Creative Control

Early on, when I decided to make the journey towards publishing, I asked myself a question that I still ask every so often: how much creative control do I want?

As a fan of books, movies, comic books, I'd once assumed that the creators themselves had the last word... At least until, I, as a charmed fan, drew pictures of what they looked like to me, wrote new situations for them to be in, changed what was canon for my own entertainment.

I guess it's for that reason that, when I started writing novels, I didn't feel like I wanted to obsess on every aspect that I did as a fan. Of course, I wanted to be thorough and get a good idea of each character for myself, but I found myself hesitant to draw my characters, to insist they look a certain way outside of the words. Possibly because I do picture them, as a fan would, in many different ways, experimenting with their look and unwilling to force the canon. I never wanted to be so possessive of my worlds that others felt restricted to that.

Of course, I did start my first two books by illustrating, but I found I didn't want my novels to be a replacement for drawing comics. I knew that the novels would take years to finish (since I almost always end up turning them into series), but I needed to create a hunger for making comics that I wouldn't build up by nibbling at it along the way.

The past couple days of just doodling in a sketchbook also reminded me I can't just neglect drawing. My damn hand was cramping, not used to the muscles being used like that. That will be a source of frustration if I try to start comics at full speed ahead. So, like most of my hobbies involving muscle memory, my sketchbook will need to get a workout here and there.

Working on this one today:

This is me playing with UnHeard's Princess Endramena, her guardian Maxim still has yet to join her on the page. Again, I'm not married to readers having to see my characters in any certain way, but sometimes I want to see how I can translate the mental visuals onto a page for myself. Plus, I enjoyed the little details I put into her jewelry. I'm debating on whether I'll greyscale color this or not. I still have to add texture to the lines. I guess it'll be down to the mood of the moment. I'll scan it before I do any coloring. That way, my friends that like to color can play with that.

Either way, I enjoy the change of pace I've been at this week. I'll be excited when UnSung drops on February 21st too. It's actually much more difficult setting a preorder than just publishing something when it's ready. For all of my patience with so many things, waiting to share something is never easy.