This is what we were looking at, if you’re curious:

I also got a quick shot of the girls in the comic, using a trick shown me by a well-traveled ship-musician. She had her camera on a neckstrap, and walked around holding it about chest-level. Then she could surreptitiously take touristy shots while seemingly focused on something else.

(Awww, I’m typing this in the staff bar, and an Israeli officer is Skyping home, and I just recognized a bunch of conversational bits I learned in Hebrew school…Sometimes the staff bar makes you feel more bilingual then you are, cause you recognize words like “Alaska” and think “Wow, I know what he’s talking about!”)

This cartoon reminded me how helpful it can be to work through poses oneself before drawing them. I was most of the way through inking this cartoon, and had avoided drawing the people holding cameras, because I’ve always found the hands awkward to draw. When I held up my own camera, I realized I’d been harboring an old-fashioned, pre-digital idea of what holding a camera looks like. I’ve been drawing people with their eyes to a viewfinder, while most people now hold cameras slightly away from their faces, to look at the screen! Then when I imagined myself as a tourist wearing a pink outfit and carrying a purse, I held my camera between thumb and forefingers, with my other (imaginarily long-nailed) fingers splayed out. This made the pose easier and more fun to draw.

Well, I need to post this so I can RUN to my cabin, then RUN to the theater for tonight’s Variety Show.
Later!