Jan 23, 2014: The Pen Tool and More!

Today we used one of the tools that I have avoided for many years. The infamous pen tool in Illustrator. my experience with art programs has always been raster based. I've just never had the mental cohesion to sit down and teach myself vector based programs. I've used Illustrator before, but mostly for dialog bubbles in my comics. I tried using the pen tool once or twice, but everything ended up looking like a drunk monkey's rendering of "The Scream" done on an Etch-A-Sketch.

After  a basic tutorial from the instructor, we spent roughly the last half of class using Illustrator to basically ink a drawing of a cartoon bear. It's a good thing I mumble. Many vulgarities broke free for from these lips. But, now that it's all said and done, I have a grasp of the pen tool. I also see the additional benefit of using Illustrator and vector graphics. I doubt I'll be inking my comics with it anytime soon, but I will try to make use of the valuable resources of the software.

So. The theme of this semesters New Media and Animation class leans in on character development and world building. Two of my favorite things! We start next week developing a character that will be the focus for the rest of the semester. The end goal of this class is to animate the character walking and talking. Well! I happen to have a few characters and worlds that I have been working on for a few years that could use some solid development!

 I set up a meeting with the instructor for Monday to see if I can use them. I'd like to use Ego and Sweet Dreams are Made of Worms. I have a more personal connection with that comic; however, It's always been my intention for Apocalypse Pizza to go multimedia. Hmmmm. But, She may want me to create something entirely new. That's ok! Thanks to magic of ADHD, mania, and insomnia I have built up an inexhaustible supply of characters and worlds over the past two decades. 

Well, I'm off. I have about six hours of homework to do, read a few chapters on art history, practice some more with Illustrator, and work on concepts for my character model sheets. Maybe I can squeeze in some work on the C.O.G. comic when I'm done. Oh, and feel free to subscribe to this blog and comment if you like.
-Jessie