Sebastian Chow

2017 Plan

2017-01-22T16:54:00.001+00:00

2017 is underway and the clock is ticking. Whats the plan for this year art-wise? Well I have several goals and ideas and the easiest way to talk about it is to break it down into different categories.

Comic Cons
Comic cons in the UK have come a long way and whilst they're not as frequent as cons in the US there are now a number of mainstream and independent cons up and down the UK. I've attended London Super Comic Con ever since the first one where Stan Lee attended. This year will be the first year I have booked a table as an exhibitor. That means my very own table in artists alley, selling art and promoting any comics I've made. More on that event in future updates.

I have also applied to Though Bubble 2017 however I am doubtful I will get a place as I think my online presence is weak and currently my comic Catapulted is still WIP. I'm still hopeful and will probably attend even if I don't get a place as an exhibitor.

There are a couple of MCM cons in London however these tend to be super packed and I'm not convinced the artist alley gets much attention as the crowd tends to be a mix of different interests. Also the crowds are large and just attending one day last year felt tiring.

Publish a comic
I have about 20 comic book ideas in storage. These are at various stages but I constantly add to the collection. The idea is that when I finish and complete a project I have at least another idea ready to be developed. Currently I am working on a miniseries Catapulted. See here for the draft cover and for a short description of what the story will be about. Hopefully I can have some prints ready for LSCC2017. I 'm going to try and get it published with a publisher, that process alone will help me see how the publishers see it in terms of quality. Failing that there are many other ways to get published and some of these other methods are ways I want to explore anyway.

Kickstarter
I would like to launch a Kickstarter this year. These can be quite involved but I would like to start small with a modest goal. I see the first Kickstarter as a digital download only comic with various rewards (directors cut, extras etc.) and perhaps a stretch goal for prints or physical rewards.

Webcomic
I did start a Tapastic series last year and had ideas for short 6 panel webcomcis through Tapastic. I would like to continue this, however it won't be a priority. This would be more to take a break from commissions and comic making and draw with no pressure, which seems to help me when I'm try to produce my best art.

Commissions
At the end of last year I tried to advertise commissions a little bit more and to my surprise I got my first commission. Someone had saw the cover to Catapulted and wanted something similar featuring himself in it too. It's currently WIP but commissions are something I'll be doing more of, especially as I prepare to exhibit at my first con.

And that's it for now. Quite a lot to achieve but without goals and plans its unlikely that you will achieve a lot. Subscribe to my newsletter if you want updates in your inbox, use the form on the main page of the blog on the right hand side.

Newsletter!

2017-01-22T16:46:00.002+00:00

So I thought I would start a newsletter to help build my subscriber base to my blog. Whilst some social platforms are great for promoting art/comics, newsletter subscriptions are the best and most consistent way to reach people who want to keep up to date with your content creation.

Therefore I launched my first newsletter last week. To the starters who did subscribe, thank you and I look forward to sending updates on my content as well as useful articles on different aspects of comic book creation.

What kind of articles could you expect if you did subscribe? Here are a few topics:

Updates on new articles discussing writing, penciling, inking, coloring and lettering comics

Updates on conventions as well as my first experiences exhibiting at Comic Con

Reviews of useful books and tools for making comics

Updates on my creator owned comic Catapulted

Reviews of online comic book platforms (Tapastic, Comixology, Webtoons etc.)

I kept my first newsletter light and I did mention that its not going to be a super frequent newsletter that is super long. Instead it's going to be succinct and to the point as often I find newsletters I've subscribed to lengthy and sometimes a bit spammy.

However I did receive a response from one of my subscribers suggesting a schedule so at least the newsletters are regular and can be expected. The opposite end of the spectrum is that newsletters aren't frequent enough which therefore runs the risk of getting forgotten, meaning your content never gets looked at.

Therefore I've decided to send a newsletter twice a month. Content wise I think that's all I could handle at the moment.

How do you subscribe to the newsletter?

At the top of my blog on the right is a small sign up form, pop your email in and away you go, or more so your email address.

The Three Plots?

2016-12-12T15:44:00.001+00:00

I once read that every story that can be told has been told already. Many stories are reconfigured, disguised in such a way that the audience is feels like they're seeing something new and different. I didn't want to believe it but the more I boiled down and reduced stories to their bare plot elements, the more this seemed so. So, what are those three plots?

The Mysterious Stranger

The Quest

The Genesis Story

That's it. Hard to believe isn't it? When you boil the story down, you will come to one or more of these three basic plots. Yes, this is reducing stories to the extreme, but these are not where you end. It's where you begin. Let's consider them one at a time.

THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER (Comes to Town)

Someone or something enters a community. The story built around this plot often follows one (or both) of these two questions:

What is this stranger's impact on the community?

What is the community's impact on the stranger?

If it does not follow either of those questions, then the stranger may be used as a lens by which the author reveals the characters and/or community in which the stranger finds him or herself.

THE QUEST

This can be a search for anything: love, treasure, the identity of the Mysterious Stranger. All mysteries are built around the quest for the solution. You might consider some subcategories to the Quest. It could be said that the quest is too broad and you could break things down further, including such categories as the Chase and the Hunt. While these are all valid, they can still be seen as all being quests of one sort or another.

THE GENESIS STORY

How something or someone came to be. In comic book terms, this is the origin story.

When I thought about my favorite stories and I started to see at the heart of them is one or more of these three basic plots. It is an art, to find new stories to tell based on these plots. This is where artistic vision comes into play. We are all individuals, shaped by our experiences. It is our unique perspective on these three stories that will give our work a distinctive voice.

Remember if you are a duck there are special offers at Heinemann apparently...

Comics: Art in Relationship

2016-11-30T16:19:00.000+00:00

If you like Scott McCloud's books on analyzing the comic book form or you enjoy Will Eisner's comments on comics and the form of sequential art then you will enjoy the free course Comics: Art in Relationship.

This course analyzes the question 'What are comics?' and the course instructor, Matt Silady, does an excellent job in providing an answer that can be tested with examples. There are 5 sessions but within each session there are multiple lessons. These include image and text relationships, thumbnailing, layouts and pacing.

The course material could be covered in a day however if you were to partake in the exercises it would most likely take longer. If you are familiar with the process of making comics and want something a little deeper on this interesting and challenging medium then this is a great course.

What makes it even better?

It's free. Completely and absolutely free. Register an account and sign up and the content is there for you to enjoy. You can even participate in the forums for feedback. This was a real gem to find and I thoroughly enjoyed the material. You can access the content any time you want and take it at your own pace. I believe the course ends in Jan 2017 sometime but that's plenty of time to make use of the course material.

By the end of the course you should be equipped to start planning and making a comic of your own.

Below is a link to the course. Enjoy!

https://www.kadenze.com/courses/comics-art-in-relationship-ii

Triangles?

2016-11-18T18:53:00.001+00:00

Trying to create a my own comic book is not easy when you are a one man band. In most cases creative teams consist of a writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer and maybe an editor. There are times when a creator is able to fulfill more than one of these roles and in rare cases all of the roles. However this means a lot of cross training in all these steps of comic book creation.

In my own case I started out as an pencil artist (not a great one at that) and tried learning how to ink, then letter, coloring and lastly writing. Learning to write a comic book has probably been the hardest. With the other steps there are scores of YouTube videos, on line How-To articles and books on how to put the visual aspects of comics together. However, writing comics isn't that easy, at least for me.

So, where do we start? How do you go from an idea to a piece of work that makes sense as a story?

A long time ago I read an online article that articulated how to make sense of an idea and progress it to a finished comic book. Unfortunately I can't remember the site and author although I would love to credit where I found this information.

I'll break the writing process into separate posts. But first lets talk about triangles.
Triangles... Doritos? Cheese triangles? Flying space triangles? No. The story triangle.

You will find that there are four basic elements in constructing a story as illustrated by the diagram below.

Lets break each part down one by one.

The Characters
This is the "who". Who are the main characters? Who are the supporting characters? Are some heroes or villains? What are their motivations and characteristics? Do they have personality flaws? Are they following a certain stereotype? What do they look like? How do they dress?
Lots of questions when it comes to characters but this is basically the "who".

The Plot
This is the "what". What do your characters want and what happens? It is the simple sequence of events. For example:

Rosie wants to be on time for work. Unfortunately, she wakes up late. Natalie makes her breakfast. Rosie eats breakfast quickly, dripping egg yolk on her shirt. Now Rosie has to change her clothes, making her even later for work. Rosie leaves the house in a rush, not looking in both directions before she crosses the street. Rosie is hit by a bus and dies. That is a plot.

That's what happens. The plot is the series of conflicts and resolutions leading to the climax and ending where everything is tied together.

The Story
This is the where, when, how, and why. Where and when are surface details, but they are important as they determine how the character and society act and react. People in feudal Japan would not act in the same way that Native Americans would act in 1800

America

.

The plot described above with Rosie would have to happen in fairly large, modern city where cars and buses exist. It could not be transplanted to

France

, circa 1100.

How expands on the question of "What do you characters want?" by exploring how they go about achieving their goals. We then ask the question of why should the events of the plot matter to the characters and the readers.

Ultimately, the story is the impact of Rosie's death on Natalie, the bus driver, other characters, and most importantly, on the reader. Why should the reader care about Jimmy's death and its ramifications? Therein lies the story.

The Theme or Premise
Every story sets out to prove its theme or premise. In the story outlined above, the premise might be "Remember to set your alarm clock so you don't wake up late." The consequences of not setting your alarm clock are then spelled out. The theme or premise does not have to be overly complex. It can be as simple as "Love conquers all" or "Crime doesn't pay" or "With great power comes great responsibility" (sound familiar?).

It can be much more complex, perhaps trying to prove or disprove the existence of a higher power. It doesn't matter how simple or complex your premise, as long as everything in the context of the tale--the characters, the plot, and the story--all relate to the theme in some way, shape, or form to your theme. Ultimately, when someone asks what the story is about, they will usually zero in on the theme or premise.

That's all for now but this is extremely useful in organizing and transforming an idea into a proper comic book story.

Also here is a pic of a breakfast sandwich. Why? Because breakfast sandwiches rule.

Comic Cons 2016

2016-11-11T21:34:00.002+00:00

Recently I went to two comic cons that I don't usually go to. MCM ComicCon and ThoughtBubble.
How did it go?

MCM Comic Con

I've always known that MCM has drawn large crowds historically but I wasn't prepared for how packed it would be. I only went to the Sunday but friends who attended all three days had told me that the Saturday had sold out and that it was almost impossible to walk around with the crowds.

MCM in London is typically held in the Excel Centre. But whereas London Super ComicCon (held in the same venue) takes up 3 or 4 halls, MCM took up practically all the halls, both sides!

Of course MCM is not just about comics or manga, it has merchandise stalls, film, game, food and even karaoke areas! Halls on both sides of the main corridor were used, all filled with cosplayers who had traveled from all over Europe.

Although enjoyable with lots to see and do, I prefer cons that are solely focused on comics.

ThoughtBubble 2016

Now here is an interesting convention. ThoughtBubble has always been held in the city of Leeds, something that had always put me off from attending as its a good 4 hour car journey from London.

However I did not realize that some amazing writers and artists have been attending for years! In times past Adam Hughes has attended (an artist I've always wanted to meet and chat to).

This year saw Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman and Kim Jung Ji as well as many others attend. The event is spread around the Royal Armories Museum. The benefit of this venue is that panels can be held in nice theater auditoriums where panelists can be heard clearly (unlike at the Excel Center). I attended one panel on how to make money from comics where the panelists shared their own experience which was very helpful.

Watching Kim Jung Gi was a treat, transforming a huge blank canvas into a an amazingly detailed picture before a crowd of onlookers. How he manages to do these pictures, without reference and planning will always amaze me.

I got to buy some sketch books and a piece of original art from artists in artist alley, include Dean Beattie, Dave Stokes and also got to speak to some creators including Chris Lewis who I met at Kapow Comic Con years ago when he first self published Drones before IDW picked it up.

I had entered the yearly art competition, from which the top three entries get published in a ThoughtBubble anthology published by Image comics. Unfortunately I didn't come in the top three but it was a good experience to complete a one page comic within a finite period, something I often struggle with.

On the bright side I put the comic into a format that would be suitable to Tapastic and I think it will be an ongoing series of short 'slice-of-life' strips.

Check it out in the link below! Tapastic also has an Android and IOS app for you to enjoy comics. Search for 'Sebastian Chow' or 'Art Imitates Life' and subscribe and like the comic. Alternatively you can view it on their site without an account by clicking the link.

https://tapastic.com/series/Art-Imit

Leeds was also a lovely city to visit and in the main shopping center there was a replica of the 1989 Batman Batmobile (my favorite look of all the films). Needless to say I took some snaps.

I would love to go back to ThoughtBubble and even hire a table for commissions and selling art however I know this can be difficult with many being turned away due to the high volume of requests and limited space.

Onward to LSCC 2016 which now has a new venue and new dates...

MCM Comic Con

ThoughtBubble/Leeds

Great Advice

2016-07-12T17:31:00.001+01:00

Speaking to creators at comic conventions can yield a wealth of advice and help. Sebastian Antoniou who is an artist that gave some great feedback when comparing some of my finished pages and sketches in my sketch book.

The problem I was having was that art in my sketch book was fluid, dynamic and pleasant to the eye (at least my eye). However when I worked on finished sequential pages, the art was stiff and less dynamic. Also the style of the art seemed to change drastically.

Here's an example from and old sketch and an old "finished" page. These are meant to be the same character, sketchbook version on the left and the Bristol board (scanned and grey-scaled) version on the right.

I think there are several reasons why this is the case:

I seem to have a mental block between drawing on a cheap sketchbook (on which I can discard the page) and drawing on a nice new, pristine piece of Bristol board
Not planning the thumbnails out properly
Not sketching or planning out the page layout and rough pencils in a clear enough fashion before inking

However even when things were penciled out nicely, another factor to stiff pages seemed to be my inking process. I was using the famed Hunt 102 nib that so many inkers used. The problem? It takes lots of practice and skill to ink with this tool.

The advice from Seb Antoniou? He asked me what tools I used when inking sketches in my sketch book. I said I used fine-liners. He then asked why I was then switching to a completely different tool when in most cases I want to capture the art in my sketch books (just in a neater presentation).

I thought about it and it was true. I didn't need to be true to a particular method that wasn't my method... yet.

So Catapulted will be inked mainly with fine-liners as that's what I'm used to and hopefully it's going to get me the results I want in my pages.

Long story short? Don't sacrifice the art by sticking rigidly to a method that isn't yet yours and get feedback on your work from other creators (even if it's a 5 min chat).

CATAPULTED - LOGO!

2016-03-13T18:09:00.001+00:00

Slow progress is still progress... I think. This blog is described as "a quest to create an original creator owned, graphic novel". That novel is going to be CATAPULTED.

Previously I had started a different story called CLANDESTINE but apart from an interesting premise, I wasn't too confident on the story. I also recently discovered a similarly titled comic called CLANDESTINO, published by Black Mask Studios (the stories were in no way similar).

After successfully illustrating an anthology and attending LSCC 2016 and getting some great advice from artists/creators in the industry, I resumed efforts to complete my own story.

I'm a big fan of Will Eisner's "Comics and Sequential art" and all of Scott McCloud's books which really raise the value of comics as a medium for storytelling (highlighting the advantages over other mediums). Both creators also emphasize the strength in single creator storytelling over a team of creators. Sometimes the single clear vision of a single storyteller can be more effective than a team even if certain elements like the art are better.

Reviewing these books really helps find a starting place for what is required for most comic submissions... the 5 page preview.

Most publishers require a synopsis and a 5 page preview to see what the finished comic will look like if it was to be printed. A 5 page preview also reveals other key information:

Is the storytelling clear?
Will the reader be interested in turning the page by page 5 or will they be bored?
Is this a black and white or colour comic (has an impact on cost)?

All of this helps a publisher decide on whether a book is worth taking on. And with the amount of submissions publishers receive, 5 pages is more than enough.

Thus some of the future posts will be more centered on the different features connected with getting those 5 pages completed, character sketches, page layouts, covers and.... logos!

With that preamble I present the current logo (which may be subject change):

The logo feels a little bit too "clean" and "vectorish" (if that makes any sense). But a logo is a start and once it is on a cover it might become more apparent what needs tweaking.

Part of the design was inspired by the rocket tips that housed the poor cat that was to be sent into space seen below.

More on the history of cats in space later...

LSCC 2016 - Paul Kercal

2016-02-26T20:27:00.001+00:00

The first of many videos from Paul Kercal who ran the art stand at LSCC 2016 this year.
Thanks for the cool footage and the mention.

LSCC 2016 ArtRage/Surface Pro Mash up

2016-02-25T16:00:00.000+00:00

There were many stands at London Super Comic Con 2016 this year but one stand I spent quite a bit of time at was the very welcoming art stand run by Paul Kercal and some of his student helpers.

From what I can tell there are various bits of tech and software coming together to help form this stand:

Promethean hardware: Imagine a flat screen TV that acts as a giant touchscreen monitor, has multi-touch functionality and a whiteboard style marker as a drawing stylus. This was running windows and Art Rage software. This was great fun to use and reminds me of use a big whiteboard with markers (incidentally my current work place has whiteboard paint on the walls which is great for doodling while making coffee in the kitchen). I used this screen twice doing a couple of sketches, one I even managed to colour.

Surface Pro Tablets: Not sure if these were Surface Pro 3's or 4's but they had several Pros set up on easels running either Art Rage or Micrsoft Fresh Paint. I had never used Fresh Paint before and although it does not have layer support like Art Rage it did have great emulation of brushes/pens and canvas types. A couple of cosplayers in very tall and impressively made suits posed for some sketches.

I also won a small sketch competition and won a figurine statue of a new character that Markosia is publishing. Hope I can find some of the snaps taken when they get tweeted out or reported on.

I'll update this post with the pics when I they are released.

It was a great stand and I love the idea of getting non exhibitors to create art or comic art on great technology and software.

LSCC 2016!

2016-02-23T20:54:00.000+00:00

London Super Comic Con 2016 whizzed its way around the calendar and housed itself in back in the Excel where, incidentally, there was a baby exhibition, a classic car exhibition and a franchise exhibition on at the same time. So making my way between heavily pregnant women, businessmen and car enthusiasts I hurried my way through the crowd to make it to LSCC.

LSCC has definitely improved over the years. Each year seems to see an increase in attendees. Not even the gloomy weather and slight rain could dampen the spirit of cosplayers and comic book fans. I think there were more cosplayers this year than ever, and LSCC was prepared with several panel events and stands dedicated to cosplaying.

However I was there for different reasons. I attended panels on publishing your own comic, sequential storytelling and inking (discussed by Scott Williams). All three of these were enjoyable but I particularly enjoyed the inking panel with Mr. Williams who related his experiences of working with other creators like Jim Lee.

I met various comic creators and Comic Con is always a great place to get feedback, advice as well as network with other creators for future projects. In addition, there was an impressive list of artists and writers from all over the globe including all round nice guy, David Finch, who I interviewed back in LSCC 2013 (as a very obvious novice to doing interviews).

I bought some comics, some art supplies and even spent some time at a very interesting and fun stand (more to come on that). I will make blog posts on each of these aspects in a bit more detail but for now enjoy a few snaps taken throughout the con.

Outré #3: Xenophobia

2016-02-23T20:09:00.000+00:00

Fear of Strangers... No I'm not talking about you, don't run away.

Xenophobia (fear of strangers) was the theme of the third issue of the anthology series from Outré Press, headed up by Glenn Møane and Magnus Aspli. Each anthology issue was has a central theme that is explored by short stories.

Now granted, this piece of work was completed some time ago but I am resurrecting this blog and am planning to keep it up to date. So I am revisiting old draft posts that I had prepared some time ago with a view to posting regularly.

So back to the tale... I replied to an advert on DigitalWebbing (a great site for for collaborating on comics) and was assigned to pencil and ink one particular story.

"The Day the Foreigner Came"
Written by Landon Wright
Colour by Kóte Carvajal
Letters by Sean Rinehart

This was my first commission ever and I learnt a lot about the process doing it. I was far from happy on the end result but I managed to get just that... an end result. No more talking about doing a comic with no results.

The issue is available on Comixology at a bargain price, but Magnus and Glenn always intended these anthologies to be free and you can either read these online on the Outré Press site (link below) or download them for free in various formats.

>>>> READ THE COMIC <<<<

Outré Press also did a creator spotlight on me which was fun and showcased some art of mine for which I'm grateful for. Link is below.

>>>> CREATOR SPOTLIGHT <<<<

One thing I didn't expect for my very first published collaboration project was reviews!
I got a mixture of reviews and I agree with the negative comments completely and will look to improve on the next project. I was totally not expecting reviews of any kind and it was fun and exciting to read several different reviews.

Here are some snippets, specifically in reference to my art:

Sequart (Includes preview with my art ): "The art reminds me of the art in 'Trees' as there is almost a sandpapery feel to it. The facial structure to the characters are dubious, either the eyes are too far apart or the mouths too big. The panel structure was alright, but it wasn’t as impressive as the previous artist."

Geek Syndicate: "Art is by Sebastian Chow and Kóte Carvajal. Rough and ready might be a good description. Almost as if trying to reflect life in rural Georgia by odd character design and basic backgrounds."

CB: "The art was really good for each story. In particular the first two tales had solid art that fit the stories. With the second story the artist definitely saved the day since the entire story happens in one room."

Some positive and some negative but any feedback is good for me at the moment!

Drones in the Wild!

2013-09-17T23:29:00.001+01:00

Chris Lewis, writer/creator of Drones, had contacted me and asked if I could collect remaining issues that were currently being sold at Orbital comics in Leicester Sq. Orbital has a healthy turnover of self published titles every 2-3 months (Drones is by far the highest quality comic I have seen in that section in a long time). So after collecting these I thought long and hard about where these issues could continue their happy life, hence my trip to Krypton Komics!

Krypton Komics is one of the few comic book stores in London, and fortunately for me, its very close to where I live! The store is owned by a very friendly and talented Gary Ochiltree who also worked on a home produced comic called 'Tales of the Wonder Kind' (to which I have all 3 issues and the TPB). They have a great selection of back issues and have a great new year's sale where any issue (including the more expensive comics) are all half price. I had previously found a Wildcats Vs X-men Golden Age one shot by Travis Charest (one of my favourite artists) and it was signed!

I had asked Gary if I could donate these remaining issues of Drones to the store and told them about the Kickstarter that Chris has started for the TPB. Check it out in the link below if you haven't already, he is close to reaching his goal!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/511329223/drones

Here are some pics of Krypton Komics located on Blackhorse Rd Walthamstow.

Des Taylor Sketch Session at Orbital Comics

2013-04-06T22:26:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I attended the second ever life drawing session at the Orbital Comics Shop. I've been waiting for something like this to be organised and had missed it the first time round. It was a great opportunity to draw with artists interested in comic book illustration. Many artists attended with us all crowding around the main table.

Des Taylor lead the class providing helpful tips into his own process. Des follows a similar style to Bruce Timm, using minimum brush strokes to get maximum detail on the page. Typically he tries to get as much information down on the page quickly to provide a rough form. Then he refines the picture and finally adds detail before inking and colouring.

The sessions were split into 15 to 20 minute drawing stints with two great models posing for the class. Nina Hearne and April Banbury provided many interesting poses and did a great job holding form despite getting numb limbs from the poses. There were many great artists who attended and it was refreshing to see a variety of styles, particularly from a group of tattoo artists who came along.

This was really my first life drawing class and I learnt a lot from it. Firstly I draw way too slow... like really really slow. I've always known this but the class really highlighted it. Getting as much of the drawing down on the paper in rough form not only helps with the flow of the drawing but really helps to improve eye-hand co ordination. As I continued, anatomy weaknesses started to come through particularly when drawing hands and feet. I also realised half way through the class that I was trying to draw in a traditional art style when really I was interested in comic book illustration. When I applied my usual comic style I produced a piece I was fairly happy with and even got it signed by Nina Hearne when the class finished.

I really do hope there are more of these classes, they are very useful and above all great fun.

Check out the pics below (click to enlarge) as well as one of the sketches I did (there was only one sketch that I felt good enough to post).

Astro Monkey!

2013-04-01T22:43:00.000+01:00

He is the first chimp in space, he is bold, he is daring, he is... Astro Monkey. Ok, Albert II was the first monkey is space but this one has his own antenna.

Click the image to purchase this t-shirt. The store will let you customize the t-shirt base as well as alter certain aspects of the design to suit your tastes.

More designs to follow...

Moleskine Sketchbook

2013-03-26T23:33:00.000+00:00

These books are great for sketching in. The paper quality is really smooth and works well with brushes. This one was a gift from some old colleagues and I thought its time I put it to good use.

These are just some random doodles. I had an passing idea for different t-shirt designs based on the theme "Astro-Zoo". Each t-shirt design would be an animal in different Astronaut garb, although don't ask me what the monkey below is wearing on his head... antenna?

LSCC - London Super Comic Con 2013 - Review

2013-03-11T15:03:00.000+00:00

LSCC 2013 saw a marked improvement on last years event with a better layout of tables, more creators attending and more exhibitions and stands set up.

Many cosplayers turned up with some impressive costumes, many of which have found their way to YouTube. Personal favourites included the Tim Burton Batman costume.

Highlights of the event were some of the panels scheduled. David Finch, Neal Adams, Brian Bolland and Gary Franks sat on the panel for "Batman through the Ages" which started out with Neal Adams sharing his singing voice. Many great questions were asked including whether Robin's character added or detracted to the Caped Crusade, to which the general consensus was that Robin should have stayed in the circus.

I managed to get a quick portfolio review with Zenescope's Anthony Spay. I had a very limited portfolio to share but it was good to get some feedback from working professionals in the business. Portfolios should consist of a variety of sequential pages displaying different scenarios, characters etc. Anthony confirmed much of what I thought were my weaknesses (some anatomy issues, background, stiffness on final pages and a lack of content).

I managed to get some interviews with different creators including Grant Perkins who delivered a great sketch of Spiderman (to be posted on the blog soon) as well as David Finch who had queues of fans waiting to get books signed and con sketches completed.

Below is the interview of David Finch who was super nice despite having fans around him constantly and having a long list of sketches to complete in a short time. Check out the interview with David below (note the work that David will be doing with Comic Experience soon in the future).

Cons are a great source of inspiration especially when try to get your stories off the page and into production of some kind. Many teams/creators have achieved this and it's always good to discuss how different creators have overcome some of the obstacles of the creative process.

Onward with my creator owned story Clandestine!

Here are some general photos of the event including some of the cosplayers. Enjoy!

LSCC 2013

2013-02-17T22:42:00.001+00:00

London Super Comic Convention commences next week on Saturday and Sunday 23rd and 24th February. Hopefully the event organisers have improved upon last years event. Complaints included long queues and waiting times to get into the hall as well as a limited amout of creators attending the event. This meant the hall was mostly vacant space with tables of artists/publishers around the edge.

LSCC 2012 was the first time this event was hosted, being the 2nd comic convention in London dedicated to comics from mainstream and independant publishers alike. Despite issues the event was enjoyable with some interesting panels including one with useful advice from Mouseguard creator, David Petersen.

The highlight though of last years event, was the appearance of Stan Lee. Stan walked around with fans and gave a most enjoyable panel event that was packed with people of all ages. It was great hearing his story on how his comic career started all those years ago and despite his age, Stan just keeps on going.

There is already an impressive list of artists and creators confirmed for attending the event this year. This hopefully means a packed hall full of creators with interesting panels planned.

Attendees include: Neal Adams, J Scott Campbell, Mike Choi, Mahmud Asrar, Simone Bianchi, Brian Bolland, Doug Braithwaite, Ian Churchill, Gabriele Del'Otto, David Finch, Bob Layton, George Perez, Esad Ribic, Bill Sienkiewicz, Adi Granov just to name a few!!

Hit up the image below to link through to the offical site. Tickets can still be bought through Event Brite.

Day in the life of a creative mind...

2013-02-15T15:54:00.000+00:00

Comic Related's site has lots of cool videos for the comic creating process. Here was one enjoyable video I came across about picture book creator Oliver Jeffers. The film is well put together and is a good insight into a creator who both writes and illustrates their own stories.

Personal highlights are when Oliver hunts for lunch... Enjoy!

Office Location

2012-11-23T00:24:00.000+00:00

I have just changed jobs and inherently moved to a new office. Check out the front door of the office below to see why I was ecstatic when I found out its location.

Note: The front door of the office is the black door next to Orbital.

30 Characters Challenge 2013

2012-11-14T00:25:00.000+00:00

This November sees the start of the yearly 30 characters challenge: to create 30 characters in 30 days. Creators are encouraged to produce one new character for each day in November. Writers and artists alike are invited to participate.

Last year I registered but didn't take part. This year I improved by attempting to take part. I have created one new character: The Cleanin' Munster. This guy comes out at night to clean your mess, a bit like a cross between the boogeyman and Mr. Muscle.

I doubt I'll find time to create anymore but check out the link below to see some of the creations that people have come up with.

http://www.30characters.com/

Drones!

2012-11-07T00:25:00.000+00:00

I recently discovered that the original self published story Drones, is being stocked in Orbital Comics in Great Newport St, central London.I had the chance to meet the writer, Chris Lewis, at Kapow Comic Con earlier this year (check the picks in the Kapow post).

The copy I picked up at Kapow was a black and white first print. Soon after Chris and his team worked on producing a colour version which is being stocked at Orbital Comics. Issues 2 is already out and issue 3 is almost finished.

Drones is also being released digitally through Graphicly, DrivThru and ibooks.
Chris will be one to watch as Drones has already received great reviews. Keep updated with Drones news and other works from Chris Lewis by visiting the Epigamics site (Chris' own imprint). Check out the link below.

http://epigamics.com

Drones:
Stinger and Angel Eyes are Predator drone operators: high tech soldiers who hunt Taliban insurgents by operating remote-control aircraft from the safety of a base outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a surreal job next to the strangest city on Earth. But after a failed mission, the war hits home, in a bizarre journey that will take them from a terrorism-themed hotel to a drone-filled sky over the Strip.

London Super Comic Con 2013

2012-10-25T00:26:00.000+01:00

London Super Comic Con has been announced and it is due to take place on 23rd & 24th Feb 2013. There is a fantastic list of artists and writers including David Finch, Gabriele Dell’Otto, J Scott Campbell, Bill Sienkewicz, Simone Bianchi, George Pérez.

Last was the first LSCC and was made memorable by a visit from Stan Lee. Some complained at the lack of organisation and the problems with early queuing but hopefully 2013's event will improve upon some of the issues encountered.

http://www.londonsupercomicconvention.com/

Super 8

2012-08-27T20:04:00.001+01:00

I went to a car boot sale (first in a very long time) where I saw lots of vintage and retro gear.
My only purchase of the day was an old Super 8 camera.

As soon as I saw it it reminded me of the JJ Abrams film of the same name.
The film itself was good but I really enjoyed the DVD extras that looked at the inspiration behind the film.
It was really interesting and also mentioned JJ's first run in with Steven Spielberg.

I'm not in to film making but for £2 this was a bargin. I stuck in some batteries and it seems to work although some of the buttons are either stuck or broken, but it looks great in my drawing corner.

"How to Create Comics" Workshop

2012-08-27T19:57:00.002+01:00

A colleague at work (thanks Bec!) had kindly sent me the details for a presentation and workshop in Brick Lane that centered on making comics.

It was hosted by IXDA and took place at the LBI centre in Brick Lane.
Presentations were give by Matthew Sheret (who has edited the Paper Scient Anthology) and Sam Smith who is a “Senior Interaction Designer” at RMA by day and comic enthusiast by night.

Matt talked about his experience in collaborating with artists on stories and what processes are helpful in working togeher successfully. He also touched on a few points from Scott Mccloud's books which I have recently read and have found very useful.

Sam talked about thre relationship between scripts and sequential art and examined some examples from Neil Gaiman. After this presentation we organised ourselves into teams and were tasked with creating script and art for a simple advert slash story. It was for "Origami Clothes", an app where users can select different clothing and print out patterns that can be folded into clothing.

Our team split into smaller groups to work on different parts of the story.
Below are some snaps of our efforts. A fun evening with a practical workshop, good fun!

Below is a post from Matt's bloggs with some of the notes he used in his presentation.

http://matthewsheret.com/2012/08/22/six-pages-and-process/