••• 24 HR COMIC DAY, 2010! •••

So, because you are here, on this website, you know that I draw a book/webcomic called “Pirate Club”, well, I was planning on drawing a Pirate Club story for 24 hr comic day that I had roughly laid out, but for some reason, on the day before the big day, I was feeling what I could only describe as guilt towards the idea. Well, on my bike ride home from work on Friday, I got a little germ of an idea. The idea was pretty fun. And with that, I turned of my iPod, and got to thinking. And what I got to thinking was, “Screw Pirate Club!”.

24 hour comic day was not to be messed with, I was not going to go in with a script. I didn’t even want to go in with a cast of characters that I already knew. It felt like cheating! Not that I ever turn my 24 hr efforts into the “official website” or anything, but cheating is cheating, right? So I threw the idea of Pirate Club vs. the Evil Society of Lunch Ladies back into my sketchbook and prepared myself for the unknown.  Friday I went to bed pretty excited for the next day, and a lot better about my plans for the day’s comic!

So, I got up pretty early cause I forgot some art supplies, and then headed over to nobrow for the event.  We got there a little late, and I started on my comic at 10:30 am.  There were a lot of artists in the small room, and I grabbed a seat next to Alan Tew and Tim Odland.  At 10:30 I began writing down my ideas I got the day before on my bike ride and it all came out really smoothly!  I got done with the outline in a little over an hour and I was really happy with it.  Sure, I knew things would change in the thumbnailing stage, but what I had so far was a good start!

Now, because the early hours of the morning (around the 18-21 hour mark) of 24 hr comic day can be fairly grueling, and I find it difficult to keep my brain creative, I thought I would try and limit my suffering by actually thumbnailing the whole 24 pages beforehand.  Another note on limiting suffering…do not bring junk food to 24 hr comic day!  I stocked up on sugar-free juice, nuts, beef jerky, dehydrated fruit and zucchini bread.  I find that the sugary foods and caffeine really make me feel too shitty to stay focused and creative in the wee hours, so I stay away from it!  ANYWAYS…I didn’t get done thumbnailing the story until just before 3!  That’s over 4 hours after start time!  I was getting pretty nervous…but I had a good backbone to the story, a mostly finished script and thumbnails…I was confident I could plow through it!

And plow through it, I did!  I was averaging about 45 min a page the whole way through!  Of course I hit the usual dead-eyed “Why do I care to finish?” part of the day from about 5:30-6:30 AM and had to be encouraged (as always happens) to finish.  And finish I did!  Well…sorta.  I do realize that 24 hr comic day is a day to draw 24 pages in 24 hours, but while laying out my story, I think I drew a couple “shitty pages” in there, and when I got to drawing them, felt they were extraneous, so I skipped them.  It was best for the story, so I did it.  So, I lost.  But I think the only people that have given me “shit” for this are people who have never attempted 24 hr comic day.  So I win!  And it was a great time!

24 hour comic day is a cartooning marathon that I encourage EVERY artist to participate in!  The fun to be had with a large group of friends is indescribable, and those early-morning joke sessions are unparalleled.  And the fact that there are a bunch of artists in a room, trying to create, trying to accomplish what often feels like the impossible is a great experience.  So, in conclusion, I will put a challenge to all of you: Participate in 24 hr. comic day this October 2nd (yes, we did ours early, not on the official day), and try your best to surprise yourself.  You may not finish (I’m 3 and 2 myself) and you may not create the best work of your career…but what if you do?  GO FOR IT, EVERYONE!  I’ll see you next year.

Here’s some pics of the event, courtesy of Gavin Sheehan!

Thanks to all the artists who kept each other going for the 24 hours: Rachel Hunter, Ryan Ottley, Tim Odland, Elias Pate, Donnie Jennings, Zade Womac, Alan Tew, Shawn Bird, Geoff Shupe and Jason Young.

Well, that took way too long.  Here’s my 24 hr comic.

Blast from the past #4!  Go check out issue 4 of Brainwash Escape Victims in its entirety here:

Issue 4!

(no facebook link because I don’t have a valid facebook URL, apparently…search for me, Derek Hunter…perhaps “Budgetron”?)

Aside from that twat, the evening went off beautifully.  The place was PACKED from where I stood, and I admit, it could have been my inflated ego filling in the empty floor space at nobrow, but it seemed to be full of local comic nerds, artists, friends and family who came out to support our little show.  Even a lot of the regular gallery attendees liked what us comikers had to offer, it seemed.  As always, one of my favorite things at the gallery was being able to talk to aspiring comic creators about making comics, and encouraging them to draw ASAP!  I sold a lot of comics and prints, and people were very receptive to both.  People also seemed really jazzed by the idea of having a drawing for a custom miniprint after the gallery is pulled down.  I really hope I get to draw something cool…but I think the anticipation of who wins, and what they’ll want me to draw would even make drawing something as lame “Full House” fun and enjoyable.

After the show had slowed down (at around 10:45), me and Rachel and some of our friends (1, 2, 3) went to local bakery/delicatessen, “Gourmandise” and had some pastries before calling it a night. If you’re in the area, I highly suggest hitting that place up as it has some delicious food and treats…even if they were highly annoyed at us arriving 5 minutes before closing, I will still promote their deliciousness.

The next day we woke up bright and early for 24 hour comic day. There was lots to be done before hand, as I’d run out of bristol board, as well as cartridges for my Pentel pocketbrush.  After I hit up the art store, I went to get a syringe so I could put india ink in my ink cartridges, and hat do you know?  Syringes are not easily found over the counter at most stores.  SHOCKING!

This post is getting too long, I’ll update on 24 hr comic day later!

Stay tuned for part 2.

But that’s not all!  I’m offering a special reward to those who buy one (or more) of these prints!  (Cause I’m so nice)  For every print you order, you get entered in a drawing to win a mini playset of your choice, custom-drawn by me!  So, what will it be? GI Joe? He-Man? My Little Pony? Robocop? Darkwing Duck? Die Hard? Full House? (please no)

Order now for your chance to win! And hey, buy all 4 for $10 off and quadruple your chances to win!

Check it out here!