Actually, I can also blame pesky presidential debates for my slow progress, but I’m expected to have a thumbnail version of my entire comic book by tomorrow night, and I’ve done one page. Guess who’ll be pulling an all-nighter, UCLA-style!

On the plus side, at Utrecht art store I found these useful comic book layout drawing pads.

Hey, sometimes you gotta write before you can draw. I’ve been toying with varying ideas with the same theme, but I think it’s finally starting to come into focus.

Couldn’t sleep, so I caught up with an old friend.

In my improv class it’s rare to hear a recited joke, but one of my classmates felt it was relevant to the conversation:

Why did the elephant paint his toenails?

Because he was hiding in the rose bushes.

Cue 10 minutes of banter about elephants and toenails. Improv is a lot of fun.

Here’s two sketches from last night’s brainstorming session. I was thinking of displaying  most New Yorkers, from the protagonist’s perspective, as shrouded in shadow. Conversely, the little connections he makes, like helping a tourist, are as clear as day.

I kinda like the idea, but I fear that the dark vs. light thing will seem to imply that the character is morose. What I’m really trying to express is turning inward vs. turning outward. It’s possible to be happy but inward-gazing. I just need to find a way to visualize the difference between shutting people out and letting people in.