Design and production of Issue #1 of my artist book/comic…Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics…involved a range of graphic techniques. These included drawing, handwriting, collage, photography, typography and printmaking. Selected production items were displayed at the launch with a description of my working method.

The first stage of the process is getting an idea. This may come from reading and research, travel, visits to galleries to look at art and objects and make sketches. One sketch book in the photo below shows a collaged image of a fictitious Japanese monster Shitake Man. Some sake also proved useful at this preliminary stage.

Concepts and images come to mind in the second stage, design. Sketching determines the shapes that will be obtained through image-making techniques.

Where printmaking is involved the third stage brings out brushes, ink and paper for the printing part of the project. A baren is piece of dried bamboo that has been stretched over a board. It is used to ensure that the paper makes good contact with the inked block. The pressure applied can be varied to produce the degree of intensity of the ink. The autumn postcard print in the photo above has been constructed from 5 layers of print.

Copies of my artist book/comic…Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics …are available exclusively from the launch venue Hondarake: Full Of Books till 31 May 2012. The store is located at Level 1, 465 Kent Street Sydney  phone: 02 9261 5225  online shop: http://fullofbooks.com.au

Another brief break between posts. I welcome your feedback on this event, if you attended, as well as to this and my previous posts, Michael.

_{(All text, photos and artwork-©2012 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}