The Working Area

Work is continuing on Sunnyville #12 but I thought I’d show you the workspace I use and the surrounding area.

Drawing table layout

This is where I draw.  I use a flat surface, though some out there prefer surfaces that are more tilted.  I keep reference materials here like my model sheets and character drawings.  Many of my tools are here too like brushes, pens, pencils, erasers, and other things.  I keep at least one lamp and a bigger lamp to provide plenty of light.  I also like to have Mountain Dew Kickstart or Rockstar brand energy drinks on hand to keep me going.  

Drawing table with pens and pencils

Here’s a closer shot of some of the jars I keep my tools in.  One is full of pencils (and a few pens).  The other has mainly pens and brushes.  I keep my main pencils close at hand for drawing (I use both wooden and mechanical pencils) and on my right, I have inks.  I keep my black ink for inking comics along with colored inks when I do colored pieces.  Paints like gouache and acrylic are kept in storage bins beneath my desk and are pulled out only when I need them.

Note the mementos I keep on my desk.  Those aren’t really useful for drawing but they provide an atmosphere of ambience.  They help remind me I’m creating a world of wonder and imagination for myself and for those who read Sunnyville.  Those items on the left in the photo are a bust of Peter Cushing’s character, Professor Van Helsing, from the 1959 horror movie Horror of Dracula, a statue of Grumpy Bear (my favorite of the Care Bears) and behind that is a souvenir from my uncle – it’s a “throwed” roll from Lambert’s Cafe of Ozark, Missouri.

Around my work area, I keep various books, artbooks, magazines, single issue comic books and graphic novels to provide me with ideas and inspiration.

Inspirational material

Here are some copies of my Cerebus trade paperbacks and on the arm of the couch is a copy of ImagineFX.  This is a trade magazine that covers fantasy, sci-fi and commercial art (they even printed one of my letters!) but the focus is more on digital methods than traditional (as if you didn’t figure it out from the above photos, I work traditionally).  It’s a good way of staying current with what’s going on.  Underneath that magazine are copies of my collected editions of Krazy Kat, which is a good source of inspiration since newspaper comics are my chief influence.

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I have a fair collection of comics and graphic novels.  Here, you see I have copies of Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman and the Flaming Carrot (who has cameoed in Sunnyville).  I’m also a fan of the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic series from IDW Publishing.

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I’m not big on superhero comics.  Also part of my reading list are the new Jem series (from IDW) and the Amazing World of Gumball from Boom Studios.  I have a sizable collection of My Little Pony comics, both the regular series and some of the spinoff titles like the Micro-series and Friends Forever comics.

And that is my work area along with inspiration materials.

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About Max West

I am a freelance artist and the creator of Sunnyville Stories, an independent slice-of-life comics series.
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