Utopia Moment sketches and writing by Jack Ruttan and friends

Just means “pictures,” I think.

I saw these kids the other night, in a dream. I think their Uncle is Orson Welles. Still working on figures.

A pensive Orc, and Pug Dog:

Hmmm. Maybe a pug dog-something else cross. The head is the wrong shape, muzzle too long and the ears should be lower down, for that true pug silliness.

Yesterday’s comic was my trying to do that. Get into a working routine that doesn’t take me too long (nobody’s paying for those pages yet! But they’re a lot of effort), and see what works.

That means finding what I’d like to do, and in what style. Also, as I usually do with the sketches that go on this blog, I’m just just putting whatever develops during the day out there, without too much thought beforehand of whether it’s good or not. Not censoring.

Impression of a news reporter, and delinquent boy from tv:

The character in yesterday’s comic isn’t me! He’s also not someone I know, though there are aspects of both. Don’t think he’s going to be a continuing character. Anyhow, it’s been a while since I did a comic regularly, and for some reason I’ve found them difficult to do. Trying to get out of that. And I enjoy telling stories, no matter how eccentric!

Nerd boy drawn mainly with the Pentel brush pen:

I’m also trying out techniques. Yesterday’s story was drawn with a dip pen, which was a little bit awkward, but I’m getting back into it. Other stuff is drawn with a Pentel brush pen. I also fool around with the pages on the computer a bit. Usually just to adjust the tone of the scan, but sometimes I try to fix things. I’m trying out a lot of what the computer can let me do, so that I can produce images that are funny, fast to produce, and look good.

Struggling with the dip pen (a Hunt #102 Hawk Quill):

Writing and drawing makes me feel good, and I’m lucky to be blessed with at least a modicum of ability, or inclination, towards these disciplines. The season’s been psychically rough so far, and I’m trying to smooth it out, get things running.

Woman from a “Making of” doc on a DVD, in colour ballpoint and black roller pen:

Meanwhile, I’m putting up yesterday’s production of sketches. I really do miss sitting on the balcony and drawing people. So during the Montreal winter I’m drawing people I see on DVDs I’m watching, or snapped with the camera, or who have just popped out of my head. Funny, they’re not the most dramatic scenes, but there you go.

Awful day yesterday, but got better. Did some drawing late at night with the Staedtler coloured ballpoints. That helped.

Always sketching: busy hands. I added her dress pattern via photoshop.

Yay, C’boys! One of them is vaguely Francis Ford Coppola, director of the Godfather films:

The scanner seems to like the coloured pen colours better than the more usually respectable watercolours I do. Except there’s not a good yellow in coloured pen ink. So, I used a yellow pencil.

It’s the friendly Nazis you have to watch out for. I’m wondering, if they invaded this town tomorrow, which people I know would be collaborators, would hide people under floorboards, or would be on the trains themselves? And what would I do? Afraid I’d just muddle through, presenting papers when asked. Probably get into trouble just trying to be nice. Who knows?

This is kind of cool, if deranged. Drawn with a set of colour ball point pens. Reminds me a little of Louis Wain’s cats, but I haven’t completely gone around the bend yet. Writing an odd script for a science fiction comic story. It would be nice to finish that, and actually do something of it. I feel like starting to draw it right away. But I want to get further along in the story, to see if there is a story there. Already, it’s going places I wouldn’t have thought. But, they’re interesting places.

I’ve really had trouble getting work going that isn’t just for a paycheck. But I don’t just want to be a freelance drone, working on other people’s projects. I want to get out some stories of my own. In whatever form. Some of those forms might be surprising, in the future, if I can get certain projects off the ground.

At the moment, they’re just in my head. But it’s a new year, and I have no idea what i’ll be doing for most of it. That’s the kind of life this is.

From the small book, this time!

These are black ballpoint drawings in my moderately small sketchbook. Mainly drawn in bed, actually. I wonder if anyone else does this?

That’s just a (possibly misheard) song lyric from Wendy James, that I thought would make a neat title. Otherwise, these are new sketches, from my recent trip to Calgary to visit my Dad, who passed away.

This and the other two below are from the Toronto Pearson Airport.

Little horse, drawn on the plane:

Server at the Ship and Anchor bar, in Calgary. He had great arm tattoos, which you can fill in, if you want:

Women at the bar. Sorry!:

Some fanciful German World War One guy:

Imaginary plume of smoke rising: