"Okay, one more for the family album... and look over here, please..."



The crew of the No.7 by Charlie Irons

One of the funny things I think of, as I get better and better at doing this, has been how backwards some of my skill sets have been; whether in building, or rebuilding.

What do I mean? Well, for example, when young children, novice cartoonists, and such, start out, you tend to get a lot of faces in either profile, or straight on. Considered the more dynamic, and difficult, three quarter turned face is generally something that develops with time and experience; as our ability to render, and visually tell stories grow.

Me, on the other hand? Yeah, not so much. Rarely is there ever a profile, or straight on, anything; let alone a face. It just doesn't seem so natural, even though we encounter these things in real life, all the time. Maybe it's how the page flattens things so much, I don't know.

At any rate, Kali, our lone brave character, has chosen the challenge of looking right at the audience. And while her face is, more or less, in proportion, her decision on poses ended up created all kinds of issues for me. Could be the limits of a cartoon style, or the limits of the cartoonist.

I imagine, as I get more comfortable, we'll start to see all kinds of different panel and page compositions, in the future. For now, though, enjoy this little group photo...