big obrigado

June 4, 2009 craig ,

Fresh home from Portugal. Big “obrigado” to Paulo Monteiro for organizing the festival in Beja and spoiling all us guests! On the left, a sketch
André Caetano made of me (looking intense & scruffy) during my talk with Pedro Moura. And on the right, a glimpse of Beja from the castle.

Beja’s a charming, laid-back city a couple hours outside of Lisbon and the festival is cozy and friendly and flowing with endless pitchers
of wine and sangria. Most of all, it was a great honor to spend time with the guest and local cartoonists. Below is Pedro Burgos and I
on the streets of Lisbon. Now I’m good and fueled to get back to work on HABIBI!

craigbig obrigado
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floor scraps & waterfalls

May 21, 2009 craig , ,

As Jordi noted, it’s been exactly a month since an update! Guess it takes some time to get back on track after any comics show.
And now I’m leaving in a week for another festival – this time in Beja, Portugal. I’ll be signing and/or presenting on the weekend
of May 30th & 31st and have 31 original pages in their exhibition. If you live near Lisbon, hope to see you!
LW asked if I’ll be at MoCCA … unfortunately no. After these couple of comics shows, I gotta get back to focusing exclusively on the book.
Though I will be at an American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago on July 13th.
Below is a simple panel in progress from today’s page. I’m still guarded about revealing Habibi spoilers, but I can say we’re in the 470s now!

Poppy asked that I respond to a few of the blog comments, so here goes. Kristi A., definitely feel free to weave some of my work
in your final project. (In general, I’m cool for people to appropriate my drawings in such ways, as long as it’s not for profit.)
Ahnmin, thanks for the poem! Avri, very cool Dandel sculpture (as seen below, along with an Oregon waterfall).

And some TOOL questions. Alex Holden, I don’t print my pencils as blue lines. Rather, I ink right on top of the pencils, so the pencils are
only preserved when I scan them for this blog. (Also thanks for sending your MAGIC HOUR minis.) Brandon, as far as I know you can’t find
Pentel pocketbrush pens or refills in Portland. Best to order online. Jess Smart Smiley, the floor scraps are definitely part of the process.

Hope some of this babble is useful… Thank you always for your comments and support!

craigfloor scraps & waterfalls
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cartoonist buds

April 21, 2009 craig ,

The Stumptown ComicsFest seemed a success. I was especially grateful to have laid-back time with cartoonist friends Jeff Smith and
Mike & Laura Allred. It was these very cartoonists that drew me back to the comics medium, with their books BONE and MADMAN.
Jeff visited my studio on Friday to peruse Habibi pages, and Mike & Laura stopped by on Saturday.
Plus we had time to enjoy the summery sun and eat good foods.

Big thanks to all of you that made it to my Sunday talk and/or signing. You were a pleasure to meet! Also thanks to Douglas Wolk for moderating.
I wish I could share some of the images from my “powerpoint” on the blog, but I think they’d be too much of a spoiler in this form.
Here’s a simple glimpse of pencils-to-inks that shouldn’t ruin any storytelling.

craigcartoonist buds
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stumptown spring

April 4, 2009 craig ,

First off, thank you all for the outpouring of comments with that last post.
You’re like the ray of new spring sun that spilled onto the drawing table this morning…

For those of you in Portland welcoming the end of the brutal winter rains, I’ll be participating in a number of events
revolving around STUMPTOWN COMICS FESTIVAL (full schedule here).

1) An art show at the Portland Center for Contemporary Arts. Included are a page from CHUNKY RICE,
a page from BLANKETS, and a page from HABIBI (first ever on display). Up all of April. 1111 SW Broadway

2) A Comic Book Legal Defense Fund benefit dinner at PCPA on Friday, April 17th at 5:30.
$100 gets you an intimate eating experience with myself, Jeff Smith, Gail Simone, Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Wagner,
Farel Dalrymple, Derek Kirk Kim, Mike Dringenberg, and Mayor Sam Adams (who will declare April the month of comics in Portland.)
Kinda schmancy and expensive, but all proceeds go to a good cause. Ticket details here.

3) Sunday the 19th, I’ll be signing at the actual festival. Plus at 1pm in the “Alaska” room, writer Douglas Wolk (READING COMICS) will be moderating
an interview with me. Also Q&A with the audience. But if there’s things you wanna see/hear, feel free to let me know on the blog.

(final image there is from the Stumptown poster drawn by Farel Dalrymple)

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overexert

March 17, 2009 craig

On days like today, I need to trick myself into composing a page of comics. The blank paper looks intimidating, and the panel borders
feel cramped. So I sketch loosely and scattered on a cheap scrap, then scan, and shift things around in Photoshop. It seems contrived,
but sometimes drawing in all those claustrophobic little boxes doesn’t come naturally.


PS As always, it’s a pleasure reading your comments. Thanks!

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comics tools interview

February 18, 2009 craig ,

Just a quick note to say that COMICS TOOLS BLOG interviewed me – along with Erika Moen, Bryan Lee O’Malley, and Hope Larson –
about brush techniques. Worth checking out if you’re curious about process. Or compare notes with my previous TOOL TALK posting.
For the record, with today’s page of HABIBI, I’m back on the Raphael 8404s!

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ark snack

February 6, 2009 craig ,

Seems like it was an amazing year to be at the Angoulême festival in France. A huge exhibition of presidents
Dupuy & Berberian’s work … plus Blutch won the Grand Prix! Three of the most inspiring/influential cartoonists in the universe.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t in attendance this year. Nipping the travel after my indulgent Hawaii escape to stay focused &
productive on Habibi. Here’s a photo of me vandalizing a page of Charles Berberian’s pencils in his Paris studio, 2005.

Revisit this posting to read more about my “euro influences”. And here’s some peeks on the newest chapter of HABIBI.


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shark cage

January 20, 2009 craig , ,

Thanks as always for your outpouring of encouragement. Very motivating to return from vacation to so many comments!
As Kurt mentioned, there are still four more chapters to go, but the book is two/thirds finished, and now I’ve the energy to dive back into it.
In Oahu, I visited my French friends Laëtitia & Frédéric & their kids Samuel, Koupaïa & Alanis. You may remember them from CARNET DE VOYAGE.
Alanis is a new edition. And they’re currently living in the the non-continental United States.
Of all the activities I engaged in – surfing at Threes in Waikiki, bodyboarding at Makapu’u, snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, kayaking in Kaneohe Bay,
my favorite was a North Shore shark cage.
Fortunately, Frédéric had along an underwater camera to document these beautiful & haunting Galapagos Sharks.



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