Makeshift Man

Author notes

Black Dog - 23

DeadSquirrelJoJo

on April 9, 2010

…In which JoJo finds a better style for indicating MM's voiceover. (The whole comic will be re-lettered for the print version, so I'll fix the inconsistencies with earlier pages at that time, and then replace all these files with better ones.)

So! On our last page I got a question from DotDotDot about my style influences. That's a good question, and actually one that I have a hard time answering. "Style" is just your handwriting, but applied to pictures instead of letters — it can be cultivated through practice to meet some ideal of what style should look like, or it can be allowed to happen with less conscious decision.

My earliest influences were Berkeley Breathed (gesture and timing,) Jeff Smith (panel composition and timing,) and Bill Watterson (inking technique and drawing philosophy.) I still refer to Bone, Bloom County and Calvin & Hobbes for inspiration and instruction. Another early influence was Hitoshi Okuda (page composition.)

As far as the actual drawing goes, I always gravitate more towards the stylized, rather than the naturalistic. I spend a lot of time studying the work of Chuck Jones and Egon Schiele. I'm also a big fan of Yukito Kishiro and Tom Fowler, who are basically good at everything, and of course the great Will Eisner. I love the very experimental approach of Yoshihiro Togashi, Skottie Young, and Sam Kieth. In a weird dichotomy, I'm also really into Modernist illustration. (Not Modern fine art, but Modern animation and print illustrations.)

I started using watercolor while studying under Andrew Polk (abstract painter) and David Christiana (picture book illustrator.) So I guess I'm influenced by both of them, plus, of course, just practicing and experimenting all the friggin' time.

But while I'm working on this comic, I'm mostly thinking about the writing. My way of laying out shots is mostly influenced by films that I like, and when I think about writing I mostly think about novels that I like. And in this project in particular, I think about Hellboy by Mike Mignola and Mysterius the Unfathomable by Jeff Parker and Tom Fowler…and how I'm trying to not rip them off, as far as approaching a sarcastic story of the supernatural! :)

I'm just a style mutt, doing a fantasy (horror?) comic in paint, coming from mostly really cartoony roots. :)