Chapter: Octopus Pie

I wish I still had the production e-mail thread. I think Valerie and I did this one exclusively in Clip Studio Paint. Beyond that, my memory is fuzzy. I’m still in awe of the textures she added, the way the inverted outlines pull us away from the Real.

Around this time I was pretty into Kyoko Okazaki and the kind of sensuality she gives to her characters. In an economy of line there’s a sleepiness, boredom, pleasure, disgust, carnality in their eyes. Draftsmanship has never been my strongest suit, and I wanted to channel more than the functional shorthand I’d learned over the years. I wanted the characters to feel things I’d never conveyed in drawing. This feeling couldn’t just be drawn – it was a matter of energy, color and vibration. I think the page is a fun exercise, the kind of thing I pulled out now and then with the goal of communication. Speaking directly through the medium I’ve adopted is a goal that can never be perfected; in turn, it generates endless fun and possibility for me.