I’ve always viewed The Life of Nob T. Mouse as somewhere I can experiment with art styles and try to push myself to the next level with my work. In the last few days, the art here and on All Over the House has finally started to look good to me, rather than simply being as good as I could make it but not right. For once I’m happy with what my comics look like. It’s a nice feeling.
A close-up on Franky, Jip and Zigg from one of this week’s comics.
So now I’ve got to this point, I’m going to enjoy it while I work on improving my speed. I’ve long been a fan of the idea that first you get good, then you get fast (then you get fast and good). I like the level I’m at, now it’s time to make sure I can make art that I like quicker than I currently can. That’s what this weekend has been about.
Yesterday I wrote, sketched, inked and coloured every episode of The Life of Nob T. Mouse that will run next week. Today I’ve added the extra detailing (the shading, mostly) to finish the comics off. In total it probably took me upwards of 10 hours to produce 5 comics, which averages out at a little over 2 hours per comic. I’m aiming to get that down to 90 minutes per comic, because that way I can justify bringing back Ink Proof Cannon 5 days a week.
Once I’m able to consistently produce Nob Mouse comics in an average of 90 minutes, expect me to start pushing the bar on what I can do in these comics again. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next inevitable phase in art is for these guys. Whatever it turns out to be, I hope you continue to enjoy the comics as much as I enjoy making them.
Nob Mouse at King Con 2015
Zoë and Jenny will be at King Con in Durham, North-East England on Sunday 15 October. The new All Over the House and Nob Mouse collections will be on sale, as will Jennifer’s phenomenal Stars novels (Bringing Home The Stars and Twinkle Little Star).
We will both be signing books and Zoë will be doing sketches. If you’re in the area, please do stop by. We are on the Circle Level of the convention, in the Gala Theatre.