Pages

Script version 2 finished. I might be able to make it a bit tighter BUT it looks like the issue will have 22 comics pages. Ooups, that won't give me much room to move around if I want to have any club page at all. Better do some squeezing. And I would't mind one or two 16-page issues from time to time. Boy...

Sketching

Model

Lähetetty Windows Phonesta

Private students

I have experience of teaching comics since 1998 on university level. During the years I've taught students working on various forms and genres. Apart from working with Aalto University I take private students too. The fee is 40€ for one hour tutoring. If you feel you might benefit from this contact me in mattihagelberg(at)hotmail.com
For the moment I only teach person to person.
Cheers

Adorno Naulastus

Today, tomorrow and onwards

Last weekend I sent issue 23 forward. Today I aim to finish the remaining two titles for the French edition of Silvia Regina. If everything goes according to the plan I will be starting issue 24 for real tomorrow. It's supposed to be a bit shorter than issue 23, but time will tell. This is also the month I have to do the first grant application of the year. Since Läskimooses will take at least until the end of 2017 (most likely mid 2018) I feel I really really need the grant. And I do. Unfortunately I don't have much other income, nor time for another work. But things change and if they change a lot I'll adjust. Sometimes I wonder why I put so much effort to this crazy book. 600 pages so far and plans for another 600 and all the spin offs on top of that. Sometimes.

Two of these undone

Competitions

A comic book needs to have competitions. Since 2012 Läskimooses has had a few. My favorites ofcourse were: get your picture with your B.E.M.collection to the backcover of Läskimooses & the supersize poster competition. Now this year i sense that there's a third big one coming along. Call me weird, but I think this one'll be to your liking.
Remember to keep those REAL LETTERS coming: Läskimooses-lehti, Kaapelitehdas, Tallberginkatu 1C/lokero 6, 00180 Helsinki, Finland.
This e-mail thing, you know, it's a fad. Like pet rocks.

Hmm...

Issue 24

Essdee scraper board (white)

It seems I have enough material til issue 39, which means I need to get scraper board for at least 7 more issues. That means 2 full packages of 70x50 cm boards.

All set for issue 24

Pretty much

the last day of issue 23. Already going through issue 24 in my head. Today I still need to do the colors for the cover & check the club page. Then, that's it.
I'm not able to start with the next issue quite yet since I need to do some titles and such for the French edition of Silvia Regina. Not too many, but might take three days. Issue 24 will feature some more info of the history of the Suomaa people and especially of their downfall. In issue 25 then I will give hard evidence of all the facts presented in previous issues. But that'll be closer to summer then.

Lähetetty Windows Phonesta

Mmm...

Plans for the next book

Läskimooses is too slow to draw and write. What I would really like to do next is a 150 page book in 30 days or less. It would need to be some kind of action piece, maybe drawn in "realistic" manner. I have 2 years to decide.

For some idiot reason...

...it looks like I want to do one addtional page for this issue. That'll then be additional page number 6. Ok, fine.
I call this stage "filling in the gaps" and it's my least favorite stage. While doing the issue I've left some text and pictures undecided and now I need to go through it all and (you guessed) fill in the gaps. And some gaps are unpleasent to fill. This is also the stage that seems to drag on for forever. The issue has been almost done for at least 2 weeks and here I still am. Well, couple of more days...

Funding

The idea was to fund the book by subscribers, but so far it hasn't really worked out. I'm as dependant on grants as I ever was. And actually what I'd like to do is start an entire line of comic books. This however would require even more funding than I already have. I will try to sell some pieces. Not give away, I'm afraid. There really isn't a market for comics originals here in Finland, at least not a sensible market. People seem to be selling their art quite cheap. When I was doing those "total" scraper board pieces it sometimes took me over a week to finish one page. You can do the math yourself. If I need to pay studio rent, buy supplies, rent, clothes... And maybe put something on the side for old age.  Now I'm in need of fresh ideas. Maybe a comic in some magazine? That would probably put Läskimooses on hold for some time. Or maybe just slow it down...

Theory

I have this theory that close to 60 people are reading Läskimooses, but I can't prove it.

Panels

Eight panels left to do of issue 23 and three days left of the week. BUT because there remain some little this and that here and there undone AND because I haven't even started the club pages AND the cover is half done (and the original who knows where) I'd say I'm lucky if this thing is finished before next wednesday.

Looks a bit grim if the plan is to finish seven issues in a year. With any luck I will finish issue 25 before summer, but that's not good enough.

Some issues

I have 4 or 5 issues to go before I can get back to planet FU and its greatest hero Agner Mang. What actually took place before and after the Fu arrived to Earth? What were the main political parties of the planet and what actually happened to the Fu remaining on Earth after the cataclysm.  These questions will be answered in the fourth part of the Läskimooses book.

Craziness

I was crazy and overly optimistic when I started this project.  For myself it worked like a charm. I was more than fortunste with grants and artistically I felt I was really moving ahead. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get subscribers as many as I had imagined and this has caused the project to loose money. My grants have made it possible for me to work during these years, but it's not enough for anything else, like the scanning, printing etc. When we started this I figured we'd  eventually get 500-1000 subscribers based on how many copies my books have normally sold (1500-2500). This has not happened. So I'm not too optimistic for the future. For myself I have funding until issue 29, maybe 35 if I manage to put something to the side. And there's always a chance for a new grant. But that doesn't solve the printing costs and all that.  I would like to have things a bit more solid and as far as I see the only way is to get more subscribers. A lot more. And if you want to support this craziness then subscribe Läskimooses today. The few subscribers we have seem to enjoy it for whatever reason.

Textmark 500

Using it somewhat

Ohto kneeling

Leonard Nimoy

Was drawing this when i got the sad news. Rest in peace.

From an unfinished book

Just found this pretty OK page from a book I decided not to finish...4 years back. I think I had 15 pgs or so, but then it all started to feel like repetition of the same old thing.

Heil Hydra

I'm lazy

and I work too slow

#23

5 to 7 actual pages undone. Sometimes it's hard to say whether a panel is done or not since i'm going for this half finished half not thing. Anyways, end of next week most of the pages if not all should (really) be finished. Then there still remain...hmmm...4 or 5 pgs to fill with club related matters and some advertisment or I don't know.

Issue 23 horizontal

Crowning of Mika Skygazer

Aslok on dead bed

Getting there with #23

That kind of day

The day couldve gone better and it couldve gone worse. Still i managed to finish a couple of panels and the issue should be done in 8 days or so. Sometimes all you have to do is to spend a lot of time with a drawing and eventually you turn it your way. Sometimes you just end up spending an hour or two and all you have is mess.

Winter holiday

Starting now. Work proceeded nicely but could've proceeded nicer. At this stage (30 panels undone) the issue starts to feel not that good. But there are pages that are quite nice and some that are going to be nice. Time will tell. Now 7 days holiday ahead, maybe I manage to read some Pynchon. Cheers.

Today

I have an evening class on comics expression. Just finished my second panel for today. Should do 2 more to make my quota. So why am i writing this instead of working.

Tracing is really bad for you

I recently had an illustration class where I noticed that several of the students felt that tracing is ok. Well it's not. At least not unless you are going for that certain traced effect. But for a student of art, no. Many of the old masters like Alex Raymond used live models for reference. Now this is not possible for most of us, but with the smart phones that most of us have and with a little help from a friend you are able to do most of the anatomically correct drawings you need. And then there's the wide choice of reference pictures you can locate from various sources. Like the internet. With this current project I've used reference pictures in several ways, sometimes some direct copying (the back covers for instance) or then looking for some hard to draw posture from the net or from my source books or then drawing from live or photo i've taken myself or asked someone to take.
Ok so maybe tracing is not so bad if you're not a student anymore. But why do it when there are ways that are MUCH MORE FUN. And then you might learn something in the process too.

Desperation

Just wrote a sort of a synopsis for issues 24 and 25, both kind of important issues, and looks like I will have to do some squeezing to get everything in. Or then make one additional issue. Today I wound up adding 3 pages to issue 23 which will now have to become 32 pger. Oy vey!
This thing is spreading like cancer. Every time i think I have it under control, something new pops up. The end is moving further away. But hey, this is the nature of the beast and I have to accept it.

Issue 23

Should be done in 15 days or so...

disappointed

Ohto

Ohto Äijönpoika returning home

Computers

I've been thinking of computers way too much past few days. I really hate to work with a computer and I try to avoid it as much I can. Looking at a screen is something I'm not able to enjoy. Maybe when computers become like paper that acts like paper. My main problem with computers pretty much boils down to the question of material. And for me the question of material is one of the most fundamental in art.  Most of the art done by a computer seems to imitate some classic material like pencil, ink, aquarelle etc. Sometimes better sometimes worse. But what is the material of the computer? I have some ideas, but it'll be a while before I find time to look into that.