I’m on a short trip to the interior of BC with my band, The RabbleBerries, and drawing comics as I go! Trips always seem to go this way for me:
planning weeks ahead for all the stuff I’m going to get done
one week before trip, thinking of more stuff to do (or other people thinking of it!)
two days before trip, working like mad to get all the planned and the extra stuff done
day before trip, jettisoning all but the absolutely essential.

And this trip, short as it is, is no exception. I had some illustration work I had to finish before I left, so my comic, Mermaid Music, took the hit. Alas and alack! What could I do! Wellllll… here’s what I did.

I had already done the pencils before I left, but didn’t have a chance to scan them. At least I think I didn’t — it’s all a bit of a blur. But here’s a photo (all these were taken with my trusty iPhone) of the work in progress, on the kitchenette table in our hotel room. I had already inked the borders here before I remembered to take a photo.

The inked page, just finished. I keep a copy of the first book on hand to look up little details I might have forgotten.

A closer shot of the inked page, which shows the kind of light I was working with. On my left was the kitchenette’s bright white florescent tube light, very white, and on my right was a little “warm” CFL bulb, for reading in bed, I presume. You can really see the colour difference across the page!

My improvised painting studio. That’s not hibiscus tea, that’s the colour the water was when I got done doing Bones-Jo’s pants!

Here’s the finished product, taken with the iPhone, and cleaned up a bit with Photoshop. I left the balloons the colour of the paper under those lights (I usually turn the “white” parts actual white with Photoshop as well) because I’m gong to scan it and do a proper post when I get home. In the meantime, If you’d like to read the comic, hit the “webcomic” tab in the top menu bar!

One more — just to prove we’re really on the mainland now!

We travelled over on the largest and newest of BC Ferries’ fleet, the Coastal Celebration. I found a quiet space on deck and just hung out, breathing in sea air for inspiration!