A couple of weekends ago I took on the 24-hour comic challenge. This is an annual challenge where, basically, you have to write and draw a 24-page comic in 24 hours (a page an hour). It's the third time I've taken and completed the challenge (although last year I did finish 24 pages in the allotted time, but the story I wrote ended up being longer than that, so I penciled all 32 pages during the challenge and inked the remaining 8 the next day once my hands had had a little rest). You can read all of last year's 24-hour challenge comic about my Harry Potter fandom online here or if you prefer a physical copy you can grab one from my Etsy store here.
Over the three years I've undertaken the challenge, I've refined my 24 hour technique, including making sure I have my paper all ready to go (I use 200 gsm card cut into single sheets of A5. I've found this size means you don't feel like you need to add too much detail and the single sheets are good because you can easily look back at what you have already drawn without constantly flipping through a sketchbook).
Having delved into the the 24-hour comics experience a few times now, I've noticed a few patterns in my emotions when affected by the lack of sleep and constant comic creation. So I give you my 7 stages of the 24-hour comic challenge:
HOUR ONE:
HOUR FIVE:
HOUR TEN:
HOUR THIRTEEN:
HOUR EIGHTEEN:
HOUR TWENTY:
HOUR TWENTY-THREE:
I was so impressed with everyone who I took the challenge with this year (and in previous years too, of course). The comics all looked great and we all finished the challenge (and some people even managed to get shading and colour in their comics, somehow). I can't wait to see everyone's comics in print.
And if you are thinking about taking the challenge you totally should give it a go! It's hard, no doubt, but it's super rewarding and you have a 24-page comic at the end of it. I recommend you do it with at least one other friend but the more the merrier. I'm sure I would've given up had I not had a lovely group of people encouraging me to keep going.
That's if for this week, chat to you soon!
Gx
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Following on from my last post about how the design of the characters in my graphic novel, Oh Brother, have changed over the 7-ish years I’ve been working on the book, this post is about my absolute favourite thing: drawing emotions!