Abyssal

New Secret Knots comic: “Abyssal”. 

Bitácora • September 25, 2021

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

Bitácora • September 18, 2021

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

Bitácora • September 11, 2021

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  

Bitácora • September 04, 2021

Work notes: The very brief adventures of the circle of the salamander comic is finished, and should be up here. I’ll definitely make a full Patreon dossier with the photo references and sketches. I’m sharing the second of my “partial stories” in this entry as well. Working with inks on paper is very satisfying, and I see some progress with that. If I tried a comic with that technique now, I think it would go much better than the last time.

From the Secret Knots Discord.

Games.Scholar shares this Mistake Waltz

Gyrgir points at this ‘found perfomance’ in the moors: the Rannoch Wolves

LTK creates a new channel for a game of “Two of these people are lying”. Feel free to jump in.

What Else is There

Without further ado, something new to me: ‘fossil words

 Ukyo-e visions of XIX century Tokyo by Kobayashi Kiyochika, ‘master of modern melancholy’

Good night (music)