Happy Easter!!!

You guys thought I wasn’t gonna say “Happy Easter” (you were almost right, PHEW)
This is what Mr.Easter evolves into on this special day.

SPX!!!!! it is upon us.

Signing books and selling little Mr.Easter toys, pins, and prinst. Look forward to see you guys there!!!

Signing Mr. Easters!

July fourth if you’re in the DC area and wanna hang whilst I personalize your copy of A Home for Mr. Easter with loving care then swing by Big Planet Comics in Vienna, VA!!!

Oh and P.S. there will be Pins and other goodies up for grabs too:

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

THREE CHEERS FOR COMICS!

xox- Brooke Allen!

GET YOUR LIMITED EDITION SIGNED COPIES HERE!

CLICK THE AD!

The kind people at Mars Import have a few limited edition signed copies complete with book plate:

PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS

It all begins here in the lab, getting cozy and scribbling equal parts jibberish and possible story plots… this is the most fragile part of the process for it often gets eclipsed by dance night, facebook lurking, and 18 hour naps but every once in a blue moon the stars align, self control conquers all and I start scripting …which looks like this:

This is the closest thing to a script that  A Home for Mr.Easter got ( which may explain a lot ).  It’s composed on posted notes and whatever little pieces of scrap paper were close at hand taped and nested in a 4×6 sketch book.  If you’re having trouble writing I find that this way always helps because its not as scary jotting down plot points on pieces of paper that might have ended up in the trash any way and they’re easy to move around, build onto, or just get rid of.

During this stage I tend to do what a lot of people do and script in thumbnail form, already start figuring out what the page layout is, how the frames will work together to create the pacing you want (which in this case was pretty fast ), and where dialogue and sound effects might go. In addition to these things I find it helpful to go ahead and sketch a few character designs or environments on the side whenever I get stuck… because as soon as you get stuck suddenly you remember your computer is right next to you and you could probably go update your facebook status from WORK NIGHT to I HATE WORK NIGHT  but then suddenly you get a message from your best friend ever that says GET DOWN TOWN NOW and instantly you obey….  and … um …where was I?

So after I get a pretty good idea of the rough outline I go to my OTHER sketch book filled with helpful little pages of graph paper and do my tight roughs (as seen below).  These are bigger more specific scribbles that are accompanied by dialogue… this is pretty much what my finished pencils look like later on 9×12 bristol… which would drive my teachers to murder.  But in all honesty tighter pencils will only help you out on inks in the long run. Lesson learned.

Closer to the Shelves…

HELLO BLESSED AND DEAR BLOG READERS!  

Hope every one’s having an eventful month of March!  To be honest it’s passed by so quickly the only thing I remember is St. Paddy’s… or well, maybe I don’t…  Any who, this brings A HOME for Mr. EASTER  a little closer to book shelves and hopefully a little closer to you too. In the mean time I guess  I’ll get you all a little more acquainted with the book, its characters, and what on earth I was thinking when I made it… So where to begin…

Where indeed.  The setting in which  A Home for Mr. Easter takes place is purposefully pretty vague. I wanted to tell the story economically with just the right amount of information needed to understand the characters.  I didn’t feel that placing Tesana in a specific city was pertinent to her or anyone else’s character, not to say that I think it would have been a bad thing to do so, it just would have made Mr. Easter a different story…

(also does any one else see the smiley face in the rock in the picture above? Now that I see it I can’t stop looking at it).

Well that bit of insight was short lived, next time perhaps I’ll devote a post to the villains of Mr. Easter or maybe one to process… or maybe both!  

Thanks again for all the glorious support!  If only I could award you with a freshly baked brownie every time you stopped by the blog … but I can’t… I’m still working on that technology.

  Hearts and Good Feelings to all!

          -Brooke!

On the cusp of a little march madness…

        So I woke up this morning ( afternoon), broke my fast like a champion (on 3 chocolate chunk brownies and 2 glasses of Twinnings) and looked over at the calender anticipating the day only  to spy-    ” my god…” I said as I slowly lowered my 4th brownie ” It’s March…”

         So I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve either been unconsciously time traveling again or just incoherently busy… regardless where did February go!? But you know what this means: the time draws nigh for  “A Home for Mr.Easter”  to hit shelves in April!  I can’t say I’m not nervous but I am definitely excited too.  

    Well after having had that little realization it’s almost dinner time which means 4 more brownies (which I heard is the optimum method of fuel for some one in the midst of Finals week) and unfortunately this post will be cut a little short until next week when said curse (finals) has been lifted for spring break!  

Until then folks, stay healthy and happy and try avoid any madness march brings Example:

Down the Bunny Trail…

I’ll be honest, I can’t think of anything more fun to draw then some one tromping through the woods… and as a result you’ll find many a panel of Tesana + crew doing just that.  Besides it being the perfect excuse to scribble trees and live vicariously through my characters (because lets face it, running around outside is so much more fun then sitting at a big dumb desk) it’s also a great device to visually express complete aimlessness and further establish that the characters are lost and out of their element. 

.  … but mostly I just like drawing trees.   

                               SHE’S       COMING      SOON,    Y’ALL     GET      READY!

PRE-ORDER  A HOME for Mr.EASTER HERE!

  p.s. thanks for all those lovely comments and support for the book and NBM!

       HURRAY  COMICS!

Be Prepared this April for…

Here’s  a few things to expect this April:

VILLAINOUS MUSTACHES ! 

 DEFIANCE! 

INCREDIBLE   DIALOGUE!

AND EQUESTRIAN AGILITY!

ALL THIS BETWEEN THE COVERS OF :    A Home for Mr.Easter 

More  sneak peaks and comic talk to come!…. after I finish my home work.  >:( 

More sneak peaks at A Home for Mr.Easter

Here’s a couple of the first pages where our heroine, unwilling to take the bus to school, waits patiently for it’s arrival… next to her mom who undoubtedly only improves the situation.

An age old drama unfolds as mother and child debate the importance of education and the attendance there of… in the end, per usual,  Mom wins the debate.

Note: her Mom using her ‘outside voice’ inside (that’s a Mom privilege). 

Being dragged to the bus stop by your Mom A.K.A. starting the day off right.

This poor poor bus driver…. I like to believe that she was employed strictly based on her crazy crypt keeper appearance…I also like to believe that she’s really 30.

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Brooke Allen

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Bio: Brooke is currently a student at SCAD and lives in the secret garden that is Savannah, GA with her two dogs and brave little hamster (aptly named) batman. When she's not drawing comics her favorite activities include sleeping, eating, and fighting crime with batman. Her favorite prehistoric animal is the giant sloth for it's calm, noble appearance. She looks forward to moving north west to make more comics and return her dog Linus back into the wild.

See her books from NBM!

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