April 6th, 2005 -- Expository Triptych
One of the advantages of having an on-line webcomic is the ability to experiment a little bit now and then. This experiment turned out so-so, but it's something I had to try, or it would forever bother me. The layout for today's strip is based on some 16th century "block print" pages I saw at IU a year or so ago. The originals had a pleasant business to them which, I now realize, is somewhat hard to recapture using the clean lines of PhotoShop.
The character design is noticeably different, too, and I have to warn you that you're going to be seeing more of it. When I first started drawing Alas there were a couple different ways I could have gone with the art style, and due to my inexperience the change between styles was often by accident. Ultimately I managed to settle on a fairly consistent, semi-realistic look for the crew. Now that I'm more confident with my abilities, I'm trying to branch out a little bit. Over the next few weeks, the character design is going to be a little more "cartoony," with simplified lines but hopefully more suggestion of motion. To put it another way, I'll be drawing the cast with less detail but more body language. I'll admit that Jhonen Vasquez's semi-stick figure style is influencing me (how could it not?), but I'm trying to evolve, not copy.
Onward the experiment!
Copyright Ian Ton 2000-2018. All rights reserved. Blah blah blah.
October 28th, 2010
What have I been doing this entire time? I'll tell you: raising a daughter, and learning to draw Celtic knots. That's right.
December 14th, 2009
Okay, strip's up. Little later than I'd like, but what the hey. Wednesday should be back to normal (even though it's gonna be... diff'rent).
December 14th, 2009
There is a strip coming for today... but later. I let the weekend get away with me (had to take the bantling to meet Sinter Klas for the first time), and my telecommuting job is demanding my Monday morning. Fortunately, I'm on a 5 hour time difference from the States, so most of you won't even notice the strip's tardiness. (But the Gopher will notice. Ever watching, ever judging...)
