I was a constant doodler in school. I doodle when I’m on the phone and I doodle when I need to puzzle something out. Now I know why: Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension — and our creative thinking. So why do we still feel embarrassed when we’re caught doodling in a meeting? Sunni Brown says:…
Moving Drawings – Webcomics Come Alive
Literally. Lilli Carré draws a webcomic for the New York Times and uses animated gifs to bring her stories to life, like this story called The Bloody Footprint.* This is a great example of what Scott McCloud talked about in his book Reinventing Comics as possible “durable mutations” in the world of comics. Webcomics are mutating daily. What’s possible with…
Exactly how making art is like digging ditches
I discovered this gem through Austin Kleon’s fantastic newsletter: “Watching Grass Grow” follows Don Hertzfeldt in time-lapse as he animates his 2005 short film, “The Meaning of Life”* over the course of a few years. Don Hertzfeldt names this film “Watching Grass Grow”, but I see it as an example of just how much time and work it…
Graphic Novel – New Beginning
After going back to the drawing board with the graphic novel version of Mud, Blood and Motocross, I had to introduce 15 year-old Nick Bishop (the main character) and quickly get the reader invested in him. What’s his problem? What does he want most? This is now the first page:
How to start, stop, rescue and finish graphic novels
The following is a development diary* of sorts, covering 4 problems I ran into over the course of a year working on a graphic novel. #1. Design drift #2. Character development and storytelling failures #3. Formatting issues and #4. Speed of production. I have abandoned many creative projects. My first attempt at a novel was a fantasy story. (It was a kind of horror/fairytale. The…
Sisters of Mercy Motorcycle Gang
The Sisters of Mercy are a motorcycle gang that show up early in the book, Mud, Blood and Motocross. Bad girls on bike? You know they’re trouble. Or are they? Are they just a group of girls that has ridden down the wrong road? Here’s an excerpt from Mud, Blood and Motocross: “Whoow! That’s hot!” Tweety stopped in his…
Kat, the girl next door
Kathryn Mackenzie is the girl next door. The main character Nick Bishop finds he can’t stop thinking about her, but who can blame him: Kat’s silky black hair framed her dark eyes. Kat was beautiful. Nick wasn’t the only one who thought so. She probably would have had a boyfriend the second she walked through the doors of…
Tweety knows all about girls
Tweety is one of my favorite characters. We’ve all had a friend like Tweety, who doesn’t let little things like humiliation or being wrong get him down. And he thinks he knows all about girls: “Oh, yeah? You’re an expert on women now?” Kat shook her head. “I did take Ellen Hughes to the freshman spring formal.” Tweety spread his…
Officer Tucker
Officer Tucker is a great antagonistic character. His mustache could be a separate character all on its own. Here’s where we first encounter Tucker in Mud, Blood and Motocross: When the police arrived, Nick, Kat, Finn, Tweety, and thirty or so other people stood around waiting and watching. Nick squinted into the sun as it sank lower in the sky.…
Mud, Blood and Motocross: The Graphic Novel #72
If you’d like to follow along on the adventure, sign up below and get a weekly dose of Mud, Blood and Motocross delivered to your inbox. Get a weekly dose of the graphic novel: The graphic novel is based on the book series, Mud, Blood and Motocross. If you can’t wait to find out what happens, check out the novels…