So it seems none of those agents liked my two picture book manuscripts. Got a load of regular rejections back. The second rhyming story that I did ended up being too wordy. Lots of words. Good words I think. Good story. But lots of words and no repetition would make it too tricky for the target 3 year old audience. Still it felt like a real accomplishment creating something from nothing. I read it again a month after finishing it and it still read well. I have another idea for a non-rhyming picture book which I'll work up next. So far I have a title and three supporting characters. But all that could change. Need to drum up some enthusiasm as I am easily knocked flat by criticism.
And never failing to try and be mediocre at lots of things I've taken to drawing and caricaturing. I got the bug from Tom Richmond's blog - he of MAD fame. Now I've read alot about it. Watched a load of video, bought a handful of markers. The Zig art and graphic twin is one I really like. Has a brush tip one end and a regular felt pen nib the other end. The brush stays sharp and in tact and the black is deep. I also tried a Pitt Brush Pen which was very nice at first, a little finer than the Zig but the point of the brush soon lost its sharpness and now very fine lines are impossible although there's plenty of ink left. I think the regular sketch book paper I'm using could be part of that problem. Also tried the Letraset Pro marker but that was rubbish on regular paper. Too much bleed. Doesn't allow much line variation. I looked at getting a Dixon Markette, but I'd need to buy a dozen to make it worthwhile (from Canada) and exchange rates are so bad that they would be £3 a pen. I also ordered a Copic sketch marker to see how that works out. The Sketch marker has a brush tip too (which is replaceable) and is refillable. Quite excited about its arrival. I also ordered Keelan Parham "Let's Toon" book. It came highly recommended on Amazon, but I'm not convinced the style is something I'm going for. That said - from other reviews it looks like it contains some good general tips and advice. Should be arriving this week. I'll post some example caricatures. Maybe. If there are any worth posting that is. I also started sketching alot. Sat outside yesterday and sketched somebody waiting for a bus to try and tried to get the posture right. Not something I am any good at but it turned out well for me. This drawing lark is something else that (in my mind) I should just be able to just do - but again I've realised that few have prodigious talent and most of us just have to practice to make things look even half decent.
I went for a jog last night. A jog! Was actually good to help clear my mind. Better than walking the dog which did not clear my mind, just left me annoyed at the sniffing dog and having to carry a bag of his poo around.
2 comments:
The Copic Sketch Marker doesn't really have a brush tip if you ask me. It has more of a pointy bullet. I say this because the Zig and Pitt that I've been using are very flexible - like a brush. But the Copic (arrived this morning) although having that shape does not really flex in the same way. That said I used it this lunchtime and was quite successful, also use the chisel end quite a bit.
Hmmm. The Copic sketch that I ordered from eBay turned out not be a 'sketch' after all. No wonder the tip didn't seem very brush-like! Turns out the item description on eBay was wrong so in the mean time I went and got a Letraset Trio from a local shop. that's pretty cool, has fine/chisel/brush. working out OK at the moment.
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