Friday, November 6, 2009

Demon Hunter Kain: Nicole LaCroix Concept Art


Nicole LaCroix has been trained as a Demon Hunter since she was able to walk. She meets Kain and Zandalee later in the series and at first is unimpressed by the pair. Later, as she witnesses Kain in action, her impressions about him begin to change as do her feelings. In the case of Zandalee however her impression has only gotten worse. Nicole considers Zandalee to be a nuisance and a liability, meanwhile Zandalee considers Nicole to be the greatest thing since Wonder Woman.

I always envisioned Nicole as one of those girls that other girls and older women outwardly liked, yet inwardly loathed. She has the confidence, the attitude, the youth, the soft, firm and curvy body that both men and women would kill for, she's an A student, athletic, etc. She's pretty much perfect, or so it seems.

As with my other designs these are not etched in stone.


Feeling Sketchy Pt. 11 - Sketch Pad Sketches




So Lynne gave me a sketch pad that she wasn't using and I've been trying to draw in it everyday. I'm not making much progress on the "Do-A-Sketch-A-Day" front, but I'm sketching when I can. Here are a few that I did so far.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Charles Schulz Interview

It's Peanuts' 59th anniversary! Here's the 1997 Charlie Rose interview of Schulz inLink 1997.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sequential Salon Meeting September 26th

Hi alls!

The next Sequential Salon Meeting will be on the last Saturday of this month at the usual time at the usual place. You know the drill.

See you all there!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Josh Olson Will Not Read Your Fucking Script

And with good reason.

He swears like a sailor, but this is nonetheless sage advice to anyone thinking of asking a creative professional of their passing acquaintance to give their work "a quick look."

Saturday, September 5, 2009

The Great Comics Buyer's Guide Cover Contest

I got an email about this a while back. It's obviously of no use to me (unless you think there's a market for a book called "Bob the Living Triangle"), but the more artistically inclined ought to be intrigued. The basic deal is, draw a cover with your original character and submit it to the contest, and you just might make the cover of Comics Buyer's Guide, the longest-running publication about comics in the country (maybe the world, I dunno). Big fat details are here.

Have at it, geeks.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Demon Hunter Kain: The Goat-Foot Woman Concept Art


If yuh Crucian yuh done know who she be.

The Goat-Foot Woman has been a way for parents on St. Croix to keep their children in check when they let them outside to play. Throughout my years on this earth I have never seen a visual representation of this creature, so I decided to take a stab at it. I plan to make her one of the first creatures that Kain fights on his road to becoming a Demon Hunter.


Thursday, July 30, 2009

Feeling Sketchy Pt. 10 - Sequential Salon Sketches



Sketched these up during a recent Sequential Salon meeting. I might color the maid at a later date.

Friday, July 17, 2009

How NOT To Market Your Comic

Brian Hibbs shares a cautionary tale here.

My take on it? Two words: Kramer's Laws. (Ask Jeff; he knows what it means.)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Brain Crack



The Show with Ze Frank

Brain Crack [breyn krak]

-noun
A neurotoxin secreted by the brain in order to sedate the nerves when the subject becomes despondent over his lack of accomplishments. The toxin is created by the fermentation of Ideas that have yet to be executed, due to a number of excuses. These excuses include, but are not limited to:

1) Not being in The Mood/Not Ready Yet
2) Not Enough Resources
3) Laziness

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Video, part 3

Sequential Salon part 3 from Jeff Brady on Vimeo.

Here are the third 30 (edited) minutes of the Sequential Salon meet-up from 04 April 2009. The meeting lasted about 4.5 hours. I'm in the process of editing the rest of the footage. Note: This is not exciting to watch.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Nerd Talk part 2

Sequential Salon part 2 from Jeff Brady on Vimeo.

Here are the second 30 (edited) minutes of the Sequential Salon meet-up from 04 April 2009. The meeting lasted about 4.5 hours. I'm in the process of editing the rest of the footage. Note: This is not exciting to watch.

Sequential Salon



The Scripture of Mike, 3:46: Akiva Goldsman is a tool of Satan!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

It Begins...

Sequential Salon part 1 from Jeff Brady on Vimeo.

Here are the first 30 (edited) minutes of the Sequential Salon meet-up from 04 April 2009. The meeting lasted about 4.5 hours. I'm in the process of editing the rest of the footage. Note: This is not exciting to watch.

Sequential Salon

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Bear with me, folks...

I'm noodling around, learning some video editing software. It's taking me some time; I just figured out how to put titles up on the screen. Hopefully some video of the last session will be up next weekend.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Demon Hunter Kain: More Concept Art




On the journey to produce my Demon Hunter Kain web comic I have, once again, fallen victim to writer’s block. So I’ve returned to drawing in hopes that it’ll give me a better feel for the characters and their world.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Quotes on Comics


Quotes on Comics is an interesting little site which collects various quotes about the comics medium. What's neat about it is you can click a link and find where the quote originated from.

Friday, April 3, 2009

New Kinokuniya Bookstore in Manhattan



A few months ago I went to Kinokuniya Bookstore at Rockefellar Center, to purchase some manga and also to check out that fancy Kurutoga pencil that Jeff mentioned. I walked up 49th Street and when I hit 5th Avenue I realized I passed it. I walked back. Waitaminute, WHERE IS KINOKUNIYA? It was gone, no sign, nothing. I found out later it moved to a new location in October, how dare they!

Well, all is forgiven because when I visited the new store in March it was amazing. Three full floors all shiny and brand new. Notable additions are the in-store cafe, Zaiya and a cool painted mural by "Slam Dunk" and "Vagabond" manga artist Takehiko Inoue.

For those unfamiliar with the bookstore, it not only sells Japanese books but has a good selection of English language books (mostly concerning Japanese culture of course). They also have various sundries from Japan such as toys, office and art supplies, cds, dvd, shirts, housewares, etc. Of course, in the end, it's all about the manga.

Kinokuniya Bookstore
1073 Avenue of Americas
New York, NY 10018
Between 40th and 41st Street across from Bryant Park
Tel 212-869-1700

Closest trains are BDFV

map

Note: When I tried to return the Kurutoga pencil, Kinokuniya said that they do not do refunds only exchanges and only for items from the same department. So I couldn't exchange the pencil for a book but maybe a pen? It's a very Japanese policy but dangit this is America!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Photo Reference for Comics


Photo-reference-for-comic-artists.com. As the name states this is a photo reference site aimed for comic artists. The website seems to be growing steadily and has a good range of different poses, body types and props. Although this is a paid site, the thumbnails provided are adequate enough for quick reference. They also give out some free sample images like the one above.

Thanks Alex for pointing out this site.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Comics Grammar and Tradition


An interesting article about comic book lettering by Blambot's Nate Piekos.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Free Blambot Word Balloons and Sound Effects


You can download a bunch of free balloons and sound effects in eps format from the Blambot site. How generous!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Chris LoParco's New Blogs

I promised to post about Chris's new blogs which he started earlier this January. Unfortunately, I didn't start blogging again until March. Sorry! Better late than never. The first is a blog for his book 'A Story Told', the second is his personal blog. Check them out.

astorytoldblog.blogspot.com

clopsblog.blogspot.com

Hopefully he'll make it to a meeting some day!

Monday, March 23, 2009

One More Thing

The nice thing about being a writer, as opposed to an artist?





This shit's all the phat gear you need.

Lo, There Shall Come... A Writer!

Good evening. *waves* My name is Michael, and I'm the Sequential Salon's token writer, aka the one who *didn't* go to SVA. I've been a part of the group for about a year now, thanks to my hetero-lifemate Jeff. In that time, I hope I've given some good story advice, and I hope I can continue doing so here.

For those of you who care about my credentials, you poor credulous saps, they are as follows: I graduated from Emory University with a degree in Creative Writing, and that and a Class C license qualifies me to drive a car. I've worked as an editor on a short-lived magazine called Citizen Culture, the website for which is still active for reasons I cannot fathom. I'm a graduate of NYU's comics writing course as taught by former Marvel staffer Danny Fingeroth, and have two professional published stories to my name (one fiction, one non-fiction). And I'm a Scorpio who detests long walks on the beach and would rather stay at the hotel, get hammered, and play Smash Bros.

So, what the hell am I doing here? Well, as I have occasionally done in the past on my own blog, Tales To Mildly Astonish, I hope to share some insights about writing that I've gathered from various sources, and even some original ideas from time to time. I also hope to explain why and how a writer is a lot more than the guy who fills in the dialogue, in comics and elsewhere. And maybe, just maybe, I'll show you the development of a project from original germ of an idea to all-out final execution.

For now, though, I'll start out with what I think are some valuable writer's resources:

The Elements of Style. 91 years after its original publication, E.B. White and William Strunk's guide to the rules of writing American English is still relevant, still vibrant, and still chock-full of useful, immediate nuts-and-bolts information on how to write without sounding like the complete dumbass you probably are. (It certainly works for me.) It is the 128-piece adjustable wrench set of the writer's toolbox. Read it, know it, memorize it, love it. There WILL be a test later. (And yes, that's the Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little guy.)


On Writing
. Stephen King is the Bo Jackson of modern fiction: He knows. This book is crammed with advice on how to write and how to be a writer (they're two different things), gathered from his more than fifty years of experience with the craft. You'll learn about revision, discipline, developing mindful habits, and the reasons why and why not to write, all with the same style and wit that characterize his fiction. Probably the most fun book on writing I've ever read, and one of the most helpful.


The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics
. Denny O'Neill took the notes for the course he used to teach to new DC staffers (and currently teaches at various locations around New York City), and turned it into the definitive book on writing for the Big Two. Story structure, visualization, plotting, it's all here. It's most helpful for writing a monthly series, of course, but a large part of the advice can be adapted to any writing situation. Plus, it's got purty pictures.


Panel One
& Panel Two. Nat Gertler edits two collections of real scripts and plots from real comics by real comics creators, including Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman, Peter David, Scott McCloud, Greg Rucka, Jeff Smith... oh, hell, just go out and get it already!

That's enough out of me for now. You have your mission, troops; get on with it.

Uni-Ball Kuru Toga Review


A few months ago Jeff posted some news about an interesting pencil, the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga. Here's the original post. Well, it took me a while to get to Kinokuniya Book Store (which moved from Rockefeller Center to Bryant Park without my knowledge!) but I finally purchased one for $8.35. My review:

OVERRATED.

Frankly, there's absolutely no difference from a regular mechanical pencil, at least from a drawing standpoint. I'm going to return it to get my money back.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Alison Bechdel - Creating Fun Home



Fun Home creator Alison Bechdel shares her creative process on how she created her tragicomic.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Darkstalkers Tribute Contest Piece

A few weeks ago Carlos and I entered the the UDON studios Darkstalkers Tribute Contest, where winners will be published in their new art book.

Here is the first entry where I painstakingly worked on for 2 weeks.

And the second entry where I completed in 6 hours while on a chocolate chip cookie sugar high.

Neither of them got chosen dammit! Well, now that the contest is over I can finally post them.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Sequential Salon Meeting, April 4th!

Hiya peoples, it's time for another meeting! Same time, same place! You know the drill. Do I even need to tell you guys what to bring? Hope to see some new work y'all!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Coraline

Seriously, the best movie I've seen in a long time. Based on Neil Gaiman's children's novel, it's about a girl who thinks her life is extremely dull, and wishes things were different. As the saying goes, be careful of what you wish.

Cartoonist extraordinaire Vera Brosgol worked on the storyboarding for the movie.

Go see it in 3D if you can. It doesn't try to be "in your face" about it.

And the soundtrack is really quite lovely. The film's website is pretty fun, too!

Coraline

Screenwriting samples

Someone named Lee Thompson has posted a ton of TV show scripts on their website as downloadable PDFs. While not exactly formatted for comics, the structure is pretty similar to it. They are a handy reference of what to do/not do, and a fun read, to boot.

Check it out.

(Thanks for the link, Mike!)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Meeting Reminder

Because Lynne takes forever to write up an email, and is still jet-lagged from Hawai'i, and from staying up all night reading the entire Naruto series online in one sitting...and because I can't sleep and might as well do something productive before I forget about it...

The meeting scheduled for 12 PM Saturday, January 31st is still on, as originally mentioned here (click!).

You should receive a confirmation email from Lynne regarding the address & phone number to call to get buzzed in.

Be there, or taste our squirrely wrath!

We do have squirrely wrath, you know. It's one of our hidden "nature" things.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Andrew Wyeth, RIP

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Wyeth, the U.S. realist painter whose haunting portrait of a young woman lying in a field and gazing at a distant farmhouse became one of the iconic images of 20th-century American art, has died. He was 91.

What many people don't know is that he was an influence of Charles Schulz. You'd never know it by his drawing style in Peanuts, but Schulz had great admiration for the artist.

http://comics.com/peanuts/1999-01-29/

Wyeth's most famous painting, Christina's World, played a subtle role in the comic series Preacher, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. The mother of the protagonist deeply understood the emotions conveyed by the painting, as it was a reflection of her own mental and social paralysis. Glenn Fabry, cover artist for the series, offered up his own take on the illustration for issue #43.


http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/preacher

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Infinite Canvas

Happy New Year, everyone. We're all still recovering from the holidays and the return to the daily grind, so please forgive the recent lack of posts. To kick things off, here's some stuff on an idea from Scott McCloud's book, Reinventing Comics.



I Can't Stop Thinking!

If you're in New York City, please check out MoCCA's exhibit.