Previews of said comics (currently 38% done) ::

Still some tweaks to be done but this is close. Let’s see how I feel in a week.

While I was here, I scanned in a few pages from an old “How To Draw Pen & Ink” manga book. I didn’t buy it to learn how to draw manga, but for the Yasuhiro Nightow interview contained within.

This interview is a little old, and I believe he draws with a Cintiq now so some of these tips are no longer in his use. Also the paper used in this book is so hard you could probably use it as a springboard, but not to scan pages easily so some parts of the words are hard to read. Apologies.

Now to go to bed and dream of further sleep in dreamland. Tired like a cliché.

Also while you’re there (or here), you can follow the comic at comic rocket, a fairly new site devoted to tracking comics of the web variety. Looks like a pretty handy site and the owners fixed my account pretty quickly, so it can only be a good place.

Click this button to see SODT’s profile there and sign up yourself!

Newly posted on youtube is this 'making of' of Paprika, dream/reality bending film of the late Satoshi Kon. In two parts, definitely worth watching both:

Speaking of those who are no longer here, on Friday the world lost Adam Yauch, one third of the Beastie Boys. If there was ever proof that this year was the apocalypse and that there is no God, this was it.

RIP MCA

Why do all the good people die young and the bad ones live until they're old and useless and not just useless?

If it doesn’t work, join me by the lake drowning myself and listening to My Dying Bride.

He sure has a cool flat. Anyway, back to work, should be done for tonight!!

Here’s a choice tune of his:

Textures out the wazoo. Takes so goddamn long but it looks pretty good I feel.

Somewhat inspired by a gratuitously OTT touhou fan comic I’ve been reading lately. I’m a sucker for someone using such high skill to draw such idiotic stuff.

You can see more of it here. WARNING: It is silly.

OK, back to comics. See you Monday!!

I’m making comics too.

Very Slowly.

Remember our AWESOME, recently updated comics are S.O.D.T. (Suicide Or Die Trying) by Autsa, Blood Rush by Buckets, and Diamond Cutter also by Buckets.

S.O.D.T. can be read here (It’s recently started so jump on board now!)

Awesome!

Diamond Cutter can be read here

Astonishing!

And the latest update:

Cutting!

Blood Rush can be read here

Hellyeah!

And the latest update:

Rush!

—————-

Keep on keepin on.

Squarepusher!!

Gigs I went to!! (Man they post this stuff FAST…can you hear me screaming?)

Satoshi Kon!! (from here

Cookies!!

Here is a thumb to show proof of my workings ::

What is it? Can you tell? Nothing is ruined or spoilt about the next chapter from this, I feel. At the moment, the next chapter will go up either on the 23rd or the 30th. It’ll depend on how frantic things get/games I play.

I’ve noticed my thumnails can vary wildly from immaculately rendered + positioned to barely decipherable caveman scribbles. Often the quality seems to go down as I get towards the end of a chapters allotted thumbs. Usually I thumb my 16 or so pages over two to three days, so by the end I’m itching to draw the damn things perhaps.

For example, what page is this?

Wrong!! It’s this one.

If I only lettered more of the pagesthese sketchbooks would be a handy walking copy of my comics. And I could show them to other people quicker than sending them to the site. Another thumbing trend seems to be “zombie face”. It isn’t a common occurance, but it has happened.

Is it some kind of subconscious statement? Was I tired? Am I trying to take the comic in a different direction? Answers on a postcard please.

Here’s a two pager cover thing that originally was going to be pages 2 + 3 for the first SODT chapter, but then realized parts of what I intended to draw would give away the story before people had even read it, so I didn’t draw much of it. The PSD didn’t look as cool as the rough sketch did. Notice my notes, some of which I do not know what they’re attempting to remind me of.

If the rings weren’t a giveaway, I thumbnail my chapters in sketchbooks bought from Wh Smiths. They sell these hard plastic grey covered ring books that I’ve taken a liking to, and always buy if they’re on sale. This one has a Naruto sticker on it I found on the floor in town, only accentuating my cool status to those in the know.
My last one ran out two pages before I finished the thumbs for this chapter of SODT, so I had to tuck a loose leaf of paper in there instead: will probably lose it before I get to draw those pages. Chapter 4 shall christen the new book I obtained at the weekend, not at the sale price I prefer unfortunately. And the paper seems thinner too. Will it be as good as what I’m used to? It’ll be a shame if not: I’m used to them now. Maybe I can start using the Hello Kitty ones instead…

Every now and again I ink some of the pencils too. Idle hands are the devils crosshatching assistants.

And also some explosions.

Thumbnails are the only thing I draw on paper, as everything else is digital from now on. Nice to actually be able to draw without being blinded by liquid crystal deathrays.

While I’m talking about it, the music I listen to while thumbing: mostly things without rhythm or vocals, although that’s not often always stuck to. Currently I’m listening to Catrin Finch, former official harpist to HRH Prince of Wales 2000-2004 playing Goldberg’s variations of Bach. You have no idea how fancy this makes one feel. It turns one into an integer!

Imagine a scruffy unshaven man listening to this on headphones with Mighty Boosh stickers on the cans, hunched double over a sketchbook with Naruto stickers on it, drawing crude doodles and eating cookies and you have the cultured man that is Autsa.

*picks nose*

Go here for the new pages!

Diamond Cutter volume 2 begins, just coming in before the end of March, therefore keeping my monthly release schedule up to date.

Next month – Blood Rush!

Now tell everyone you know about it. Me? I’m going to talk to Mr. Vodka and Mr. Pillow. In that order.

Also, did you know there’s a new The Gasman album out called the Hiding Place? It’s very good.