Last weekend I received feedback from my editor, A, finally completing the second of a two part alpha reading stage- allowing me now the comfort to feel I've reached far along enough that I can start talking about the thing. The writing thing.
I wasn't sure how to document the Writing Stage of Alexander Comic (or my graphic novels in general). It's not as instant, fast or natural as the rest of the graphic novel making process, when it's just me reading or sketching or drawing, and I can just post a screenshot/photo accompanied with a quip. You can't really show much with writing; only the end result. Additionally, I have this superstitious belief that the period of making a story come to life should be treated as sacred, private, personal. Talking too much about the writing while you're supposed to be doing the work is an invitation for a jinx, or at least... it invites said jinx to me.
(more…)If there was a hill I'd die on, it'd be called Craft. It's something that occupies my thoughts, more than most things. That's evident by the existence of this blog: I'm always writing and thinking about my experiences in the world (as a person, as an artist) and how they feed into my creative practice.
But I hardly ever talk about creative craft as its own thing. There are reasons why. Partly because the soundbyte diet of social media doesn't fit my style of ruminating (I don't make zingers; I go on and on and on...) and partly because if you do try to soundbyte anything that approaches advice, it'll be poorly-received even if it goes viral, because a 280 character limit makes every word sound like a rule of law. Plus the online art environment has shifted dramatically.
And I don't adhere to the popular idea of what craft should be to an Artist or Writer anyway. Not in a Too Cool way. It just so happens.
(more…)Some thoughts on making things exist. The joy and fear of it all. A sequel to this post on Passion and Work and Adulthood.
(more…)Reimena Yee is a graphic novelist, artist and flamingo enthusiast.
She creates the webcomics The World in Deeper Inspection, and The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya; the latter of which is the first Malaysian graphic novel to be Eisner-nominated.
Currently writing and drawing a whole bunch of stuff. Is a nerd for all things spooky and historical.
Melbourne / Kuala Lumpur
Who knows ??
me, shitposting in ancient greece:
*carving into stone tablet* if i were achilles i would simply protect my heel
(Adding novels/graphic novels to this too) https://twitter.com/magpie_feather/status/1383161859675668481
I wish it would be more normalized for cartoons to not always have kids as the main characters. When I was little I grew up with shows like Batman TAS, TMNT etc and I never was upset that the show didnβt have kids in it. (I know the π’ are teens but they donβt look like kids LOL) https://twitter.com/thecartooncrave/status/1383088877880107011
Didn't see this till now! At least, vaguely know your beginning, middle and end, and outline in batches.
@reimenayee How far into the story did you go when outlining your webcomics? What I mean is how many chapters in advance were outlined :)
Reminder that I have a website https://reimenayee.com and a blog https://blog.reimenayee.com for a decently active archive of my artwork and behind-the-scenes thoughts on craft, life and other things. Plus resources!!
I found that period of my life between ages 17 - 20 more impactful than preceding years, since it involved starting a new chapter independently, meeting new people outside of my bubble, lots of milestones, so why is this not explored more commonly in fiction and autobio?