For years, I used to tell Mitch that I wanted to take a comic drawing class so I could learn how to write/draw the stories in my head. The SF JCC used to teach such a class, but I never got around to it. I still have a couple of story lines that I would like to build out.
The first concept was developed when Joey was still alive called “The Adventures of Walnut and Pea Brain,” and was all about the antics of Joey and Murky. I came up with Walnut for Joey because I heard that is the size of a kitty brain. Murky got Pea Brain because she was still quite young and I figured her brain was the size of a pea.
The other story in the works is “Freddie and Dominique: An Unrequited Love Story.” Freddie and Dominique* are a couple of sea gulls that perch on the building across the street from our apartment building. We recently acquainted ourselves with these delightful birds when we moved in to our new apartment. Freddie is a tough old, one-legged bird, and Dominique is a lovely slender, feminine gal. We’ve been telling each other stories about these birds since we met them. Like how Freddie lost his leg in a fishing accident or how Dominique keeps getting delayed on her way to the roof top and never gets a chance to meet up with Freddie who leaves before she arrives. They are soul mates who never had a chance at true love.
Perched on the other end of Freddie and Dominique’s building is a flock of pigeons. Tons of them. They never mingle on the Sea Gull side of the building–they self-segregate. I wish I knew why–perhaps the reason will reveal itself as I develop the story. We haven’t named any of the pigeons (yet), but they play an important roll of the story of Freddie and Dominique. The story line will be much like a Greek tragedy where there is a speaker (Freddie or Dominique) and a chorus (the pigeons).
Well, I won’t be getting around to take a drawing class any time soon, but I have something that is even better at my finger tips! My wonderful husband gifted the most awesomely thoughtful presents this Christmas, one of which is Comic Life that allows me to create comic strips using my photographs. The software is really simple to use, and I don’t have an excuse to keep me from developing my stories (besides a new baby and a full time job and a husband and family and friends and grocery shopping and a dirty toilet).
I finally sat down tonight and played around with the software. Here’s an idea of what the cover of “The Adventures of Walnut and Pea Brain” might look like. I still need to refine a bit and get comfortable with the editing tools.
I also want to start studying comic book covers so I can get a better feel for layout, but I’m pretty happy with this first draft. I’m looking forward to seeing how far I can go with Walnut and Pea Brain, but I will most likely need to develop a spin off since Joey died and we now have Kirby. It may be entitled “Kirbles of the Wirbles” and feature regular appearances by Murkfatistan.
*We really shouldn’t have named these Sea Gulls because now we are totally attached to them. After we moved in, we didn’t see Freddie for about a week and we were just devastated. Seriously, I’m mean it. We talked about him every day. When I came home from work, I would ask Mitch if Freddie came by. One day he reappeared, and we were just elated. We photograph him often. If he ever disappears completely, we are going to wonder what happened to that tough old bird for the rest of our natural born days.
Aww, sweet Joey!