JAN		Feb 2009				MAR
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14

Email the author at qwanderer7+lgc@gmail.com

The Elves of LleuGarnock is Copyright Irene Pitcairn<2008-2009. The Elves of LleuGarnock is hosted on ComicGenesis, a free webhosting and site automation service for webcomics.

LleuGarnock HOME Archive     --- CHAPTERS & Sections     --- Chapter 1: Amaranta's Grandchildren 1-1: The Berry Incident 1-2: Destiny & Mr. Cat 1-3: By Garnock River 1-4: Pursuit of Fruit Chapter 2: Gemini Alone 2-1: The Dangers of Thinking 2-2: Healing 2-3: Destiny or Somesuch 2-4: Humans in Town Chapter 3: Laws and Secrets 3-1: Comforts of Home 3-2: Colliding Worlds 3-3: Living History 3-4: Gifts Chapter 4: Calindell Roads 4-1: Blue Girl 4-2: Toad's Story 4-3: Getting Along 4-4: Arledge Chapter 5: Under the Full Moon 5-1: Black Cat Inn 5-2: Corn Cat 5-3: Helpless 5-4: Story of the Opals Chapter 6: Prisoners of the Earth 6-1: Bitter Words 6-2: Kings and Constraints 6-3: The Shape of a Prison 6-4: Lightless Chapter 7: Bonds of Hardship 7-1: Differences of Opinion 7-2: Truitt's Tale 7-3: Strange Magic 7-4: The Black-Haired Man 7-5: The Evil-Hearted Monk Chapter 8: Shedding Light 8-1: Curses on Verses 8-2: Who Needs Keys? 8-3: The Sacrifice 8-4: Prayers Chapter 9: An Unequal Fight 9-1: Drawing the Curtains 9-2: Power of the Staff 9-3: To the Ends of the Earth 9-4: And Back Home

February 2, '09

The Elves of LleuGarnock is officially one year old today! Last February 2nd, my first cover went up. To celebrate, I redesigned the site. The Buzzcomix button is gone, since the site appears to be dead. The Frumph button isn't actually a button yet, since I haven't gotten my code from their site. I'll anounce it when it goes up.

I'm not sure about the new design. I'm thinking of treating it as temporary, as in next year I'll celebrate two years by redoing it again. It was fun, but I'm still learning about website design and aesthetics. Also, in my head it was nice and neutral, but on the site it looks a little too feminine. I think this is actually because my laptop screen turns the stones purple and I'm looking at it with the "pink hat" comics in it.

We're definitely going to all three days of NYCC! We got our hotel reservation and everything. I'm so excited! I guess I don't have that much more to say about it, but it's hard not to talk about it. The Foglios of Girl Genius are going to be there! Girl Genius is my favorite comic, so that's definitely exciting. It's also going to be strange, because I have almost no idea what they're like. It's a contrast to Gabe and Tycho, who I feel like I know, and my desire to meet them is based as much on their all around web celebrity as it is on their comic.

I'm definitely an oddity in the world of comics. Even in the context of webcomics, where the transition from hobbyist to professional is so gradual and subtle, it's hard to tell where I fall - or where I'm trying to fall. The strangest thing is when I talk to people who assume that I want to be employed in the mainstream comic business as soon as possible. That's definitely not how I see myself. In fact, the idea of mixing creativity and regular employment makes me cringe.

If I needed to support myself, I wouldn't be trying to do that with comics. I'd probably be working retail, or proofreading if I could get it, and maybe comicing, maybe selling single pieces of art on the side. But because I can do anything I want, I'm teaching myself how to draw comic books.

I often think of myself as still being in school, or in a sort of apprenticeship to the internet as a whole. Being educated definitely doesn't mean you can't be productive at the same time. I talk about LleuGarnock a lot as a practice piece, but I really do think it's worthwhile. People on the internet are enjoying it. It's definitely what I want to be doing. It's the peripheral activities of comicing that come into question.

How should I be selling my work? What should I be doing to promote it? People ask me about these things, and sometimes give me advice. It's not something that I'm willing to put a lot of effort into right now, because, after drawing the comic as best I can, my second priority is to learn to do it better. That is why I call this comic practice.

That doesn't mean I'm opposed to being paid or published. As I've said, if it happens, I'd see it as a confirmation that my work is having an effect on people. I do pay attention to the advice that comes my way, and I do what seems fun and doesn't take away from my other priorities. Currently my focus is networking with other artists, getting my comic's name and logo out there and getting attention. I plan on doing some more with self-publishing and maybe conventions. The limiting factors on these activities are my own mental weaknesses.

I can't do everything that I want to do all at once, so it makes sense to me to start at the beginning and play to my strengths. It's definitely conceivable to me that a year from now, I could be actively seeking publication. I may not. It all depends on whether that seems like the next logical step, something I should focus on.

I'm practicing now because there are skills that I just don't have that I really want to learn. There are so many things that are missing from my pages, so many things that could be better. Right now I don't want anything to get in the way of that.

I'm learning so much! My interval of pure cartooning has made me much more aware of stylism. I've been drawing lines so that they look good, rather than so that they are accurate. I have been trying to learn this from the beginning. It's funny to say this as an artist, but I believe I lack a sense of aesthetics. Not that I couldn't tell when something was attractive and when it wasn't, but I couldn't tell you why. I suppose the best comparison would be to the development of my sense of humor. I definitely thought things were funny before, but now I can build a joke myself and have a sense of why it works. The same thing is happening with my drawings. It's just beginning to work for me. A week ago I was lamenting my complete lack of such a skill, and today I can see it in my lines. I want to keep learning, more than anything else.

I'm going to be great. I suppose that's what it comes down to: I can't help thinking in the long term. I don't just want to be good enough to make a living, on the same level as the average professional comic artist. I would rather learn all I can, do something wonderful, and maybe be remembered for a long time for that work.

I suppose some people would say that the best thing for me would be being in the business, surrounded by other artists. Well, that may be true for some people, but I have some definite objections to that. First, that it would drive me crazy, but as I think about it there are several reasons that it would.

I run on my own odd, cyclical inspiration. When I'm forced to work without inspiration, I break and shut down. I need to be responsible for my own schedule, and my own material. Also, interactions with real people freak me out. And in my own way, I'm already surrounded by my peers. Webcomic artists have their own visions, and in a lot of ways I'm much more inspired by the work that they do.Mainstream comic artists have beautifully polished skills, and I'm working towards that, but a lot of the people that I learn from and the stories I'm inspired by are online.

So I'm very ambitious in my own way; what people don't seem to understand is that I don't care if I'm famous tomorrow. I care if I have more of the skills that I want five years from now.

A year ago I wanted to be a novelist, and LleuGarnock was just a side project to keep me occupied. I didn't think it would become so central to my life and identity. I wasn't even all that interested in comics. Now I'm considering the transition to professional. Most of the people in the business have been reading and drawing comics since they were children. In this as in other aspects of my life, I still feel like a child. I'm just discovering this world.