User:MarieTietje

Bio
Hey guys! Marie here~ Um, yeah, I'm an Animation student at The Seattle Art Institute. I hope to work on Friday evening or Saturday morning cartoons once I graduate. This is mostly due to my large geek factor. I'm into cartoons, of course, but I also love action flicks, awesome TV shows, manga, anime, comic books, video games, webcomics, cosplay, and just about anything else one could relate to that rather extensive list. But otherwise, I just like to chill with my hawk. See ya round!

Always Wanted To Schedule


I've been working on a short comic book for roughly 6 months, and I've taken it to the point where I can begin to finalize pages. My goal is to begin inking the pages, ideally the first 5. This means to completely draw each page in non-photo blue pencil, ink all the outlines by hand, scan in the pages, and then fill in the larger black areas on the computer.

The research component of this project will be focused on women in the comic book and graphic novel business. I would like to focus on how works done by female artists and writers have influenced and been received by the predominantly white/male community that is the industry.





Attend local comic book convention to speak with women in the industry and get feedback on the comic thus far.



Look over and organize all work done on the comic up to this point. Story editing and page thumbnails should be complete enough to move forward with the project.



Have all 5 pages completely roughed out in regular pencil with photo-references to backgrounds and landscapes. Also, all special materials for the project must be obtained by this point.



First two pages must be completely drawn out in non-photo blue pencil and ready for inking. If possible, the first page should be hand inked by this point as well.



Continue drawing out pages in non-photo blue and hand inking. There should be no more than two pages drawn in pencil for every page inked (i.e. if the first page is inked, only pages two and three can be penciled, but not beyond to page four or five).



Begin scanning the inked pages into the computer. If pages one through three are not completely hand-inked, they have priority and must be finished before moving on to pages four and five (even if those two have not been penciled). Also, should a page need fixing by hand, though hopefully not to be completely redrawn, it must be done at this point.



Finish hand-inking pages four and five if not already completed. If there are any problems with pages that have been scanned into the computer, edit and clean pages. Following the progression method for week 5, begin filling in the inked areas on the computer.



All 5 pages should be completely hand-inked and scanned into the computer, if not completely finished on the computer. Any cleaning and altering of frames must be done before this point.

Why Do I Like What I Like?
When I entered the sculpture park, I had to go in with the mindset that I must dislike at least one piece of art, which is amazing uncomfortable for me. Towards the end of my walk, I decided that Tony Smith’s Stinger should be the focus of my imaginary loathing. It was just a big black hunk of metal scarring the beautiful plant life around it. There was obviously nothing interesting or thought provoking about that.

Turns out, Mr. Smith had a rather interesting life. He lived from 1912 to 1980 mostly in New England, and was friends with the likes of Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman. While they were busy getting famous for paintings in the mid-forties, Smith didn’t hit his stride until a decade and a half later.

For me, I can understand how he was influenced by spending a year dealing with TB or being raised very spirituality or that his grandfather was the fire-hydrant go-to guy for the nation. But what really struck me was what turned him around in the 50s and led to his notable work in sculpture. On a road trip with some students, he saw beauty in the darkness of the night and the unlit road stretching on and the lights of factories and the hulking space and the hills rising up and to him it was art. As I looked at photos of his other pieces like Light Up and Smug, I can feel the echoes of that moment in his work. He wanted to have what he made appear hulking and graceful, but never fully in view. Even as one walks around a piece to inspect it from all angles, it changes and shifts in a way.

I also really like Smith for his attitude. He didn’t want to call his pieces “Sculptures” because to him, it was more about being present with the world and one's surroundings, hence his name "Presences". He also took his time blooming, as he didn’t really become well know until his 50s.

With all of this in mind, I went back to Stinger and saw some of what he was reaching for- that dark night full of space, nature, lights, and human objects. Because it wasn’t really about the harsh black or the welded corners. It was that presence of the piece between the trees and the skyscrapers and the trains rumbling by that really got to me. This is more than just appreciating and liking his art, this is the wish to feel that dark night too.

Reference and Links Artnet.com's article on Tony Smith's life and work, with Smith's account of that dark night Sculpture.org's article on the 1998 showing of Smith's work in New York and biography The NGA Classroom biography on Tony Smith The cover of Times Magazine featuring Smith and Smoke

How Am I Manipulated?
Often I feel manipulated by comic book corporations because the few comics that I do purchase I buy to read the story-lines of very specific characters. When my few favorite characters have cameos in other comics, I feel compelled to buy those so I know how those other stories have affected those that I care about. In the end, it all seems excessive to me- that to just enjoy the story of one person I am forced to obtain other comics that usually I would have no interest in. I am also very aware that those large comic book publishers could simply collect or reprint stories involve only one character into many different publications, but that would be too much work for the companies and not every character has a large enough fan-base to support such an undertaking.

Self-Assessment
The majority of my self-assessment will depend on my progress through the weeks on my comic as well as the completed pages. Though I would like to focus on making sure each page is of high quality and looks professional, my main goal is to keep to the schedule and make sure I finish all of the pages first. If I am able to complete the inking of all 5 pages by the due date, then I will focus more on critiquing the quality of the pages and the process, so that I can make improvements and adjustments as I continue to work on this in the future.