{"id":46259,"date":"2025-11-04T00:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T05:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=46259"},"modified":"2025-11-03T22:16:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T03:16:16","slug":"both-sides-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/11\/04\/both-sides-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Both Sides Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

The possessed Larry Hughes lets out the Beast as the punk club is consumed by flames.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometimes it happens. You’re working on a drawing you’re pretty happy with, but you start looking at it, and something bothers you. Something is not quite right. Maybe if you had done this or that differently, it would have been better.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Beast of Times<\/p><\/div>\n

In the old days, you may have had that original tacked to a wall or taped to your drawing table and looked at it every time you passed. Now these things are electronically “tacked” to various websites and unless the internet craps out or there is a blackout, you can’t escape the stuff posted online.<\/p>\n

Such was the case with the drawing I call The Beast of Times<\/em><\/a>. I kept looking at it and the more I looked at it, the more I saw things I would change. There was a lot I liked about the initial pencil drawing, but the inked version bothered me. That one eye was wonky and I had ideas for a different, bolder background.<\/p>\n

\"\"I wanted to make changes, but what’s done is done. It’s an analog piece drawn and inked the real world way<\/em>. If changes were to be made, I could have drowned areas of the drawing in white-out<\/em> and worked over that or bite the bullet and start over. I bit the bullet.<\/p>\n

There were still things I wanted to salvage from that original drawing so I dug out an old pad of tracing paper from my studio. The paper may have yellowed a bit over time, but it’s still perfectly usable.<\/p>\n

\"I <\/a>
I traced my drawing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"I <\/a>
I flipped the tracing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Yes, I know I could have done this digitally — scanning the image and flipping it in a matter of seconds, but I don’t want to do that. I’m not on a deadline, and there is a comfortable feel to the old tools of which I have plenty in my studio. It feels like putting on an old sweater or slipping into a pair of well-worn shoes. It feels comfortable.<\/p>\n

Why flip it? I don’t know. Flipping a piece can show up problems with the drawing that can be fixed which I did. Besides, it would make it a new work. Maybe having the Beast face towards his left\/our right would work a little better. I decided to give it a whirl.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nSo I got out some transfer paper which is still available although I think this roll was bought in the Twentieth Century, and I transferred my drawing to a Fabriano<\/em> Mixed Media sketchbook. Essentially, you tear off a length of transfer paper and put it in between the tracing and the sketchbook. I drew back over the lines of the traced drawing bearing down enough so that the image is transferred to the fresh paper in a light blue. It’s not perfect, but close enough. I remove the tracing and the transfer paper and tighten up the transferred drawing with pencil.<\/p>\n

Then I hammer away with ink which I find strangely relaxing. Finishing a work like this used to fill me with trepidation. I was always afraid of ruining a good drawing and having to start over. That doesn’t really bother me much any more.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Sailor Fude De Mannen Fountain Pen with 55\u00ba Nib<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Is my new drawing perfect? No<\/em>\u2014far from it. But I flipped the page and gave the beast a second look with heavier ink, more contrast and a different background. I fixed those wonky eyes that needed to be redrawn. I’m still learning which involves a lot more drawing.<\/p>\n

Where’s the story of The Teenage Beast<\/em> going? I’m still working that out.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/section>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes if you’re not crazy about a drawing, the best thing you can do is start all over again. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":46262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4953,7,49,700],"tags":[158,6144,6143,6145,6142,312,5560,6139,76,3661,6147,696,5,6146,6140,3663,25,5642,6141,480,3660],"class_list":["post-46259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doodle-tuesday","category-illustration","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","category-pixels-versus-pigment","tag-analog","tag-analog-tools","tag-art-iteration","tag-beast-of-times","tag-boldness","tag-comic","tag-contrast","tag-drawing-process","tag-horror","tag-illustration","tag-imperfection","tag-inking","tag-joe-williams","tag-learning-curve","tag-revision","tag-sketch","tag-sketchbook","tag-tracing-paper","tag-transfer-paper","tag-usa","tag-willceau"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Both-Sides-Now.jpg?fit=640%2C810&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-c27","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46763,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/12\/31\/the-last-of-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":46259,"position":0},"title":"The Last of 2025","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"December 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I figured I would wind up the year with another drawing of the Teenage Beast. I've been a little lax lately with the drawing as I've allowed myself to become sidetracked by my other obsession which is computers. Once I claw my way out of this particular digital rabbit hole,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Illustration"","block_context":{"text":"Illustration","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/illustration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/last-of-2025-det.jpg?fit=640%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/last-of-2025-det.jpg?fit=640%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/last-of-2025-det.jpg?fit=640%2C300&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45103,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/05\/13\/tiptoe-through-the-sketchbooks\/","url_meta":{"origin":46259,"position":1},"title":"Tiptoe through the Sketchbooks","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"May 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Having finished up the Canson XL Mixed Media Sketchbook, I am working here and there in a few different sketchbooks. The subject is still The Teenage Beast. As far as discount sketchbooks, the Ucreate sketchbook from Ticonderoga is a pretty decent pad of paper. I like how it takes inks.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/detail-Coming-Through-Part-Two.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46177,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/10\/21\/the-beast-of-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":46259,"position":2},"title":"The Beast of Times!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"October 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm having the beast of times with my Pen+Gear Sketch Diary sketchbook, a gem my wife Tina unearthed for me at our local Walmart. The sturdy paper withstands the rough handling of my pencils and erasers, while its surface handles the ink from my Sailor and Pentel pens better than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast-Gray-web.jpg?fit=800%2C1029&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46201,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/10\/28\/47-fewer-shades-of-gray\/","url_meta":{"origin":46259,"position":3},"title":"47 Fewer Shades of Gray","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"October 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A monstrously monochromatic rendering of the Teenage Beast on tonal paper.","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast_gray-paper-RGB.jpg?fit=550%2C747&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast_gray-paper-RGB.jpg?fit=550%2C747&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Teenage-Beast_gray-paper-RGB.jpg?fit=550%2C747&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45372,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/07\/24\/keeping-good-habits\/","url_meta":{"origin":46259,"position":4},"title":"Keeping Good Habits","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"July 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the thin 3-ring binder I bought from a dollar store near work and filled it with 97\u00a2 worth of looseleaf paper in order to work out the story of The Teenage Beast. I am writing an outline for what will probably be a novella and have done a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Design"","block_context":{"text":"Book Design","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/book-design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/three-ring-binder-outline.jpg?fit=640%2C751&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/three-ring-binder-outline.jpg?fit=640%2C751&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/three-ring-binder-outline.jpg?fit=640%2C751&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44907,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/04\/15\/doodle-tuesday-demonic-delineations\/","url_meta":{"origin":46259,"position":5},"title":"Doodle Tuesday \u2022 Demonic Delineations","author":"Joe","date":"April 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been bopping back and forth between digital illustrations and hand drawings of late enjoying both which is kind of weird. It feels like working digitally and by hand are two different skill sets requiring different ways of thinking. I thought it would be tricky juggling both analog and digital\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-backhanding-the-jock-detail.jpg?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-backhanding-the-jock-detail.jpg?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-backhanding-the-jock-detail.jpg?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Teenage-Beast-backhanding-the-jock-detail.jpg?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}