Fixing It Old School

How to fix an inking mistake with out using Photoshop (aka how comics use to be made).

You guys asked for more how to/process stuff so here you go. While working on Missile Mouse Book 2 on Saturday the perfect opportunity presented itself to make a nice "how to."

Ok, this has to have been one of the most hair-pullingly-frustrating pages I've done...ever. Although there are several names I've thought to call this little devil it is simply known in the Parker house as "Page 86." One reason the experience was so frustrating was it should have been a painlessly easy page to draw.

Get in, draw it, get out, on to the next page.

But I ended up spending a whole afternoon on it! Right now I'm averaging about 1.15 hours to ink a page, a little fast for my taste, but the deadline is looming. It is important to note this whole thing could have been avoided if I was working at a more thoughtful leisurely pace. Right now the pace is "highly motivated to meet my deadline." So, I've been using a little more white out than usual.

All right, lets get on to it.

The Set Up:

I started with my roughs. After seeing MM's robot partner destroyed by the cave monster he positions himself in front of the large pipe of explosive fuel. The monster charges, MM rockets out of the way and BOOM! the monster is toast.

Here's the roughs. Pages 84-87:


I had a last minute impression to show Missile Mouse in the same shot with the explosion. I thought it might be cool to show him getting thrown off balance by the force of the explosion. So I inked it up, and upon finishing realized the whole sense of scale was off. The explosion looked like happened right under him. That, and MM just looked funny in that pose. Like his head was dislocated.

I hate scrapping a finished page, but I couldn't stand to look at this one. The errors were too glaring. And I wasn't going to let page 86 bring the book down. So I started over.

Here's the new page. This time I made a better boom, and made it look like he was rocketing away from the splosion. Canned the idea of him getting thrown off, and kept him in control of the situation. And using perspective (which I learned in the seventh grade, but apparently it fell out of my head while drawing the last page) I made it look like the explosion was far behind him instead of in his lap. Ah, much better. Smooth sailing from here on out, right?

Wrong. You noticed the page isn't finished though. That's because right around now I realized I had forgotten to draw his blaster in his hand. Gah! Closer look:



No blaster.

Also, I showed my wife and she asked what was going on with the smoke exhaust from MM's rocket. I said he's winding away from the explosion. She said it looked stupid. Ok. She's right.

At this point I'm contemplating packing up up and going home. But no, I realize if I do that the page wins. I'm going to bring this battle to the page and fight it on his turf.

Side note: Due to space constraints in my home right now, my computer is up on the second floor in my bedroom. My drafting table and art space is down in the dank dusty unfinished basement. Nestled between the water meter and the furnace. I like it this way because the computer can be a huge distraction. And being down there where no kids like to set foot allows me to get into the "zone" easier. It also has motivated me to keep things old school and fix it right on the page instead of saving it for Photoshop. I like doing it this way because at the end of the day I have a finished inked page, and not some random bits of drawings that need to be scanned in and pieced together.

The Process:

Ok, now to the process boys and girls. This is how your grandfather fixed a mistake on a comic page:

Step 1: Draw!

Make a new layer...I mean, place a new sheet of paper over your drawing and, using a light box for proper placement and proportion, draw the hand holding the blaster how it should have been drawn in the first place.

Step 2: Cut!

Once it's drawn you'll use a thing called an X-Acto knife to cut it out. It's like the lasso tool, but real. (You notice the correction tape on the circle area. I'm even screwing up the drawing I'm fixing my drawing with.)

Step 3: Placement!

You'll want to make sure it's going to fit right on the page. At this point mark where you're going to put it so you know what other parts of the drawing to white out.


Like this. I use the Tombo correctional tape for all my mistakes. Inking mistakes I mean. Glides on smooth and dry.

Step 4: Paste!

My wife had the perfect tool for this. The Martha Stewart glue pen. Worked like a charm! Thanks honey.



Pasted! But not done yet.

Step 5: Seamlesstify!

Ink around the edges of the paper and over the whited out areas to make the addition fit seamlessly with the rest of the drawing.


Also took care of the stupid looking smoke trail. Thanks honey!

Ink the rest and stick a fork in it 'cause it's done!

Final note: After looking at it again, and rereading the roughs I think the original rough for 86 is right. I should have just stuck to the original idea to have a huge explosion with no Missile Mouse. I'll come back to it after the whole book is inked and see how it flows with the rest of the book.

Missile Mouse Giveaway

Only a couple days left of 2009. Lots to think about. Much to be thankful for. And a whole lot to look forward to this next year. To start 2010 off right, and to end 2009 with a bang, I'm having my first ever contest.

The prize:


1) A signed hardcover copy of Missile Mouse: the Star Crusher.

2) A signed copy of Flight Explorer.

3) A signed print of the cover art for Flight Explorer (13 x 19 in).

4) The original inked art for the back cover to the Star Crusher (11 x 14 in).

There are multiple chances to win and you can enter up to FIVE times. Here's how:

1) Comment on this post. Make sure to include your email in the “email” field (will not be published) and let me know what your favorite post of 2009 was. I'm also interested in knowing what you'd like to see more of for 2010. Inktober again? More MM? Ease off on the MM? More finished stuff? Less sketchy stuff? Let me know. This counts for ONE entry.

2) Become a fan of Missile Mouse Facebook Page or follow me on Twitter. This will get you another entry. If you’re already a Facebook fan or Twitter follower you’re good to go. This counts for ONE entry.

3) Want to get the edge? Order a Missile Mouse commission. This counts for THREE entries.

That's it! Good luck. Contest ends in one week. On the night of Tuesday, January 5th 2010 I'll randomly select the winner and announce it on Wednesday. Cool?

Missile Mouse In Stores Now!

A bit earlier than expected. I received word yesterday from a friend that he saw Missile Mouse at the bookstore. I stopped by Barnes and Noble in White Plains today and sure enough:


I can't think of better company to be with on the book shelf. My friend Kazu's book Copper is out as well and it's a must get. Actually, this photo doesn't quite reflect reality. When I got to the kids graphic novel section MM was tucked down underneath the displayed books. So I took them out and put them up top inbetween Copper and Amulet. You can do the same if you want next time you're at B&N. I don't mind.

Here's a closer look at the book. Both the paperback and hardbound copies:






Amazon notes it as "In Stock" as well.

The Missile Mouse Book Trailer

We are just a couple weeks away from the release of the Missile Mouse graphic novel. Perhaps it's too early to post this, but I can't wait. This was put together by the amazing Darren Rawlings. He far exceeded my expectations with it. Also posted it on youtube here.

And Ideology of Madness has posted my first podcast interview/visit. Go check it out!

Funnybooks with Aron and Paulie: Missile Mouse’s Jake Parker

I had a great time talking with these guys. And if you can handle an hour of me blabbing about myself you'll hear all about my first gig as an artist and how Missile Mouse almost never happened. Tried really hard not to sound like an idiot.

Air Viper

Another Missile Mouse Commission. Missile Mouse is going for a spin on his Okkino Air Viper. With a full Carbon Maginox Fiber body, thrust vectoring, and the Intellicanard system, there's little in the sky or on the roads that can keep up with him. I think he had to get this to balance out having the Air Junker.



Missile Mouse: the Star Crusher (Available in Jan) is getting lots of good reviews! I've been posting these on twitter, but here the are in full for you non twitter types.

The Blarg:

Scholastic is really putting their graphic novel foot forward, and this first installment in an ongoing series from writer/illustrator Jake Parker is proof. Parker, an animator at Blue Sky Studios, has created an action/adventure sci-fi hero in Missile Mouse, a pint-sized secret agent who packs a big punch. The storytelling is fairly straight forward for the genre (good versus evil, inter-galactic war, surprise double-crosses, et al.), but Parker’s illustration work is what really makes this book pop. His background in animation is apparent; with clean lines and solid coloring, each frame looks more like an animation still than it does a comic book panel. The humor is definitely there for kids–which is appropriate since the book is geared toward eight- to twelve-year-olds–but I do wish there was some subtle adult humor peppered throughout.

Kirkus:

When his mission to recover an ancient star compass goes wrong, intrepid Galactic Security Agent Missile Mouse finds himself saddled with a partner. Agent Hyde, the son of a senator and a rookie, is willing to please, but part of his job (according to Chief Maxwell) is to keep Missile Mouse from making costly mistakes. The two are to retrieve a missing scientist who holds the key to a horrible weapon, the Star Crusher, in his hereditary memory. They rescue Ulrich Vondorf from the Rogue Imperium of Planets (RIP)—but not before RIP gets most of the info they need. Missile Mouse must find the last stash of dark plasma before RIP, but that’s not the only hurdle GSA’s finest is going to face! An animation artist for such companies as Disney & Nick as well as a comics artist, Parker produces a first full-length graphic novel that’s a gem in story and art. Bright, action-filled, at times wordless panels keep the pages turning. Intelligent space opera and a realistically rounded hero will have young fans of the future demanding the next volume. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

Booklist:

Missile Mouse, or MM to his friends, is an agent in the Galactic Security Agency and the kind of gruff loner ideal for deep-space adventuring. After he botches a mission and lets a valuable star compass fall into the hands of the dastardly Rogue Imperium of Planets, he partners up with a hotshot young agent, cramping his reckless-but-effective lone-wolf style. Their mission is to rescue a kidnapped scientist who holds in his outsize noggin the knowledge to construct a black hole–generating doomsday device that sure could come in handy for the baddies’ plans to rule the galaxy. The setting and overall look of this graphic novel owe much to Star Wars and the Halo video games. Parker’s fluid lines and animation-quality characters make for uncluttered action sequences, nicely kept PG with laser shots that knock weapons out of hands and more KOs than kills. MM’s fearless brashness makes for a winning hero, and the able mix of humor and urgency make for a solid space caper.
— Ian Chipman

Air Junker

Haven't posted any Missile Mouse in a while. This is another commission I did last month. MM has found himself a Piluxx P-CC, also known as an air junker. These were mainstays of air flight generations ago, and one of the first to utilize negative mass anti-gravity technology. This one was apparently used in a military capacity of some sort due to the blaster mounted to the front. Once ubiquitous they are somewhat hard to find now. They're sometimes posted on ebay Space though prices skew high. MM was able to pick his up at an auction on Sylann-7. Not sure why he has that scowl on his face.



The Missile Mouse book release is getting close! Only a couple weeks away. Did a call last night for a podcast with Ideology of Madness and we talked about a bunch of MM stuff and more. They say it'll be up in a week or so. I'll be sure to post a link to it when it's up.

Monster Wranglin'

Crazy busy this last week. And after Inktober I thought I'd take a week off from the blog. Thanks for sticking with me and thanks to everyone who ordered the book.

This is a Missile Mouse commission I did a while back, finally posting it.