Ok, that little tip is free. Enjoy!

 - eli

Search and Research #162

Jason and I decided it would be fun to sort of explore some of SCOM's early days at the Library of Congress, and I wanted to try to make his "flashback" scenes distinct by drawing them in a noir style, where there is only black and white with very dramatic lighting. I've always loved that style, starting with the Tracer Bullet stories in Calvin and Hobbes. I've never been very good at it, but I thought that drawing SCOM's angular shape would be easier than trying to do the organic human shapes. Boy was I wrong! It turns out that it takes practice, no matter what you're drawing. As a result, I spent a while trying to develop the look of what I have now come to call "SCOM noir". It took about a month of off and on experimentation. Hopefully subsequent strips will easier for me now.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy what we have planned.

eli

Search and Research #161

Over the past few years of drawing this strip, I've noticed that sometimes I'll sit down to draw a strip and everything just flows, from the clarity of the idea in my mind to my ability to draw it. Other times, I'll have a clear idea in my head, but when it comes to actually drawing it I seem to do more erasing than actual drawing. This strip fell into the latter category. It also doesn't help I've been sick for the past few days. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Search and Research #159

Jason and I had originally intended this strip to be a Valentine's Day strip, but weren't able to make the timing work, so the idea has been hanging around for quite a while. I'm glad we were able to find a way to put the idea to use. When SCOM begins reciting the poem, it's because Boük is controlling him since Boük can control technology with his mind. I tried to indicate that this is what's happening with SCOM's surprise and the instant screen change, along with the "bzzt!" sound effect, but I had a hard time trying to think about how to definitively show that this is what was happening. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on how well that came across. Enjoy!

Search and Research #156

Ok, here we go with the next strip. Drawing this strip was like hanging out with friends you haven't seen in a long time, good and nostalgic at the same time. Enjoy!

Search and Research #152

Ah...yes. It's nice to get back to the blog. Everything is just as I left it. Well, again, it's been a while since I drew a strip, but this time it's been because I've been busy with commissioned work. That is a good problem for me to have, as doing artwork full time is a goal I'm trying to work towards, but I do miss these characters and I'm glad when I have these breaks where I can get back to the strip. No promises about the next one either...we'll just have to see what happens. In the meantime, if you'd like to see some of the more recent work (and some older work as well), here's a link to a gallery: http://kindgentleman.deviantart.com/gallery/. Enjoy!

Search and Research #151

Well my friends, I'm back with a new strip! Between holiday art commissions (I love actually getting paid to draw!!), the American holidays, and the onset of electronic reserve requests at work (my primary library job) I haven't had the time or energy to draw another strip until now. It felt good to get back to these characters again. I had to reteach myself how to draw them and how I lay out my comic strips and stuff after such a long absence. I mean, I haven't actually drawn them since last September! Anyway, thanks to those of you who have stuck with this comic strip through the long absences between content. Enjoy!

Introducing...Ayvee

In an effort to keep this blog from becoming a dry, abandoned husk of a blog while I work on finishing strip #150, I'm going to start posting images of some of the characters who inhabit the Harlansdale College Library. I drew these images of them and colored them with grayscale markers a while ago. I had something else in mind for them, but decided that now is the best time to put them up. First is Ayvee, who first showed up in Strip #96 but has only appeared in a couple of strips since then. We envisioned here a spunky, 20-something librarian who is in charge of Electronic Resources (get it? Ayvee...A/V!) I'm not sure why we haven't used her more...maybe because she's still kind of new. Anyway, here she is having fun. Enjoy!

Ayvee sketches...

Here is my black and white sketch of Ayvee as Lisa Simpson as well as my colorized version. She was a lot of fun to draw in this costume. I think I made the mistake of trying to make her legs a little too muscular looking, or put a little too much detail in her knees or something, but overall I like how this design came out. The red dress with the triangle fringe, the pearls, and the spiky yellow hair were the details that I hoped would make this costume work. Doesn't she look like she's having fun? More sketches later this week. Enjoy!