AA-ARC, Update 1

first two categories complete. :)

The ABC Project’s continuing apace!

I underestimated how long the zine pages would take, since I forgot how much I tend to shove onto one page¹. I also forgot that my drawing paper is 9x12, and my scanner only goes up to US Letter size, so scanning these puppies is going to be a pain in the patoot.

Live, learn, yaddayaddayadda.

I also sort of underestimated the time it’d take for the prints.

The actual drawing was around three days, but I forgot I’d have to decide what to draw, and what story it’d have, both of which also take time. I’ll adjust that a little for the next volume².

The story for this triptych is that these all came from the estate of a very famous Ale brewer. They’re semi-classic-inspired still life drawings…with beer.

Ale, to be specific.

They’re ink³ with colored pencil over the top. I’ve been itching to play with the Rohrer’s Antiktusche bottles I got a million years ago and then promptly started a fully black and white zine, leaving these guys to hang there on the wall, fully neglected, for like two years.

I pulled out three colors: Burnt Umber, Astoria Brown, and Persian Red, and stuck mainly to those three, and the limited-palette Derwent Drawing pencils⁴. I love those — they show up over ink really well.

So now, I need to scan them this morning and write up the text.

I think what I’m going to do with the prints is to get 4x6s or 5x7s so they’re easy to frame and/or store. There’ll be four total: the drawings, and a fourth card with the epic story of the Ale Magnate.

It’ll kind of be like a storybook for your wall⁵, I figure. :)

Later today, I’m moving on to the sticker set for this volume.

I’ve decided to do ANTS. But not just normal ants⁶.

A rogues gallery of anthropomorphic ants in very stylish outfits. Because of course.

I’ll be looking at a bunch of vintage mugshots first, and probably practice-drawing a few more rogues. It’s going to be a lot of fun, really⁷.

So that’s where I’m at, and what I’ve been doing for, like, a week or so now.

I can’t believe this is just the first volume. I’ve got twenty more to go. When I think about it for too long, my brain just makes this excited little squee noise that only dogs can hear, and for that, I’m profoundly grateful.⁸

How’re y’all doing? Doing anything fun? Drinking any good ales? Been a victim of any rogue ant crimes⁹? :D

1. hint: a LOT. I keep trying to do that minimalist page layout with lots of white space but I can not shut up.

2. which is what this inaugural run is all about, anyway — figuring out the logistics and how it’ll all work. Or IF it will all work and whether I need to change the lineup for each volume. We’ll see.

3. ink is blocked in with a brush, and occasionally lined with a dip pen, for those who like to know the nitty-gritty of all this creation stuff.

4. I’d link the ink, but the place I got it from (Seitz Global) is no longer in business, and the only other place I can find it is Cult Pens out of the UK. It’s drawing ink, though, and if you’re stateside, Blick has a lot of drawing inks that are really just as good. These are the pencils, and they’re among my favorites. They’re buttery and come in amazing, semi-muted colors, though the color selection is pretty limited (only 24 total). I almost always carry this whole set with me when I’m forced to wear pants.

5. or your album, or your drawer, or whatever else you do with your semi-fine art. No judgement here.

6. If you were expecting anything resembling normal…it’s nice to meet you. Clearly, you’re new here.

7. Especially dreaming up Ant Crimes. I’m thinking there will be sugar heists, for sure.

8. squuuueeeeeeeeeeeee!

9. You may be entitled to compensation if you or someone you love has been injured by ants. Call 1-800-ANTS-R-MEAN (but oddly stylish) to consult with one of our nonexistent lawyers.