Monday, April 4, 2011

It takes sooo long....

Each page takes sooo long. It is quite frustrating to envision oneself completing a project, to become enthused through the power of possibility, only to find oneself completing a quarter of a tenth of a third of the project. How do professionals do it? How can they "see the future" and yet struggle through the present. Well for starters they delegate the various tasks to different individuals (writer, penciller, inker, colorist, letterer, editor, chief editor). In a September '94 Nova issue, a Bullpen Bulletin interviewed Sal Buscema, a comic legend (who has worked on Captain America, Avengers, The Incredible Hulk, Rom the Space Knight, Spectacular Spider-man), regarding his reputation as a fast artist. The question was: What's the most number of pages you did in one day? " I did 13 pages of breakdowns in one day. But I couldn't see at the end of the day! I'm still fairly fast. I can do two pages of pencils and inks in one 6-7 hour work day." I can do one page of pencils or inks in one 6-7 hour period....but then I'm an amateur. One day I will be able to do a whole page of pencils and inks in one 6-7 hour work day! AND then 2 whole pages of pencils and inks in one 6-7 hour work day!! Ah-ha ha ha ha ha ha. I don't expect to be as good or as quick as those who have worked in the industry for decades. But this has helped me to gain perspective. To give myself certain quantifiable goals.