Finders

Blog No. 117

Out of all the art forms I can think of (and probably all the ones I can’t) visual art is the most outside my ability. I can carry a tune (and even some harmony) and I can cook well enough. My dance moves are rather lame, but I can follow a rhythm (especially for someone who has never practiced). Writing is something I’ve been working towards, but I’ve always had plenty of ideas, and I know how to plot out a story. I can even tell a joke or two, both verbally and in a scene. I am no expert in any of those fields (though I’m really trying with the writing) but I have enough of a grasp on the concepts that if I put in the effort (that the people I know who excel in those areas have) I can get better. When it comes to visual art, drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, film, etc, I could work for a hundred years and still be terrible. 

I find my lack of drawing ability to be a tragic flaw. I would like to have a better idea of how to make a movie, but that generally takes many people. Drawing can be done by an individual and can be paired with writing flawlessly. Over the years I have come up with several ideas that feel like comics. I could struggle and try to make them fiction, but it would be a compromise. I’ve tried to work with artists before, but as many of my fellow writers have found, unless you have a finished script and you have paid for the work, you may never get the art done, even with a willing artist. I have to admit that more than once the fault has been with me not finishing the writing half of the equation, but I have been in situations where I have, and the project still falls apart. If only I could draw for myself, I wouldn’t have to worry about working with other people.

Things changes slightly after I started working with Christian. While he is an increasingly exceptional writer (even though we differ on a few of the more subtle style choices) he started in animation. I knew the fact, but not any of the background. About a year ago (some time, I can’t remember exactly) we were writing and I mentioned an idea I had for a strip like comic about a couple of anthropomorphic animals on an undefined quest. Rather than write, we played with the idea and he scribbled out the first characters. I learned that he didn’t like drawing as much as storytelling, and like myself, decided to focus on becoming a better writer than spend his time drawing. Unlike me, he had a natural talent and years of practice. He may not be where he would like to be, as an artists (which comes from not practicing) but he was eager to take a shot and Finders was born.

Since that time, we’ve been going to Drink and Draw. The artists there have gotten on the Zine bandwagon, drawing covers and even drawing Finders. I’ve found that visual art is easier to digest, and much more popular. It seems that Finders and the Zine covers are catching people’s eyes. We’ve been getting lots of feedback and views based on that art. So far we have the next couple of Zines, and therefore Finders, spoken fore as far as visual artists from Drink and Draw taking care of it. One day when I’m an established author, have fully finished script, and money to pay a professional artist (or happen to form a working relationship with an artist who is willing to split the cost and profit) I’ll try to get some of my comic ideas off the ground. In the mean time, Finders is a thing, and people are excited. Maybe when we have enough of them finished we’ll put them in a book and sell them. Heck, they may end up being the most popular thing I create, and I can only do half of the work.