For page 60 I used a simple G-pen to replace the fuzzy pencil ink. I like the pencil-look, but I believe that I’m more likely to maintain a consistent style by sticking with simple ink lines.
My strategy is now to replace my “painterly” pages with simple line drawings. As for coloring, I’m using the bucket tool to lay down the base color, then using multiply and lighten layers to apply the shadows and highlights.
The story brainstorming continues. It’s spontaneous and unpredictable. My book started as a mental image of Jimmy Jay and Betty Burro stranded on Easter Island. How they got there I didn’t know. I did know that Betty is supposed to solve a mystery and save the day. Nowhere in my imagination was there a notion of what the mystery was. I would have to wait for it to bubble up out of my gray matter.
Not having a plot didn’t stop me from steadfastly forging ahead with concept sketches. Today another piece of the story fell into place — the moai are actually sleeping. Somehow Betty Burro with wake them from their centuries-long slumber and they can return to doing what moai normally do — that’s another thing that I have discovered yet. Whatever it is, it’s going to be an ah-ha moment!
