Oak City Comicon Squirrel 2 - Talking Process & Tools

I was recently invited to be a guest at the Oak City Comicon, in Raleigh, NC, and asked to do a couple drawings of the convention's Squirrel Mascot, for both print materials, and t-shirts for the volunteers. To this I responded, "Heck Yeah!', and promptly recorded the creation of both drawings

The above video shows the creation of the former, and the below video shows the latter. The below video also talks in depth about the creation process I used for that particular drawing, and how my available tools effected how I made it.

I think it's interesting how the availability of your tools can have such a large impact on the way you create a piece of art. For example, at conventions I usually only have my paper, pencil, brush pens, markers and a very limited time frame. This lends it self to a completely different drawing process than at home, where I may have access to a light box, copy machine, Adobe Photoshop, and a more flexible time frame. Either way, the drawing gets done, but the end result may be completely different.

The bottom line is, as an artist, you always need to plan around what tools you have available and adjust your process as needed. And if you need to get a drawing done, do the best you can with what you have access to. Don't let a lack of any given tool hold you back from getting what you need to do done. It's funny how having a limited tool set can get you really good at using those tools and being stuck with imperfect tools can sometimes lead to design solutions that you (or anyone else) may not have thought of. These happy discoveries can sometimes even change your ongoing style for the better!

If you are coming to the Oak City Comicon, pop by my table and say 'Hi!' I will also be taking part in a panel called, "Webcomics as a Way into Print Comics", so if you get to see that panel let me know how I did (cause its only my 3rd panel I've ever taken part in)!

~Chris