Hamlet (The New Book) - work in progress pt 5: Art and Video

Thurs April 16th: The first four pages of artwork for the new book, Prince Of Denmark Street, are complete, pages 62 - 65. (Page 63 above)

I've begun in the middle of the book, as I did with Findlay Macbeth, so I can warm up and find my style without it being too noticeable. I may draw the whole book in order, as I did with most of Findlay, let's see how I feel. I'm happy with how the first four have turned out.

And there's method in the madness of it taking so long to do four pages: I've been a bit busy with video. Firstly I had to prepare for, and do a run through with, Dean Friedman, ready for the Socks do appear on his live show on Sunday night. I know, very exciting. The Socks are getting out for the first time in over a month, and I'm dipping my toe in the water of online gigging.

And having warmed up my various cameras, I sat in front of one and waffled for 15 minutes form this, a Work In Progress video...



I'd thought of doing this for Findlay and didn't. And, to be honest, if filming it, editing it and uploading it distracts me from the task in hand as much as I managed to make the first one do, I might go off the idea. Whatever, let's see if anyone watches it. And if they ask any questions that I might answer in subsequent videos, all the better.

4 pages drawn, only 113 to go. Here, have another.

Friday 17 - Only one new page drawn (p31), largely because of making another work in progress video. The choice seems to be: draw and get lots drawn, or make a video of me drawing and get next to nothing drawn. Anyhoo, here's that video, enjoy. (The versions on Facebook have subtitles, by the way).



Sat 18 - Two pages drawn (32 & 33) plus I made my panorama of Denmark Street in Photoshop for reference.
Monday 20 - Two pages drawn (34 & 35), and a new video made with Steve, and the Socks with Dean Friedman.
Tuesday 21 - Four pages (36 - 39). 13 pages drawn, 105 to go.
Weds 22 - 3 pages (40 - 42)
Thurs 23 - Front cover drawn and logo designed.
Friday 24 - 3 pages (43 - 45)
Sunday 26 - 2 pages (46 & 47) drawn, plus all pages to date lettered and saved as jpgs.

So, after 10 days I've completed 21 pages and the cover, 97 pages to go.

Progress continues to be logged in the next blog. Previous stages can be found here...

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres. email for details. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth, available to order now: http://kevfcomicartist.com

Schools and libraries can order it via Askews and Holt or direct from Kev F.

ISBN 978-1-5272-5853-2 

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086134XB7

Paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152725853X

Comixology edition: https://www.comixology.com/Findlay-Macbeth/digital-comic/848416

Hamlet (The New Book) - work in progress Part 4: Art

Having scripted and laid out 110 pages on the new book - Prince Of Denmark Street -  as pencil roughs, the next stage is the rewrites, of which a lot are needed. After which I'll get onto the art. For which I will need more Bristol Board. I ordered a new pad from the London Graphic Centre on March 28th and haven't received it yet, so I'd better up my online art supplies shopping game pronto. Good job it's only Easter Weekend, so everything will be working even more reliably than it is at the moment. (For future reference, this is all taking place during the Covid 19 lockdown).

Sunday April 12th: Hev and Steve both give me great script notes (Steve notes I've had characters refer to Hamlet as Macbeth at least 3 times, for starters!) and I do extensive rewrites, bumping the total number of pages up from 110 to 118. Here's what extensive rewrites look like in my world:

Art supplies wise, Amazon are winning, with two A4 Bristol Board pads delivered on Easter Sunday, the day after order. Meanwhile Stationery World, on Park Street in Bristol, which we can't visit obviously because of the lockdown, have been contactable by email, so three A3 Bristol Board pads are on their way from them. London Graphic Centre has yet to deliver or respond to emails.

Monday 13th: Got the 8 new pages written and the panels re-ordered and relaid, lettered as tifs, saved as jpgs, then I have to paste them into the double page spreads and renumber all 118 pages before I can pencil layout the new pages and... this bit is really boring, and it took all day. But tomorrow, hopefully, I might actually start drawing something as actual proper artwork.

Tuesday 14th: After a day of relaying and renumbering scribbled layout pages - FIRST PAGE PENCILLED! I began, slightly randomly, with a scene from the middle of the book (pages 62 - 65 laid out, page 63 pencilled, below). Only another 117 to do and we've got us a book.

Continued in the next blog....

Previous stages are in these previous blogs...

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres. email for details. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth, available to order now: http://kevfcomicartist.com

Schools and libraries can order it via Askews and Holt or direct from Kev F.

ISBN 978-1-5272-5853-2 

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086134XB7

Paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152725853X

Comixology edition: https://www.comixology.com/Findlay-Macbeth/digital-comic/848416

Journal Of The Plague Year - Tracking Sweden

As the lockdown for the Covid-19 / coronavirus pandemic continues (while nobody seem quite to agree what to call it, disappointingly nobody has followed my lead and taken to calling it Miley), I have probably never spent so much time looking at graphs and statistics. No, not even when I'm looking at my Edinburgh ticket sales.

But one graph that has been slightly obsessing me is the one above. Sweden vs the rest of Scandinavia.

You see Sweden has made a big deal of lagom, their cool-headed and measured approach to the crisis. To which end, they've not shut down pubs, restaurants, venues and schools, or kept people from moving around or restricted public transport. Which, if it sees them weather the storm without panicking people and collapsing their economy, is wholly admirable.

My graph-obsession began on the weekend of March 30th when Sweden's lead epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, said: “The incline (in infection & death rates) in Sweden is less steep than in many countries and that’s exactly what we’re trying to achieve". And I had a bit of a "hold my beer" moment. Cos I'd already noticed that Sweden's rate of covid-related deaths was going up faster than Denmark and Norway's, both of which countries were on full lockdown. And I'd seen a graph that demonstrated it. So I took a screen grab of the graph and, having immediately lost the source, took to updating it myself every day when the new figures came in.

One week later, by April 8th, Sweden is reporting 96 deaths a day (114 yesterday) bringing their current total to 687 deaths. Whereas Denmark is only on 218 total deaths, rising at 15 a day, and Norway is on 93 deaths, just 4 a day. Which suggests Sweden has a situation where deaths are rising at a much higher rate per head of population than its neighbours, and likely to get worse. And the graph looks like Sweden's figures are positively sky rocketing in comparison.

However Sweden is still way way lower in total than the UK, and indeed most of Europe. It's number 20 in the list of countries for total cases of coronavirus. So quite possibly it is doing exactly the right thing and will manage fine. In which case they will have total gloating rights over the rest of Europe, whose economies they'll justifiably be able to buy and sell when the dust settles. I shall continue to keep track of their progress.

In the meantime, Coronavirus smugness rights go to New Zealand who, by dint of cracking down almost immediately, currently have recorded a total of only one death in the whole country related to Covid 19. Preeettty good.

April 9 - Sweden's death toll is up 106 to 793, Denmark up 19 to 237, Norway up 0 so still at 101.

April 10: Sweden 870, Denmark 247, Norway 108.
April 11: They can get cocky today. Sweden only up 17 to 887, Denmark up 13 to 260, Norway up 4 to 117 (hmm, that doesn't tally with yesterday, oh well)
April 12: Second day of boasting rights for Sweden. They only went up by 12, and Denmark went up by 13! Sweden 899, Denmark 23, Norway 128.
April 13th Sweden's death toll is only up by 20 (to 919), Denmark up 12, Norway up 3.

April 14: And they're back. After a quiet Easter, today Sweden's death toll goes up 114 to 1033, while Denmark goes up 14 to 299, Norway goes up 5 to 139.

April 15: Sweden's Covid death toll up 170 to 1203, Denmark up 10 to 309, Norway up 3 to 142.
April 16: Sweden up 130 to 1333, Denmark up 12 to 321, Norway up 7 to 150.
April 17: Sweden up 67 to 1400, Denmark up 15 to 336, Norway up 6 to 158
April 18: Sweden up 111 to 1511, Denmark up 10 to 346, Norway up 5 to 163

April 19 (Sunday): You may have noticed a novel twist in the Swedish numbers, ie that people don't die at weekends. True to form today's figures are lower than usual. Sweden up only 29 to 1540, Denmark up 9 to 355, Norway up 1 to 165.
April 20: Sweden 1580, Denmark 364, Norway 171.
April 21: Sweden up 185 to 1765, Denmark up 6 to 370, Norway up 11 to 182.
April 22: Sweden up 172 to 1937, Denmark up 14 to 384, Norway up 4 to 186
April 23: Sweden up 84 to 2021, Denmark up 10 to 394, Norway up 3 to 189
April 24: Sweden up 131 to 2152, Denmark up 9 to 403, Norway up 6 to 195

Monday April 27: I have decided to stop tracking Sweden. I'm busy, and bored of it, and any conclusions that could possibly be drawn won't be able to be made for months yet. So, with Sweden on a total of 2194 Covid deaths to Denmark's 422 and Norway's 201, I am officially stopping counting.

My figures all come from Worldometers, which seems to be the authoritative and regularly updated source for this information.

I also recommend these excellent graphs on Our World In Data.

April 9 The Commentator: Mother of all shitstorms of Sweden pull it off
April 14 Time: Sweden's Lax Approach Could Be Backfiring
April 14 Forbes: Scientists say Sweden's Strategy Has Failed
April 15 Guardian: Critics question Swedish approach
April 16 NY Times: Sweden Grapples With High Death Toll
April 21 The Spectator: Swedish Experiment Looks Like It's Paying Off

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres. email for details. His debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth is out now. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth, available to order now: http://kevfcomicartist.com

ISBN 978-1-5272-5853-2 

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086134XB7

Paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152725853X

Comixology edition: https://www.comixology.com/Findlay-Macbeth/digital-comic/848416

The New Book - work in progress (pt 3 layouts)

Friday April 3rd, I've lettered and laid out 110 pages of the new book, Prince Of Denmark Street, and printed them out as A4 spreads (ie two A5 pages). At this size I then do the pencil layouts. This, I am suddenly reminded, is the most fun part of the exercise. I get to take the characters I've just designed and bring them to life, to start imagining the compositions, basically to direct my actors. It's a really surprising process, where I'm constantly surprised and delighted by how the story comes to life.

It also follows the most boring part of the process, lettering and laying out the pages, which I managed to make last four whole days. In contrast today, between lunch and 6, I rough-pencil-scribbled 12 pages. That's ten percent of the book already.

Saturday April 4 - Up to page 19 (despite this being, ostensibly, a day off).
Monday April 6 - Up to page 41
Tues Apr 7 - Page 51 (and 4 new Findlay sketches)
Weds Apr 8 - Page 63 (and Findlay sketches and art posted)
Thurs Apr 9 - Page 87 (23 pages to go)
Friday Apr 10 - Page 110! FINISHED! Got them all pencilled by 7.45pm.

(For the record the layout if Findlay Macbeth's original 120 pages took 5 days. This layout took 7 days, though, allowing for other work and distractions, it was done at the same pace).

Now to scan the pages, assemble them into a rough draft and begin the rewrites, of which there will be quite a few. Progress continues in next blog...

The previous stages of this hardly-a-spectator-sport process can be found here.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres. email for details. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth, available to order now: http://kevfcomicartist.com

Schools and libraries can order it via Askews and Holt or direct from Kev F.

ISBN 978-1-5272-5853-2 

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086134XB7

Paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152725853X

Comixology edition: https://www.comixology.com/Findlay-Macbeth/digital-comic/848416

The New Book - work in progress (part 2)

Some initial character designs, doodled on Sunday.

In part one of the work in progress of the new book (working title Prince Of Denmark Street) we saw how it had taken 14 days to write the script and break it down into panels. Because of my rubbish numerical abilities it had shrunk to 114 pages last time we looked. Today (Monday 30th March) it turns out to be only 110 pages, which I have broken down into their rough layouts (below).

These tif pages will now have the words put into their voice bubbles and from that I'll do the pencil rough of the book.
Monday 30th - Pages 1 - 10 words in bubbles.
Tuesday 31st - up to page 30, words in bubbles (very distracted day, taxing car, Facebook etc)
Weds 1st April - up to page 90, words in bubbles (and this is the day they cancelled the Fringe)
Thurs 2 April - by lunchtime, all 110 pages lettered. By 6pm all 110 pages 'bolded' and edited, so now they look like this (below), ready for rough drawing to begin.
Friday 3 April - All pages laid out into spreads (across A4 pages, so print-size) and printed out. Next stage is the scribbles (continued next blog)

Work very much in progress. It continues here.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres. email for details. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth, available to order now: http://kevfcomicartist.com

Schools and libraries can order it via Askews and Holt or direct from Kev F.

ISBN 978-1-5272-5853-2 

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086134XB7

Paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152725853X

Comixology edition: https://www.comixology.com/Findlay-Macbeth/digital-comic/848416

Journal Of The Plague Year - week two

Look at that diary. It's hard to comprehend how much our lives have changed in just a few days of March 2020. At the end of February we were hearing about this coronavirus spreading in China, and cases popping up in the rest of the world, but hardly anyone was taking it that seriously. Certainly, looking at my schedule, if there was any infection already present in the country, I personally was not doing anything to contain it.

Between Feb 24th and March 14th we see me travelling (driving and flying), teaching in schools, and staying in hotels from County Wicklow in Ireland to Glasgow, to the Lake District, to Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, Worksop in Nottinghamshire, Belgravia Central London, Andover in Hampshire, Staffordshire, Newbury in Berkshire, then my final class (for now) in Baldock in Hertfordshire. In 20 days I'd travelled to and worked in ten different counties, in three different countries, and been in contact with up to 650 school kids. And it wasn't until March 9th, waking up in my hotel room in Boroughbridge that I started thinking, should I be maybe cancelling some things?

Even then, when a first few people online mooted the idea of events like the Edinburgh Fringe in August being cancelled, they were laughed at and shot down in flames (at time of writing Edinburgh is still not cancelled). When (on the 8th or 9th) I contacted Glasgow Comedy Festival about cancelling my shows on March 18th and 19th, I was a rare case and most people were still planning on going ahead.

Keep us apart in Sainsburys, Friday March 27th

All through that week (March 10 - 12), when I was doing three days at the same school in Newbury, there was lots of talk in the staffroom about what was going to happen, but no special precautions other than encouraging extra hand-washing. By the end of the week a couple of future schools had erred on the side of caution and decided it was best not to have visitors (so my school on the 17th postponed of their own volition) but the government had made no decisions on schools closing yet. My three day trip to Hannover was an early casualty, understandably. Even then, they didn't officially cancel till Friday 13th.

As I did my class at Baldock Arts Centre on Saturday 14th, I was still in receipt of an email from the school I was to visit on Monday 23rd confirming that I was definitely still coming.

In the week of the 16th to the 21st I started working on the new book, knowing that things were going to go down, and with Socks shows and schools cancelling in growing numbers (though many at Glasgow Comedy Festival, which I'd pulled out of voluntarily, were still going ahead through that week). It wasn't until Friday 20th that the government announced the closure of schools.

The weekend of March 21/22 was The Phoney War of the lockdown. Though we'd all been told to stay at home and go out as little as possible, Clevedon was one of the seaside towns that looked like it was a Bank Holiday. There were more people on the seafront than usual, with a large cluster of cyclists, and cafes still serving out on their forecourts, even though they weren't allowed to let people inside. We went for our last walk of any distance, and the last visit to the storage unit for a while, then on Monday night Boris Johnson gave his Big Brother/Churchill broadcast about the lockdown, since when it's been serious stay at home time.

The odd sight of 'social distancing', ie keeping at least 6 feet apart, as we queue to get into Sainsburys on Friday 27th.

This is such a change to everyone's lives in such a short period of time it really is hard to get your head around. If I imagine that same period happening during an Edinburgh Fringe month, say. I'd have been arriving in town on Mon March 2nd, ready to do my first show on Weds 4th, the first proper week of shows would start on Saturday 7th, and you'd be looking forward to a sellout weekend for the 14th, then the busy second week would begin on Monday 16th, the quiet third week on Monday 23rd, and you'd be feeling a bit sad about it all being over on Sunday 29th. Edinburgh whizzes by in that period of time and, though it can be unpredictable how it's going to pan out, how can you conceive of the world changing entirely in that same short period of time?

Sorry for rambling, I really am trying to get my head around the situation. Because if things can change so much in these few weeks, how much more can it change in the weeks and months to come?

Onwards and upwards, stay happy everyone.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres. email for details. His debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth is out now. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here. 

My debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth, available to order now: http://kevfcomicartist.com

ISBN 978-1-5272-5853-2 

Kindle version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086134XB7

Paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152725853X

Comixology edition: https://www.comixology.com/Findlay-Macbeth/digital-comic/848416

Miley Cyrus - unperformed song by the Socks

A week in a pandemic is a long time, so 20 days is an eternity. Which makes this song, that I wrote for the Scottish Falsetto Socks back on May 8th seem positively antiquated. Sung in the style of Chas And Dave, to a tune of my own (not dissimilar to When I'm Cleaning Windows if that helps you imagine it) it's called MILEY CYRUS.

MILEY CYRUS – Chas & Dave Socks

I fancy a giggle and I’m tired of the pub

So me and my old Chinas we’ve gone down the comedy club

Everybody’s happy, they’re laughing and they’re smiley

Then I open up my gob and now I’ve caught a case of Miley

Miley Cyrus, Miley Cyrus

The dis-ease they talk a-bout on the wireless

It makes people panic buy hand sanitisers

It’s a pathogen, I say it again, and they call it Miley Cyrus

I called NHS Hotline, they said it’s Covid 19

I said what can I do? They said you can self quarantine

It is highly infectious, so to stop it being passed

You wash your hands for 30 seconds, I could not be arsed

Miley Cyrus, Miley Cyrus

You can’t see it with your bare eye through your iris

So sneeze into a tissue or papyrus

And you’ll lower the rate

We propogate that thing called Miley Cyrus

These days being a Dr is a horrifying job

Because of folks who’ve got this lurgi floating in their flob

I asked my Doctor “Doctor” what’s the worst thing I could do

He said use a microphone in a comedy club that a dozen other people have used

Miley Cyrus Miley Cyrus

If we get a dose then surely it will tire us

But if we are immune it won’t expire us

So thank god we

Make antibodies

That can fight the Miley Cyrus

If you want to save us, just carry a hankie

Then when you need to, sneeze in that, and everyone will thank ‘ee

To stop the virus spreading, just get in the habit

Exhale towards a handkerchief and grabbit grabbit grabbit grabbit

Yap yap / bunny jabber / grabbit