Making Comics

This week, we talk about dreams in fiction (4:30), thumbnailing for a comic (14:15), comic formatting nightmares (22:15), and why reading bad books are is as important as reading good books (35:45) before we discuss a real life "What would you keep" story (43:50), simplifying things, and easing the pressure you put on yourself (53:40).

This week, we review a packing party and an alternative to media mail (4:30), writing backwards and seeding ideas in a story (16:00), returning to a project after letting it sit for a few months (25:00), how re-lettering becomes re-wording (36:10), finding the perfect image in your old files (44:40), and formative ideas (48:30).

This week, we talk about purposefully cheesy scenes (5:30), using free time to do your less mentally strenuous work (23:00), doing critical restructuring work on a scene (29:30), how just vocalizing something can be a help (34:35), and handing off a script and receiving feedback (44:00).

This week, we talk about commissions (2:30) and how they can inspire your print portfolio, when a short idea sparks something ever larger (8:00), making dialogue better through multiple edits (16:30), and signing yourself up for a massive re-lettering project (34:00).

It's Part Two of the Art Retreat Recap! This week, we sit down with Gary Hodges (Dinosaurs vs Marsbots) and Jim Lujan (film animator, The Full Fungus) for part two of our Crestline art retreat recap, and talk about the design and execution of sound recording for video (4:00), the value of having people live and in person for feedback (12:20), reference photos and the acting they require (18:40), putting greater weight on things that work in animation (27:40), creating a story from scratch in five hours (33:00), and turning page breakdowns into a comic script (40:10).

It's Part One of the Art Retreat Recap! This week, we sit down with Joshua Kemble (Jacob's Apartment, Not Death But Love: the Strange, Supernatural Story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning), Scott Serkland (The Young and the Dead, Serkworks Art Labs), and Cory Kerr (Illo Talk Substack) in part one of the recap of our creative retreat! We talk about working on a long-term project and a rollercoaster ride to publishing (4:30), where to draw the line in historical fiction (13:30), finishing one project and starting character designs on another (20:30), the ups and downs of prose in an experimental form (38:20), and more!

This week, we discuss getting art back for a novel (4:15), ordering signage and prepping commissions prior to San Diego Comic Con (10:15), replacing placeholders with details, and the work that goes into those details (16:30), Selling at San Diego Comic Con (22:00), and thinking your way through an 8-page comic story (32:45) before we talk more about both the creator and fan experience at SDCC (41:00).

This week, we discuss San Diego Comic Con Prep (3:00), fusing the rawness of an original idea with the story it's blossomed into (18:00), restarting a commission (29:30), getting un-stuck on a story (38:15), and getting work done, whether it's flats or pencils (48:30).

This week, we talk about modifying your sales pitch on the fly (3:00), a productive art week (18:30), rewriting a synopsis so it matches the flow of a story (23:40), how everything you do informs future work (31:00), finding the right place in your comic to put key information (38:15), and coordinating shipments to arrive in time for Comic Con (41:30).

This week, we discuss asking a colorist to match an existing style on a comic (2:30), finding a way to get work done (13:40) before we get to this week's topic - challenges in scripting action (25:50), dusting off an old commission to finish it (36:00), hooking into things from a first draft and expanding them (40:00), and getting inspired to write a scene (46:15).