| About fifteen years ago I had an idea. I'd seen some of those choose-your-own-adventure gamebooks that involve making decisions and turning to different pages accordingly as you navigate your way through a story and try to stay alive. With two small kids in primary school, and me trying to do freelance work, there were a lot of little things that could go wrong and mess up ones day. So I started thinking of making a little adventure story based on real life just for fun, to share with friends. A few pages in, and it got abandoned. But not forgotten.. |  |
Four years ago, I needed to find a project to do for an online course, and I resurrected this idea with one additional element - I would also illustrate each page. Within a month, I'd worked out the twists and turns of a forty-page adventure using post-it notes and arrows on a big board - which was very tricky and so much fun! - and drawn several pages. But again, it got put aside while I did other things.
Then a couple of years ago I began making comics. And I began to think this would be more interesting if I re-worked the whole thing as a choose-your-own-adventure comic, not something I've ever even heard of. So I redrafted the story to make it conversational and active, rough drafted that in more detail, then drew the final pencil draft. Then I used those pencilled pages as a guide while doing the inking onto good Bristol board paper over a light box, as in photo.
Today I finished inking the last of the 40 pages, and now need to do the colour. I have a printer lined up and ready to go - just have to send the files within the fortnight in order to have the books available at my ArtWave exhibition in August! Hard to believe the end is in sight after all these years.
Edit 10 Aug: Now completed and sent to printer. There's a short playable version online here.
Then a couple of years ago I began making comics. And I began to think this would be more interesting if I re-worked the whole thing as a choose-your-own-adventure comic, not something I've ever even heard of. So I redrafted the story to make it conversational and active, rough drafted that in more detail, then drew the final pencil draft. Then I used those pencilled pages as a guide while doing the inking onto good Bristol board paper over a light box, as in photo.
Today I finished inking the last of the 40 pages, and now need to do the colour. I have a printer lined up and ready to go - just have to send the files within the fortnight in order to have the books available at my ArtWave exhibition in August! Hard to believe the end is in sight after all these years.
Edit 10 Aug: Now completed and sent to printer. There's a short playable version online here.
