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This is a weblog of one person's multi-year quest to write, draw, and publish a graphic novel. This is my story: my trials, tribulations, successes and failures. -- Robert Stradley, Weekend Artist

Inking
Zigs, and Copics, and Fabers oh my.  I started the long and winding road to inking.  I am currently trying to determine if digital inking with a Wacom is better than old fashioned pens and fiber tipped markers.  I’m not good at either one, so at the moment it is a draw.

After 2 months of study, I have finally gotten a handle on just what a sensuous line is.  And I can draw it much easier with a Copic than with a wand.  For me, the sweep of fingers on a marker appears to be much more intuitive, but then I was trained on a drafting table with Staedtlers and Speedballs. 

Spotting blacks remains a mystery to me.  Every time I try, I want to chuck the result into the trash.  I find myself yearning for the inks of Harold Foster’s Prince Valiant – where the blacks were minimal and were the obvious result of sunlight on backgrounds, clothing folds, and personal shadows on the ground. 

I have discovered that I have a personal preference for a Disney-esque dead line around my characters.  For me, a hand-inked line on a light table is far easier than a digital trace. 

Shading on the other hand appears to be both easier and more editable in PhotoShop, especially when I’ve done much of the shading in pencils. 

Like Gwendolyn, I appear to be betwixt and between. 
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La Magie
We have totally reworked La Magie [Amberleigh’s magic system].  We now have 8 types of magical elements: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water--the prime elements and Wood, Stone, Metal, and Flesh--the shaping elements.  The Spell is a 4 part process:  the gathering of energy, the machinery including spell components, the catalyzation or casting, and the end product. 

Magie is all around, available to all and sundry, and is powerful.  It is taught in Magie University by the Elfes, and controlled by the Council de Magique.  Leeland is at the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment on Magie.  They understand the building blocks but very few of the complexities. 

And Hedge Magie abounds -- those human-based small spells for doing everyday things better, as well as those shamanistic spells for everything from blessing the crops to healing wounds.   

Leslie has written a 22 page treatise on La Magie, and we will be posting a whole section of La Magie on the website as time permits. 

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On AutoCad, Solidworks, and Comics
The Adventure 1 castle design was getting confusing, so Leslie sat down with the script and drew up the 4 level floor plan in AutoCad.  Now I have the dubious pleasure of illustrating this little beauty.  My wonderful wife drew it up the basic design as a solid model in SolidWorks, so I could rotate it to see it different views.  Unfortunately, perspective view is not yet an engineering option. 

Here’s a first glimpse of the Crumbly Castle Layout. 

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Dagobert
Dagobert is Nénufar’s  Dragonette, a baby dragon who attaches himself to a Mage who is Sympa.  Dagobert is a 6 legged, twisty, speedy character [they are as intelligent as Elfes, just inarticulate for the first 10 years].  He is sure to give BrightEyes fits, making him a good foil. 

Drawing Dagobert started out fun [1st Look], but it quickly became a penance as I attempted to draw him realistically.  I even tried wire frames but kept getting lost in the shadows. 

In desperation, I pulled out a box of Sculpey and modeled the little rascal.  [Dagobert head 1], [Dagobert head 2].

For the body, I went back to a 1965 cermic sculpture I had made of a dragonette. I always loved this thing, and wished I could adopt one.

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