| blankets roughs | June 5th, 2007 |
Hectic week is distracting me from updating. But here’s a little sumtin’… A glimpse of my thumbnail process. I draw the entire book in this loose ballpoint pen format and edit, before ever starting the final pages. BLANKETS was thumbnailed for a year. The first page of final art was drawn August 24th, 2000. These thumbnails were sketched out on February 19th, 2000. They’re finalized counterparts were inked on May 25th, 2002.
On the back of my final pages, I keep a brief journal –
This one mentions the bill-paying work I was about to throw myself into — two covers of NICKELODEON and a ten page comic for Dark Horse. For the record, I didn’t ink the next page of BLANKETS until June 18th, 2002, nearly a month later. As for HABIBI, I spent late 2004 until late 2006 editing and rewriting the ballpoint pen version. Posted in Uncategorized |
31 Responses to “blankets roughs”Leave a Reply |
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June 5th, 2007 at 10:25 am
It’s great to see this process Craig. Is there any particular reason you script in ballpoint pen rather than pencil? I love drawing with ballpoint pen (it feels the most “uninhibited” to me) but I always script in pencil, for the ease of erasing, as ideas morph and change.
Man… I need to reread Blankets!
June 5th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Amazing, that huge amount of work finally got results. My little sister (17) read a week ago my Blankets and she said “this is art”.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Don’t you look like Fran Fernández, a well-known indie Spanish musician?
http://www.thebellemusic.com/imagenes_fotomaton/000999.jpg
June 5th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Interesting to see your process. Not too dissimilar from mine, actually, which is encouraging to a newbie like myself.
What size are these thumbnails conceived at?
June 5th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Alec — ballpoint pen, because it has the sketchability of pencil — feathery or hard lines — but it’s permanent. It’s good for artists to make marks with no option for erasing.
Ray — these are just a sheet of typing paper folded in half (5.5″ x 8.5″)
June 5th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I have to admit, I’d like to see some early sketches of Raina.
Hmmmmmmm?
June 5th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I love seeing these compositional changes. I particularly like how you changed the angle in the bottom panel on the left page to allot more emphasis on the blankets in disarray, which was what the panel was about. And your decision to allow the thrown sheet to cut just outside the panel was a great one.
I’m also impressed you had the restraint to cut out the imagination scenes with the bed in the ocean- it’s cooler looking, but doesn’t work as well overall. This is “strengthen your pages 101.” I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that seeing more like this wouldn’t just be enjoyable, but professionally helpful.
June 5th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Amazing work Craig, Blankets tells a love story very similar to my own first love story, your book it is a truly piece of art.
saludos desde Mexico!
June 5th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
this is really intersting.
thank you for taking the time out to show all this.
i’m a literature and publishing major at college so for me its really fun to see what goes in to making any kind of book.
especially a graphic novel.
June 5th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Fascinating. Thanks so much for blogging this!
June 6th, 2007 at 2:34 am
i havent checked yr site in about a year but for some reason something called me to it…and wowie! a blog! thanks for letting your adoring fans know you are still alive!
xoxoxoxoxo
June 6th, 2007 at 2:57 am
bonjour Craig, je t’écris en français (tu est passé en France, je crois) car mon anglais est mauvais; je viens de découvrir Blanket, beau voyage depuis l’enfance jusqu’aux premières marches de l’age adulte.
Ce qui fai s que je m’interroge encore plus sur les garçons ……
June 6th, 2007 at 4:19 am
I love you
I love your works (specially blankets and chunky rice!).
I’ve just read your carnets.
I’ll follow you and sorry for my english very italian
June 6th, 2007 at 9:32 am
i love the textures in your black and white, it´s really tuff to get such an inocent look using so much black. beautifull
June 6th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
for goodness sake, it’s been too long. i’m looking at the ballpoint pen version, not having scrolled down yet, and thinking “i wonder why craig changed this so much, why he omitted this frame or that.” and then i see it in the book version. i suppose it’s time for another read. i distinctly remember the first time being at this time of year–the last day of school/work in fact, so i think it would be extra lovely to read again now.
i hope you’re well, craig. seanie and i send our love.
June 6th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
The two “shatter the poop deck” panels are delightful.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Oh…I confess I like more the sketches…don’t they look a lot more expressive? Both are amazing anyway…
Weird I can post in your blog, I’m writing a paper about your book for school (my reading of the book), and I’m kind of stuck!
June 8th, 2007 at 3:27 am
I’ve tryed to send a mail at pj@collinsmccormick.com, but it’s come back for server error… i’ve got to ask you a big favour, is there another mail to contact?
thank you
_val
June 8th, 2007 at 4:27 am
I really like the dynamics of your drawings! Thanks for keeping this blog up and sharing more behind-the-scene process
June 8th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Thanks for posting these…feel free to post a lot more!!!!!
June 10th, 2007 at 8:21 am
wow, thanks for allowing a glimpse behind the scenes..the evocativeness and the intimacy of Blankets never fails to astonish me. You actually managed to capture and portray the imagination of a child… lots of thumbs up for that. you know, I found out about Blankets through a friend of mine, who’s a graphic artist as well, and just like me he’s a pastor’s kid and we both can relate to the story a lot. and the other day I saw the ABC here in Amsterdam stock Blankets again, that really put a smile on my face. sorry for such a long comment, i just wanted to thank you for your amazing work…take care and lots of love.
June 10th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Valentina,
My agent PJ Mark’s current e-mail is . I gotta fix that button on the website! Thanks for your patience…
June 10th, 2007 at 8:27 am
pj@mccormickwilliams.com
June 10th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Craig,
My girlfriend (ex now) gave me Blankets in 2003 and I just loved it. I recently re-read it and marveled again at your story telling, especially at times without using words. The sentiment and story reminded me of what it was like to feel 19 again, and I thank you for it. Great job.
Jake
June 10th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Craig~
Just wondering if you knew that pages 305- 320 are douplicated in the 7th printing of the book? Probably a printer’s error, but my husband and I found ourselves re-reading to see if there was some subtle change. He’s aspiring to do some graphic writing, and you’ve been a bit of a muse. Thanks!
Tate
June 11th, 2007 at 10:49 am
thank you!!
June 13th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I work this way, too. But my thumbs tend to be pretty simple, so I can get ‘em out of my head faster.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:19 am
Craig, even your old thumbnails/sketches look great! I look back on my own old art and cringe! A lot of people say this, I’m sure, but Blankets is such a great piece of work, and very moving. It sits on my nightstand happily awaiting another reread.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Craig,
Blankets is the best craphic novels I have read. I like your work.I like your drawing . I think Blankets ia a novel that should be read by every religious teacher. Sorry for my broken english .I want to say more but I don’t know to explain.
November 7th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
[…] The answer is thumbnails. “I draw the entire book in this loose ballpoint pen format and edit, before ever starting the final pages. BLANKETS was thumbnailed for a year.” […]
December 14th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Really great art work. I myself use to draw a lot when I was younger but never found my niche doing it. I am glad for you that you have. You are very talented. Ever hear of Chick tracts? You could draw for Jesus and preach the gospel and receive eternal rewards. God bless you.
Rick T.