Running up that hill

Continuing to slowly work through Cartoon Animation. It's amazing how tough just doing these simple forms is, but there you have it. And if I intend to get to where I want to be, this is a necessary step. So I fumble my way along, doing these studies and practicing what I can, trying to get better. Art is a cumulative process, and while this doesn't really look like much at this stage, as I build upon what I learn today, tomorrow, the next day and so on, it'll develop into some pretty wild stuff.




Probably rude just to leave it at shop talk. So I'll toss in a couple of recommendations.

Evan Dahm, who finished his short, surreal epic Rice Boy a while back (it's all on his site, definitely read it) has been working on another story in the world of Overside, Order of Tales. There's enough of it now to give a coherent storyline with hints of a rich world and well developed characters.

If you're interested in something a bit less surreal, you can't go wrong with Ursula Vernon's Digger. Hyenas, wombats and dead gods, what's not to like? The archives went free not long ago, so you can read the whole, fascinating epic from the start and fall in love with the characters like the rest of us.

For a third option, I'll give extremely high marks to an entry from France, Maliki. A wonderful variety of art, and a mix of everyday adventures, supernatural creatures, random meanderings and cats, with occasional visits by Skeletor. The artist is one of the designers for the wonderful Wakfu TV series, which I really, really wish they'd release an english subtitle of. The series, and the Maliki comic, are both in French, of course, but it's easy to tell what's going on regardless of whether you speak the language.

More later.