Roughcut Ramblings

STOP THE SOPA ACT NOW!

2012-01-18T07:17:00.000-05:00

Today, we are striking against censorship

Join the largest online protest in history: tell Congress to stop this bill now!

I will not be posting on Facebook, Twitter, or posting any blog updates today between the hours of 8am EDT and 8pm EDT!

On how I work (Part 2)

2012-01-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

Last time I covered some about the concept. Today it's:

WRITING THE DARNED THING!

I write in full script method. It closely resembles a movie script, but instead of fades it has "Page One: Panel One, Panel Two....." etc. There's another method of working, which I personally hate but some pro's prefer it, and that's the Marvel Method or plot method. Where you break down the book into a plot (I've heard of a book where it was like two sentences long) and then give that plot to the artist to break down into the story you read. Stan Lee back in the day wrote most of his stuff this way, which is why it's widely called Marvel Method now. But I digress.

Do I skip the plot part entirely? No I don't. In fact I do write out a loose plot. No one sees this but me. It resembles a loose list of plot points that I want to cover in the series. Nothing more, nothing less. "This guy does this which leads to this and this then this happens" to put it in a run on sentence. It's a shorthand map for me to refer to when I'm working on the script, and often times things change as the script takes form.

For Legacy, since I've been working on this story in one way or another for over a decade, I already have the loose plot in my head. It was very simple for me to sit down and start the scripting process. A few notes at the top for my editor, so he doesn't get lost and then it was straight into the script. (My editor on this project is close friend and professional writer Don Smith Jr.) So, here's the first page of script, re-edited to make it work in this post.

(START SCRIPT)

Page One:

Panel One: A young Jason Talbot, eyes wide with fear. Sitting in a chair in what seems to be an office. Next to him in a car seat is his baby brother, asleep and sucking on a nook.

Caption #1: “The Past.”

Social Worker: (OP) “You can be assured, Mr Talbot, that we will attempt to place your children in the best homes possible.”

Social Worker: (OP) “It’s a very brave thing that you’ve done, giving them up for adoption. I wish that more parents would do so if they felt unable to raise them well.”

Panel Two: Jason Talbot stands over his children, looking down. He’s mostly in silhouette here. It’s not time to see what he looks like, just time to establish the fear that Jason feels and how he views this memory.

Jason: “We going home now Daddy?”

Father: “No Jason. We’re not.”

Panel Three: Jason walking away down the hallway.

Father: “Someday you’ll understand why I done this.”

Panel Four: Jason standing up, reaching towards the reader. An adult has him in a gentle hold, holding him from following the man that was his father.

Jason: (LOUD) “DADDY! NO!!!”

(END SCRIPT)

As you can see, it's a quick description of what's happening in the panel, and you could take this and film it like in a normal movie script. But I need to make a couple notes here:

#1) I write more sparsely for myself than I would for another artist.

#2) I adjust things in the script as I draw them. What may be written down may not be what the final panel looks like, depending on how things go.

As I progress on my story, the characters begin to take on a life of their own (so to speak). If you've ever written anything, then as you're writing you begin to feel the story come alive in your sub-conscious, you know what I'm talking about. There's nothing supernatural or evil about it (That's for the few ultra legalistic Christians that read my blog). It's just that your mind has internalized both the plot and the way the characters act. Totally normal for a creative to experience.

For me, Legacy started that about midway through Issue #2. I really started to feel that I knew and understood the characters, and was very happy with where the plotline was going. Then when I began on Issue #3, I began to slog down a bit having to work things together consciously instead of just letting things flow. Introducing a new character (or two) throughout the first few issues will do that to you, yet I know when I finally get moving on Issue #4 that it'll start moving quickly again.

Scripting is a process I enjoy. This is a part of the process I can do very quickly if it's for myself. If it's for someone else (like another project I'm working on) It takes a bit longer. Especially if you have space constraints. (Say a six pager you need to write and enough content in your mind for a full issue.)

As I'm able to, I'll revisit this particular part of the discussion. As for now, I'm getting a late start on some digital inks I should get done.

On how I work (Part 1)

2012-01-11T00:47:00.000-05:00

I've gotten a few questions about how I work lately. So I thought instead of writing a huge tome about how I work in e-mail and copying and pasting it numerous times, I'd just throw it on my blog and direct people to it.

A couple notes right off the bat:
#1) Any time I refer to a project, I am talking about LEGACY as that is the current project I am working on and is freshest in my mind.
#2) I may use shorthand in some ways. Such as BWS for STARS ON BLACK BACKGROUND or ECU for EXTREME CLOSE UP. If you're confused, leave me a comment and I'll explain my shorthand. Most of what I use is common in the movie and comic book industries.
#3) When I talk about writing a script, it is a full script with panel by panel descriptions. This is the only way that I write for comic books. I never do "Marvel Method" or "Plot method".

THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE PROJECT

This is the first, and in my opinion the most important part of the project. You come up with a concept. As Legacy has been in my mind since I was a teenager, I've had years to refine this concept down to a single sentence. "The Journey of Light and Darkness." Or "The Battle of Light and Darkness." Both of these are equally important to the story of my project. One is the journey that light and darkness take in the story, the other is the battle. Light and Darkness are eternally at odds. No matter if you are Christian or Non-Christian, this is played out in any mythology. Light and Darkness are also synonymous with Life and Death in many cultures and belief. An allegory so to speak. (I made a funny!)

Now that I have the concept, what form does it take? Generally about now I start scribbling in a sketchbook. (Well, not really for Legacy as it's been drawn, redrawn, and I'm as familiar with these characters as I am familiar with my son.) But let's examine a hypothetical project, how would I decide what form this would take?

At it's very base it would be black and white. Okay, not very entertaining. So what forms does the darkness and light take? In this hypothetical let's say Light is Humanity and Darkness is an invading Alien Race. So who would be the figureheads for these two forces?

See how my thinking progresses? See how I continually boil down the concept to what it needs to be for the particular project? By moving in this manner while creating a comic book series (Or novel series that doesn't sell worth beans), you become intimately familiar with all thoughts and assumptions that people will have. In essence you are continually boiling away the garbage (dross) to be left with the pure metal.

In the case of a group book, it'd be "This group is Light."

In case of a Zombie Apocalypse things are much simpler.

Now I'm trying to keep this somewhat short, and since I'm writing this one just before 1:00am it's probably a lot shorter than what I will write in the future, but I feel that you're getting an idea on how the conceptualization of the project takes place in my mind. Idea------Basics-----How/Who-----Basics------Plotting.

Next I'll talk about writing the plot (no, I never draw from one) and the scripting of a project.

My wife and Technology II (And more, I promise!)

2011-12-07T17:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote about my wife and her experiences with Technology.

I felt bad.

Now I do not feel bad anymore, after experiencing another bout of my wife vs technology.

Let me explain.

Cleaning the house, she wishes to listen to Christmas music. She asks what kind i have on my computer. Now I'm not the holiday kinda guy who likes to listen to Jingle Bells and The First Noel ad nauseum. So I don't have much. This offended her sensibilities. So what does my wonderful wife do? She gets on my computer (I'm in the kitchen, cleaning the kitchen, which I have been at this time trained to do....more on that later) and brings up Yahoo Messenger thinking to use the plug-in to play Christmas music.

I then hear, and no I am not making this up: "DANGIT! How do you get this thing to play? There's no SOUND coming out! HONEY!"

I'm up to my armpits in soap suds scrubbing. I yell back "Is the volume up?" What she replied to me with cannot be repeated in polite company.

So she's at my computer, trying to get music going. Suddenly I hear 90's pop followed by electronica followed by ghetto blaster followed by classical followed by Christian followed by God knows what but I think they killed a cat making it. All the while I hear "DANGIT! DANGIT! DANGIT! DANGIT!" as each snippet plays. At this time I am no longer up to my armpits in suds, but attempting to stifle the laughter that I feel bubbling up from deep inside me. Because, you see, I am a trained husband.

Now for those of you males who read this and don't understand is that if you have a monther, a girlfriend, or a wife you are being trained. Since all of us males have one or more of these (Good God I hope you don't have a girlfriend and a wife......you're a dead man) I figured I should explain for you younger folks how the training works, and how to realize that you are being trained.

In my case it's simple.

Today after I woke up my wife came in and said to me very sweetly: "Do you want to get the dishes done today?"

Without thinking about it, I said YES.

Now let me explain to you about me and dishes. It's like a cat and a shower. The two do NOT mix. Yet after nearly 11 years of marriage I replied YES to the question and for a moment actually BELIEVED that I wanted to get the dishes done!

This is TRAINING FOLKS.

Here's a few other instances

You know you are a trained male when: Your wife says that she is cold at 3:30am and you wake up, get out of the warm bed, and go on the Search for the Holy Blanket to keep your wife warm. Forget turning up the thermostat, you need to find a BLANKET. And if you don't, she'll take yours.

You know you're a trained male when: (This one is more for me) Your wife comes to bed at midnight, shakes you awake, and says "It's too quiet, could you please turn the stereo (which is on the other side of the room) on?" And you do it!!

You know you're a trained male when: Your son forgets to put the toilet seat up when peeing. This puts you into a complete panic because you're afraid that your wife will find out!

You know you're a trained male when: Your wife wakes up in the middle of the night with an itch, and you ITCH IT TO THE POINT YOU'RE AWAKE!

You know you're a trained male when: You know what the sound effect "WHAP!" both sounds and feels like.

Now whap is a sound effect of being hit by a female woman who is as ticked off as a wet cat. The sound does NOT give the *WHAP* justice. The *WHAP* is done BACKHAND so it hurts more. The *WHAP* is always done in the same place. And the *WHAP* follows with........."Don't be a baby." after you're massaging the forming bruise.

I cleaned the kitchen.

My wife and Technology and the color purple

2011-12-06T16:41:00.001-05:00

My wife and technology do not get along.

Now don't get me wrong, I love my wife with all my heart. But she has problems with technology that rival some teams problems with getting into the Superbowl. We're talking about a woman who just has to look at a computer in order for it to start running slower than the Lion's front offensive line.

For instance: I can be on my computer. Writing this blog. My computer runs awesomely when I'm on it. It's fast enough, I can pull up a web page no problem, and I can type into the input box to bore you to death with my stories.

Later on that evening, my wife can get on my computer. Now I don't know how it happens, but I do believe that my computer (like our toaster oven) can sense when my wife is at the keyboard. What then happens I did not believe until I saw it with my own eyes. She tried to open up a web page. Just a single page. Facebook I think it was. And it took five minutes to load. All the while my wife is there snarking and cussing at the inanimate object like some people cuss at the Packer's when they have a bad play. I look at the status bar, the start bar, and every other bar on my computer to see if there's any programs eating up all the RAM.

There's not.

She finally gets frustrated enough to stand up, walk away, and go crochet or cuss at the toaster oven for not turning on. (Is it plugged in honey? OF COURSE IT IS! Check again. OOPS.) I then walk over to the computer, and attempt to log into my facebook account. Somehow sensing that I am back behind the keyboard, the page comes up. SHOOP! Loaded.

When my wife finally is finished arguing with a toaster oven, she comes back over to see me playing one of my video games flawlessly with great frame rate and no slowdown of the computer whatsoever.

Wife: *WHAP!*

Me: What'd I do to deserve that?
Wife: Your computer hates me.
Me: Don't take it personally, all technology hates you, you know this.
Wife: *KATHUMP*
Me: Cough Cough. It's the truth, and could you please hand me my spleen?

One thing that I have realized though through marriage is that God has granted me with both a brain and the mens version of sexual reproduction equipment. But only enough blood to use one at a time. How did I come to this piece of knowledge? Through experimentation with the medications that I am on, along with knowledge gleaned by watching my parents (Both my Dad and my Step-Dad, and no they're not married or together......) age.

You see, when we men are young we appreciate the pulchritude in the world around us. As teenagers when the weather begins to warm up and women begin to show their ankles (I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is basically like the North Pole Lite) we teenaged boys are then able to direct traffic without using our hands. If we're extremely unlucky, then we're able to point north. The geese returning from the southern climates just watch us males to see which direction we rotate as the women walk by flashing some ankle, and if we're lucky some calf muscle at us.

Now most women feel that men at this age are stupid. That we only think with our willy wonka's. This is only APPRENTLY true due to the fact of the blood flow being redirected into our southern most regions. As men age, they appear to grow more intelligent. Once again this is only APPARENTLY true. As our willy nilly's begin to age, they don't function as well as they used to. This frees up vital blood that until this time (called pre-30's for those of you keeping track) has been directed south of the border, and our expanding gut line.

As our brains receive more blood, we're able to think more intelligently. And none moreso than my 70 year old Father. Now old Dad (compared to my late 40's Young Dad who is my Step Dad) had a heart attack that affected many bodily systems. Including the weather report in his south pole. Now instead of being frigid and at attention, it waves as limply as the flag on the moon. So he's depressed.

No need to be depressed Dad! Now that you're willy-vanilli is broken, you can be a complete and utter GENIUS with all that new blood flow! At the age of 70 you can pontificate on the color purple for hours on end! You could be the new Thomas Edison (you knew him didn't you? Or was that the Allosaurus?) or Albert Einstein! Or......you could follow in the footsteps of ole Nikky Tesla and marry your pigeon!

I'm 32 years old and on medications that make the playing style of the Cincinnati Bengals seem tough in comparison to my wife-wooer. As a result I've noticed a decided increase in my intelligence and stamina. I can now walk backwards without falling on my face! I can now sit for hours with my legs uncrossed as my wife bends over in front of me cleaning house! I can think for hours on the facts of life, and why exactly a nine year olds conversation seems to be more intelligent at times than most sports announcers!

And if I wish, I could call up my dear old Dad and talk about the color purple.

Random Thoughts on a Monday........

2011-12-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

It really feels like what I wrote yesterday was prophetic in a way. While my wife was gone to feed horses, haul firewood, and have "adult conversation" (see yesterday for the actual definition of this); I was stuck at home with my nine year old son. Now Legend of Zelda's been around for years and years. I remember playing it as a ten year old kid and going nuts when I finally beat Ganon. Yet.....memories are different than current reality.

Nine Year Old Son (hereafter called Son, because well, he is my son) is addicted to these games. When he's not playing them, he's watching walkthroughs on Youtube done by a guy called Chugga A. Conroy. On my computer. So now whenever I log into youtube, I get a ton of video suggestions based on walkthroughs and Mr Conroy as well as my own suggestions, which tend towards comedy, idiocy, music videos, and movie trailers.

Now I wasn't going to talk more about video games, but I ended up doing that anyways. What I really wanted to talk about was kid conversation. For example:

Son: Dad, what does a dog smell like?
Me: A dog.
Son: NNNRNT (annoying buzzing sound meaning wrong answer, or that he's constipated. Not sure.) Incorrect answer! (Wow! I was partially right! It meant wrong answer!)
Me: A dog smells like a dog.
Son: A dog smells like DOG FOOD.
Me: No, it smells like a dog.
Son: Well her breath smells like Dog Food at least. (Yes, he actually talks in complete, and mostly grammar correct sentences, unlike his old man.)
Me: Maybe it's because she just ate.
Son: What's a chicken smell like?
Me: A chicken.
Son: NNNRNT! (Again I had a choice, negative or constipated) Wrong answer! (Darn! I was wrong this time! The face he made......) Care to try again?
Me: Barnyard! Farm! (At this point I was beginning to lose it. A chicken smells like a chicken darnit!)
Son: NNNNRNT!
Me: *sighs*
Son: Want to know what Chicken smells like?
Me: *facepalm* Okay son, what does chicken smell like?
Son: DINNER!

This is just one particular conversation out of many that we had yesterday. It's most memorable because as we had this particular piece of words, I was attempting to finish the dishes which had stacked up due to me being on strike until I learned that well, being on strike doesn't work with my wife.

She has more patience than I do. And a louder yell. And a shrill voice when upset.

But I love my wife, she's been a rock in my life for over a decade now. Yet there's one thing that my wife (here after known as my wife) struggles with constantly: Technology and losing things.

Recently my wife lost her wallet, which had her ID and other stuff in it. When I say recently, I mean in the last 60 days. It was an amusing time during which we tore apart our house looking for it. Then I put it back together to have it torn apart again because I didn't put it back together right. Finally, a couple days ago, it was discovered hiding in a friends apartment, where I believed it to be all the time. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Other things lost that I have found: Her glasses. (at least in the triple digits), The Cell Phone (Heading to triple digits), Money (I don't tell her I found it, I just keep it until she raids my wallet). Clothing items (being married has exposed me to the wonderful world of womens undergarments, and the fact that they enjoy hiding from the women that are wearing them), and our Son.

But losing things doesn't amount to a hill a beans in comparison to my wife's worst foe: TECHNOLOGY!

(to be continued.....if she doesn't make me remove it)

Random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon....

2011-12-04T15:25:00.001-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've learned to enjoy adult conversation once again. Now adult conversation is not what you non-parents might think it is. It's not overtly sexual or pornographic in nature. It's not using the F-bomb every two seconds. What adult conversation is to a parent is simply this: Conversing with another adult.

I've got a wonderful Nine year old son who is wise beyond his years, but one fact remains, he is not an adult. I so often find myself listening to him talk to his video games, or else find myself conversing about whether or not our dog is truly a dog in the full sense of the word. Or whether a panda bear is cuter than a koala. Or whether or not I'm going to take a nap on a particular day so that he can glom onto my computer and play some of the online flash games that he seems drawn to. (And their sometimes virus laden content, which takes up about 12 hours of the day after trying to remove the virus, the rootkit, it's cousins, uncles, and aunts.)

Now I'm not complaining about being a father that stays at home most of the time. Never think that. Okay, maybe I am, but good naturedly. I love my son, and I think that the time we spend together is very special. I love the fact that he likes to talk to me about Legend of Zelda Windwaker ad naseum and that he really digs Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask and that he thinks that Adolfa is the coolest villain in any Legend of Zelda video game. (Do you get the feeling he likes Legend of Zelda? I do.) Then there are the times that we talk about other things. For about five minutes.

But oh, adult conversation I miss thee. I find myself in conversation with a friend of mine talking like a nine year old. If the friend isn't a parent, they generally think that I've flipped my lid until I explain the fact that probably 99% of my conversation is with or about children.

During this month of December it's awesome. My wife is home more as the restaurant where she lives....I mean works....is reducing the hours. While money might be a bit tighter, I can once again converse with another adult........except when she's over at our friends Mom's house helping to haul firewood and helping to take care of three horses. Like today, when I'm writing this. I woke up just as she was leaving and with a hearty wave and a wink (and perhaps a snicker) she was off to hang out with adults and play with horses. I looked and saw my son on the Nintendo Wii playing what? Legend of Zelda. I then understood the wave, wink, and snicker. Another day of hearing the tunes of command in the game and my son talking to the video screen like he was a Lion's fan and upset with the interception that good ole whatsisname just threw.

And most days I can't escape. I go to bed late at night so I have a few hours of peace and quiet to myself. I enjoy this time, I covet this time, and I guard this time......Except when I don't. Some nights I go to bed around the same time as my son (9pm for those of you keeping track of me. Darn spies) and have a "nightly talk" in which we discuss random events in life and the animal kingdom for roughly a half an hour until my medications kick in. Depending on the night I have my "meds kick in" faster than usual because of the tone of the conversation.

A couple of nights ago was wonderful. I went to bed with my wife, talked with her, enjoyed her company. Our son had already passed out---in his nest on my side of the bed. But that's a whole different story for another time.

I thank God my for my son each and every night. I thank God that's he's healthy, intelligent, good natured, not shy, and a boon to my life.

But I also thank God for the days I can converse with another adult......and sound like a nine year old.

Max on Life (Max Lucado): A review

2011-12-02T21:35:00.001-05:00

While it has been a few weeks since I finished this book, I wanted some time to digest what it contained before writing my review.

Max Lucado is a well known author and speaker, and very entertaining........usually.

In Max on Life he's billed to answer some of the difficult life questions. In my opinion he has not. In the parlance of Biblical speaking, Mr Lucado gave a lot of milk for newborn Christians, but not a lot of meat for the mature in Christ. All in all, I found this book to be dry and difficult to get through. The questions asked many of us already know the answers to, because they are found in the bible.

If there's anything positive I can say about this book of milk, it's that the answers are completely biblical without stopping. I approve of that completely, as a minister myself, yet find that the way that the book itself was written is without much value except to, as I stated before, Newborns in Christ.

No He Can't (Kevin McCullogh): A review

2011-12-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

Going into an election year, it's probably the most important duty that we as americans have: To decide where to cast our vote. Kevin McCullogh understands that, and in his book "No He Can't: How Barack Obama is dismantling hope and change" he brings to the forefront the double minded nature of our current Commander in Chief.

To really understand what issues are at stake, we need to read books that clear state, such as this one did, what a particular candidate stands for. From the skyrocketing jobless rates (at and over 10% quite everywhere at the writing of this book), to the hidden taxes inherent in cap and trade, as well as the increasing debt that we have through Obamacare, this book shows it all in a factual and entertaining manner.

I wasn't prepared for the witty way that Mr McCullogh brings everything to our attention. I personally thought that I was going to be reading a very dry white paper. But through wit and the moments of clarity, this book will keep you entertained while at the same time entertaining you and educating you on our President.

Born to die; and Rise Again!

2011-11-29T18:28:00.001-05:00

The brand new poster made for building your faith! Featuring the scriptures found in John 1:1-5 and John 3:16 and images of both the Child Jesus in a manger and the resurrected Jesus, this poster is sure to fill your heart with gladness!

http://www.zazzle.com/the_alpha_and_omega_poster-228984678023822196

Beyond Mortality: The warriors

2011-11-27T18:14:00.001-05:00

A brand new large format poster featuring the angelic and demonic forces found within Beyond Mortality and Beyond Mortality Legacy!

http://www.zazzle.com/beyond_mortality_the_warriors_poster-228854648877872893

Holiday Special Pricing on all Commissions!!

2011-11-23T16:51:00.001-05:00

Time for the Thanksgiving/Holiday special pricing on any commission from myself! $35 gets you a fully rendered pencil drawing of whatever character you so desire! Will add color for an additional $10! So for $45 you get a full color, fully rendered shot of YOUR favorite character! Great for gifts as well!!

New Poster: The Armor of God! Now available!

2011-11-22T19:10:00.001-05:00

Print now available for sale! http://www.zazzle.com/livingwordshop*

Beyond Mortality: Legacy has launched!

2011-11-15T13:52:00.001-05:00

Yep! The generational saga of the Talbot family has FINALLY LAUNCHED! This 8 page prelude to the first book (presented as chapters online first, then collected into a graphic novel) is now live on the BEYOND MORTALITY web/blog!

http://beyondmortal.blogspot.com!

Come check it out and subscribe so you never miss a single chapter!

The project that almost was.........

2011-11-10T15:50:00.001-05:00

Now you guys and gals have heard me talking on facebook about a project entitled THE ARK right? It was gonna be five issues long with a double sized first issue. I was partnered with a guy to do this comic book project. Yet all the while I was ignoring what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me about this gentleman.

You see, he believes that he has discovered something almost too amazing to be true. Not gonna say anything about it other than give you a link to view his videos if you want to, then I'll explain why I backed out finally.

Okay, now that I put up the link, here's why I finally had to listen to my heart and do what I really didn't want to do. He believes that there are spirits that have talked to him, to reveal the information that he espouses in his videos. After 10 days of listening to his rhetoric and attempting to ignore his attempts to convert me to a more "universal" consciousness or way of thinking (Including at the end several wonderful threats and cussings on my voicemail), I had to listen to what God had to say. You see, I am a Christian. Totally and completely. If that makes me close minded and against a universal consciousness, then yes I am.

There's so many things in my mind right now, but Ephesians 6:12 keeps coming back: 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

These forces try to deceive whomever they can. I feel that he has been deceived, and that I finally had to do the right thing for my soul and for my walk with God......which was to stop working with him. There were too many mentions of these other spirits or a universal consciousness that was above God. In fact in one conversation we had he said to me: "God and Jesus are not what you think they are."

So........that's that. I'll be using everything that I've got minus any mention of his stuff to make Beyond Mortality: Legacy the best storyline I can.

One question that people will ask is why I started on this project in the first place. The answer is this: GREED. I saw dollar signs everywhere around this, I thought it could be as big or bigger than Dan Brown and his stories. It's something that I needed to repent of, and back away from. God will provide for our needs, not some project that contradicts the scriptures.

Politics, Occupy Wall Street, and My thoughts

2011-11-01T22:59:00.000-04:00

A series of thoughts have occupied my mind tonight; from politics to the eligibility of Mr Obama as president. From Christianity to the Occupy Wall Street movement. This post is to try and bring some order to my thoughts, and hopefully to share my opinion on how Christianity and politics should merge, or not merge as the case may be.

First of all is a question that I've been asked: Should a Christian be concerned with politics? My answer is yes. Because only by knowing the issues can we vote for the best man (or woman in this day and age) to take the offices that become vacant. We should be knowledgeable of those that are running for public office, and what they stand for. This is not the job of the Church, but our own responsibility as people who live in the United States of America. We need to educate ourselves on the issues, and where the candidates stand.

One such issue that has plagued Mr Obama throughout his entire presidency is his eligibility to be president in the first place. Whether or not his birth certificate is legal. Whether or not it's a forgery. Me, I really don't have any opinion but this: According to our constitution, anyone who runs for President must have been born in one of the 50 states. Period. No questions asked. Whether or not that applies to Mr Obama is beyond me at this point. I only wish that he had deigned to release his birth certificate sooner (IE, when first asked) so that we wouldn't have this issue.

Am I a birther? Yes. As I stated in my opinion above, and as is in our constitution, yes.

Politics is a melting pot of back door meetings, money changing hands, and empty words spoken from the lips of serpents in my mind. Does that nullify the need to educate ourselves or to be aware of what is being said and done in our country? No it does not. We need to make the intelligent and most importantly PRAYERFUL choice on who we vote for in this next election.

As things stand at this time, we who are minister cannot say who to vote for. We can make people aware of the issues at hand, and where the Bible stands on these issues, but we cannot (and I would not) tell you how to vote. This is a personal decision between yourself and God, as a result of prayer and scripture reading.

Many times I will avoid political discussions in their entirety, but tonight I felt I needed to talk on these issues a bit. One of the prevalent issues going on right now is Occupy Wall Street. I stand on the side that says that a lot of what these people are talking about........is Marxist. We need to be careful about situations like this, because they can lead to larger situations that would infringe upon freedoms and liberties that we hold for granted. Occupy Wall Street has some proponents in Christianity. And Occupy Wall Street has detractors in Christianity. I myself am a detractor. I don't feel that this will accomplish much of anything, and if it did it would only lead to more of a socialistic stance for our government.

The Shadow: Start to finish

2011-10-30T15:13:00.003-04:00

Okay, here's the post I've been promising for a bit. I recently did a sketch of THE SHADOW, which I then scanned in and colored. I thought it might be interesting to do a step by step of how I got from beginning to end with it. So without further ado.........

Quick note: No matter what the piece is, or what it's for, I spend a little time in prayer before I start working. I feel that as a Christian, all my talents come from God, and that no matter what I'm working on I should do it for HIS Glory! So I pray that His will would be done with the piece, and that I would use His talents wisely.

You put the lime in the coconut..............Okay wrong thing. First I sketched it in pencil, then inked it, then scanned it in as Grayscale at 300dpi (generic pro dpi. Generally it's 300dpi for B&W or grayscaled work, 600+dpi for colored. I always go 300dpi for my own work. Cuts down on file size, and the pixelation isn't there as it would be with lower resolutions.)

This is the scan, after lowering the opacity down to I believe it was 40%. You can see that at this stage when I saved the image, I was already beginning to block in some color. When you work on a piece from B&W line art to color, it's usually good idea to lay in the flat colors first. Flats are basically the easiest part, you just put down flat areas of colors that correspond to the item you're coloring. In this instance it was a very dark brown for the trench coat.

Part of the problem I have with computer coloring is that my training as a classical illustrator kicks in. I'm not used to working from dark to light, but instead the other way around. In my painting class we were always taught to paint light first, then go dark as you're able to since with the physical paints and brushes it's always easier to darken than to lighten. When you're working in Photoshop you don't have this problem, as it's equally easy to darken or lighten a piece.

I enlarged the image here a little bit to show a little bit more of what I was doing. Here you can see that I have THE SHADOW pretty well blocked in. The colors on his hat and coat, the gloves, face, and hair. As well as beginning to flat color the scarf that always blocks the lower third to half of his face. You will also notice that instead of covering all areas with the same shade of dark brown, I took a step backwards and placed the line art in a new layer above it, and set the layer mode to MULTIPLY. This way I have the line art in front of me as well, for established light and shadow. I've noticed that as I'm right handed, a lot of my shading tends to go from (in order of luminosity, dark to light) from right to left. I put a lot of the heavier shadows on the right of the piece, and generally have my light source somewhere on the left. It's a problem I've had over the years and that I'm working to correct.

Some colorists go into a piece without flatting first. I'm one that always flats first, and again it harkens back to my training. I feel that if you flat first, then it's easier to select a large area of color to play with it. In this instance I could magic wand select the hat and nothing else, just based on the flat color. Then I could play with the rendering on the hat without affecting any other portion of the picture.

At this point you can see that the flats are completely layed in. It's time for the RENDERING to begin!

And what you have above is.......a mess. I rendered the hat, the face, and the collars of his coat as well as portions of his gun. I also put in a lighter tone in the non-shadowed areas of his coat. If you look at the rendering of the hat, you can see that i used mainly the dodge, burn, and smudge tools to get the effects of rendering. I'm not 100% sure I like doing things that way as you don't have the same amount of control as you would be using different shades of color. I also began the rendering of the scarf .

At this point I had decided it would be better to have the line art in greater contrast to the color work, so I imported another layer of the first image (way above) and plunked it on a layer as multiply at 100% opacity. Then upped the contrast a bit more to get a darker line, but there was a problem.......In the first image I was blocking in dark color over the line art, and forgot to save a line art only sample of my work. So when I imported this line art over the colored/flatted work, I was stuck with a large dark area over his right hand (left hand side of piece, the hand not holding the gun.) This meant that I had to go back in and replace the dark coloring with a gray tone in order to not lose as much of the piece in that area.

Here you can see the rendering had come a long way. All using the dodge/burn tools and smudge. I'm really not satisfied with the way those tools work together, so I'll probably go back to a more "painterly" approach in future works. Using darker portions of paint to lighter in a gradient, and then using the smudge tool in order to work it into the shapes and designs that I need them to be.

Another note here is that it was pretty far along in the piece. In fact, this is probably one of the longer pieces that I've worked on in the past few months taking over 8 hours from start to finish.

And above you have the finished piece. Looking at it now I can see a number of areas where I should have spent longer, mainly in the right hand (left hand side of the piece, not holding gun) in relation to the background I chose.

I used a filter on the colored piece to roughen up the color a bit, then used a slight blur in areas that needed to dissipate a bit more gently. I believe I used the built in rough pastel filter in Photoshop CS 2 for the main figure, then used a dry brush built in filter for the background. I also used the built in lense flare tool to add the flare to the gun.

The background is an old stock photo I have of the hong kong city skyline at night. Being the Shadow, I figured that Hong Kong would be a good backdrop to this piece. I don't own the copyright to the photo, nor do I own the copyright to The Shadow, which is why I'm using this piece to teach as well as to explore different options that I myself have as a comic book artist.

I then took a blur tool set at 50% strength and went over the edges of THE SHADOW in order to make them softer. When I first placed the skyline behind him, the stark rough contrast in lines from the Shadow to the skyline made it look half finished, like a pasted up piece that was done in a hurry. I experimented with various different filters, including some of the Alien Skin Eye Candy ones, but decided finally to just blur the edges slightly to diffuse them.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this quick trip down my artistic proclivities. Remember, just because something works for me doesn't mean it'll work for you. Save your work often and know that you can't break the piece irreparably in Photoshop as long as you have an older version set to go! Experiment with the program, and with your skills. Practice Practice Practice as Criss Angel says!

Modern Christianity

2011-10-30T01:06:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: By no means am I singling anybody out with this post, but instead speaking of a growing trend that I have noticed in Christianity over the past number of years. This trend is very disturbing to me, and so I felt the need to write about it.

Modern Christianity:
A growing trend that i have noticed among not only bloggers, but preachers and churches is the picking and choosing of what can be considered factual, and what cannot be considered factual within the Bible. One instance is on the blog of someone that seems well respected amongst Christian Comic Book Creators. In one of his posts he states that the first five chapters of Genesis cannot be trusted as reliable or accurate. On another website someone defended a person who had a transgender operation, and still functioned as a Pastor in a leadership position at the church that he/she pastored.

I cannot reconcile these opinions with Scripture by any means. As a Born Again Christian, I need to make something clear at the outset: The Bible IS the INFALLIBLE, INERRANT Word of God. Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone. This is what I believe, and what the Bible itself teaches. That means a literal seven day creation, and a literal creation of man and woman during that period.

When you begin to separate what you believe as factual in the Bible from what you don't believe, you are treading on dangerous ground. There is the verse in the Bible describing what awaits the person or persons who changes one verse within it. There are multiple others that becry the perfection of Scripture.

It was once put to me this way: "The Bible is basically GOD SAID IT and THAT SETTLES IT." We cannot cherry pick truth from the Bible the way the world cherry picks truth from amongst the myriads of religions out there today. There is only ONE truth, and that is Salvation through Jesus Christ. When we begin to take away any part of the Bible, we take away from the whole of it. We show the world that "Hey, we don't even believe everything in here, so don't take us seriously!"

We need to show the world that God alone is the author of Scripture, and our lives! We need to repent, and approach the Glorious Word of God as it is! The INERRANT, INFALLIBLE Word of God!

We have to quit sugar coating things. Okay, I'm preaching to myself here as well, which is always good. If we're not learning by what we're saying to others, then we are stagnant. We are no longer growing. We are no longer trusting in SCRIPTURE to light the way for us!

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

Let us remember these simple words as we pray for guidance in the ways of Scripture, and in the ways of the way that we must live our lives. (Hint: The answer to living our lives is also......where? SCRIPTURE!)

All in the Serve

2011-10-27T21:44:00.000-04:00

What a lot of people can forget as they read my meandering writing is that first and foremost I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, have been baptized in His name, and have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Does this make me perfect? No way. Does this have an impact on my life both creative and personal? In all ways.

There's a song I found while watching a movie several years ago. All in the Serve by Michael W. Smith. This song personafied then there I wanted to be, and still personafies where I want to be. As Christians we are to live our lives for Christ. We are to take every thought captive to Him who Saved us. It is only through Jesus that we may be saved.

Once we are Saved by the Grace afforded to us by His death on the cross, then.....Well........It's all in the serve.

Lyrics:

Michael W. Smith

All in the Serve

From the Movie, "The Second Chance"

(Chorus, with "Oh")

Never gave you nothin' people couldn't explain away
Never gave you nothin' without something to gain
Never could slow down enough to study your face, but now -
I wanna know your name

Chorus:
Hold my feet to the fire
'till I'm breakin' a sweat
'till I never forget
your callin' Keep me
on the line give me the nerve
Here it's all in the serve

Locked in the diamond lane
I kept driving past it
Better to be safe
Than learn what your a-bout
Give me another chance to go where Youre goin', now

I’m here to walk it out
I’m here to walk it out
I’m here to walk it out

(Key Change)

Chorus:
Hold my feet to the fire
'till I'm breakin' a sweat
'till I never forget
your callin' Keep me
on the line give me the nerve
Here it's all in the serve

(Key Change)

Chorus:
Hold my feet to the fire
'till I'm breakin' a sweat
'till I never forget
your callin' Keep me
on the line give me the nerve
For it's all in the serve

(Key Change)

(Chorus, with "OH") ('till I never forget)

It’s all in the serve
Yeah, it’s all in the serve
Here it’s all in the serve

Creative Evolution

2011-10-17T17:32:00.000-04:00

The evolution that we experience as creators is a unique one in my mind. The way we change as we work on each project, the way we evaluate our work, and even the way that our faith intermingles with the work. This is something I'm really beginning to see as I work on the project that I am writing and drawing (creator owned of course).

I started with very precise and finished pencils. I traced them in ink, changing things as needed. Within three pages my pencils began to take more of a layout form, and my inks more the detailed forms. Now I'm ready to go to pencil layouts, and computer generated artwork for the page. It's an evolution that I've seen a long time coming.

But how did I get to this place? How did my talents evolve?

As anyone who knows me will attest to, first and foremost I give Glory to God for the talents I possess as writer and artist. The imagination I possess. But it still takes time to move from raw talent to finished pieces. In my case it's taken two decades now. I began this dream when I was 12, and have never left it for long. The longest absence I took was when God led me to put down my pencils and papers for a while. That lasted over a year. When I felt God leading me to pick them up again, things began to change at warp speed.

I've always been a traditional artist. Pencils, pens, paper. Get it ready then scan it in. Only then I would turn to the computer for colors. Now though I'm seeing my style evolve. I have a rather firm hand on my pencilling, to the point that I'm finally happy with it. Same with my storytelling. Inks, I've learned a lot in the past year. Computer wise though other than flat colors with some highlights, I'm still a neophyte.

Yet what if I were to take these graphic sensibilities I have and approach the coloring as more painting? I've painted with oils and acrylics, and have a pretty good idea of how to use them. The computer is just another tool with my Wacom Intuos 2 tablet and stylus. What if I approached the whole thing, the whole page as a digital work?

This is where my creative evolution is leading me. My plans are to do rather detailed pencils on "scrap paper", then scan them in and finish the work digitally from now on.

I hope this glimpse inside my head was interesting, and always: To God Be the Glory!

Faith, Creativity, and Life

2011-10-12T19:34:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I posted anything in this blog, but that's actually a good thing. Within the past couple months I've published my first novel, rededicated my life and talents to God, and have made many changes in my life. I won't go into all of them here, you'll see them as time progresses. What I will write about is based on something my friend Don Smith told me to blog about. He suggested I write a simple blog about the three things I enjoy about writing. I can't write just about writing, the entire creative process and how my faith interacts with it and how that then interfaces with my life is more what I feel I should say.

Creativity comes from the talents that God gives us. In my case it's definitely not administration of a publishing company. It's writing and drawing, the entire creative process. I've made the mistake several times in my life of trying to be a publisher. I can publish my own work well enough, but when it comes to others I fall saddeningly short. Howard Kent, Christina Cheek, and many others can attest to this fallacy in my life. I definitely do NOT have a talent of administration of any kind.

So that leaves the Creativity of creating, writing, and drawing. It's something I enjoy, something that helps keep me busy, and something that I now hope to have the drive to complete. I've left behind a series of projects half finished in my life. Heck, I've even left the TRUTH behind in my life, only to return to it again. The truth is Salvation through Jesus Christ, and living as a Christian should. Some people may disagree that I've made it to this place, but for the first time I am settled.

James 1:8 states that a double minded (can't make up his mind) man is unstable in all his ways. For the past 3+ years I've lived that. Yet within the past two months since my rededication to Jesus Christ and what was in Acts called "The Way" I have experienced a paradigm shift that continues to this day. Not only in my personal life; reading the bible and praying. But in my professional. I backed out of one project very recently because the man I was partnered with was double minded. I feel bad about the timing of my leaving, but I feel peace about the decision. There were many warning signs that I should have quit earlier, one of the funniest being when this gentleman stated "My cat's head of PR and wants to know if it's okay to make you one of the leaders on the ###### Comics facebook page."

I won't mention any names, or give any other clues to this persons identity. The timing of our departure from a professional relationship could have been better, but the result has been a return to the work that I enjoy.

I'm currently working on a Comic Book. Yep, you've all heard that before. I feel bolder now that I am settled. I have a peace in my heart that surpasses all understanding, and I have quit sitting on the fence between God and the World. I had to make this decision you see, because my life was unmanageable without Christ. I realized this, I saw this. But it wasn't me who revealed it. It was the Spirit of God that spoke with a still small voice inside of me. I had a choice to listen or not to, and Thank the Lord I chose to listen.

I've returned to the Church that trained me. I've reknit old ties that had long been dormant. The faith that I have is strong and steadfast in a way it hasn't been before. And I'm not afraid.

So how does that mix in with the Creative process? Very simple. It gives me the drive that I have lacked before, the boldness to complete the project that I am beginning. I don't want to brag about anything though, if anything I want to brag about it's the forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I just know that as I move on in faith and listen to His Voice in my life (Through the Bible and prayer) I will be more than a conqueror.

This particular project has roots long ago. Just as Beyond Mortality does. What this project is, well, is the comic book version of several of the similar ideas I had that didn't quite work out with Beyond Mortality. In fact I have considered removing Beyond Mortality from sale as of this point due to the fact that it was rushed. But the fact remains that I did complete a novel, and that fact helps me move forward in a way I haven't quite experienced before.

My wife has always tried to tell me that I could do anything that I set my mind to. Me being of low self-esteem and a double mind never believed her until now. I look forward to the chances that are in front of me, and I love the fact that I have returned to what I love best: my hearts desire to write and draw comic books.

I will write more soon, I promise.

Beyond Mortality NOW AVAILABLE!

2011-08-09T20:52:00.002-04:00

Beyond Mortality is NOW AVAILABLE on AMAZON.COM!