Well after looking at this sheet written by Carl Barks ca 1952 you might have to re-think that. (Click on image to enlarge.)
The speed he had while doing some of his finest stories (Both when it comes to scripts and artwork) is stunning.
Only 1h 15minutes to rough a page and then 1h 20min to ink from those roughs! And still beeing able to maintain high quality. I mean we are talking about such stories as "Donald Duck and the gilded man" and "Trick or treat" here...
As a bonus to this post here's a small but rare photo of Barks at his drawingboard:
What surprises me is how strictly Barks measured the lengths of time need for differents parts of the work and linked it to how much he earned. I mean, I had imagined that someone producing such masterpieces of storytelling would have gone to great lengths to ensure the highest possible quality in his work, and that an additional hour to create a page he felt confident and satisfied with would not have been an issue. Well, apparently not, as he timed each task down to the minute. On the other hand, once he had the idea pinned down and the page planned in his mind, I guess the final step of putting it on paper was just hard work, requiring little or at least less inspiration.
ReplyDeleteWell, it says "average time" so maybe Barks would consider spending extra time where he felt so inclined. But it also shows that he is a structured perfectionist in his approach to his work. Most people would not consider doing these kind of calculations.
ReplyDeleteBut half an hour for inking black solids? Why?
ReplyDelete