Above is the cover of this year’s student handbook for Shikoku University. Looks fine at first glance, but take a look at the sweatshirt of the guy on the right:
Whoopsie. Not a big deal, but I just find it funny that they’re advertising another school on the cover of the book they give to new students.
Progress Bar Key
Scripting/Page Layout: Self-explanatory
Artwork: The Drawing, Inking, and Computer Work for the comic
Final Edits/Incidentals: Post-Production Edits, Designing the Cover, Preparing for Press, etc.
(More information about Tonoharu can be found here.)
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It took me a lot longer then I would have liked, but I’m finally halfway done with the artwork for Tonoharu: Part Two! Oh boy!
Not only that, but I’ve also finished up the loose ends for the script & page layout, which had been stalled at about 9/10ths of the way done. So I know the final page count, and know exactly just how much I have left to do. I’ve still got a long way to go yet, but at least I’m over the hump.
If you’re curious, the book will contain 140 pages of comics, making it a whooping 40% longer than the prologue and part one put together.
In the last progress report from way back in December, I promised to show off some artwork for the third progress report, so let’s take a look at that: Continue reading
Pictured: Me, hard at work.
At the end of last week’s entry, I promised some big fancy announcement, so here it is: I’m writing a nonfiction prose book about my experiences studying calligraphy in Japan! The very tentative title is:
Blood, Sweat & Ink
An American Cartoonist’s Immersion into Japan’s Calligraphy Culture
When I first started thinking about it and planning it out a few months ago, I envisioned a graduation thesis of some kind. Just a short, straightforward account about how East Asian calligraphy is relevant to modern-day cartooning, to be presented to Shikoku University’s professors & students when I graduated.
But as I started getting into it and really reflecting on my experience, I saw many areas ripe for expansion. It occurred to me that if I wrote and organized it in the right way, that the subject could appeal to a general audience in the English speaking world. I’ve read several English language books about East Asian calligraphy, and have been struck by how academic and inaccesible they tend to be. It always seems to me like they’re preaching to the choir, that they’re for people who are already familiar with the subject. I’ve come to find East Asian calligraphy to be absolutely fascinating, and want to try to express that enthusiasm in a way that could be read for pleasure by laypeople. And so the idea for a book was born.
The project has become quite ambitious. It’s part autobiography, part journalism, part history, part art theory, part cultural studies…it’s quite a juggling act. Since it’s still in the early stages, I’m not sure exactly what form it will take, or how long it will be. But I’m firmly committed to it, and hope to have something done before I leave Japan in a year’s time. I’ve been pretty bad at meeting my self-imposed deadlines for comics, but maybe prose will be different, we’ll see. Right now I’m about halfway done with the rough draft.
Anyway, I’ll update and post excerpts from the book when I get a little further along, so check back, or subscribe to my RSS feed if you’re interested.
Oh, and if there’s anyone out there that’s familiar with the subject who knows of books or websites they would recommend as I continue my research, please let me know. Thanks!
As longtime readers may recall, I moved to Japan in April of 2008 to study East Asian Calligraphy at Shikoku University on a two-year research scholarship. (Newer readers can read all the sorted details starting here.)
Now as April 2009 begins and I’ve reached the halfway point of my tenure, I thought now would be a good time to show a couple examples of my calligraphy, and to write a little about the experience so far.
Regarding the calligraphy: it takes a long time to gain proficiency. I’ve read many accounts of East Asian calligraphers that started when they were schoolchildren and didn’t feel satisfied with their work until they were in their fifties or sixties. So as you might imagine, my work, the result of just one year of practice, is far from masterful. But okay, enough with the excuses, let’s take a look at it: Continue reading