Yesterday I led a kids’ art workshop, focusing on cartoons and graphic novels. Great fun. Several of the kids asked me to come back again, and now I’m scheduled for next week as well. I think I had as much fun as the kids seemed to have.

     The picture on top is what I drew for them, then taped it up against a bright window to trace, first forwards, then backwards. It’s a way of maintaining the consistency of an image. (It’s actually something I just learned from a cartoonist friend of mine recently. This is the alternative to a light box.)

     My drawing room is also the guest bedroom, so I get a full corner of the room for my drawing gear. It’s a messy sight, but I occasionally thrive in this room, a room without distractions, a room where I feel comfortable sketching and inking anything I want. Lovely. There is a window by my desk, and I use it often to trace images. I have to kneel on the floor while I pencil in an image, which is sometimes uncomfortable. Soon I will own a real light box! No more window sketching! (And a light box will work even on cloudy days or at night!!)