Oh man. I feel you. Now it’s been a year and a half since my dad died. I still can’t drive his car without crying. I am wearing one of his sweatshirts right now. We weren’t even that close for most of my life. It’s still such a huge hole in the world for him to be gone.
My mom died last August and I feel your pain. Grief hits in such unexpected and nonlinear ways.
I love these drawings. I particularly admire your rendering of the kitchen. Do you work from photos? I get so lazy about backgrounds, but you really went there. Even opening a cabinet and showing what’s inside when you could have left it closed. Bravo!
Thanks, Gail. Yes, I often use photo references — and sometimes even multiple photos for a single panel — to get the specificity imagination alone can’t manufacture. Sometimes, it’s to capture the gestural energy of a character, or for anatomy guidance, or for background inspiration. The trick is to use the photos as a launching point instead of trying to replicate them too faithfully. By the way, I hate drawing backgrounds. The tedium makes my skin crawl. But I force myself to really commit because it’s interesting to push through points of resistance and also the value of anchoring characters in a specific environment outweighs the anguish. And sometimes little specific details like leaving a cabinet door slightly askew add unexpectedly high value. But do backgrounds come easily to me? Hell no. They’re a nightmare of horror.
4 thoughts on “Washing Dishes”
Donna
Oh man. I feel you. Now it’s been a year and a half since my dad died. I still can’t drive his car without crying. I am wearing one of his sweatshirts right now. We weren’t even that close for most of my life. It’s still such a huge hole in the world for him to be gone.
Michael Aschner
It’s been a few months since he died and I still hit pockets of disbelief.
Gail Mallimson
My mom died last August and I feel your pain. Grief hits in such unexpected and nonlinear ways.
I love these drawings. I particularly admire your rendering of the kitchen. Do you work from photos? I get so lazy about backgrounds, but you really went there. Even opening a cabinet and showing what’s inside when you could have left it closed. Bravo!
Michael Aschner
Thanks, Gail. Yes, I often use photo references — and sometimes even multiple photos for a single panel — to get the specificity imagination alone can’t manufacture. Sometimes, it’s to capture the gestural energy of a character, or for anatomy guidance, or for background inspiration. The trick is to use the photos as a launching point instead of trying to replicate them too faithfully. By the way, I hate drawing backgrounds. The tedium makes my skin crawl. But I force myself to really commit because it’s interesting to push through points of resistance and also the value of anchoring characters in a specific environment outweighs the anguish. And sometimes little specific details like leaving a cabinet door slightly askew add unexpectedly high value. But do backgrounds come easily to me? Hell no. They’re a nightmare of horror.