Work notes: promo comic about ghosts almost done, with a small preview in the ghostly little lady caught in the camera, up here.

 I’m resuming posting on Reddit after a long time. I had to adapt a comic in terms of format, and test a different font. This led to some interesting discussion and tests on the Discord server. In the end, I see the problems with the fonts I’ve been using for Secret Knots comics, specially with readability in the wide range of screens, devices, and the inevitable resizing to comply with social media limitations, and at the same time, I’m not too fond of the standard fonts for comics, even though they tend to a stronger body and higher clarity. So it’s research in progress.

On Patreon

No post this last week, but the traditional October portrait game this way comes.

From the Secret Knots Discord

The life and death of Otzi the Iceman, as told by analysis of his 5200 years mummy. Link shared by Gyrgir.

The short-lived Giger Bar that became a yakuza haunt. (Twitter link). More at the Giger official website.

“The overfitted brain: Dreams evolved to assist generalization” shared by Rain.

What Else is There

The drawings of Clark Ashton Smith

“Some of the winning and honored images from the 2021 Small World Photomicrography Competition”

Good Night (Music)

Oneohtrix Point Never & Elizabeth Fraser – Tales From The Trash Stratum

Work notes: I had a busy work week, so I’m behind in the comic progress. I’m working on a story loosely based on some elements from the Portrait of Dorian Gray, trying something slightly different with the visual storytelling. But right now I’ll take a brief detour to finish a piece I intend to use as promo for my October Patreon portraits, a silly short comic about ghosts. I’ll keep you updated about all of these.

On Patreon

Posted a collection of the “partial stories” so far. I’ll skip making a new one this week and instead will use another exercise to go along with the blog.

What Else is There

I read the Mörk Borg rpg guide this week. I love how it integrates the fantasy world (which is metal-inspired apocalyptic bleak fun) in every little aspect like equipment lists, treasure findings, and basically every random table generator it features. It’s a game that wins you because of how it looks, though, and I get the feeling that its graphic design approach has already permeated other works and media.

Flickr user Ivan Chekhov collects “dust jacket cover art starting from the 1920s” and there are tens of thousands of them. I landed in this particular page featuring many beautiful Deco inspired covers, a great source for typographic work.

A blog with analysis of the work of Javier Pulido in the comic Ninjak, a rich use of the medium.

20 years later, Mamoru Oshii’s “Avalon”

Good Night (music):
Vangelis – Inside our perspectives

Work notes: Progress on the new comic, which I’m drawing in final form, frame by frame, based on a storyboard drawn loosely with pencil in my sketchbook. It’s not my usual way of working, but the script for this story is more defined than, for example, the latest comic about the surrealists. A tighter story allows me to experiment with the method, and so far I find it very satisfying. This story includes some typographic play, so research includes finding the right fonts for it.

From the Secret Knots Discord

Gyrgir shares the link to David Lynch: No, I won’t explain – supercut

“Feeding the worms”, a short comic based on a poem by Danusha Lameris. Thanks to timmc for finding the original text.

What Else is There

Covers of the german art magazine Jugend, 1890s.

A brief explanation video of how the Jacquard loom works, with punch cards that remind of early computing.

Good Night (Music):Eden Ahbez – Full Moon

Work notes: Work on TSK this week centered around the Patreon dossier, and sharing the comic in the different social outlets. Commentary on Discord about the story led me to share (and re-read) another story from the archives, called The Protagonist, still a favorite of mine.

On Patreon

The full dossier about the Circle of the Salamander comic was posted and sent to patrons. It features photo references, and process such as the one seen here, and the ‘head canon’ section with further ideas on the plot.

From the Secret Knots Discord

Tourist in Cornucopia opens up a rabbit hole into hobby tunneling

Gwenlin recommends the Trese anime

timmc shares a 3D-printed neural network using diffracted light

What Else is There

With the comic post, Patron Samwise Crider was reminded of a campaign guide for the Trail of Cthulhu rpg which touches similar subjects: Dreamhounds of Paris

Good Night (Music):Teresa, Lark of Ascension by Broadcast