Tag: pen and ink

THE KAPPABASHI CAT: Production Report No.1

Archive of Australian Alternative Comics, Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Japanning October 28, 2017

This is the first in what I intend will be a regular series of reports documenting the production progress of the sequel to my comic/artist book Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics that was completed in 2016. The current draft title of the new book is The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi. It is in a similar vein to Blotting Paper in its graphic approach but different in that this comic will be less autobiographical and less of a graphic memoir and much more fictive…however, several strong links remain between the two titles. It will contain fewer anecdotes of Doctor Comics and much more about his cat Cohl’s adventures. Nevertheless, strong links between Doc and the cats may persist to the extent that, initially, I thought it could fit as an extension to Blotting Paper, even as a further chapter within that title. We’ll see. A first draft of the comic has been written but the design and the artwork have yet to be commenced. As in the earlier comic printmaking will be employed along with other forms of image-making including drawing, typography, handwriting and photography. As with the earlier publication the intention is to make a comic in an artist’s book type of format.

The story begins in Berlin where Cohl, having heard no word from his friend Busch for almost two years, decides to follow him to Tokyo and try to find him. Cohl has been very comfortable in the German city and consequently reluctant to move but his curiosity has awakened him from his cultural slumber.

For details of the production of all five issues of the Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics artist book/comic and a continuing visual history record and time-line overview of the project read all of the production reports on the following posts: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

POSTCARD-Fifth Series

Art August 12, 2017

Continuing the profile of my art postcards here are some more recent examples from this year on various themes. These cards are hand-printed, created from a combination of drawing and printmaking in low print run editions. Once I finished a session it meant the end of that particular batch. I would not repeat the design or reprint it. Cards in an edition are all original prints, similar in design but are mono prints in as there are no exact duplicates. They fall within the standard postcard size dimensions of 10cm x 15cm or a near approximate. More information about this project is contained on the four previous POSTCARD posts (see the links below at the bottom of this post).

My previous POSTCARD posts form part of my graphic based material that includes painting, printmaking, cartooning and scrapbooking: THE GRAFIK GUITAR BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR CARTOON MORE CARTOONS RESEARCH CARTOONS UNIVERSITY CARTOONS POSTCARD POSTCARD-Second Series POSTCARD-Third Series POSTCARD-Fourth Series POSTCARD-Fifth Series PRINT Fish Two SCRAPBOOK SCRAPBOOK-More Pages SCRAPBOOK-A Few Pages More plus the posts on production of my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

UNIVERSITY CARTOONS

Art, Comics April 16, 2017

This post concludes the collection of cartoons I contributed to U: magazine whilst working at the University of Technology, Sydney. This, plus the three previous cartoon posts, constitute an online gallery of my single panel satirical work.

Student Administration-© 2006 Dr. Michael Hill Another actual incident when staff who worked in a room with a view of a parking station were allocated photographs of city traffic to brighten up their room.

Posts of my graphic based material include: THE GRAFIK GUITAR BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR CARTOON MORE CARTOONS RESEARCH CARTOONS UNIVERSITY CARTOONS POSTCARD POSTCARD-Second Series POSTCARD-Third Series POSTCARD-Fourth Series PRINT Fish Tai PRINT Fish Two SCRAPBOOK SCRAPBOOK-More Pages SCRAPBOOK-A Few Pages More and the posts on production of my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

CATS IN COMICS: Busch

Comics December 18, 2016

I have finally managed to add another post to my series of mini-profiles of cat characters in comics! And this time I focus on another feline character of my own creation, Busch, from the comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. Busch is a cat of German origin who loves to eat, especially seafood, and to occasionly read comics and even to draw, with a pencil or crayon on whatever paper is to hand, even if it already has an image on it such as a newspaper or magazine page or shopping receipt. He will generally expect that drawing results in the awarding of a fish snack.

Busch can eat and Busch can dance and sometimes he goes hungry, gets seasick, goes shopping, dresses up and has tantrums.

Eating noodles in a container-pen and ink drawing and collage-© 2016 Michael Hill

Drinking milk by the fridge-pen and ink drawing-© 2012 Michael Hill

Dancing in a Hamburg disco-pen and ink drawing-© 2015 Michael Hill

Doing tantrum graffiti on the bedroom wall-pen and ink drawing-© 2012 Michael Hill

A seasick cat at sea, pen and ink drawing-© 2015 Michael Hill

Emoting the fear of hunger-pen and ink drawing-© 2011 Michael Hill

Starving at the fish market in Tokyo-pen and ink drawing and woodblock print-© 2016 Michael Hill

Dressing up as his master-pen and ink drawing, collage and photography-© 2012 Michael Hill

Shopping with a canine friend in Germany-pen and ink drawing-© 2015 Michael Hill

Read all the CATS IN COMICS posts: Busch Cohl Doraemon Krazy Kat The Rabbi’s Cat plus Busch’s adventures in the Blotting Paper Production Reports: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

RESEARCH CARTOONS

Art, Comics November 19, 2016

This post continues profiling my collection of cartoons published in U: magazine or related magazines whilst working at the University of Technology, Sydney. These cartoon posts will eventually form an online gallery of my single panel satirical work.

A cross-disciplinary research committee is formed-© 2005 Michael Hill.

Some of the committee members have a background in research-© 2004 Michael Hill

...and know a thing or two about how to proceed-© 2004 Michael Hill

...and begin to assert their experience-© 2004 Michael Hill

...others investigate things in the lab on a daily basis-© 2006 Michael Hill

...and then there are those trial experiments-© 2005 Michael Hill

...testing new procedures for fast track learning-© 2003 Michael Hill

...equating contributory elements-© 2006 Michael Hill

...and there are the designers who simply study problems requiring resolution and what needs to be done and then they just go and do it-© 2004 Michael Hill

Posts of my graphic based material include: THE GRAFIK GUITAR BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR CARTOON MORE CARTOONS RESEARCH CARTOONS UNIVERSITY CARTOONS POSTCARD POSTCARD-Second Series POSTCARD-Third Series POSTCARD-Fourth Series PRINT Fish Tai PRINT Fish Two SCRAPBOOK SCRAPBOOK-More Pages SCRAPBOOK-A Few Pages More and the posts on my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

CATS IN COMICS: Cohl

Art, Cats in Comics, Comics June 24, 2016

It’s been a long time between bowls of milk and plates of fish in this series of mini-profiles of cat characters I have created or enjoyed in comics! And as a departure in this post I focus on a feline character of my own creation, Cohl, from the comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. Cohl is a cat of French origin who loves to read comics and to draw, especially with pen and ink on quality art paper. Although he favours bande dessinée, the Euro-Comics, and more Marcinelle than Bruxelle School, he has been prepared to read some manga and is beginning to find it quite appealing. Mon Dieu!

Read all the CATS IN COMICS posts: Busch Cohl Doraemon Krazy Kat The Rabbi’s Cat plus Cohl’s adventures in the Blotting Paper Production Reports: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

MORE CARTOONS

Art, Comics May 25, 2016

This post features the second instalment of cartoons I created during my academic tenure at the University of Technology, Sydney. These examples focus on the University’s Tower Building on Broadway near Railway Square. Labelled an example of “brutal modernism” despite its designer’s denial of it being that style, it is a monolithic stack of 27 storeys in concrete and glass now somewhat softened by the arrival of the newly constructed vertical garden clad Central Park building opposite. It was fun playing around with it as a satirical subject in these cartoons that were published in the University’s magazine U:.

This fake story was reported as fact by one Sydney news agency!

A good example of rocket science-launching the Tower Building into orbit over Ultimo!

It proved a bit of a problem getting it down though.

Fictitious merchandise in a non-existent shop in the foyer yet the Information Desk reported some enquiries as to the shop’s location after publication of this cartoon.

Originally I proposed using Nokia and Nokia University of Technology naming rights but the sign on the tower would read NUTS! So, no go, but Virgin was O.K.

I did an alternate version of the building relaxing on a banana lounge on Bondi Beach reading a novel but the Vice Chancellor preferred this one.

Posts of my graphic based material include: THE GRAFIK GUITAR BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR CARTOON MORE CARTOONS RESEARCH CARTOONS UNIVERSITY CARTOONS POSTCARD POSTCARD-Second Series POSTCARD-Third Series POSTCARD-Fourth Series PRINT Fish Tai PRINT Fish Two SCRAPBOOK SCRAPBOOK-More Pages SCRAPBOOK-A Few Pages More and the posts on my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

CARTOON

Art, Comics December 1, 2015

This post will feature a collection of my published cartoons of which there are around 30. Beginning with one of those I contributed to U: magazine whilst working at the University of Technology, Sydney. Subsequent cartoon posts will help me to grow online gallery of my single panel satirical work.

Satirical illustration to accompany article on changes in Sedition Law.

Satirical illustration to accompany article on changes to Sedition Law.

The cartoon on the article page.

Cover illustration for Form/Work journal-© 2003 Michael Hill.

This one was put together hurriedly in an afternoon whilst an academic journal on design theory (a special issue on architectural design) was being held up at the printers awaiting a cover illustration. I just grabbed some images from old comics I had in my office, invented some names for theories and collaged the various elements together.

How the cartoon looked on the cover of the journal.

The next one was based on what I saw at an end-of-semester design exhibition student party held on the roof of the Design Faculty building which housed a semi-abstract modernist sculpture that resembled a large scale bottle opener. I watched as this girl wandered up to it with a bottle of beer and proceeded, after a struggle of sorts, to open it, as if it was a functional bottle opener. It worked as she found a chink on the side that fitted her bottle. Then I heard this comment from one of the two onlooking students. No, really!

Form follows function at Design Opening afterparty-© 2003 Michael Hill.

How the cartoon was presented in the magazine.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.42

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania, Japanning April 9, 2015

Not quite there yet! I might still need another month to finish this issue. So I’ll say again, this time with the added word “hopefully”, that this looks like being the penultimate report documenting production of the fourth issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 4: Beer, Chocolate and Comics before completing the final chapter tentatively titled 2 or 3 Tickets To Tokyo Bay?

Chapter title page, handwriting on painted paper collage-© 2015 Michael Hill

The cats go to Germany with Doctor Comics’s stash of comics related books, mementos and research materials. They meet a canine character who kindly assists them in arranging matters. Beer is drunk, comics are consumed and a plan devised.

Chapter page, collage of painted paper, woodcut print and ink drawings-© 2015 Michael Hill

One of the cats, Cohl, sorts through Doc’s research materials and reflects on some of his deeds including one that involved Belgian comics. Cohl also attempts to emulate Doc’s art practice, making sketches and playing with art materials, more drawing than printmaking. The other cat, Busch, enjoys what Germany has to offer in the way of beer, fish and fun. Both cats and their canine companion enjoy the chocolate.

Chapter page detail, inked calligraphy brush on paper-© 2015 Michael Hill

Chapter page detail, collage of photograph and found graphic packaging-© 2015 Michael Hill

More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog in around a month’s time as I bring this chapter to completion and start moving towards Japan as the setting of the next chapter. In the meantime, for a continuing visual history record and time-line overview of this project that covers all four issues, you can read the BLOTTING PAPER production reports on the following posts:

Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.41

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania March 1, 2015

This is the fifth and possibly penultimate report documenting production progress of the fourth issue and chapter of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 4: Beer, Chocolate and Comics. It could be as close as a month from completion but we’ll have to wait and see about that. In this chapter the feline character Cohl retrieves documents and items from the Doctor Comics archive and collection of comics related materials. From this he constructs a post of an autobiographical nature on the Doctor Comics blog. It contains anecdotes of a Royalty led Belgian trade mission to Sydney that included such notable and desirable Belgian products as beer, chocolate and comics. This is what provides the source of the chapter’s title. In addition to the trade event in the ballroom of a luxury hotel in Sydney there was an exhibition of Belgian comic art at the gallery Allianz Francais. This is not the only anecdote in this chapter nor indeed in all the chapters and these anecdotes are employed to provide detail and substance to both story and characters.

Location design sketch-© 2014 Michael Hill

Dock cranes drawing, ink on paper-© 2014 Michael Hill

Promotional chocolate stack, Berlin, photo-© 2014 Michael Hill

Sketch of Doctor Comics character, ink on paper-© 2014 Michael Hill

More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog in three or four weeks time as I near completion and point towards Japan as the likely setting of the next chapter. In the meantime, for a continuing visual history record and time-line overview of this project that covers all four issues, you can read the BLOTTING PAPER production reports on the following posts: