What is CORA?

Since the first book of Cora is due to come out about 2 1/2 months from now, here's a little background of the story.

Cora is the follow-up to a story I wrote and drew called Rose and Isabel, that follows two sisters (Rose and Isabel Callaghan) during the American Civil War. The three brothers of the Callaghan family go missing during the fighting so Rose and Isabel leave their home in Virginia to find them and bring them back safely. What is revealed in the story is that the female side of the Callaghan family has descended from a long line of women warriors of the past. The sisters have some knowledge of their lineage, but it remains mostly hazy to them.

CORA takes place 18 years after the story that began in Rose and Isabel. Isabel and her family live a peaceful existence in the American West around the time of the closing of the western frontier (1888). Her daughter Cora is an 18 year old who knows nothing of her family's ancestry, and lives a simple frontier life with her mother, father and brother. The whereabouts of Rose remain unknown after her mysterious disappearance from the family home in Virginia 20 years earlier.



The book I'm working on now is the first book of four (or more) and will be the set up for a much larger story that will take place throughout the American West. The story will mainly follow Cora, but will jump around throughout Rose and Isabel's past, starting from their birth in 1842. At this stage I've already roughed a number of pages for book two that will deal with Rose's troubled childhood as her innate abilities unfold. All of the characters' stories (and some new ones too) will eventually collide in what I'm planning to be a cataclysmic finale somewhere in the New Mexico desert.
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CORA update: April 21

Things are progressing slowly but still moving forward...I had to take a few days off to unwind a bit. I also needed to take some time to clear my head to draw up a piece for an art auction.

There are 21 pages to go on Cora, then I have to do color on about 1/3 of the book, write and re-write a bunch of dialogue, and tie down the cover and do individual page fixes. I added a few new pages to fill out the story, which took a bit of additional time, but the story is better for it (I hope). 28 days to go to hit the deadline, give or take a few days...
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Battling technology :: process

At the beginning of this year, I decided it was time to have a dedicated space and new, updated equipment to work on the new book, so I rented studio space, bought a brand new Mac Pro and Wacom Cintiq, and upgraded to Photoshop CS3. When everything arrived, I set it all up in the new studio space only to discover that the Photoshop brushes looked like absolute crap. Unusable. What was the reason for this? I still have not figured it out after hours and hours of settings manipulation, systems admin testing, posts on various message boards and forums and phone conversations with tech advisors at Adobe and Wacom (too see more of what I'm talking about you can look at this thread on the Adobe forums).

It may be the new higher quality Cintiq is showing how bad Photoshop is as a drawing program....or maybe it's Apple's Leopard OS (which is the ONLY OS that can be installed on new macs, BTW - not backwards compatible with older OSes. Incredibly frustrating)...or maybe it's a bug in CS3...or a combination of any of the two or three, etc etc.

But I soldier on. All the new equipment is back in its respective box, and I am back on old equipment until a solution is found.

So that said, I'm working to find new ways to make Cora's linework look better than R&I without spending a gajillion hours feathering every line at 200% actual size. The standard hard round brush wasn't working for me anymore, and what I've found is the opacity jitter setting in the brush dynamics menu. The images below show that brush (top image) vs. the hard brush (bottom image).


opacity jitter on, set to 1% jitter and affected by pen pressure


standard hard round brush

The opacity brush is more like a pencil and the closest thing I can get to a pressure sensitive line in Photoshop. It's been really great cleaning up hair and facial expressions with the brush. It allows for a looser style yet still looks relatively clean.

Here are some process shots:


layout (first phase), done at 200dpi, with a standard hard round brush (this is done very fast to keep things moving)


rough (second phase), done at 400 dpi, 25-50% of actual size and hard round brush, to help me get closer to actual poses and facial expressions (except in this panel, I lost a bit on Cora's pose in the background, which was better in the layout)


final line (third phase) done at 400dpi, 50-100% of actual size and hard round brush with the opacity brush described above.
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Cora update: April 7

Not much to report. 42 days and 28 pages to go.

roseandisabel.com

I've registered the above address in the hopes of more and bigger things to come. I had actually done this a YEAR AGO (!) after the link on Boing Boing and Cory's admonishment that I had no home page or landing place with information about the books.

For the time being, the blog should link to the website and vice versa, so if you encounter any problems getting to the site through a link or otherwise, please let me know.

I hope to get some sort of site up before Comic-Con in July...
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Cora update: March 31

Update for this week: Trying to find energy and time to work outside of the daily schedule at the studio has been difficult and taxing. I'm trying to mix it up by working a morning one day and an evening the next, then a lunchtime, a Saturday one week and a Sunday the next, etc, etc...anything that will keep me from burnout. The weather has been especially nice too, so that doesn't help.


Anyhow, the book is coming along well & I shouldn't have too many problems making the deadline. I have a bunch of ideas for new, more exciting posts about film and storyboarding and I look forward to posting those as soon as the book is done. But onward for now -- 33 pages to go.
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Cora update: March 24

Trying to move forward at a regular pace...My goal at the moment is 6 pages a week with a 2-week contingency at the end before the book goes to print in mid-May. 26 pages are done and 38 to go.

Justin Wright

On March 18th, Pixar story comrade Justin Wright passed away due to heart complications at the age of 27. I saw first hand Justin's dedication to his craft as he worked his way through a summer internship to become a full fledged story artist at Pixar; a goal he had had for a long time and through hard work and tremendous spirit, achieved.

Last summer, we worked closely together on a short film, for which there were just three members of our story squad. It's a surprise we got any work done, because most of the time we were howling with laughter at each other's gag drawings, each one topping the next, flowing like water. In one of those sessions, Justin humorously declared he had drawn the "worst drawing ever". We debated him, but Justin insisted on bestowing the honor to himself. Much to his chagrin (and amusement), director Doug Sweetland framed the drawing and presented it at our next meeting, where it presided for all our future sessions. Justin's attitude combined professionalism with an eagerness to please and brought tremendous spirit and humor to the productions he was a part of.

In a few months he will be credited for his work on "WALL•E" and the new short that preceeds it. A mighty achievement.

My thoughts go out to all his family and friends.

You can see Justin's work on his blog.
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Cora Update: March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone -- there are 21 pages finished on Cora and 43 to go. Not bad considering mid-May is the estimated ship date to the printer. I'm giving myself 2 weeks before the ship date to fix things: change drawings, re-write dialogue, make color changes and work on the cover which only needs to be tied down a bit.

The American release will most likely be a limited edition of 200 or so and each will be numbered and have a drawing inside. The limited print run may be cost-prohibitive, so that idea isn't set in stone yet but I'll keep you posted. There is also a possibility that the first installment of Cora will have a French release this fall as well.


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Update

An image for the week...I'll continue to update on a weekly basis as I make my way through the book. The clean up has been a battle so far due to lots of technical issues, mostly with new equipment and software that don't work together (not to mention all the style issues I've had). I had to revert back to an older computer, older OS, and older version of Photoshop and it has been very frustrating. Sometimes I feel like I should just go back to the traditional method of pen and paper.

It's all about overcoming obstacles in getting these kinds of projects done, whether it's artist's block, loss of inspiration, time constraints, or style or technical issues. But it will get done. That's the imporatnt thing to remember; keep an eye on the finish line...I'm adding pages and re-working the story even though it was laid out months ago, and it's keeping the flame burning. New ideas, new inspiration.

CORA update

Here are some of the most recent panels. I feel that I've finally gotten my feet under me regarding the style of the book. I had to move away from trying to reinvent myself while inking the book. I've gone back to the way I was comfortable before, and just trying to tighten the line work a little more. Flat color wasn't jiving with this kind of inking too well for me so I tried to incorporate some texture in the paint.

One of the influences for this was the way that Dave Stewart colors Mike Mignola vs. Guy Davis. He uses flat colors and gradients for Mignola and more blending and texture for Davis. Both methods complement the artists' styles beautifully, so while my stuff is rougher, I think the textured color is the way to go for me.

There is a learning curve here and I'm discovering a lot as I go. Ronnie del Carmen told me when I started the first R&I that I shouldn't worry about the style and that I'll find it and settle in as I go. And he's right again. I'm enjoying drawing the book very much right now, I feel I can focus on the storytelling now without worrying about the style too much.
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Cora WIP

A panel from page 20...still in progress with the color, but I think I've settled into a style for inking the book where I'm most comfortable. It's similar to R&I, maybe a little tighter, and I'm playing around with some texture in the coloring. More to come soon.
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CORA look test

I'm still trying to put together a look for the Cora book, and now that I'm seriously behind schedule (due to new computer problems at the studio space), I'm trying out styles that will allow me to move fast but still retain a level of quality in the pages.

Below is a panel that will (most likely) be indicative of the style of the book. I'm trying to keep the drawings loose and spontaneous as well as to have a better balance of black and white than R&I did, while being a bit more refined than R&I in the linework.

This was drawn in photoshop with an elliptical brush that has a rotation on it. It feels more like an ink brush which I like because it makes calligraphic marks and gives me more thicks and thins in the lines.



More:

Back to Boogie

Now that the Angoulême trip and Annies have passed, it's time to hunker down and finish the first CORA book. I'm already behind schedule and unfortunately may have to make some adjustments to get the book done on time. Below are a couple of rough panels from the intro of the book (that bridges the end of Rose and Isabel to the Cora story). The intro will include bits of R&I's escape from Andersonville, as well as events leading up to Rose's disappearance at the end of R&I. These are still in progress and I haven't found the proper intro yet, but I'm getting there.


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French edition Preview

For those who haven't seen the Akileos edition yet, there is a 12 page preview at BDGest.

And a few more images from Angoulême:


Many many talented artists and writers at the Akileos booth.


Bill and Dean signing away...


Main thoroughfare through the festival

Angoulême 2008

Time for a quick report...

The best parts of my France trip were not necessarily seeing the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe or the Musée D'Orsay for the first time, or the fine meals I ate while in the various cities, but rather the terrific people I met along the way. Here are just a few of the fine folks I met on my trip to France.


Richard and Emmanuel (L to R), editors of Akileos. I had my first meeting with them in San Diego last year and between now and then they really stepped up to make the French edition of Rose and Isabel a terrific looking book. They have been great to work with and the book is a wonderful result of their collaboration. Huge thanks to them for making this whole experience happen!(pictured here at Album in St. Germán.)



Dean and Barbara Yeagle (seated across from each other at far table position) and Jean-Jaques and Diane Launier (seated across from each other at middle table position). This was taken at dinner after an opening of Dean's art at Gallery Arludik in Paris. They are a very friendly couple and were a pleasure to hang out with during my stay. Jean-Jaques and Diane are the owners of Gallery Arludik and have been putting on shows by tremendous artists over the years. Their passion for animation as art was very inspiring and they were very gracious in showing us a fun time while we were in Paris.



I met Christopher and Brigitte while in Tours; Christopher is a well established comic artist that lives and works in Tours. He was incredibly gracious in lending his day to translate for Bill and I, as well as taking pictures of us signing and showing us around. Brigitte is from Bédélire books, an amazing shop where we did our signing; Brigitte made sure that we were well taken care of and enjoyed our time in Tours.



Here I am at the Hotel Mercure in Angoulême with (L to R) Christopher, Ben Cornish and Nick Parry-Jones, who work for Diamond UK and Legends, two fine Brits who I had the pleasure of drinking some beers with. Very funny fellows both.



Nicolas Seigneret (Bannister) and his girlfriend Flora. Bannister and Flora are an artist/writer team who have stories in the Flight compilations as well as books published by Dupuis. I had chatted with Bann via email and the web over the years and we finally got to meet in person at Angoulême.



Here we are with Jean Giraud! at The Hotel Mercure. The Mercure was the spot to hang out and socialize with fellow artists and exhibitors after dinner. Jean Giraud was very kind to accept copies of our books.

Many thanks also go out to the people who facilitated our signings and those that came by to check out Rose and Isabel at the stores and the festival. I've said it before about the San Diego Con and will say it about Angoulême as well -- it's meeting people that's the most fun for me. Thank you all for coming by!
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Return

Hello! I'm back from a great adventure in France. I'm suffering more than expected from jet lag as well as a cold I acquired on the last evening of the trip, so it may be a few days before I get a proper report up. What I can say right now is that it was an incredible experience. Bill and I met so many great folks who were incredibly generous in showing us around and making us feel comfortable. I will post plenty about them as well as details of the festival in Angoulême and a lot more. Stay tuned!

-T

For now here is a photo of some of the stuff I got.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Next week Bill Presing and myself will be heading to France for a book tour promoting European editions of Rose and Isabel and Rex Steele, published by Akileos. I haven't seen the French edition of R&I yet, but it will be the complete story with a new cover and printed in sepia toned color on the inside. Bill showed me a copy of the Rex Steele BD and it looks fantastic (and comes with a DVD!).


Our tour starts in Paris and then moves to Tours, Angoulême (for the BD festival) and back to Paris. If you live in or are visting France and plan to be at any of these events, please say hi!

Here's our schedule:

On Tuesday January 22nd at 4:00 pm Bill and I will be signing our books at Album Bercy (46, Cour Saint-Émilion in PARIS)



Then Wednesday January 23rd at 3:00 pm We'll be at comic shop Bédélire in Tours.



Thursday January 24th we arrive at Angoulême for the BD festival. We'll be at the Akileos table starting at 1:00 pm. We'll be there for the entire festival until Sunday the 27th.



Back to Paris on Tuesday January 29th at 4:00 pm for a signing at Album Comics (67, Boulevard Saint-Germain)



I'll report back when I return, plus pics of my new studio space.

Cora in production

While setting up CORA pages for production, I've been writing rules for myself much like I did while making Rose and Isabel. I'm also thinking about progression, not only in the storytelling, but also how CORA relates aesthetically to the Rose and Isabel books.

I'm planning to make CORA more refined in its look, which means creating the panels and balloons with digital tools instead of drawing them freehand. After all, Cora's story takes place 18 years after R&I so it made sense to me to reflect that in the book's presentation. Adding color was another decision to separate it from R&I.

I'm toying with tighter clean-up of the art, but I haven't decided to what level I'm going to do that. I still want to keep the art loose, spontaneous and fast. The in-progress panel above is a bit of a tighter style that I'm trying out.
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This is awesome

Cate Blanchett costumed up for Indy 4. This Annie Liebowitz photo is a great way to start my 2008. I know Indy 4 takes place more than 100 years later, but anyone who has read Rose and Isabel knows why I like this picture.

Happy 2008 everybody!
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Looking back

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

A while back on Current Flavor I posted this, prompting myself to get out to the theater more this year. Unfortunately I was only slightly more successful in that task -- viewing 22 films theatrically vs. 15 last year (ouch). But the good news is I saw MORE films than last year, mostly in the area of new releases and notable films (potential award winners).

I dutifully kept a list of films I saw over the course of the year and here's how it broke down (not including repeat viewings):

2007 (new) releases (theatrical): 22
2007 releases (DVD): 6

Previous releases (DVD or projected DVD): 21

A grand total of 49 films watched.



For those interested, here they are:

2007 NEW FILMS/THEATRICAL/DVD

Waitress
Atonement
Juno

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Gone Baby Gone
Michael Clayton
Things We Lost in the Fire
No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood (2x)
King of Kong
My Kid Could Paint That
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Into the Wild

3:10 To Yuma
Paris Je T'aime
The Simpsons Movie
Transformers
Ratatouille(2)

A Mighty Heart
Pirates 3 - At World's End
28 Weeks Later
Hot Fuzz
300

The Host (US release)
Zodiac
The Queen (SF release)
Children of Men (2)
Letters From Iwo Jima

DVD/OLD

3 Days of the Condor (r)

Day Night Day Night
The Isle
All The President's Men
On the Waterfront
Touching the Void

The Train
Last King of Scotland
Little Children
Paths of Glory
Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

Tale of Two Sisters
Half Nelson
The Lives of Others
Marie Antoinette
The Departed

Land of the Dead (1/4)
Irreversible (1/2)
Thank You For Smoking
The White Diamond
Mission Impossible III

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Happy New Year and see you all in 08!

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CORA is coming

She's been taking a bit of a rest these past few months...I'm hoping to lock down some studio space very soon so I can hole up and start knocking out pages for the July 08 release of Book 1. The first book looks like it will clock in at 64 pages. All of it has been roughed and I'm in the process of re-writing some dialogue. I'm also planning to add a prologue to summarize what happened in the Rose and Isabel story.

More to come soon.
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Rose et Isabel

Update for the French edition:

All materials have been delivered to Akileos in preparation for printing of the French edition of the complete Rose and Isabel story. Below are the new European cover final and a low res sample of pages with R&I speaking in French. It is very exciting for me to see this!

I will be flying to France in January for the comics festival at Angouleme along with Bill Presing. More details to follow soon.

The Beetle

Here's a rendition I did of the old school version of Spider Man nemesis THE BEETLE. This was done for the Maverix/Glide auction this weekend (more on that below). It is also ACTUAL MEDIA...ink and paint on paper -- no digital!

I was a huge Spider Man fan as a kid, and even though Spidey handily kicked the Beetle's ass every time, I still thought he was kinda cool. The "new" Beetle has no resemblance to the cool old design. He looks more like something from Michael Bay's Transformers. Yeech.



The Beetle will be sold to the highest bidder in silent auction.

Details on the auction:

Maverix is hosting a fund raiser for an important organization in our community, Glide Memorial Church. The proceeds from this fund raiser will go specifically to support their Children's Creative Arts Media Center.

The evening will include food, drink and the music of our talented DJs. Original and digital art from prominent contemporary artists will be up for bid in a silent auction, with the evening culminating in a live auction for the most sought after pieces!

It is a great opportunity to get the jump on holiday shopping and support a wonderful organization working with and for the under served children of our fair city.

Come celebrate the holidays Maverix style!!

Sunday December 2nd. 6pm til 10pm.
1717 17th street @ Carolina
SF CA 94103

click the pic for more info


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Favorite Films 2007 (UPDATED 1/9/08)

Here are my favorites (in order):

1. There Will Be Blood
   
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
   
3. Michael Clayton
   
4. No Country For Old Men
   
5. Ratatouille/Once

Runners up:

King of Kong

My Kid Could Paint That

What are your favorites? Must sees?

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