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| Rough idea for show poster. |
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| "SQUEEZE!" 9"X12" scratchboard |
So as
with all art work and all that it entails how to make a living by it is
still an ever illusive game. And really that is what it boils down - to a
game.
As they say "being in the right place at the right time". I don't really agree with that comment but being prepared as well as you can when the opportunity presents itself.
That I will agree with.
Now I had a long texting conversation with my good buddy Adam Watson of Darkslinger Comics yesterday and continued it further into the evening with my roommate Dax last night.
How to present yourself and your work and still make some scratch?
Well after what I witnessed at the Linework NW show earlier this year, I now convinced that the only way a independant publisher can make a sellable product is to condense and reduce a story line to one book that a potential buyer would want to plunk cash down on and feel as they walk away from your table (or if you are lucky enough to have your books on consignment.) good that they have something cool.
It also doesn't hurt to have a hard bound edition of the work either.
Now as I was explaining this to Adam, a lot of people always come up with a great idea and then fill in the blanks and clog up the story telling process.
There are still a lot of main stream comics being sold but with one major difference - a lot of those stories are based around the movies that are coming out not the other way around.
The comic buying crowd has fundementally changed since Batman Begins came out. and there was one other item that came up in my facebook feed which I thought illustrated brilliantly the problem with mainstream comic books.
I think that David Mazzucchelli said it better than anyone in the mainstream comic book field and when I see so many independent comic creators out there trying desperately to mirror their inspirations they fall flat. Happened to me and a fan said it to me at a show. "Your work looks too polished and professional."
I used to think that was a real asinine comment but the more I thought about it, yeah that makes sense.
Dax's take on this topic was a bit different saying that he thought that a universe where all these characters exist in should be the main focus and that universe would portraied at different time periods would be defined by those characters in it. This would harken back to those earlier stories. Who was the first super human? Like every major and minor comic universe there is always one character who stands above everybody else and is inapproachable.
I saw where he was going with this but I don't quiet agree with his assessment of it.
That self contained story is what people are willing to plunk money down on.
I'm totally down for that.
A self contained nicely
presented story along with great artwork will sell. So I have a couple
of different stories to present and that will be fine. "The Watery
Adventure of Richard Parker" is one "Dreams of Elysium" is another and
possibly "Last Monster on EARTH!" as well. SO we'll see how these all
come out.
In this time of creation I felt that I had been slipping artisticly. And what I mean by that is that personally I felt like a part of myself had gotten lost so driven to make Richard Parker "real" that I started like I was the story character and he was the dreamer dreaming me into exitstance instead of the other way around.
It sounds vaguely Pygmalion doesn't it? I used to tell people that the artist is their artwork and the artwork is the artist.
This is where things like Grant Morrison's concept of a "fiction suit" comes into play. If you haven't a clue to what I'm talking about check any of his work especially on DC's Animal Man or his work on the Invisibles. I've been told that the Filth is pretty good but haven't read it yet and other works such as Supergods is good as well.
All have to deal with an over riding of self and the characters that are versions of themselves in a fanciful light.
I believe that really did happen to me and now I am balancing the rest of the artistic equation.
Of course he also thinks that I should be getting paid for I am worth and my artistic ability is far better than where it was 1 year or more. I find this praise worthy and worth noting because he has seen the advancement of where I started long ago.
He also feels that I should be working in the comics field doing something I love.
Its been year since I thought about doing anything in that venue seriously. But I haven't got anything to loose if I didn't try do it so I might try my version of the Martian Manhunter in a few pencil pages just to try adn say I did do it or for Marvel with Killraven and see what happens there.
Oh well that's it for the kid here and I am outta here.
And for anything else that pertains to the box check out these sites as well.
Etsy
And mind you there is website
and the facebook page
The Website also has some new stuff added for the comic books featuring Corpse Cop.
As they say "being in the right place at the right time". I don't really agree with that comment but being prepared as well as you can when the opportunity presents itself.
That I will agree with.
Now I had a long texting conversation with my good buddy Adam Watson of Darkslinger Comics yesterday and continued it further into the evening with my roommate Dax last night.
How to present yourself and your work and still make some scratch?
Well after what I witnessed at the Linework NW show earlier this year, I now convinced that the only way a independant publisher can make a sellable product is to condense and reduce a story line to one book that a potential buyer would want to plunk cash down on and feel as they walk away from your table (or if you are lucky enough to have your books on consignment.) good that they have something cool.
It also doesn't hurt to have a hard bound edition of the work either.
Now as I was explaining this to Adam, a lot of people always come up with a great idea and then fill in the blanks and clog up the story telling process.
There are still a lot of main stream comics being sold but with one major difference - a lot of those stories are based around the movies that are coming out not the other way around.
The comic buying crowd has fundementally changed since Batman Begins came out. and there was one other item that came up in my facebook feed which I thought illustrated brilliantly the problem with mainstream comic books.
I think that David Mazzucchelli said it better than anyone in the mainstream comic book field and when I see so many independent comic creators out there trying desperately to mirror their inspirations they fall flat. Happened to me and a fan said it to me at a show. "Your work looks too polished and professional."
I used to think that was a real asinine comment but the more I thought about it, yeah that makes sense.
Dax's take on this topic was a bit different saying that he thought that a universe where all these characters exist in should be the main focus and that universe would portraied at different time periods would be defined by those characters in it. This would harken back to those earlier stories. Who was the first super human? Like every major and minor comic universe there is always one character who stands above everybody else and is inapproachable.
I saw where he was going with this but I don't quiet agree with his assessment of it.
That self contained story is what people are willing to plunk money down on.
I'm totally down for that.
A self contained nicely
presented story along with great artwork will sell. So I have a couple
of different stories to present and that will be fine. "The Watery
Adventure of Richard Parker" is one "Dreams of Elysium" is another and
possibly "Last Monster on EARTH!" as well. SO we'll see how these all
come out.In this time of creation I felt that I had been slipping artisticly. And what I mean by that is that personally I felt like a part of myself had gotten lost so driven to make Richard Parker "real" that I started like I was the story character and he was the dreamer dreaming me into exitstance instead of the other way around.
It sounds vaguely Pygmalion doesn't it? I used to tell people that the artist is their artwork and the artwork is the artist.
This is where things like Grant Morrison's concept of a "fiction suit" comes into play. If you haven't a clue to what I'm talking about check any of his work especially on DC's Animal Man or his work on the Invisibles. I've been told that the Filth is pretty good but haven't read it yet and other works such as Supergods is good as well.
All have to deal with an over riding of self and the characters that are versions of themselves in a fanciful light.
I believe that really did happen to me and now I am balancing the rest of the artistic equation.
Of course he also thinks that I should be getting paid for I am worth and my artistic ability is far better than where it was 1 year or more. I find this praise worthy and worth noting because he has seen the advancement of where I started long ago.
He also feels that I should be working in the comics field doing something I love.
Its been year since I thought about doing anything in that venue seriously. But I haven't got anything to loose if I didn't try do it so I might try my version of the Martian Manhunter in a few pencil pages just to try adn say I did do it or for Marvel with Killraven and see what happens there.
Oh well that's it for the kid here and I am outta here.
And for anything else that pertains to the box check out these sites as well.
Etsy
And of course I still have my comics that I have worked on here at Indyplanet.
And mind you there is website
and the facebook page The Website also has some new stuff added for the comic books featuring Corpse Cop.
And with that this kid is outta of here I got work to do.
posted from Bloggeroid
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