Assess, Adapt and Move Forward! Bring on 2011!!

    2010 is almost a memory! I must say it was a very good year and I have a very good feeling about 2011. It's been interesting doing the full time comic thing for the last month and a bit. I started out with a plan on how I was going to spend my work time and when that didn't work I revised it. Version 2 worked for a while but then "mild frustration" set in (see last post) and so I'm adapting it again.

   I think I've finally learned I can't do two books at once, sorry Chiaroscuro fans - it's returned to the back burner for the time being. I've also learned I don't make the best use of my time, hardly ever do I seem to put in 8 hours a day on my working days. (Also, I don't sleep enough and almost never exercise).

    

  Okay, I KNOW I can do better then this. So I'm starting off 2011 (starting on the 4th) with renewed determination to pick up the slack. I'm working exclusively on the next Angora Napkin book and I'm setting a 1-2 page a day goal. The book is all ready a year late (by my own deadline) for web serialization so I really want to get this thing MOVING and get it online early 2011! 

   

  If I can nail this pace the book will take 3-5 months to finish and then I can switch gears and tackle Chiaroscuro full time and get some momentum on that one.

    

    Wizard Con in Toronto, March 18-20th! I'll be there! 

   That's it from Meanwhile Studios for 2010, see you next year gang!

Happy Hollerdaze Napkin fans!

Mild frustrations

Hey look - Chiaroscuro book 2 is in the works!

I kind of knew that switching gears between two books was going to cause me a good degree of face-palming. Mainly, I can breeze through Angora Napkin pages then I run smack into a brick wall with Chiaroscuro.

Angora Napkin is loose, cartoony, fun and portable to the coffee shops to work on. Chiaroscuro is dense, slow paced, tedious to draw and entirely NOT portable. Also, I have around 450 pages to draw before the story is complete - it's a little daunting.

Angora Napkin is totally me in my element I've discovered. I LOVE drawing stupid cartoons. Chiaroscuro is... Challenging. I still don't feel entirely comfortable with the look of it yet and it constantly points out a lot of my shortcomings as an artist. I have this feeling it's a career spanning work-in-progress.

So far this month the finished pages count standing is:

Angora Napkin: 5
Chiaroscuro: 2

Part of my frustration lies in that I have so many more ideas pinging around in my head and comics are just SO SLOW to produce I just don't have the time to dedicate to developing them. I have no idea how some people (Doug TeNaple, I'm looking at you!) balance a family, comics, creativity and all the other things that make up a day.

OK, enough ranting and more drawing. I'm pretty sure that's really the only way to get where I want and so far as I'm aware I'm not getting any younger.

One last thing before I get back to work:

 BOOK SIGNING @ LIGHTNING BOLT COMICS

Charlottetown, PE.    DECEMBER 15th from 11-4

In the spirit of giving this season....

... Why not pick up a copy of Chiaroscuro or Angora Napkin for that special someone?

Scroll down the blog and you can find an Amazon link to both books, starting at as little as... $0.01???? Um, that's just "this" far from being free! Buy a few why not?

Or if you're feeling generous and benevolent you can buy one directly from me HERE. The bonus for you is you get an original drawing in your book and that warm fuzzy feeling of directly support the artist that created the work.

Either way you win!

Endurance II

Here's an old comic I found digging through the ruins. Click & Enjoy!

What a week!

Yesterday I posted the Angora Napkin pilot on Vimeo and it sure is getting around! As of right now, 245 people have shared it on Facebook and it's got 2,247 views on Vimeo - all in 24 hours!! Keep on spreading the love and share it with your friends ~ and thanks for all the positive feedback!


Angora Napkin - pilot from Troy Little on Vimeo.

Beyond that I've managed to pump out 7 inked Angora Napkin pages, 1 Mygrain comic and penciled a commissioned piece.

(A new Mygrain comic!)

(Penciling Pg 36 on the light table)

(Pg 36 inks in progress)

Today's task is a slightly daunting one... Remember that book I did a long time ago. I think it was called Chiaroscuro (or some other unpronounceable thing). Yeah, I have more of those to do. I only planned to take a year off from the book before getting back into it but a whole lot of things got in the way. I've managed to draw a staggering 6 finished pages to date. I write the date I finish pages at the bottom of the art and that last page was inked November 22, 2009 - so it's been just over a year since I've worked on the damn book.

Whelp, enough of that bullshit. It's in the queue now alongside Angora Napkin starting today! Page 7 is penciled and I'll be busting out the Hunt 102 and freshening the ink shortly. 

In the meantime, I dug up the cover to the single issue of Chiaroscuro #8 that never was. I guess I thought I'd channel Frank Miller on this one but alas it never made it to print with issue #7 being the last of the single issues. 

Wish me luck! 

(BTW, if anyone out there has read and enjoyed Chiaroscuro Book 1 and felt the urge to add a nice word or two about it on the Amazon page that would be mighty sweet of ya. Currently the only review is a "One Star" review that refers to it as "The worst comic I have ever read.")  ^__^

Troy 2.0

~ We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. ~  Harrison Ford

     So much has happened since September 19th, 1999, the day I finished page one of Chiaroscuro. It's been quite a ride and I have so much to be thankful for. 

(Original cover art for Issue #1)

     In my fledgling career as a comic artist I've been lucky enough to win a Xeric grant, 2 PEICA grants, and been nominated for an Eisner Award. The pipe dream of an animated Angora Napkin has been realized as a pilot and my graphic novels are available world wide thanks to IDW Publishing. I've traveled to many new places in North America in support of my comics and met so many amazing and talented writers and artists. 

     In my personal life I've seen many ups and downs. I've worked mainly in animation since 1996 and have worked with some of the greatest, coolest and most creative people that I happily count among my favorite people on the planet. I've suffered through a lot of devastating financial times, major geographical relocation, been married, divorced and witnessed the birth of my twin daughters Alicen & Hayden. 

     I'm in a very good place right now; like I hit the reboot button and I'm starting fresh again. I can honestly say I can't remember a time when I felt this good about life. I have the best kids, an amazing and wonderful girlfriend and time to draw and create.

(Hayden & Alicen sporting their Kochalka swag)

    I was 27 when I figured out that comics were what I really wanted to do. I'm 37 now and one thing I've never been able to do is afford the time to do comics without having to work full time day job. 

     While that is probably still the case, I find myself currently without a full time day job. So I figure NOW it's time to buckle down and make a go of this comic thing! As of Thursday, Nov. 11th I've been working full time on comics and will continue to do so as long as I'm able. In the last three days I've inked 5 pages of the upcoming Angora Napkin web comic, roughed another page and did the first Mygrain comic in a loooong time.

      

     So here's the plan: I'm going to work like a dog and crank out comics. I'll be mixing my time on Angora Napkin, Chiaroscuro Book 2 (Yes folks, it's still alive!) new Mygrain comics and developing some of the other ideas I have into pitches. In order to keep me focused on writing and drawing I've enlisted the help of a mysterious assistant known only as The Wa. He's ruling out pages, scanning artwork, colouring flats and doing all my general monkey work. I can't thank him enough for his help!

(The Wa and The Boss)

     In my attempt to sustain this level of output I'm going to also need your help and support. I plan on having some merchandise available soon, selling / auctioning off original art and possibly taking a few commissions. I'm going to be more active on Blogger and Twitter to keep you in the loop as to what's going on. I experimented in Livestreaming recently and will schedule more soon. There will be lots here to keep you coming back and spreading the word I hope.

(Angora Napkin panel in progress)

     Thanks to all of you for your patience and continued support over the years! I hope you enjoy all the new things I'm cooking up! Stay tuned for more!!!!

ANGORA NAPKIN TONIGHT!!

CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS!!!

You know where to find me on the 24th.

Yep, it's official - Dave Sim's LAST signing will be at Strange Adventures in Halifax on September 24th!

Then I'll be exhibiting at Word on the Street on the 26th (also in Halifax)!

I'm loving the Halifax this month! 

Upcoming Events

I'll eventually get around to posting something on the Comic Con / Eisner event of July. In the meantime you may tide yourselves over with this article from The Buzz I wrote: LINK

Catch me at these upcoming events:

Summerside, PE  - Wine & Arts Festival, September 10th from 7-9

Halifax, NS - Word on the Street, September 26th from 11- 5

Hope to see you there!

San Diego Comic Con bound!

TCAF 2010: Be there or FAIL.

Toronto Comics Arts Festival

May 8-9

SEE YOU THERE!

Comic Art of Troy Little @ Baba's Art Wall on display until May 7th.

In case you're not in PEI, which most likely you're not, here's a peek at the show!

Info about the show, location and such can be found HERE.

ANGORA NAPKIN nominated for an EISNER AWARD!!!

Best Publication for Teens

CLICK HERE for the complete list of Eisner nominees for 2010!

Comic Art of Troy Little @ Baba's Art Wall!

The Comic Art of Troy Little will be the featured artwork on display at Baba's Lounge from April 8th to May 7th. Opening reception at 8pm on Thusday April 8th from 8-9. Featuring original pages from his graphic novels Chiaroscuro, Angora Napkin and the web comic Mygrain. For more details check out the Facebook event!

Last call for Angora Napkin T-Shirts!

Order your Angora Napkin T-Shirt today or miss out! Last chance!

Angora Napkin T-Shirts! One week only!

ANGORA NAPKIN T-SHIRTS

Limited edition silk screened shirts

Taking pre-orders online until April 4th! After that - No shirt for you!

www.meanwhilestudios.com

Angora Napkin - 2009 Glass Eye Awards winner!

Eye on Comics has just released their top picks for 2009 and Angora Napkin was listed in the top "Best Original Graphic Novel" category!! 

YAY!