'Classic' Sam Kieth page... and Nola stuff.

Sent a this page to an old pal of mine - it's a piece I finished for a new comic project.  I decided to share his cool comments about it:  

Wow- that splash is some classic Sam Kieth - definite throwback to the old days when you used the Art Nouveau borders and odd panel shapes so much.  Were you intentionally making it like your early work, or just an accident?

Not posting this in a self aggrandizing way, it was more because it hadn't dawned on me until he asked this, that I sort of was sorta trying to get back to the  Nouveau-ish Ornate style I've used in the past. 

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Okay, I'm an idiot. Seems I've already posted this page in a previous post.  So... now, to make up for my boo boo, here's something else I've added  to *this* post.

In the Nola mini series i'm drawing, as a little girl Nola wonders if Raven will play a part in her destiny. So here's a balloon telling her so, and a Ravel drawing which i dumped into the page.

Here she measures Ravens wing size that she's drawn on her bedroom wall, to tell them apart from Crows.

I call these 'patches' floating disconnected panels... meant to be pasted into another page.

Nola's artwork is done differently than any other comic i've drawn, most panels are drawn on random, sometimes different colored scraps of paper i've piled up over the years.

The whole process means the final pages don't exist. Instead they are only cobbled together only for the scanner, or assembled together digitally.

Not because it's easier, it's actually *more work* to stitch it all together, but i do it mostly because i wanted to stimulate different parts of my brain.  Trying to surprising myself.

It's my job to try and smooth the transitions between simple pencil art, b&w line work, fully painted art, or drawing on various textured papers.

Though i could add most of these things textures digitally, i get a tactile kick out of touching and manipulating fur, bristol, wood, fabric, glue, sand, anything i can lay my hands on.

Removing panels is easier too. Kinda shoots a hole in any original art sales, but since so few people will be interested in buying Nola art regardless, i may as well draw, scan, omit the weaker stuff, and just know it's drawn to please myself.... and few other hard core fans out there.

Not everything has to reach the amount of fans' that the Maxx stuff did.

There's room for both.