Author: hamishmacdonald

I’m trying to figure out a new time management game to play — something to justify why I keep track of my working time, and to reward me for the progress I make.

At a loss for any better unifying theme, I remembered Disney’s old Sword and the Stone movie, which I loved as a kid — I think I had a book about it — though the movie looks pretty sketchily drawn and Sixties-loopy now. So I thought that might be one way to go, the pieces evolving through different critters up to a final challenge.

I dunno. Like my comic book story, sometimes it’s hard to get traction on things that I’m doing just for myself.

I have roughed and inked several pages for the comic, though. I’m feeling very iffy about it, but I suppose that’s natural when doing something completely new and different, drawing on skills that… well, that I haven’t developed yet.

So I’m glad that Dan, the team, and I are working on a new book. That’s solid ground, and helps re-motivate my other projects, too: “Oh yeah, that’s what I wanted to explore.”

Hello. I know I haven’t posted anything in a while. I’m still adjusting to changing computers, switching things over to new programs and such.

So, yes, the website’s going to be changing as I move to a new design program.

In the meantime, here’s a dragon:

Well, this is exciting: Last night I went to Comics Club, and there I tried to turn on my PC.

It wouldn’t turn on.

Okay, I’d just hold down the power key; I’ve had start-up trouble like that with PCs before.

Nothing.

I went home, plugged it in, and it still wouldn’t start. So I went around the shops to see if I could buy a replacement — a Surface Pro, perhaps? But both the computer shops in town were out of the pens. So I went home and gave it some thought.

That thinking led me to dash out this morning and buy an iPad Pro. I’d been contemplating it and convinced myself I didn’t need to make the change. Fate had other plans.

I’m glad. While it’s a pain to have to reconfigure a new device, I kept having to do that every couple of months with the PC anyway, because they just seem to get jammed-up over time (part of which is my fault, I’m sure, because I just can’t leave them alone, and am always trying out new software, betas, removing things, and so on).

Already, though, it’s delicious using this machine: the apps are all so much nicer-looking, and they just work, whereas on the PC I felt like I was always fighting to get the machine to do the most basic things (such as synchronize my calendar — like, seriously, how is that a problem in 2018?).

Even better: Our head of Tech and my team leader have said they’ll reimburse me for it, plus send me an old Mac Mini as my full computer (because apps can only do so much).

It’s fun working with a really successful company: they never begrudge us the tools we need to do the work (which makes me feel like they appreciate the work, too).

Phew!

Back to reinstalling all my brushes in Clip Studio Paint. (I can’t believe this program is available on the iPad, but now I’ve used it, and… yup, it’s the whole thing!)

P.S. Hours and hours later, I’m all set up and ready to create stuff.

Ahh, Monday morning. I actually like Mondays, because I like having time on my own where I can organize myself and create things.

This is the first proper week of the new year — or so it feels like — and over the weekend I made a new “book of days” (I’m calling it). Last year, I did a little tear-off planning page for every work day, and then I had a paper calendar, but this year it made sense to incorporate those so that I don’t miss appointments or double-book myself.

I also wanted to do this just as a creative project, because I’ve not made a book in a while. I saw one of my old planners on the shelf and liked how it looked with all its tabs and colours, and wanted to do that again. This was the biggest book I’ve ever assembled, I think, and I didn’t make a single mistake in sewing the signatures (groups of pages) together — a first!

So here it is, Monday morning, and it’s time to use my planner. I’ve had breakfast, altered the dog’s wee winter jacket so it won’t cover his willy (since peeing is kind of the point of going for walks), walked him, made a coffee…. Now it’s time to slowly, gently approach the tasks I want to get done today.

Today I’m grateful for this home, and all the family stuff that it’s the setting for. (Like my nephew visiting at the moment.)

I had a work-call early this morning. (Couldn’t find my tablet’s pen, so I had to draw crudely with a mouse as my boss described what he had in mind — most awkward!)

Afterward, Doug and I went for a walk through a perfect just-before-Christmas neighbourhood scene.

Of course, my lousy photography makes the lovely park look like a crime scene, but don’t let that put you off.

And Doug isn’t exactly glad to have his picture taken, either.

I was in Toronto this week for work, and I stole some time away one evening to write and draw in my sketchbook.

I returned on Thursday, and managed to make it to Comics Club, where I cracked open the new sketchbook I’d made.

I picked a random Shakespeare-style phrase and had to make a four-panel comic from it. I figured I’d use the exercise as a chance to practice drawing the same character multiple times — and try to have him look like the same person!

Finally, the banter gets pretty salty at Comics Club, and in this instance I think I was working from the phrase “barbequed penis”.

I’ve been doing a lot of research and thinking work for this comic I have in mind. It’s fun and exciting having ideas clumping together in my conscious and subconscious minds, just like when I was writing novels.

Especially reassuring is having a personal project I actually want to work on, because for a long time nothing stuck.

…But I’m not going to talk about it here. Not yet. I believe it’s really important for me to draw this thing just for myself, and not jump ahead to considering what anyone else would think of it.

So, instead, I present dog pictures!! That’s what the internet wants, anyway.

First, the test-run of Doug’s winter jacket.

Is it me, or is his face saying, “You’re kidding, right?”

Unfortunately, it also covers up his willy, and he spends much of our walks peeing on things, so that doesn’t work. I’ll need to make some sort of adjustment to it — though I don’t know how we’re ever going to do a fitting with him.

Second, I present The Amazing Douglas, who has the uncanny ability to detect a buried piece of bread at ten paces (and finds bread where one would not expect there to be bread).

I better post what I drew at last week’s Comics Club before I go again tonight!