New Year Resolutions

Resolutions are bunk in my opinion, but we still make them, right?  Whether we follow through with them or abandon them is up to us.  Well, here are two of mine.  Resolution Number One: to start an ongoing and regularly updated webcomic series based on my The Devil and Mr. G(andhi) comics.  It will be in full color, not like the semi-monochrome you see below, and will be in the tradition of the straightman-punchlineman and the archetype and foil tradition I have discussed in a previous posts [You can read what I am talking about here --> Indie Comics: Which Way to Go --> The Devil and Mr. Gandhi (the second direction)]

Click on the strip to see the whole comic

I already plan on cheating, but my form of cheating will require a lot of work up front.  I plan on making several "models" of the characters in various poses and expressions, scanning the sketches and full coloring them digitally.  I can then paste the figures into various backgrounds and situations and then focus on the setup and punchline.  So, the text will be new every episode, but the images will be variations of a set of figures/poses.

Resolution Number Two: Create an illustrated e-book edition of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Again, this resolution involves cheating.  I have discussed the possibility of publishing an e-book of various original content projects with the likes of fellow illustrator James Webner (you can see his postcards HERE).  However, sometimes the logistics of crafting a finely polished piece of fiction with illustrations, either alone or collaborating, can be quite daunting, and projects get thrown to the wayside. So, I am returning to my initial idea, that starting off with a public domain text that can be illustrated is the way to go.

No, I am not so lazy that I will just colorize and photoshop pre-existing images.

I figure I can add weird supplementary things like maps or potential staging designs in addition to character sketches and scene sketches, plus a cover illustration.  I figure I have to start both of these projects this month in order to ensure at least a chance of success with keeping to my resolutions.  Of course, these are artistic resolutions and have nothing to do with my own well-being.  Will I lose weight this year?  Or be a nicer person?  Don't hold your breath.