Chapter 1, Page 1

Let's get started, shall we? I apologize in advance for my overwhelming desire to comment on my own work, but self-control has never been my strong point.

I think the unique challenge with page one was that I had close to no experience with doing line work with a brush beforehand. I'd done maybe five ink and brush (very sketchy) comic pages a couple of months before starting Bad Grammar, and then I just dove right in. Not a technique for the faint of heart, but I recommend it to those who have a difficult time picking up new things. It's pretty much the only way I learn anything about anything.

Anyway, I had zero control with the brush compared to nowadays (a mere four months later), so I started off small; literally. The line work on this entire page was done with a 000 red sable brush, and the black areas filled in with a 4 red sable brush. I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I absolutely adore Loew-Cornell brushes, both red and white sable.

I promise my commentary on future pages won't be quite so lengthy.

Chapter 1 Cover

Here's the cover to Chapter One. I painted it in acrylic, then did the text and the black bars in india ink, scanned it all, and assembled it in photoshop. Don't ask me why I decided to paint the cover like this. Sometimes my thought processes are a mystery even to me. Still, I like the color variation that happened in the yellow.

About

Bad Grammar is a personal project I've been writing and drawing for a while now, and one day I hope to get it published.

Michio, a mathematical genius with absolutely no social grace whatsoever, is thrust from his home in Saitama, Japan, to his mother's hometown on Long Island, New York. He is befriended by two outcasts, Ruby and Trevor, and from there the high school (and supernatural) drama begins.

For those who wonder about materials:

Bad Grammar is exclusively black and white (i.e. no gray tones) with white and red sable brushes ranging from size 000 to size 4 and india ink. The paper is 11" x 17" smooth bristol.

Bad Grammar is copyright Marie Condenzio 2008/2009 and beyond.