How many people does it take?

Many jobs, that’s what I have. Many roles, that’s what I juggle. Like a jester throwing knives in the air, shuffling them above his head with the hopes that his skills won’t falter and he'll be triumphant in catching the knife only to swing it back up into the air to start the process all over again. Woah, that was a mouthful, but you get the idea.

The many hats I wear

As it is with this juggling buffoon who does it only to beguile the crowd and tell the story of how amazing his dexterity is, so is my life. I juggle many jobs in my day to day existence. I also juggle many positions as I create this book. Not only am I the writer, but I am also the character designer, the penciller, inker, colorist, and letterer. I also serve as hype-man and marketing guru, because who else would promote my book if not me? I bet you didn’t know there were so many steps, or people behind each step (or maybe you did).

Step by step

The step you see before you is what I like to call a “Rough” and it is usually done by the “Penciller”, which I am at this stage. This is where I lay down all the important elements that I will later polish. This step, at least for me, comes right after all the thumbnails are done. In my opinion, this is one of the most tedious parts because this is practically the foundation for the whole page. Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.

Until next time, #drawwatuwant.

-Haro

Blocking My Time

This whole week I have been trying out something my sister pitched to me. It is a productivity method which I know I have used before but for some reason, I've stopped. I get overwhelmed easily and the last time I did that I was able to do so much within the time I gave myself. So, I decided to give it another try, cause hell, I got so much stuff I need to work on and I feel I have so little time for it. Then again, isn't that the same old song most of us sing; "I have no time for that!".

Block this!

I did a little googling (Yup, that's a thing now, in case you didn't know.) and found this awesome Youtuber (yup, that's also a thing) that mirrored the way MY MIND works when it comes to organizing stuff. I'll plug the video down below for those of you interested in watching it. In essence, the video talks about calendar blocking, which is just you putting down all the things you have to do within a week, into your calendar. This way you are able to see your week at a glance and can see if you have any holes that you can fill with things you need to get done. I just realized my days are so full, it kind of gave me anxiety just looking at the calendar. I need a drink now. 

It's my time

Why the hell am I talking about calendar blocking? Your guess is as good as mine, but it could be that I used the tool to help me organize this project that the Turlock Toon Skwad created. If you are still unfamiliar with who is part of this Skwad, then check out this post right here. I used the calendar schedule to make sure we got this commission done in time and it worked.  I must've developed temporary amnesia and completely forgot about the technique. So now, in the midst of me working on Ghosts comic and some Upperdeck Sketchcards, I am reorganizing myself so I can get the most out of my time. 

Until next time, #drawwatuwant.

-Haro

How do you manage YOUR time? Let me know down in the comments.

One-Man Band

A one-man show is almost always a hard thing to tackle, but people all over have accomplished it. As I work on turning my thumbnails into what the industry calls roughs, or what I like to call "cleaner versions of my scribbles", I can already see the end result. That sometimes scares the crap out of me, mostly because I am only a few pages in. But hey, if this guy can do it all by himself, why can't I? 

Until next time, #drawwatuwant.

-Haro

Eve, The First Woman

Out of all the characters that I have created, this bunch has been the most fun. This is in part because they were all mine. As far as I can remember, they were in my mind's eye and I am super excited to finally be bringing them to life. So, back to this one. Her file says she emits electricity from her those coils you see coming out of her wrists. Yup! That's right, she does. As with all the other designs that I have updated, these guys will be true to their original designs I created back in 1998. (I think that's the right year).

Until next time, draw what you want.

-Haro

And We Shall Call Him "Neko"

One of the greatest things for an artist is to keep his old sketchbooks and not discard them just because some for the art in it is outdated. I've learned that there is a treasure trove of goodness in some of my old notebooks. Such is the case with this character, Neko. He is an amalgamation of a couple of characters I drew. The main idea was centered on Antonio Bandera's character in Desperado. At the time I called him Felino De La Mancha. 👈(Click on that name to see what became of that name.) Born from the blending of two ideas, Neko became one of the characters from Ghosts comic that I love to draw and you will see him briefly in the first issue that I am working on now.

Until next time, draw what you want.

-Haro

The Other Ones Lying on the Shelves

It has been an extremely busy 2 weeks for me and I was not able to post this last week. Anyway, I'm still here, still alive and little by little working on my Ghosts comic. I've been finding these old pages that I definitely want to redo. This is to show you just how far I got into this project the first time around. I'm having Probably about the same amount of fun as I did the first time around, if not more. I am getting reacquainted with the characters like old friends. So, let's move on with this story.

This page was done in pencils on comic board. For those wishing to know what else I used for this, you can leave me a comment. For those who don't care, that's fine too. You can leave a comment too. 

Until next time, draw what you want.

-Haro

Another Reject Ghosts Page

You know those times when you are on a roll and nothing can stop you, not even the back end of an airplane crashing through your roof? Well, that's not what's happening here.

Almost a decade ago I was determined to get this book out of my head and on to paper. I almost did it too. I had the script, which I still have, and I had the characters ready for prime time. But then, The Show comic happened and I stopped production of this project to start on that one. It was my decision to put Ghosts on the back burner back then, as it is now my decision to finally see it through to the end.

For the next couple of blog posts, I will show you some of the pages that I chose to rework. The reason behind this was simply because I want the book to look the same way all throughout. Already my style has changed since I drew the page above, and  I would like to keep things consistent. 

I am really excited to finally be putting this book together. I hope you guys share my excitement as well.

Until next time, draw what you want.

-Haro