Chris Howard's Writing & Art

Saltwater Witch Chapter 7 is live!

It's all here:
http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switch/

Kassandra reads

I spent the last couple hours sketching and painting this one for the background of the "Kassandra Reads... (Comic Links)" page, which will contain banners and links to comics I like and read. This will hang off Saltwater Witch

Click for the full view:

Saltwater Witch Banners and Linking

I finished up a new format for Saltwater Witch last weekend--with new art, all new lettering.  It took me a couple weeks to complete, but I haven't had time to post about it until tonight. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do. I'd love to hear what you think. 

If you would like to link to to Saltwater Witch, I've created some banner images:

Right-click and "Save Image as..." and link back to http://www.saltwaterwitch/switch/  Or Here's the html if you just want to copy and paste it into your site:

Small

<p><a href="http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switch"><img border="0" src="http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switchbanner_155x60.png" alt="Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel" title="Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel" /></a></p>

Medium

<p><a href="http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switch"><img border="0" src="http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switchbanner_468x60.png" alt="Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel" title="Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel" /></a></p>

Large

<p><a href="http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switch"><img border="0" src="http://www.saltwaterwitch.com/switchbanner_Large.png" alt="Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel" title="Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel" /></a></p>

Not a Space Oddity but still right up there with other oddities!

Saltwater Witch is mentioned on The Comics Beat!  I’m in the most popular list on iBooks.  The first two chapters are free, and sure my work is listed as an oddity, but Anne Rice and I are the only one’s called out by name in the article (and in bold!).

The rest of the list consists of free oddities, like Chris Howard’s SALTWATER WITCH, interspersed with paid warhorses, like WALKING DEAD.

Sales chart: What's topping Apple's comics/GN iBookstore 
http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/02/28/sales-chart-whats-topping-apples-comicsgn-ibookstore/

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Comic panels

Something I've been thinking about for a while. This is a scene (or set of them) from the book I'm currently working on. I've been doing some scripting and panel sketches along with the writing, with the intention of completing a comic edition along with the prose.

Chloe and friends are making cookies for a school dance tomorrow night--they're making cookies tonight--and a lot of noise, and I've just been sitting in the dining room drawing these panels in Art Rage on the iPad.

 

Saltwater Witch Graphic Novel Free at Amazon

And so far so good:

Another page up!

Page 239 of Saltwater Witch is live, another quick four panel piece with Kassandra down in the basement of St. Clement's Education Center.  I did these four entirely in Sketchbook Pro and Art Rage on the iPad--with the exception of the lettering and balloons, done in CS.

Check it all out here:

http://www.saltwaterwitch.com 

The Wreath of Poseidon

This will be available soon! The Wreath of Poseidon is basically Saltwater Witch remixed by my daughter Chloe and I.  This version of the story is in 3rd person (Saltwater Witch is in 1st), and this version is a bit longer, contains more story, including some scenes cut from the original. We went back to the original 3rd person story I wrote in 2003 with some help from a nine-year-old Chloe (She's seventeen now).        

Managed to get some drawing done

We had thanksgiving with just the four of us, and I managed to squeeze in some drawing today, a good start on the top panels for for page 239 of Saltwater Witch.  I did both of these in Sketchbook Pro on the iPad.  Plus a little bit of Art Rage. Got myself an AYL stylus a few weeks ago from Amazon.  I haven't always been a stylus fan, but this one's kicking ass so far.

http://www.SaltwaterWitch.com

Saltwater Witch update - pages 234 through 238

Okay, I've posted them--www.SaltwaterWitch.com! For the foreseeable future I'm going to draw panels on my iPad (color when I can) and letter in Photoshop, hoping to get this down as a system that won't take all of my time. I have the rest of this chapter and a bunch of the next--roughly twelve pages--planned out, storyboarded but really sloppy. I drew eleven panels yesterday in Art Rage and Sketchbook Pro, which is a lot for me, and the quality is pretty good.  I'm doing a lot more with gestures and facial expressions.  Disgust is a really tough one to capture. I like the way all of these pages came out, enough to post them.  Haven't colored the last four, but I'm going to keep moving.

Firsts: first time drawing a toilet.

Questions?  Comments? I'd love to hear what you think! 

See chapters  1 - 12 here:

http://www.SaltwaterWitch.com