These graphic production stage series of posts were made over several years. They show selected, shots of the “making” stage and my methodology…whether for animation, comics, postcards, prints or paintings, in a small studio setting, with music playing in the background. I always work to music. Sometimes I include an image or thought about the music I was listening to in the studio that day. Some photos show the music equipment and/or the selected CD I was listening to at that session.
Working on my graphic novel BLOTTING PAPER here…you can see the title block around the middle of the photo, towards the top….it’s a printmaking moment…the letters of the title are in reverse in this photo…when printed will be the right way round. I use printmaking a lot in the generation of images. That drop-cloth underneath all of the objects has a history of being printed on…a wonderfully random pattern of spillages and stains. (Photo and artwork-©2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) I can take this case with me if I happen to be working on location somewhere, like in a park. You can see that it is quite battered but it still closes shut, firmly…and is chock-a-block full of printmaking bits and pieces. There are some different versions of my signature stamp printed on the box in the case that contains these stamps. (Photo-©2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) I also have a tin of colour pencils…I love those water-based aquarelle types…the brush and the water dish is for use on pencil marks…I go over the lines with a wet brush to make the drawing appear painted or inked. There are also a couple of rulers, one wooden, the other steel…useful for measurement or obtaining a straight edge to an image…plus pencil shavings and part of a CD cover. Those versions of my signature stamp, mentioned above, are more visible here…there are no fewer than 5 of them on the lid of the box that contains them. (Photo and artwork-©2015 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) Or I can start with some wet drawing with a brush dipped in ink…still in the studio. There’s a linocut block face down on the drop-cloth here, next to some brushes and an open jar of ink. (Photo and artwork-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) I also have a set of rollers for inking blocks of wood and lino for printmaking…all the ink and paint stains on the drop-cloth are a result of printmaking sessions over time… I can barely recall when it started out as a plain cream coloured roll of canvas cloth…back in the day! (Photo-©2017 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) Following printing of the image is the stamping of my name…completing the postcards with a touch of that classic red Chinese ink. I have a few versions of my name stamp. (Photo and artwork-©2019 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) I like the sense of magic, even mischief, that this figure with the glowing eyes and mixing bowl exudes. There is a different name stamp on this one…as I said I have a few versions…all designed by me…M for Michael…and that’s how I write my letter “m” in scripted upper case. (Photo and artwork-©2021 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) A bit of a hectic printmaking session here with 5 different designs of postcards being stamped…and there’s another version of my shaped “m” on these cards…half writing, half symbol…developed with a Japanese colleague…a hilly landscape in the shape of the letter “m” for Michael…but also for “hill” from the Latin mons, mantis…mountain or hills…and there’s a zucchini in there…was it a snack or did I use it as a stamp? Possibly both? I don’t remember. (Photo and artwork-©2020 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics). Raw vegetables that one can print with…I am finishing off with a plate of them on the printmaking table in the studio…this lot is not only good for eating but excellent material for printmaking…particularly the flat bits dipped in ink and pressed onto the selected print surface…a messy but good source of abstract textural patterns. (Photo-©2022 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics) (All text, photos and artwork-©2022 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)
Doctor Comics 