Watching Louis Theroux's documentary on autism

Howdy pals!

I'm locked away in my residency at a little studio apartment working on my book. So I thought I'd share a short comic with you about how I felt when watching a documentary about autism. 

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The thing I found the hardest when I was growing up with Rob was watching my brother attack my Mum. It's something that happened almost every day and we all know he wasn't trying to hurt her on purpose, it was just he didn't know how to communicate how he felt. But it's really hard to watch, it's really hard to think about and it's really important that people realise what it can be like living day-to-day with someone with a severe disability who you love to bits.

 

Write again soon. 

Gx

Good Reads for January & February

Hello hello!

I really like making comics but I also really like reading them. And I'd noticed that I'd stopped reading as much and was only working on making my own comics, which sounds pretty great and is! But I'd been feeling pretty down and uninspired by my work and I realised it was because I'd been putting out but hadn't been taking in. So for the last couple of months I've been trying to read more again and I've been feeling much better. As an encouragement to continue this dedicating-time-to-read, I'm going to start a regular bi-monthly post about the comics I've read. 

First up (in no particular order): 

1. Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes

This is probably one of my favourite new YA series (there are currently 2 books out in the series, with a third released this month). I've always been interested in math and programming patterns but never really had a head for it at school and quickly would get frustrated with anyone trying to teach it to me. But reading this book made me realise what was going on: I was a visual learner and my teachers weren't always using the visual cues that helped me understand the problems. 

What I really like about Secret Coders is that they explain a programming puzzle two ways: once in just dialogue and then visually (two different characters who think differently explain it to the reader in the different ways). It's written in a way that doesn't talk down to the reader and you are encouraged to try to figure out the puzzle first before turning the page to find out the answer at the end of each chapter. I really really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone!  

For those who love: binary, sassy teens & robots. 

2. Hotel Strange: Wake Up, Spring by Katherine & Florian Ferrier

This Bande Desinee style comic was a really fun read. Cute characters going on rad adventures through a semi-magical world meeting fantastical creatures. It's the kind of book I would have gotten obsessed over as a kid and I can't wait to locate and and read the whole series of books. 

Also how good is the name Florian?!

For those who love: exciting adventures, fanatical creatures & pipes. 

3. The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins

I wasn't sure at all which way this book was going to go before I started reading it. In fact, I wasn't sure which was it was going to go while I was reading it either. But the loose rhyming couplets style of narration and soft pencil markings lured me into this intriguing meditation on conformity or society or something like that. I enjoyed it even though I probably didn't understand the finer points of it. 

For those who love: beards, poetry & untidiness.

4. The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg

The second book by Isabel Greenberg, The One Hundred Nights of Hero,  is another love letter to storytelling and folklore. Greenberg just has this knack for creating new folkloresque tales in her own made-up universe that feel both new and old at the same time. One Hundred Nights interviews stories of the past and present and takes you on a rambling adventure that ties it all back together neatly at the end. 

For those who love: stories, brave women & deliciously inky drawings.

 

5. Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark

Originally an online blog written from the point of view of Plum (an adorable dog), Plumdog is cute and easy to read. It was a very pleasant read but I have to admit it was hard for me personally to get through because ever since our family dog passed away last year my urges for wanting a puppy pal to hang out with have been growing. Unfortunately my partner Owen is super duper allergic to pretty much everything and getting a dog while living in a small city apartment without a backyard is really not feasible.  

For those who love: dogs, watercolours and more dogs.

6. Oishinbo by Tetsu Kariya & Akira Hanasaki

I've tried to get into manga before but, like superhero comics, I've just not been exposed to the right one for me and don't really know what to look for in the shops. I'd kinda given up on finding that perfect manga for me until I was recommended Oishinbo by my studio-mate Greg. It cut from fairly dialogue-heavy scenes explaining the intricacies of Japanese-style food preparation and culture to intensive family drama sequences.  

For those who love: fine food, dramatic manga & bad father-son relationships.

Anyway, those are some things I read over the past two months. I can't wait to read through the pile of comics next to my bed. 

What have you been reading lately? Any recommendations?

Gx

You've got mail!

Hey guys!

As I'm busy as a bee working on the thumbnails for part two of Oh Brother in preparation for my residency with the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust in a couple of weeks, I've only got a quick little update for you this post. I've been working on a few more diagrams about day-to-day life growing up in the Chadderton household. This one is about the average mail we each received. 

 

JSYK the residency I'll be doing through the May Gibbs trust is called the Ian Wilson Memorial Fellowship. I'll be working and living in a studio apartment in Norwood. My aim is to make as much headway as I can into the pencil draft of part two of Oh Brother. I'm hoping I can finish the whole draft of part two ready for reading by the time I finish up at the residency. While I'm there I will also be doing some networking and meeting with illustrators, publishers and children's librarians to find out about the industry side of children's literature. 

Alrighty! I best be off, still so many pages to get done before I pack. OH BOY I'M SO NERVOUS.

Gx

I'm all Thumbs

Hello!

I thought I would give you guys a little update on where I'm at with the book. It's been a while since I finished the draft of part one (of three) and wrote the massive post about the process of making the draft (you can read that post here). In the time since then I've not done as much work as I would have liked but I have been trying to plug away a little bit at a time. 

Writing for me is the hardest bit. Once I get started it's okay but it's the getting started that's hard. I have to sit down and force myself to write for minimum of 15 minutes, which may not sound like a lot but it it feels like an achievable goal, and after the first 5 minutes of constantly reminding myself not to check my phone and just sit and write I usually get on a roll and write for longer than my personal minimum of 15 minutes. 

What's even going on with my left arm....

What's even going on with my left arm....

I'd set myself the goal to finish the written script for at least part two and part three by the end of January if I could (I couldn't, part three is still buffering) and then finish the thumbnails by the end of February. This would mean that I could go into my artist residency with the May Gibbs trust in March (more about that later) with a full script to work from when I start drawing up the pencils.

But I found that I was getting bogged down by staring at a computer screen trying to write up a visual script with just using words, so even though I wasn't super happy with what I had (I thought I might have missed a few stories and included stories that I shouldn't have in part two), I printed out what I'd written and started to re-read a whole (terribly spelt) script. 

I wanted to get stuck into the thumbnailing because I remember how good it made me feel when I thumbnailed part one. But I struggled to get on board the thumbnailing train and then I remembered I'd missed a step that my pal and mentor Pat Grant went through with me last time. The post-it note stage!

The point of the post-it-ing is to write down the main mini-stories in this chapter and see where they fit in with each other. I also added in scene setting stuff so I can see where there will be story breaks for the reader so they are not too overwhelmed with info. Because colours are king I colour coordinated the post-its. Scenes are in blue and stories are in orange.

I like the post-it method because it helps me to visualise the collection of short stories as one big story (something I struggle with a bit). The post-its help me sort out the general flow and structure of the piece, getting me ready to thumbnail part two. Well, mostly ready: I still don't know quite how to end this section. It leads into the heavier section of the book and I'm not sure what tone I want to end this part on.  

Post-it notes mostly done, it was time for the main act: Thumbnails!

I can't explain just how exciting it is to grab a red marker and sit and look at what you've written and scribble over the top of it. Figuring out what works, what doesn't and what you entirely forgot to put in. That's when you end up with a whole page of big thumbnails (see below) of a very important scene you could've sworn you'd written. 

This thumbnail panel below could literally be my Mum and me at anytime in our lives with pretty much anything. 

This happens literally once a week. 

This happens literally once a week. 

Something I really enjoy about thumbnailing is that because it's quick and small, everything is the essence of the characters and I find it hilarious seeing what my mind has decided is the essence of me, my parents and my brother. 

NO.

NO.

I'm doing okay with the thumbnails but do need to pull my socks up and get them done ASAP as my residency starts in a couple of weeks. I was trying to do a scene a day but I think I'm going to step up my game and aim for two-three a day to make sure I get everything ready. 

So that's where I am at with the script at the moment. I'm pretty excited to be working on something with a visual element again. I find just writing words can feel like I"m not doing very much and it's hard for me to connect with the work. 

Can't wait to start the pencils and share those with you!

Gxx

Autism in film Part 1

Hello hello!

For a little while now I've been wanting to write a bit about autism being depicted in other mediums (e.g. books, radio, films), because most of what people who haven't grown up with someone with ASD in their life know about autism comes from films and books. 

I decided to start with films because I love movies and, as has been said before and will be said again, comics and movies - although not the same thing - share some similarities. Films are also often more accessible to people, because you don't have to be able to read to learn and be immersed in the world.

I'm not sure exactly how many parts there will be to these posts about Autism in Film but I've planned at least two. First up we have Temple Grandin and Rain Man. 

I didn't really want to write reviews of the movies and as I myself do not have ASD I sometimes feel uncomfortable commenting on the accuracy of characters and portrayal of traits. So I did a sort of mind map of thoughts that crossed my mind.

Movie: Temple Grandin (2010) 

A biopic about Temple Grandin's life growing up as a woman with autism.

Tagline: Autism gave her a vision. She gave it a voice. 

I liked this film and find Temple Grandin a fascinating lady. I think it talks about common traits of autism and explains them to the viewer well. I felt like Claire Danes' performance did justice to Grandin and the film made me appreciate that, although the awareness of autism these days is far from perfect, we have a lot more understanding about it and how to support people who need support. 

How much did I cry while watching: 2 out of 5 teardrops. 

Movie: Rain Man (1988)

A road-comedy drama about two brothers. One's a jerk and one has autism.

Tagline: A journey through understanding and fellowship. 

I remember thinking this film wasn't great when I saw it in high school for an English class. And I still think there are better films about autism and ASD out there. But on a rewatch it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being. Maybe I connected with it more because the focus was on the sibling (Tom Cruise) moreso than the person with autism and as I've grown older I think more about the connection between siblings. 

How much did I cry while watching: 1/2 out of 5 tear drops. 

Neither Temple Grandin nor Rain Man focus on people with severe autism like my brother. So I didn't connect entirely with their situations. And even though Rain Man was about siblings it wasn't about two siblings growing up together. The next two films I'm going to talk about hit a lot closer to home. But I'll wait until the next post to talk about them. 

Gxx

Fun Discoveries

Hello hello!

So the other day I found out that the app I've been using has been recording all of the drawings I've been doing and then making time-lapse videos. I They look pretty cool. I keep watching them back to see how I draw and which bits I do first. It's pretty mesmerising to watch and I can't believe that it's all stuff I did. 

So I thought I'd share e a few of my favourite videos with you of some things I've been working on.

Here is my most recent badge design.

A page from my Quit My Job comic. 

Illustration commission for the a board game. 

My most recent tiny letter. 

Some fan art from last weeks blog post about podcasts. 

It's been super fun working on the iPad and learning new skills. I think once I have more of a grasp of what I'm doing with the Procreate app I'll try and write a tips and tricks post. But I've got a lot more learning to do before that happens!

Hope your week is looking peachy and your weekend keen.

Gxx

Just quit your day job

I've had a couple of weeks in the studio now and I'm slowly settling into the idea of supporting myself with my art. It still feels pretty scary when I think too much about being able to pay the rent. But I don't want that to be what I think. I want to think about the comics I can create and the improvements I can make on my drawing skills and the story-writing skills I can learn by having the time to write more. 

So I'd better get going and make me some comics. 

Gx