Killdove: A Process of Insanity

If there's one thing an artist can do, it's to always NEVER be satisfied with their work. Once in a while however, one can forget HOW to not ever be satisfied. This can be a bad thing. Why you ask? Simple. To be satisfied with your work means to settle on something that may not be your best. I fell into that. Hard. Case-in-point, my tenure as 'Artistic Director' for the Killdove pitch (the writer's title choice, btw). We've settled on first presenting a portfolio, or pitch, to various editors and publishers in order to get this thing printed. No easy task, mind you, mostly because of what I've stated above.

As I progressed in the pages, I found my stopping point in the story when the protagonist, Kevin, through ESP/pre-cognition, sees multiple ways to stop an assailant. Before he comes to a future where he DOESN'T lose or die, he acts. However, in the pitch we're only gonna show the process by which Kevin sees his grisly demises.


My first pass at this involved a single page with just the four tiers of action. The more I looked at it, the more I felt like something was missing and a bit off. Then it hit me! Make the single page into a spread (For those of you not familiar with comics, a spread is usually two or more pages, usually meant for a massive shot of whatever the story requires). I pitched this to Eric (my fearless project leader), and he approved. I submitted my first pass, and I still felt like something was off. It again hit me! Add a central image, making this a three-page spread. I would then arrange the tiers to 'float' around this central image.


Eric liked this idea. However, trouble arose. He was feeling that what I depicted wasn't quite what he wanted, or the best I had to offer. Now, I'm not gonna say this pissed me off or nothin'. Artists are used to this kind of thing. The problem came from me getting 'comfortable' and settling on the first pass, obviously not my best. After a much needed kick in the ass (thank you Eric!), I got back to work and took what he had to say to heart. My next pass came that much easier.


Not to be satisfied either, Eric pointed out that I had missed a few things. Imagine how I thought 'Geez, I'm a dope'. And interestingly enough, all I had to do was fix a few shots of the bad guy's hoodie. I never noticed that I had the bad guy wearing a zipper-hoodie in half the tiers, and a regular hoodie in the other half. Talk about being blind. I also had to let go of the central image that I personally liked, and instead came up with an even better one.

This just goes to show that I need to focus and retain that mind frame to NEVER be satisfied. Or, at the very least, not be so stubborn about having to change.