Back to simplicity

So I did a couple of highly detailed drawings in the past few days in brush and ink, like the stingray below... I started out using a hard tipped pen, and then moved into using a fine brush with india ink... I couldn't control the ink so well, and so I moved on to a brush-pen (specifically the Faber-Castell Pitt Pens) filled with india ink... The affect was similar, almost identical really, and easier to control.

However, just for kicks with these exercises, I chose to go back to the ol' brush and ink well method, and I think that the line quality is much better. I'm working on technical vellum, which holds the ink really well. I've been using cotton comp, trace paper, and a variety of thicknesses of technical vellum with the brush pens as well, so the paper isn't new. I'm surprised how well the vellum holds up to the brush work.

I think I might do the "Inconsequential" comic (my chosen title for the series I'm working on outside of my paid work) in brush and ink... I was already thinking I wanted to work double-size for the series anyway, but now I really want to go all out. The attention to detail returns when I work in a fine brush...

We'll see how that goes!

Fiction writing continued, last two characters for this piece

Fiction writing continued!

Here's the opening two paragraphs for this story...

"The leaves were crunchy beneath his wheels, but he didn’t care. It was a cool sound, like something out of the sound effects of a scary movie. Or a funny movie. He couldn’t be sure. Josh was far ahead of him, using his longer, more powerful legs to propel him across the neighborhood, over sewers. He was much more skilled at skateboarding than Carlos, and he proved this point again and again by swinging his lower body skillfully over curbs and steps.
The autumn air made Carlos’ eyes water. It was only his second fall in Maine, and he wasn’t quite used to the colorful leaves, the smell of the cold, and the itchiness of his wool sweater. It was all very foreign, and very exciting at the same time. He found himself purposefully forgetting to wear socks, so he could whip his shoes off when school was over, and charge barefoot across the tile and wood floors of his family’s third floor apartment. Bare feet just weren’t as exciting in Southern Texas. Hot tile was sweaty and seemed to gather food and grime much easier, thus removing anything remotely enticing to the underside of a foot."

Fiction writing

I used to write only fiction... Then I got into a huge non-fiction comic segment, and now I'm coming out of it. I think that having the ability to be semi-autobiographical AND pull from other people's stories, AND make shit up all at once is just...so much more fun. Plus, I feel better about how I draw the characters... It frees me up to do what I want with them, rather than attempt to even remotely cater to the features of an actual human being.

That being said: here are some character designs for a series of vignettes of intertwining yet unrelated characters. These guys are for the first story.

Trying to post more often, I promise

Life has just been crazy for the past few weeks. I haven't had much time for comix, and that makes me sad. So! I'm trying to set aside more time for comix, but also get sleep. We'll see which one wins.

Here's a detailed ink drawing I did earlier today.

Out of comission comic wise

So I've been trying so hard to get comic work done. It's been a real struggle. I have all these other jobs to do, website design, graphic design... I'm not complaining, but I miss drawing panels so badly. Here are some comics I never finished... The second is the beginning of a story I'm going to rehash, about my accident with my knee and surgery and my feelings behind that. (For the uninitiated: another part of what kept me from getting certain types of work done was the fact that I tore my ACL playing Ultimate Frisbee this summer, and subsequently became depressed, un-depressed, had surgery, am in physical therapy, etc...) Now some people would think this would be PRIMO time to get comic work done, but comics are, honestly, the HARDEST art for me. Therefore my most time consuming, and my most passionate. I draw, redraw, sketch, find references, redraw, ink, edit...and then some. I do this for my GD work as well, but the intensity is much different... Plus my comics tend to be deeply personal or intense, so spending hours fixating on them requires me to be in tip-top emotional shape. And to be honest--up until recently, I just haven't been because of my knee and a few other things going on.

But enough about that.

The first comic is the VERY beginning of my reflections on the very first comic class I ever took... Basically, it's just a cartoon version of Katie at age 9. Enjoy.

Full Retail Comic

For your viewing pleasure!

Last installation of Retail Comic

Third installation of Retail comic

I actually inked a comic yesterday... I should do this more often...!

Next installation of the Retail Comic

I'll post one with all of them together, because right now the story is jagged and awkward.

My Multi-Faceted Experiences in Retail, part 1

More to come! It's much more fun all together, but I am taking forever to ink this one...

I don't actually feel this way anymore

But I don't like the leave work unfinished so... Here's a way delayed comic update!

Last HIV/AIDS page

Okay...now I'm off to bed. The computer is beginning to bend and twist... By the way, these are scans of a print-out... I lost a lot of work one night (much like this night...) working till 4 AM and then accidentally moving files and losing them... so the original art for a lot of my Sex Ed work is forever gone.

Fourth HIV/AIDS page

Yes...it is 3:15 AM when I am posting these... I drank too much red bull while I was redrawing Bonnie...

Third HIV/AIDS page

This was when I was juuuuust learning photoshop...

Next HIV/AIDS page

Sex Education Comic: HIV/AIDS

Written by Sarah Eidleman, Drawn by Myself

Last Bonnie Page

I have an issue where I redo and redo and redo a lot of my Sex Ed comix... coming up shortly: I bite the bullet and finally give in that a comic I drew two years ago is actually good.

Next Bonnie

Bonnie was originally written almost three years ago now... Her text, since then, has become more inclusive, and the imagery has gone from thin ink line, to photoshop color, to painted, and finally, this version.

Bonnie, continued

Bonnie the Beaver teaches us about safe oral sex for vuuulvas...

color sketching

a first draft sketch of a poster series I'm designing for Family Crisis Services... Illustrator (computer art program, for the uninitiated) rocks my socks.

Sometimes I do graphic design.

Okay, I do a lot of graphic design, even though I have not taken ONE design course. It's all the same to me--illustration, graphic design... I just taught myself the programs.

This one's special though cause I designed it for my own set of business cards for my roommate and myself. We've started a little printmaking business on the side of our regular jobs/stuff/everything. It's fun. I took a high resolution photo of some of the bike parts I've been getting in (I am building a bike, p.s.) and made the woman's symbol out of them. Photoshop, and enjoy with some coffee. Whee!

Another teaser!

I'm just really proud of the shadows on this one...

Come see some finals pages of my comic book in the Institute of Contemporary Art inside of MECA this coming Wednesday, March 28th!

To get a sneak peek at my process, i.e. how I do this in a long, convoluted Katie Diamond way... Come to the 3-Floor Gallery show, opening April 27th.

Website!

So it's official--my website is complete and up and running. Never fear though! I'm going to keep this blog for comix stuff, as it is becoming increasingly popular to have a blog as an artist (I started that trend, you know!)

Visit Katie Diamond Art & Comix

Obligatory Scene--teaser 3!

"I don't know, Vivey. I'm not you."

The Vagina Monologues

Okay, so it wasn't THIS dramatic...but it felt like it!

Teaser number two!

Teaser half-page

Half of a finished page of my thesis and current long-term project... Are you tantalized yet!?

Sometimes I Draw...

On random outdated books from over 70 years ago I find in front of the MECA library...an ongoing series. Keep an eye out for more!

The Invisibles

Our society doesn't acknowledge that it blatantly ignores disability. This comic is based off of a true experience, as I sat in Casco Bay Books.

For more on the Rights of Other Abled People:

http://www.drc-gb.org/

On the Radio

For whatever reason, Blogger will no longer let me embed my movie on the site... So, go straight to the YouTube link below to appreciate my animated web comic set to Regina Spektor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_7N9CtKCU

Spot the Dyke!

An honest account of how it feels when I visit Southern Florida...

Order yours now!

HPV and Lesbianism pocket zine! 13 pages of Educational Goodness! Pay for shipping only! It's technically FREE!

Order a box of 10 or more, and give out to your friends!

The Colposcopy Close-Up

My experience with a colposcopy.

HPV and Lesbianism

Lesbians and female-bodied queer folks are not a "low risk" group for HPV. This is my own recent discovery of my STI, translated into an educational booklet. Print out, cut up, staple, and disseminate.