The predecessor of this piece was rather different from what you are seeing now. It was about how the photographer was using his camera in a rifle-like manner. A three-panel drawing with an ending where he was on the receiving end of a huge rifle recoil. And that was it. The punch I had intended for was really about the act of ‘shooting’ and the similarity between a camera and a rifle.
The change came when I was pushing the idea a little further. What comes next? What happens when you ‘pull the trigger’ on a camera? What would you kill? One idea then leads to another. I started to establish the connection between a photographer and a hunter. Images of a hunting trip starts to take shape. That’s when Hopper (the dog) became the final piece of jigsaw and answering the last question…
What exactly would be the byproduct of a ‘camera-rifle’?
I think I did fairly well setting this up. The storytelling or sequencing, in my opinion was pretty smooth considering the fact that we have to do this in four panels. An area where I probably love to alter (if given a chance) would be the colour use. Embarrassing ans I am not at all proud of the way I did the colours. Amateurish and excessive. Enough said. Point taken for future drawings.
Lots of effort put into achieving the ‘recoil’ effect from the camera. I was acting it out most of the time to get a good visual result. The trick is also in the hands. How it holds the camera in the first panel and what the final posture would be when he was experiencing the recoil.
Nonetheless, it was always a bundle of fun when I get to work on dynamic figure drawings.
JunMing
Sam Lay 