Finally got around to making the title page for this chapter. V^(oo)^;V

The background is a bend in the river Tyne viewed from the Newcastle side. On the river on this side, the Neptune shipyard used to be, where Willie’s dad worked before it was closed down.

Driftwood will take a little pause while I focus on another comic and other illustration jobs over the summer, and also figure out what’s going to happen in chapter 9.

We’ll be back in August or so …

But it wasn’t quite anti-climactic that this was the third page I drew in one day. Or maybe it was anti-climactic that I had to stop after the third one, because the chapter was finished …? :o/

Anyway, this is the end of chapter 8.

At the time when I drew this, I was working on lettering Hair Shirt by Patrick McEown, so I felt particularly uninhibited about my manic tendencies towards hatching. His art is also very much influenced by Tove Jansson, which shows in quite peculiar ways, not only in the hatching.

The problem with having the pages already finished long ago when I post them is that I don’t spend my inking time thinking of what to write in the rants. Also, I just finished an epic deadline, so my brain is kind of numb right now.

Maybe more rant tomorrow … V`(oo)´V

* * *

(Tomorrow came:)

Okay, now I remembered what I actually wanted to write about in this post. How could I forget?!

This chapter had some of the most difficult and at the same time enjoyable scenes that I have drawn so far in my life. Scenes I had both longed for and dreaded to draw for fifteen years … Yes, I’m talking about the make out scenes!

I’ve drawn lots of other comics with somewhat romantic tones, like Eva’s stories, but somehow there never really were any too detailed make out scenes. But Driftwood is such a relatively long comic that it would be a total disappointment if it would be just one make-out scene, in just one page or even just one panel (as is far too often the gravely disappointing case in far too many comics with a significant romance element — for just one example: damn you, Chocolat!). Not to mention that it would be unrealistic to have just one very brief make-out scene.

I’d always known that there would be romantic developments between Willie and Aeron at some point in the story, but up until last year it distressed me terribly — of all the people involved, I was probably the one who was the most embarrassed about it. :3 I recently moved, and as I went through my old sketchbooks, I discovered that I had written little comments like “oh god this is so embarrassing!!!!!” next to all sketches of even slightly romantic scenes with those two … V´(oo)`;V
To get over that silliness, I started to fill out those DeviantArt memes about love and romance. That was actually quite useful. (No, I won’t post them here …)
And once I actually got to the scenes, Willie and Aeron inside my head pretty much took over and showed me what to draw, so I didn’t have to think too much about it, just do my best to get it right.

As for the technical part, it turned out to be really hard to find good reference material for french kissing (at least the kind that I would prefer).
For kisses without tongue, James McAvoy films are the best. :3 As I discovered by pure chance when I watched Penelope just for the piggy theme, and was shocked to see one of the most epic film kisses in history at the end. So, I watched all James McAvoy films I could find, and filled my sketchbook with studies of the kissing scenes. :3

But what to do about the french kissing? I often use my webcam to get reference material for weird angles, gestures and positions, so I thought of making my own reference material by filming myself making out with some dude. However, as it turned out, all the guys I made out with during that period of time had beards(!), and my lips are way too big anyway.
And then I realised that, WTF, I don’t need a MAN to help me with my comics, dammit!!! I should be able to rely on my own abilities! V`(oo)´#V
And as it happened, I had shared some truly epic kisses with one of those bearded dudes, so while I didn’t have reference in images, I did have fresh reference in the emotions and energy involved. :3

And I guess it came out all right in the end. :3

I just survived Stockholm SPX11. Those who bought Tunguska #9 there already know how this chapter is going to end (and in Swedish, to boot). :3

Whee, tomorrow is Victory Day …