Hi Creatures of the Deep!
What comes first, the words or the images?
One of the most common questions I get about my poetry comics is if I come up with the words or the images first.
This sounds like it should be a simple question to answer. I guess it all depends on what you mean by an image. About 80% of the time, I look at my catalog of poems and pick one that sparks something in me. I then go and illustrate some panels to accompany the poem.
The other 20% of the time no particular poem pops up, and I start drawing instead. Today’s comic is one of these.
So is it fair to say that the words usually come first? Not really. The way my brain works, my poems are almost always my best efforts at describing a scene in my head. Sometimes it’s something I’ve seen in real life, other times it’s an imaginary scene that comes from the deep, unexplored recesses of my subconscious.
When I create a comic from a poem that I’ve previously written, I am usually trying to capture the image I had in mind when I wrote the poem.
I think the reason I create poetry comics is that for me, writing has always been visual. I don’t think of words as much as I see images and try to put words to those images.
What about you? What is your creative process like?
Cheers,
Jason
P.S. Raphy from Three Things Weekly featured Weirdo Poetry in yesterday’s issue. Make sure to go and check it out! Three things weekly is a constant source of wonder and inspiration for me. I’ve been introduced to some incredible creators and Raphy has impeccable taste.
Nice mention, Jason, and first on my list, too!