Wow. If you are a comics creator this is a conference you need to put on your annual list. I have said before this is not a “I’m going for photo-ops and autographs with celebrities to impress my friends” kind of Con. Your friends may not even know who the folks are you got autographs from or photos with. If they do- you have some amazingly awesomely geeky friends.
CXC is an educational conference and even has an academic symposium happening at the same time. The sessions cover the practical aspects of comics, the serious stuff dealing with “funny books.” Each year I think to myself that I really don’t need to go… and each year I go I am blown away. Most of the time it has something to do with me realizing that in my small group, I’m pretty knowledgable in the area of comics… Here I am an idiot and know nothing.
Sessions start Thursday and the entire day I learned things. I was inspired and figuring out how I could become better at my craft. I’ve been not enough Educational conferences that inspire me, and then I return to the classroom only to find out that the school won’r support the changes I just learned about. This time it’s all on me. Last year I learned about SubStack (more on that later) this year I overwhelmed.
The morning started with doctoral candidates in a panel talking about their various areas of study. Each had a unique perspective, but pulled together by the common thread of cartoons/comics. Which got me to recall those times when I thought about majoring in Art only to be told that I needed to exorcise these silly creatures if I wanted to be a serious artist… I wanted to be a cartoonist and animator not a “serious artist.” Throughout the day I kept getting reminded about how I really like to draw and need to make time to do just that.
Brian Canini’s session was probably the highlight of the entire con for me. Brian talked about how to develop more productive comic making habits and was amazing. He talked about his journey and the mistakes he made, what he learned and how everyone has their own path, but there are some things that might help. What he said was common sense, but to hear it was a game changer for me. Which is why I’m sitting here in the morning already having drawn from the Draw or Die Promptober prompt, and worked on some other drawings- normally I’d be snuggling with the cats in bed. I’m hoping to build the habits I need, not to make money or be famously successful, but to feel good about my art, and what I am making.
Jon Novak talked about the coloring process. You don’t think about coloring much and sadly the colorist is usually an unsung hero (like the letterer) in the creation of comics. Jon colored some of the favorite books in my classroom library: Giants Beware! Dragons Beware! and Monsters Beware! He went through the process, The decisions he needed to make and how much leeway the artist gives him. It was great, although I have a lot to learn about digital tools to tackle more than what I currently do.
David Rickert then spoke about hands… Yes, all about how to draw hands. Siting some amazing inspirations- he has posted his presentation along with his reflections (which are much better than mine) on his SubStack so I won’t go into detail at least about his excellent presentation. I will mention SubStack for a moment. It is a great platform for artists and writers to share their work and get support. I’m only concerned that, like many digital platforms, it can either vanish, or mutate into something horrible and while I have all my stuff I’d have to recreate everything again… For the time being I’ll stick with my silly WordPress site.
The day closed out with Jeff Smith talking about where he gets his ideas. This dovetailed into a point that Brian Canini had made about always have multiple projects in various stages going simultaneously. While Jeff was finishing “Bone” he was starting to go through the start of “RASL” The seed that would become “Tuki” started during Bone, but really came to a head as he was finishing “RASL.” When asked about researching things, Jeff talked about ox carts. In “Bone” he had drawn ox carts for a few issues and realized that he had no idea about how an ox cart actually worked. So he dove into researching how ox carts work. Basically, you can’t research everything, but be ready to jump into researching things as needed. Do you need to become an ox cart scholar? No, but it is nice to know how they are built and how people guide the oxen if you are going to have them in your comic. Will most readers know if you got it wrong? Nope, so don’t sweat it.
Day two had some other amazing presentations, just nothing that hit me as hard as the first day- I’m guessing I’m just not at that level yet. The first session dealt with breaking out other the cage we put ourselves as cartoonists- the panel. L. Pidge did a great job of show us how we can use the space on the page and not just constrain our art into panels. Something to consider if I ever get fancy enough to worry about layout more than just getting the idea on the paper.
The second session cause a bit of PTSD for me. It was an excellent session on how to become a lecturer/professor at an art school. Flashbacks to teaching at the collegiate level and just dealing with academia. I realized, once again, that I really don’t want to return to a classroom anytime soon. The one part that stuck in my head was Beth’s introductory slide which was a cool graphic about who she is. I have since done my own.
The afternoon brought session on the future of Editorial Cartoons (spoilers: they are still alive, just not in newspapers as much), how to store and ship artwork (spoilers: I’m doing it wrong), and a cool session on ideas for gag comics. A Gag comic is a single panel comic (like those found in some magazines). It was a nice brainstorming session with some cool ideas that if I were still teaching I might use.
My Scribbly Notes From Thursday & Friday:
I signed up that morning for Sue and I to take the behind the scenes tour of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum and Library. Since Sue’s mom was a librarian I figured she would like it. Little did I know that a couple of the big name attendees were also on this tour. I try to avoid being a “fanboy” because I usually put my foot in my mouth if I try to talk to someone I admire. SO I was quiet. Sue was trying to get me to get photos with Cecil… Do I regret not doing it? A little, but it was just great seeing how excited these big names were over the artwork they were looking at. It made me realize that we are all fanboys, just for some the bar is a bit higher.
Some photos from the Tour and a few pieces set out in the Reading Room. As far as I can tell presenters are asked to suggest artists or works to display in the Reading room. All the tables are covered with artwork, some of it known, and other pieces somewhat obscure. this is where I feel like an idiot as I overhear the “fine art” speak about various pages… “Oh, I really preferred the work he did during his blue period…”
Once we left the tour we ended up at the opening reception and then a chat with Jeff Smith, Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly on stage. It was a nice talk with stories of underground comics, art and just life. I wanted to focus on the moment, so I took only a couple photos and no notes.
Saturday and Sunday events are held at the main branch of the Columbus Library (OSU had a football game (college priorities, I guess). That and the library offers a larger facility so there is enough space for exhibitors. There are also sessions many catering to a broader audience. This year I did a quick walk through the exhibit area and picked up some books and stickers. I could have spent more time, but I was tired, missed my boys and ready to go home and begin to act on some of the ideas that were presented.
One thing that made this CXC different was Sue. Sometimes she will attend these things with me, most of the time she won’t. This time she helped me get out of my shell and go to the opening reception, and Friday’s after party. As an Introvert, I really tend to avoid the social stuff because I’m by myself, don’t really know anyone, and after past experiences figure I’d just be a barnacle clinging to someone who says “Hi.” I don’t want to be that person, in fact I hate talking with people since I tend to say the wrong thing… all the time. I think it might be clever, and instead, it’s just stupid. Perhaps that will end up being part of my journal comic.
Projects I have been inspired to work on thanks to CXC:
- A Daily Journal Comic (done at the end of the day- although may be inked in the morning)
- A science fiction story that I’ve written a few ideas about (a dream note)
- A silly little story about taking the bus places (another dream note)
- Redoing some of the short comics I made about past life experiences (Sophomore Crit & High School Reunion)
- Continuing The My Geek Odyssey strips for FTF Geocacher maybe even seeing about putting them all together.
- Daily drawing prompts (Draw or Die Club)
My Haul:
I really didn’t pick up much this time around. This makes up for buying an original piece of Will Eisner artwork last year. A lot of what I picked up I’ll actually be giving to people as gifts, so (even though they don’t read this) I wouldn’t want to ruin any surprise. I do recommend looking at the list of exhibitors and checking out some of their work. Better yet, let;s meet up next year and hit the con, and the after parties- If you are there I probably won’t hide in my hotel room!