Oom Tim - work in progress

 Nederlandse versie (English version: see below)

Voor P@per-stripmagazine maak ik elke keer een stripje over Oom Tim, die allerhande onnozeliteiten beleefd samen met zijn neefjes Kurt en Ivan, en het hondje Tanguy, dat hij onder zijn hoede nam nadat de psychiatrisch zieke  buurman er niet meer kon voor zorgen...

Daarnaast verzorg ik ook de (fictieve) roddelrubriek, maar da's een ander verhaal :-).

Hieronder de verschillende fases bij het maken van een Oom Tim-pagina.  Vroeger tekende ik Oom Tim nog op papier, waarna ik alles inscande en daarna digitaal inkleurde. Sinds kort werk ik echter volledig digitaal (op een Yiynova), wat beter en beter begint te lukken. (voor andere projecten werk ik wel nog graag analoog, met bv. aquarel of zo).

Vooral de stap van het inscannen kan ik nu overslaan, wat niet zoveel tijdswinst oplevert, maar er wel voor zorgt dat mijn tekeningen in inkt scherper blijven.  Bij het inscannen heb je namelijk soms het probleem dat je de Niveaus/Levels van je tekening moet aanpassen, en daarbij de lijnvoering aantast... Als je volledig digitaal werkt, heb je dat uiteraard niet.

Scroll naar beneden voor de beeldjes met commentaar.

English version

For P@per, a Flemish comics magazine, I make a comic about "Uncle Tim" and his adventures with his nephews Kurt and Ivan, and the little dog Tanguy. Tim took care of Tanguy after his mental ill neighbour couldn't do that anymore.  

I also write the fictional gossip column for P@per, but that's another story.

Below you can find the different phases I work through in making an Uncle Tim-page.  I used to work traditionally, with pencil, paper and ink, but since that I bought a Yiynova screen, I work fully digital for Uncle Tim (for other projects, I like to keep working with water color).

I don't have to scan my original pages anymore, but that's not the main advantage of working digitally.  The great advantage is that by drawing digitally, with the pencil, you get a neat crisp ink line that prints really clean. When you work analogue/traditionally, you  scan the original and then you have to change the "Levels" and/or "Treshold" of your drawing to get a good contrast, which changes the original ink lines too much (it makes them thicker or smaller). See the comments with the pictures for more about that.

Eerste schets in lichtblauw (da's een oude traditie die wortelt in bepaalde praktische overwegingen mbt reproductietechnieken).
First scetch in cyan (an old tradition actually).

Uitzetten van de definitieve lijn, in rood.
Putting the "right" line, this time in red.

Ininkten
Ink-version

Detail van de inktversie. Gemaakt met het potloodje, waardoor je een harde rand krijgt, in tegenstelling tot de penseel. Het voordeel hiervan is dat je een extreem scherpe lijn krijgt bij het afdrukken.  Je moet wel op een voldoende hoge resolutie werken nl. 600 ppi.

Detail of the inkversion.  Make with the pencil, not with the brush.  It gives you a hard clean edge when printing.  You need a high resolution like 600 ppi to make that work.

Inktversie met algemene sfeerkleur.
Inkversion with general atmosphere colour.

Eerste kleurversie.  Omdat de inkt met het potlood is gezet, ken ik zeer snel met de toverstaf en het emmertje gebieden selecteren en vullen. 
First color version.  The inks were made with the pencil, giving them a hard edge, thus making selection with the magic wand very easy. 

Schaduwen toevoegen, om meer diepte te creëren.
Adding shadows, to create more depth.

Een verloop op de achtergrond, i.p.v. een solide blauwe achtergrond.
The massive backgroundcolor is now changed to a nice gradient.

Kleine effectjes (de schud-lijntjes rond Tanguy).
Adding little effects, like the lines around Tanguy.

Tekst toevoegen.
Adding text.

WIP: Smoetie Xmas card - kerstkaart Smoetie

English version below

Voor de Smoetie-kerstkaart van 2015 kreeg ik vrij spel van uitgeverij Acabo, hieronder vind je de verschillende fasen uit het project.
(Smoetie is een boekenreeks die ik illustreerde, op tekst van Magda Praet, en die zich richt tot beginnende lezers en leesproblematieken zoals dyslexie).

Eerste concept op een post-it

Eerste uitgewerkte voorstel, digitaal omdat het dan wat sneller gaat...

  

Over het vorige concept was ik niet zo tevreden wegens teveel lege witrumte. 
Dat moest anders, bijvoorbeeld met een meer huiselijk decor.

  

Het concept word verder uitgewerkt.  Om het perspectief te laten kloppen, bevestig ik mijn schets op een lange plank (+/- 120 cm, zodat ik de perspectieflijnen perfect kan construeren.

  

Het perspectief klopt, ik voeg er nog een grondrooster aan toe zodat ik ook de figuren correct in de ruimte kan plaatsen.

  

De schets is klaar...

  

De schets wordt overtrokken op kalkpapier, zodat ik een nette versie verkrijg.  Die heb ik nodig om in te scannen en zachtjes af te printen op aquarelpapier.  Moest mijn aquarel later mislukken, kan ik op die manier via een nieuwe afgeprinte schets opnieuw beginnen.

  

De afgeprinte schets wordt in inkt gezet; de afgedrukte potloodlijnen kan ik achteraf nog uitgommen aangezien die niet bijzonder goed hechten op het aquarelpapier. (het printen gebeurde met een laserprinter; bij een inktjet kan de afgeprinte schets nog uitlopen tijdens het aquarellen)

  

Eerste fase van de inkleuring: aanbrengen van een globale gele sfeerkleur; maskeren van kerstballen en sneeuwvlokken (zodat ik niet rond die vormen hoef te werken); aanbrengen van blauw in het venster; lichtjes in de kerstboom en een basiskleur voor de kerstboom zelf).

  

Diepte brengen in de kerstboom met donker groen; verder uitwerken van het decor.

  

Heel gevaarlijk: plaats nooit je koffie naast je potje met water (het is al gebeurd dat ik mijn penselen in de verkeerde pot stak...)

  

Zo ziet het er tegen het einde uit, wanneer ook het parket een kleur heeft gekregen (om meer te contrasteren met de muur), en de katten hun vachtkleur hebben gekregen.  Ondertussen is ook de afdektape, waarmee ik mijn blad op een stuk hout had bevestigd; losgekomen...

Klaar!

Om op de klassieke vraag te antwoorden: "Hoe lang werk je hier nu aan?".
Moest ik alles in één ruk hebben gemaakt, van eerste conceptschets tot afgewerkte aquarel, kom ik op zo'n kleine 5,5 uur werk.
Maar omdat ik tussendoor nog lesgeef ook, de computer van mijn ouders moest repareren, kinderen met het huiswerk help  en nog wat dingen, is dat werk uiteindelijk over 2 avonden en 2 namiddagen gespreid...

Deze tijdsduur valt niet te extrapoleren naar een ander aquarelletje, uiteindelijk hangt de tijd die men besteed aan een tekening af van hoeveel er op staat, hoe complex het perspectief is, of er één kleur overheerst, of verschillende kleuren, hoe complex een afgebeeld object is, enz...

Dutch version above

For the Smoetie-christmas card 2015  I got "carte blanche" from Acabo publishers.
Below you can follow the WIP (Work-In-Progress) of this little project...
(Smoetie is a series of books that I illustrated. Text by Magda Praet.  It aims at beginning readers and reading problems like dyslexia)

First concept on a little Post-it (5x5 cm)

First proposition, made digitally because for concepts that works much
faster and I could add already a basic color scheme.

  

I wasn't really satisfied with the first concept because there was too much empty white space.
By shifting to a cosy indoor scene, I got that problem solved...

  

Further work on the concept.  To make sure the perspective is right, I attach my sheet of paper to a large piece of hardboard (+/- 120 cm). That way, I can construct my perspective with the help of a long ruler (80cm) .

  

The perspective was okay.  I added a grid to the floor so that I could place the cats correctly into the given space.

  

The sketch is finished.

  

The sketch is traced on chalk paper, in order to get a neat verion.  That version is scanned and then, with very little opacity, printed on watercolor paper.  If my watercolouring would fail, I can print the sketch again and start all over again.

  

The printed sketch is inked; the printed pencil lines can be erased with an eraser afterwards, because apparently laserprinter-ink doesn't attach really good to my 250 grams watercolor paper. (printing was with a laserprinter, because inktjet-ink can still interact with water during the colouring...) 

First colouring fase: adding a global yellow atmosphere; masking christmas balls and snowflakes (allowing me not to work around those forms) ; adding a blue-to-white gradient to the window; adding lights in the christmastree, adding a basic color for the christmastree. ).

  

Adding depth to the christmas tree with dark green; adding colours to the rest of the scene.

  

Very dangerous: never place your cup of coffee (or tea) next to your cup of water.   (it already happened that I put my pencils in the wrong cup...)

  

This is how it looks  in the end, when the wooden floor got an extra touch of ocher to give a little more contrast with the yellow walls. The cats got their fur coloured.  And the masking tape is getting loose...

Finished!  Ready to be sent to the printer.
(click for bigger version)

The classic question here is: "How long did it take you to work on this?"
Well, if I would have worked in one long session, from first concept sketch to finished watercolour, I would have worked some 5,5 hours.
But of course, it's better to take some breaks sometimes, because then you can spot your mistakes much better.
And because I am a fulltime teacher, I  had to repare my parent's computer, I had to help the kids with their homework, and some other stuff, the total work was spread over 2 evenings and 2 afternoons...


These 5,5 hours should not be extrapolated to another watercolour drawing, because work always depens on the number of people/animals that are depicted, the complexity of the perspective, the number of different colours in the picture, ... etc.

Comic artists that I admire #1: Rosinski

The first of the artists that I present here (not in a particular order) is Rosinski. Click here for the overview of the other artists.

Rosinski in the eighties

Rosinski (°1941)  started als a professional illustrator in Poland at the time of the cold war, begin seventies.
He made some Polish comics, illustrations for school- and children's books but his big succes started in 1977 when he was asked to draw the Viking/SF-saga Thorgal, written by Jean Van Hamme. That comic was published in the Belgian comics magazine "Tintin", which had at that time a French and a Dutch version.

This series was a huge succes, not only by the artwork of Rosinski but also because of the stories itself, which attracted a huge female audience as well... The story themas vary from Norse mythology to pure fantasy and a mix of romance, drama, horror,...

I saw Rosinski's work for the first time in "Kuifje", which is the Dutch-language version of the Tintin-magazine.  The 5th album "De schaduwen voorbij" (Au-delà des ombres) appeared somewhere begin 1980's, and as a 8 or 9 years old boy, who was only familiar with classic Belgian comics like Tintin, Suske en Wiske, the Smurfs, etc, this story opened a whole new (graphical) world to me...

The opening page of "Au-delà des ombres" (Thorgal #5)

Rosinski sent his work from the other side of the iron wall to Brussels, where Tintin-magazine was published.
Difficulties in 1980 in Poland (the Solidarnosc-era) made it difficult to sent his original work  to the Tintin-editor, so he migrated to Belgium (his family followed later on). He got the Belgian nationality at that time and in our country, he made some of his finest work (who wouldn't ;-) ) but later on he was lured to Switserland by some of his admirers there... Nevertheless he kept his double nationality (Polish-Belgian) and didn't become a Swiss citizen.

So Thorgal  is his most famous series.
In this series he evolved from classic black and white inking to a more cross-hatched style.

Classic style

Evolving from classic to more cross-hatching

Cross-hatching (original from the Qâ-story arc)

The covers for the albums on the other hand, were always painted.  Here a selection of the finest (in my opinion :-) ), but they do not necessary represent the finest stories.

New Thorgal albums followed every year, but in the eighties he worked also on a pure SF-series with A.P. Duchâteau: Hans. From the fifth album on, another Polish illustrator Kas helped him and eventually took over the series from part 6 on...

Opening scene from the first album

Cover for "The Gladiators"

Thorgal is Rosinski's most-known series, but the "Chninkel"-one-shot (also in collaboration with Van Hamme, published in the end of the eighties) is considered as his masterpiece. It appears high in most rankings, with it's unique "Messiah-story-in-a-fantasy setting".

Cover

Nice black-and-white artwork

This albums originally appeared in black and white (166 pages) and consists of different chapters, which were pre-published in the "A suivre"-comics magazine.
There is also a more recent color version, but if you get the chance, buy the black-and-white version, because that's how it was meant to be. (The publisher's marketing department will say you definitely should buy both ;-) ).


In the nineties Rosinski made another 4-part fantasy-story "Laments of the Lost Moors / Complaintes des Landes Perdues (Fr.) /  Klaagzang van de verloren gewesten (Dutch)", this time with writer Jean Dufaux (another Belgian big-shot comic writer).

Put the covers two by two aside and you get a bigger image.

Laments of the lost moors/Complainte des Landes Perdues / Klaagzang van de Verloren Gewesten

Rosinski drew these 4 parts of the story, but some ten years after the last part, a prequel of "Laments of the Lost Moors" was launched, drawn by Philippe Delaby: "The knights of mercy".  4 albums were published. The "Knights"-cycle is finished, and now  Beatrice Tillier is working on a prequel for the Knights-prequel: "The sorceresses"...

Articles about these two talents are coming up on this blog :-).

After his wife died, Rosinski lost his motivation to make new work.   But he found a new drive leaving his inking technique for what it was, turning to direct colouring, with the interesting one-shots such as the Count of Skarbek (about the art-scène in the 19th century, script by Yves Sente) and Western (mostly coloured in sepia, script by Van Hamme).

Western (with Van Hamme)

Afterwards, he was motivated again to make new Thorgals, but this time also in direct color...

So Rosinski found a new drive, but writer Van Hamme was finished with Thorgal  and Yves Sente, who wrote the Skarbel-story, became the new writer.

Thorgal in direct colour (acryl, water color, ...)

In general, Rosinsky paints every picture on the scale he likes, and afterwards they're digitally combined into one picture.  This allows him to work at the scale he liks for each picture. For "Skarbek" for example, his originals were up to 1 meter (40 inch) in height...

Original art for Thorgal covers (which are published at +/- A4-format, the originals are about 40inch/100cm in height).

Rosinski monograph

Artbook

In 2013 a monography about Rosinski appeared.  Its scale (400 pages, 29.50 cm x 29.50 cm x 9.50 cm - approx.  11x11x3.5 inch) makes it difficult to fit in regular book shelves (or at least in mine), but it isn't that very expensive (+/- 50 euro, because it was printed and sold in high volumes) and provides a wonderfull overview of his work.  It also includes interviews with the writers he collaborated with and other stuff. But even if you don't speak French (or Dutch, if you can get a copy of that version), the book is still interesting enough :-). The book itself was layouted by his son Pjotr (certainly a talent for graphic design).

As Rosinski grows older (like anyone :-) ) and the time between new albums became longer and longer, three spin-offs were created: Kriss of Valnor (Thorgal's sexy but evil adversary) , Louve (about his younger daughter that can speak with animals), and "The youth of Thorgal", all drawn by other authors.

Confusing

A little remark aside: for anyone who also knows the Jugurtha-series by Franz: both Thorgal and Jugurtha were published in Kuifje at the same time, which confused me as a child. For some years (until I could read), I thought that Jugurtha and Thorgal were actually one and the same person...

Jugurtha by Franz

Thorgal by Rosinski

Reading list:

The best Thorgal story (in my humble opinion) is "Wolvin" #16, from the regular series, not the spin-off). You can read it without  being familiar with the rest of the stories, as it is a single story in the Thorgal saga.
If you don't understand English, French,Dutch, Polish or any other of the translated langues: try Alinoë (#6), a story with almoast no text.
Chinkel is a must-have for any comic-fan.  No discussion about that.

Read extracts online

On the publisher's website (Le Lombard) you can read extracts from any album by clicking the  "Lire un extrait"-button. This link brings you to Thorgal #1. Click "La série- les suivants" to move to the next Thorgal comics.

Links:

• http://www.thorgal.com (French language)
• Thorgal on wikipedia (English)
• Interview with Rosinski on drawing, creativity, ... (PDF-Dutch language) Google Chrome allows you to auto-translate this (via Preferences>Advanced) to your own language. You'll get an "Translate this?"-option in the upper-right corner.
• Interview with Rosinski and Sente about their collaboration  (PDF-Dutch language) Google Chrome for translation

English publisher + shop
Belgian original publisher
Thorgal also exist in other languages... I didn't find a complete list, so you'll have to google for your own language...


Click  here to see the other comic artist that I admire.