Author: Juan

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  

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)

Work notes: progress on the “final page” of the comic. I also drew the picture above, as the first in a series of “partial stories”, figures in an imaginary novel. I plan to keep posting these along the weekly blog.

From the Secret Knots Discord

In the Weird Things channel, HazySkies shares a 70s toy: Pulsar, The Ultimate Man of Adventure.

Games.Scholar presents us this Wikipedia list of “effects”. Find your creative prompt somewhere in there.

What Else is There

An interview with the author of Casting the Runes, a RPG game based on the works of M. R. James.

At NeoText: The Brushwork of Idyl Hands: A Jeffrey Catherine Jones Gallery

Good night (music)

Work notes: steady, slow progress on the surrealist comic. Recently I also had the chance to talk a bit about old, long story lines in The Secret Knots, on Discord, and there’s an interesting conversation on creativity going on right now, but I guess it’s better to check those comments directly. Speaking of which:

From the Secret Knots Discord

Games.Scholar recommends The Last War in Albion, a mystic history of comics through the lens of Alan Moore and Grant Morrison’s mutual disliking, taken with the humor it deserves.

timmc amaze us with this image of the movement of the National Ignition Facility, whatever it may be. He also prompted a new Discord channel for pointing out typos in Secret Knots comics, something I’m truly thankful for.

What Else is There

In The Art of Slow Cinema, interesting points about intellect as a barrier to understanding, and the depth of processing that often comes from some “slow” films. Art and memory.

An older link, but still very cool reference material I went to during this week: Killers, Crooks And Vampires: Thrilling Pages From Penny Dreadfuls.  

A fine Tumblr about Bioluminescent Ocean Life.

Another Tumblr link, a collection of background art from Revolutionary Girl Utena. I find the background art in Utena and Sailor Moon fascinating.

Good Night (Music)

Work notes: Moving forward with the new comic, sliding into the final scenes, which feature a quick change of pace. I’m a bit worried that the intro of the story makes it look like it’s a more serious story than it really is, maybe the drawings should have been a bit goofier-looking. But there’s no changing direction now. It’s always hard to tell the grade in which stories affect emotion, and that goes for humor as much as for introspection. I’m still enjoying this story, though, and I believe it’ll work.

On Patreon

I shared the first finished portion of the comic, it’s called The very brief adventures of the Circle of the Salamander. Remember, if you subscribe to my Patreon you get full access to all the previews and concept posts, and can ask for a portrait in the next portrait game, coming soon.

From the Secret Knots Discord

Koldun recommends the game Hypnospace Outlaw

Gyrgir introduce us into the world of Japanese Dam collectible cards

Still in Japan, Marquise de Clarabas digs into rabbit taxes during the Meiji era.

What Else is There

In 50 Years of Text Games, an art show where the pieces in display were made out of interactive fiction.

Unusual spring-cleaning in this comic by Kate Phillips

“VECTOR CITY used to gleam, its wireframe skylines shimmering against a perpetual pixel sunset. But the Vector’s heyday is long gone, and you — the ECHOES of this former metroscape — are left tending to the wreckage.” Dwindle is a short cyberpunk TTRPG by Caro Aserción.

Good Night (Music)

Work notes: I’m past the hardest point in the comic, a landscape scene with a complex and very skewed perspective. It’s the Secret Knots version of a splash panel I guess, and it took several hours, but I’m very fond of the optical effect. Every time I draw buildings, I think about Spiderman artists, inking brick by brick (when it’s not automated in some way). Perhaps I’m thinking about comic artists of old, I haven’t checked out how what’s the canon on cityscapes in superhero comics lately.

There was no Patreon post this week, but I’ll be posting half of the comic in progress during the week, for patrons. It seems like a satisfactory chunk of this weird and explosive story to share.

From the Secret Knots Discord

Games.Scholar recommeds BLDGBLOG, and specifically this recent entry: Looming Matter With Light  

I can’t stress enough how I love these horror magazines covers. (Today’s drawing is based on one). Thanks to Gyrgir for finding out this is a series from Japanese Publisher Hibari Shobo. (The Kaidan series, I believe).

What Else is There

In NeoText: the art and life of Zdzislaw Beksinski

The Metaverse Has Always Been a Dystopian Idea

Good Night (Music)