Just Some of My Current Reads!

My favorite current reads: VOICEPRINT edited by Brown, Morris, & Rohlehr (Caribbean poetry anthology), 

MEET CUTE by various (Short stories Romance anthology), ENEMIES by Svetlana Chmakova (Graphic novel), DISABILITY VISIBILITY edited by Alice Wong (Essays collection), 

and 

TAKE A HINT, DANI BROWN by Talia Hibbert (Romance novel)

Sorry I've been MIA

I'm usually very creative during my birthday month, but a lot happened earlier this year, the good, the bad, and the ugly, so I'm playing catch up with a major room cleaning and overhaul. I also need to update lots of paperwork and documents.

Writing one small scene for comic. May just upload about 5-10 pages again to my Instagram. Just want folks to know a new art piece post is up on IG: handdrawnbycarmenjr. 

My technique for this webcomic draft series: I draw the comic strictly in pen, NO PENCIL, and on dot grid paper! I tried all the expensive comic book paper out there to no avail. Couldn't get past a first chapter. Took me months to complete a scene! 

Spent so much on pencils, illustrator pens, special markers, etc. Kept changing the style of the comic since about 2011(probably earlier than this, but I can't remember).

Now I buy in bulk art pens and dual-tip markers from FiveBelow and mechanical pencils from Dollar Tree. I also found a cartoon style that makes my life easier and gives the comic its unique look. It takes me on about a week to complete a 5-10 page draft!

And using my digital display tablet and laptop free art software to edit and make the comic better for readers!

Will chat again! Take care, Dear Readers.

Happy Pride Month 2022!

This is the first Pride Month I'm celebrating by posting characters from my SUMMER TO WINTER cast who are part of the LGBTQIAP2S community.

So many attacks against Transgender folks, so many anti-trans bills, and other hate bills against thr LGBTQ community in recent years. 

To give some happiness and joy in these moments, and for my own mental health, I decided to use Pride Month as the impetus to work on more of my comic's cast and in color since the comic may be in black and white.

As promised, while these illustrations are being posted on my Twitter and Instagram, all Pride artwork will be made available on this blog! 

Since officially beginning the comic back in 2018, some of these characters have either popped up, been mentioned, or have been scripted in my comic journals for further/future side stories.

All these characters ARE canonical to the story and most will become involved in their own love stories. SUMMER TO WINTER is a romantic comedy after all! 

My 3-part Insta Videos about Yanina's Sexual Orientation

My 3-part instagram videos about my romantic comedy and slice-of-life graphic novel's protagonist's sexuality- Here's PART 1!!

[*I enabled captions*]

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CeA75AFLTJF/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

PART 2

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CeA-IIDOWWX/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

PART 3

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CeA_VJjOTAa/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

SUMMARY

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeBES8_rJsH/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= 

The Fifth Element is still inspiring!

"Septimus in all pink"(2021)

My OC, Septimus, and Peter's cousin, from SUMMER TO WINTER - full color in all pink with quoted statement in pink.

"Septimus on gay/queer-friendly niche strip club ad"(2021)

One of my romantic-comedy/slice-of-life comic/graphic novel OC's mannerisms are based on Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element! And if you actually believe he played no significant role in that film- somebody actually said this- I'll know you didn't pay attention since you only saw an over-the-top, loudmouth Black man. 

"Septimus as a convention booth babe"(2021)

My character, Septimus, is loud, brash, full of sass, very queer, and isn't afraid to shut down bigots, confront abusers, and though shorter than the average man, can still kick a bully's behind. If you want to see him in full color, head on over to my Instagram @ handdrawnbycarmenjr. 

"Septimus models with model friends"(2021)

Again, take care, dear readers!

I'm Stretching My Graphic Skills

I worked on my first flashback in the Summer and Winter graphic novel. I've done flashbacks before in my prose stories but not yet in a comic. I hope it goes over well. You can view the 7-page scene(so far) on my IG at HanddrawnbyCarmenjr on IG 

"Testing, Testing! 1, 2, 3!" by Carmen K. Welsh Jr(2021).

'Testing, Testing! 1, 2, 3!' from "Summer to Winter" graphic novel

Graphic Novel WIP coming along

Since restarting the graphic novel project from 2018, I realized as a creator I can better pace the main romance and love story between the main couple. I always include romance or intimate love in all my stories but the humor for a slice-of-life romantic comedy works even better for me in graphic narrative form.

I have plans to either traditionally or self-publish this work-in-progress. I have my equipment for other single illustrated one-time projects but for this particular comic, I do plan to get some digital equipment in order to complete it faster. And by completing, I'm talking about being able to finalize each "episode" or "chapter" within this vast story. 

 It's so warming to see a comic I'm amateurly posting/online "publishing" and it's already getting critical feedback from other writers. For the hundreds of pages I posted on Instagram, I've received so many positive comments and even readers telling me their Team Yanina and Peter!

I know my blog has been wordy and text-heavy lately. I will post some draft work from the Summer to Winter graphic project. Just continue to bear with me and my adventures in being a creative writer and illustrator.

And continue to support the love story between Yanina and Peter! Thank you, my dear readers and take care.❤♥️😍💖❣💕💘 

Finding the style...

"While working on this #furry #anthro #romcom #graphicnovel you see tidbits on Twitter and full pages on Instagram, I realized it's the right time to make it. Before, I hadn't found its style, and before THAT, I lacked #creator maturity. I'll muse more on my blog later."

I posted this on Twitter and now I'll elaborate... 

As I go through the journals where I write down my comics' scripts, I see notes as recent as a few years back, telling myself I won't be able to artistically do something or that literary device I might not pull off. 

But since working on and actively posting the comic drafts on a consistent basis on social media, I realize now I've solved many issues and blockages within myself as a writer and as an artist. 

I have plans for this story, which, alongside my graduate thesis, is the longest fiction I've worked on and especially as far as comics go. I have now been rough-sketching, a sort of drafting before I do a final, the same as I do for my prose works, and I can see the differences from pages in 2018 to now. I'm crossing out notes to myself as I go along. 

And as far as those plans go, I'll be looking into self-publishing and other ways of publishing this idea on platforms that did not exist when this comic idea came into being. Sorry I can't speak deeper into those plans, but they involve much planning, steps, and process I'm not willing to speak about, or even post about now. And if I'm being coy or mum, know that my own family and friends don't have all the details for my goals for this comic. 

I'll be posting something about the recent Asian hate crimes that have been happening next time. Until then, please be safe, wear masks, physically distance, and if you're able to receive the vaccination, by all means, do so. 

Again, dear readers, thank you that we got through 2020 and 2021 began with all these horrible and tragic events. May the rest of 2021 be a little kinder. 

Graphic novel is finally being FINALIZED

I began finalizing my graphic novel, SUMMER TO WINTER, last week. If anyone asks, I will give 2018 as the official time I started putting the story together, but off-the-record, it is actually 2001 when I wrote down the idea.

The premise about my protagonist having a crush on her high school teacher came from a rumor when I was in high school. When I did decide to start working on my comic stories around 2001, I was still practicing writing down synopses, loglines, and "pitches" for what I thought would be short comic stories. 

Only a few years back, I was in a creative writing course for the first time and the professor taught us about summarizing our story ideas into a small paragraph and as a single sentence. So I practiced what she taught us and because I was early in my writing professionally. 

SUMMER TO WINTER is a lifetime project. It has gone through many incarnations but I am now pleased by the look it has now, which is why I can start to pin it down to what it must be. 

For those who follow me on Instagram(handdrawnbycarmenjr), you can see the story in its roughest format. Because I've posted the official 2018 pages until now, though it isn't in order, you can roughly follow most of the story. 

[2 rough sketch pages in a public library & a spoken word poet performing & talking to protagonist]

[Finalized page 8in × 11.5in Canson comic/bande dessinée/manga paper - I merged both pages since the original pages are 5.5in x 8.5in]

Drawing covers as I cannot seem to write

10 Ohuhu markers with 7 ShinHan Touch markers will be the colors I'll use for my furry comic covers. I'll also use 4 of the 8 Faber-Castell art pens if for any inking.

Summer to Winter(c) cover by CWJR

Also, by coloring only along lines, I can still show skin tones and clothing colors. It makes for more luminescence and gives vibrancy to the characters and space.

Summer to Winter(c) cover by CWJR

When I'm working in black or white, I'll use a single color and perhaps its own shades or tones ONLY for that chapter. I feel it gives a European graphic novel look while I'm aiming for more of an Asian comic look for the covers themselves.

You can see all these covers and draft pages from my story on my Instagram: handdrawnbycarmenjr 

You can also click above [HanddrawnbyCarmenJr underneath this blog's title!]

Summer to Winter(c) cover by CWJR

Some more sample pages from my graphic novel WIP

CF Welsh Jr. - color/style choices

The following images will be from my graphic novel, Summer to Winter. More draft pages and front/section break covers can be seen on my Instagram: handdrawnbycarmenjr

CF Welsh Jr. - Front cover

CF Welsh Jr. - Front cover

'Summer to Winter' color vignette page

 'Summer to Winter' pg 1

'Summer to Winter' pg 2

'Summer to Winter' pg 3

'Summer to Winter' pg 4

'Summer to Winter' pg 5

CF Welsh Jr - Interior cover

Some reminders when working on comics

The drafting for this graphic novel requires me to use scale down storyboarding with these new Faber-Castell pens. I'll probably post one or two pages here. 

I didn't do strict comic scripting for this particular storyboard. There's a lot of inner rules I have to set for myself. And while I'm working on this comic, I have had to upgrade certain skills, change some rules, and do what needs doing at the moment.

I'll also do some sketching and doodling exercises and probably post here and the rest on my Instagram. Trying to take things easy this week at least. 

The Art of Plugging Away 2.0 ('20)!

I'm working on a number of projects as I always do. But one is a graphic novel that's had many starts and stops. About near the end of 2018 is when I finally figured out how I should make this story 'look'...  

Now, I've gathered all the drafts and am wondering about how to bring them to final: do I manually light-box trace to better paper or scan/upload and fix on illustrator software? 

We shall see.😬

I'm a NaNo Rebel! Part 3 [Last]

SUMMER TO WINTER draft pages by Carmen K Welsh Jr(c). 2019

NOTE: I'm a NaNo Rebel which means I'm working on another genre other than a novel for the month of November.

(Con't from previous post) 

And my heart then knew...

That by Winter's break...

And Spring with its few

The new lessons would be

That my now opened heart

No longer lived within just me

[END]

I'm a NaNo Rebel! Part 2

SUMMER TO WINTER draft pages by Carmen K Welsh Jr(c). 2019

(Con't from last post)

What happened in Summer?

I got a little braver

I got a little taller.

But once it was Autumn

And we all returned to school

That's when I caught my first glimpses of you.

NaNoWriMo is coming up!

I will be NaNo Rebelling. No, I'm not turning against National Novel Writing Month! Far from it. What being a NaNo Rebel means is I will use the month to work on writing that's not a novel. 

I'm actually going to do what Comic Mix calls Oct/Nov months as NaGraNoWriMo or National Graphic Novel Writing Month. I will be posting progress about the "Summer to Winter" story on social media. I've also been researching where to market this comic once I have at least the beginnings of the series, and yes, it WILL be a series.

There are some literary journals and webcomic platforms I'm looking into. Also, I'm using November to focus on how to compile my Inktober works and once I figure it out,  I will let you know.

It is INKTOBER time again!

I have been so sick, with the Hashimoto's, my vacation in Jamaica with mom, and trying to enjoy my birthday in September, that a longtime tweep had to remind me this blog hasn't been updated since August! So let me do a rundown of what I've been up to:
1. My "Summer to Winter" graphic novel is finally fully-forming. I'm drafting pieces that I later upload to Instagram that gets very positive feedback.
2. I've been chatting and lamenting in private chat with fellow writers.
3. I cosplayed and attended my first convention in a good long while.
4. I'm trying to research whether to host comics or send out to markets.
5. Re-evaluating what I'm doing for 2020.
6. Caught some kind of flu virus that didn't make me feel like I was going to be dead.
7. I completed the second story to my Scifi series! It follows after 'The Human Network', which is still available through Kyanite Publishing, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com (all links and their details are available on my other blog: The Angry Goblin on WordPress).
8. Another guild member and friend beta-read it and I made changes.
9. I'm also doing Inktober 2019, and I'm actually following the prompts this year! As soon as you finish this post, you can hop over to my Instagram: handdrawnbycarmenjr. Also, you can get a sneak-peek of my graphic novel in progress!

And now that things seemed to have returned to my kind of normal, I'll be blogging again.

Until next time, Dear Readers, be kind to yourselves and unwind.

When You Find the Sweet Spot

 When you find that sweet spot during creating

As some of you may know, I work occasionally on some comic stuff. Not professionally, but my own stories. I've gotten two comic strips published (one became shortlisted in a humor contest) and I've been creating a slow and infrequent stream of comics over time.

For one particular fellowship I applied for, I created a 20-page graphic novel within a month and a half. Let me say I will not do that again! I didn't get the reward, but I learned more about myself as an artist in a more urgent medium. Similar to when I am involved in Inktober, the October event where artists globally participate by creating an ink illustration a day.

Why am I saying all this?
That's because I think I found the style I needed for one particular story. Tentative title is "Summer to Winter" and it's from my main character's poem. She falls in love for the first time and with her high school  homeroom teacher. Before you screech to a halt, don't worry, I don't normalize abusive relationships in my stories. As a writer, I try to depict violence for what it is - something abnormal that can be overcome through solidarity, healthy emotional support systems, and the idea that the vulnerable and the oppressed need protecting as well as dignity and respect.

During graduation, she lets her teacher know how she feels about him before they part ways. They keep in contact during her college years but part ways again before both come back into each other's life through a crisis. Eventually, through trial and error, they become a couple. The story does not end there. There are other secondary and tertiary characters involved in their own romances and who get their own stories told but all eventually revolve around the former student and her former teacher's romance because the other cast members were from her class or her school.

This story started in the early 2000s and because I wanted to be one of the next U.S. manga creator, I purchased actual comic paper from my local comic bookstore. I tried inking with nibs -you know, dipping nib pens into ink bottles?- I even used an ink wash with paintbrushes. Yes, I was INSANE.

It turns out that it took me a month to create ONE PAGE. A MONTH. I would need 200 years of life to complete this story, so I scrapped it!

Years later, I tried a line art style. Black lines, solid blacks balanced with white. That worked for a time. I worked on regular-size art paper. I created more pages, however, the plotting was all wrong. The pacing had slowed, character motives weren't clearly thought out, it looked good and I was happy with the new look but I wouldn't want to submit this anywhere.

I scrapped it once again. I worked on other things. The same journals I used for other stories, I began scripting some of the more complex comic stories. I applied for freelance work. I submitted to contests, fellowships, and grants (I'm going back to applying for writing grants - wish me luck!). I also worked on other stories and submitted to publications.

And then I opened an Instagram account so I could show partials, unfinished sketches, draft pieces and progressions that I didn't want on my DeviantArt account. That's when I noticed the feedback I received from followers, friends, and colleagues. Another artist friend suggested using markers. I used to use them as a kid but now there were even more sophisticated types and different brands. They can make a piece resemble ink work, ink wash, watercolor, acrylics, and even pastels. Let me try some other formats! Let me experiment and since Instagram isn't commitment, dabble and see the responses.

Former student: This doesn't look like a draft! It looks finished! It looks professional! What markers are these?
Friends: I love your comics! Amazing outcome! Dreamy, steaminess, and romantic.
Colleagues: I know this character is your ideal man. You made this man good looking in just a few strokes. What materials do you use?

Pretty positive and a boost to the confidence I needed to try again. I have also been advised by peers and students as to how to market and I'm doing my research as I go. I also found some illustrator-friendly software while I was researching the software that would makeover my website, so I need to practice that as well.

And as always, thank you for sticking with me. In which ever format this comic story appears, I will let you, my dear readers, know the links and where to view and/or buy it.

A pleasure as always.

More Random Thoughts from Journal Land

Camp NaNoWriMo started but this week took a bit much out of me, plus, I plunked down some hefty funds to get my eyes tested for new prescription frames! I was given a 40% discount but I'm poor until my next paycheck.

More news! Tabber the Red site will have a new look this July! In time for its birthday! So, working on some new Tabber stories set in world while also giving the official website a new face! Ay...

More random notes from the journals - this time, I need to do things on smaller paper or I feel I can't finish it! (Psychologically the same as getting the same amount of food put in a smaller bowl or on a smaller plate)

11x14 paper will be used as drafting/composition ideas!

9x12 will be for larger pieces such as character sheets, profiles, and storyboards.

Finally, 7x10 will be my magic number when it comes to final comic/graphic novel/manga artwork, which can be better scanned and formatted for digital submission.

May God help me with the next coming months. It's gonna be a doozy!

From the Land of Twitter

When I get an idea in my head, or I'm nursing a story, I'll either jot it in one of my journals or I'll rant about it in a series of tweets (or lately, in a Twitter 'thread'). Here's my latest rant expanded so there's more here than on my Twitter timeline.

I seem to take a lot of influence from the story Country Mouse, City Mouse. That theme became my canine Mafia furry historical stories. Yet, lately, I ended up thinking about an old idea remade into a graphic novelette. Will revise old drawings accordingly before I draft the scenes.

I already have a squirrel and a rat characters. And no, the rat isn't a bad guy but a love interest. I'm so sick and tired of certain animals being demonized in stories. Such tales have real-world impacts. Right now, wolves are still hated and feared globally. And sharks are thought of as continuous eating machines.

My influences with Romance will come from Harlequin and Avon. I'll use regional ecology where my main characters are indigenous animals to a given area.

In this case, my squirrel will be from the  Midwest and my rat will be from the Northeast. Both characters will be urban beings but have early ancestral roots in a rural past. And I'll say no more.

When I start to draft these scenes, I'll post on my Instagram. I'm also struggling to find a publisher for these ideas. Where can one get short comic stories published? And at my own pace? I'm not good with deadlines, and even worse when it comes to artwork. In the meantime, stay tuned, Dear Readers.