Failure to Submit pt.5

Well, I tried Kickstarter and it was an overall failure. I'm trying not to look back at it anymore but I think I ended up with 5% of my $4000 goal. Really bad results, even when compared to other failures, really bad. The thing that really got me was that the video I spent weeks on, only ended up with 40 views. It was definitely a humbling experience that I just wasn't prepared for. I'm not a business man or a self-promoter. I'm an artist who likes to stay home all day and draw. I guess i'm just not ready for something like Kickstarter, that really depends on a creator with an entrepreneurial attitude. At least I hope that was my problem. I still like to think the project failed, not because it sucks but because I still have a lot to learn about the industry of independent comics. Man, I really hope it's not because my book sucks.

It wasn't really about funding a printing of my book, I just really wanted to get a little exposure. Maybe even a publisher or two would see it and pick it up. I was hoping for big things but lately i've been learning "hoping" for things to work out is maybe the wrong way to approach things. I thought just putting it on Kickstarter would equal exposure but it didn't work like that. It was my job to push the link to my project through social media, websites, podcasts or even word of mouth but I just couldn't do it. I felt slimy when I would try to promote myself. To try and make a connection with people with the sole purpose to market myself, just makes me feel shameful. Though i'm starting to learn the shameful feeling might just be my lack of confidence. If I want this to work, I need to have some confidence in my abilities to draw and write a decent book worth sharing to random people. I think I just learned this too late to save my project.

There's nothing I can do about it now except use it all as a learning process. If I want people to read my book, I can't just put it out there. I have to put it out there, then tell them about it. I'm still having trouble with it all, it's just not in my nature to talk about myself, but i'm really trying to get better at it. With things like this blog, random conversations and posts on Reddit, even scattered emails to other creators. I'm trying to get more comfortable with all of this, I guess we'll see if these baby steps i'm taking to become socially competent pays off.

My next step is to try ComiXolgy Submit. I heard the process can take up to 6 months, so that wait should be fun.

Inspiration Dump: Masters of Markers

I don't know if there is some kind of genre for artists drawing on the wall with markers but there should be, cause it's awesome. Just seeing how quickly and how precise these guys are with a marker is kind of humbling for an artist like me. I think I use an eraser more than I use a pencil, i'm nowhere near ready to take a marker straight to paper.

There is a reason these guys are legends in the comic world. Anyone serious about being a comic artist should study the work of this group. There is some merit in the whole "respect your elders" idea, unless we're talking about politics because all those old dudes suck.

Typography is probably the least respected part of making a comic. I know I neglect it in my own work but I shouldn't because it's one of the things that can make or break your book. I honestly think it's one of the most boring parts of creating a book but add some Major Lazer to the process and look at how much fun it can be. In fact Major Lazer makes everything a little more fun, just check out his other videos. 

Brandon Graham is one of my favorite creators right now. I love his style, the way he jams jokes in the background and even the attitude he brings to the community. So, pretty much anything he does, I love.

Inspiration Dump: Black and Beautiful

In my own work, I stay away from strong black inks. It's just not my style but the thing is I love comics and other visuals that use black as a dominate color. The emotion that black can create on it's own as well as when paired up with a strong contrasting color is something that is worth exploring. It's also kind of cool because when drawing with black markers the fumes get you a little high.

This intro is one of my favorites of all time and I personally think it's better than any of the Bond ones. The barrage of visuals it throws at you is so intense and then when the fire hits and adds the contrast of color, it's so damn badass. The movie is pretty good too, in a gut-wrenching way.

This, like the video before, is another barrage of visuals. At first it seems like the director just took a bunch of things and said "that looks kewl!, let's add it!" but the video jams a lot of symbolism in it. It has to do with the myths of the Free Masons, a group Jay-Z is believed to be involved with. Plus the song is dope. Easily one of my top 3 Jay-Z songs.

I fucking love Fables. Everything about it awesome and when they announced this game, I was pumped. I had to ban myself from video games a while ago because of my sad addiction (Battlefield)  but I almost broke that ban to play this thing. Instead I watched Let's Plays on Youtube while acting like I was drawing. The visuals and color palette are amazing, especially in this intro. Though it draws some influence from "Drive", I think TellTale did something special as well a ballsy with the visuals of this game and it really pays off.

Inspiration Dump #1

I have a tendency to overload my brain with so much stuff that I often forget things that I try really hard not to. So I figured why not just post it here. This blog is basically just my super special diary, so why not. 

I got a weakness for dogs. The unconditional love thing, I'm a sucker for it. This short film embodies the whole "dog is man's best friend" thing in a damn near perfect way. There is a little more dong hanging in this then I expected but maybe there just isn't enough dong in today's animation.

This might be the most depressing song of all time and the video only makes things worse. The thing is, even though this video makes me feel like shit and puppets creep me out. I think this might be one of the most beautiful stories to be told in 5 minutes.

Just to clear out any depression left by the last video, here's a new show I'm looking forward to. I know I'm to old to watch this shit but I don't care. 

A Failure to Submit pt.4

After putting a somewhat solid effort into finding a publisher, I realized I was gonna have to find a way to distribute my book on my own. How to do this was the next hurdle my fat ass was gonna have to jump. The options are out there to be a successful self-publisher but trying to figure out which one to choose or more importantly which one was right for my book was the question.Here are the options I came up with..

1. Do a webcomic.

2. Go to Kickstarter 

3. Put it on Comixology.

The whole webcomic thing is not really something i'm familiar with but it's simple to set up so I went for it. I set up a site using Blogger and went ahead and posted some of the book.I'm not sure if i'll post the whole book yet cause i'm just not sure if my book really works with a weekly update schedule. Also, i'm not really sure if I can make any money this way. I don't do this for the money but I got bills to pay. So.. for right now i'll just use it as a "preview" for my comic. 

I thought about Comixology's submit program but I saw that they take 50% of your gross profit. If they printed it out, maybe, but this is digital. All they do is format it for mobile devices (not that hard) and post it online. They even make you pay for distribution and credit card fees. For what they do, taking half of your profits just seems a little high.

So right now it seems Kickstarter is the right option for me. Now I just got to freshen up on my Sony Vegas skills and make a video that will probably end up kind of shitty. Then figure out a way to make my project not fail horribly. Stressful times await. 

end Failure to Submit 4 

Yajirobe: Work Progression

 pencils

inks

colors

 final

Yajirobe: A Role Model for Fat Kids with Swords

One of my earliest obsessions was Dragon Ball Z. I've always had a passion for animation. One that has lasted throughout adolescence and followed me deep into adulthood. Imagine a man well into his 20's waking up early Saturday morning just to watch cartoons. Often confused by what was currently driving kids into a frenzy but so attached to his weekly ritual he couldn't look away from the pikachu infested screen. 

Through all these Saturday mornings there was one era that stood out and that was the Dragon Ball Z era. I love everything about that show, the crazy characters, the flashy special moves, the extended screaming, it was awesome. 

Lately I've been going crazy on Youtube, gorging on clip after clip of this amazing show. When I was reminded of this..      

As an overweight Asian boy, with wild unkempt hair, this was something unseen. Finally a character I could relate to. Though he was always seen as a joke, it was something for me to grasp onto. Even as his role diminished throughout the series, I always hoped for the random cameo from this pudgy samurai. One that would usually never come but still force me out of bed stumbling gleefully towards my consistent Saturday morning companion, Balls..Dragon Balls.

  

A Failure to Submit pt.3

After the realization that emailing my comic to publishers is probably not the best way to go. As firstly most wouldn't accept them and secondly they were just too easy to ignore. I decided to go traditional and mail my pitch and book to whatever publisher would take it. Again I realized that most wouldn't even accept them, some stating that they would just throw away any unsolicited pitches. So once again I scoured the internet and came back with only three reasonable options, Dark Horse Comics, Avatar Press, and once again Image Comics. 

So my next step was now to find a printer. After a quick search I landed on Ka-blam Printing, they seemed perfect for a small print. The only problem was that it would take a month for them to get printed, a lot longer than I thought it would. So, eager to get the books printed as quick as possible, I paid extra for a rushed order. A 44 page full colored book went from about $4 a piece to more than $10 each, forcing me to run a pathetic 5 issue first print. After 2 weeks (quicker than projected) I received my books, and they were amazing. This is not me bragging about the quality of the art or writing but to see or rather feel my work in this format was such a euphoric moment. The weight of the pages, the texture of the ink on the page, I loved it. It gave breath to my deflated ego, reminding me why I wanted to follow this path.

So I printed out the pitch from my failed email submission, grabbed my book, jammed them into an envelope and mailed them off. As I woke up every morning with descending excitement to check my email for a life changing email, I once again realized I was just waiting for something that wasn't coming. end pt.3 

Page 3

Bait #1 pg.3

Maybe putting a big gold chain on a street punk

is a little too stereotypical but I felt like drawing

a chain, a big stupid time-consuming chain.

A Failure to Submit pt.2

After composing a rather long (maybe too long) "pitch" for my book, I eagerly sent it to Image comics via email. It included an introduction to myself and the project, a simple synopsis of the book, a more complex synopsis of the first arc including character bios and designs, and most importantly the first 44 pages of the book. As I waited/hoped for a response, I began to dive deep into the internet searching for any information I could find on the process of "pitching" a project. As time grew on and the realization that I wasn't going to get a response became clear, I questioned the quality of my work more than ever before. As pushed back the urge to just quit, I began to search for my next step. I started to dive deep into the internet searching for stories of  kindred struggling comic creators. I was just hoping to find a magical "guide" telling me what I was doing wrong and how to fix it.

Through research on mainly message boards and later podcasts, I learned a few things.

1. If they do like your work expect an email or call within a month of your submission. 
2. That most publishers now want full issues as opposed to the 5-6 pages they once asked for, unless you're an established creator.
3. Publishers seem to like the cheesy comparison pitch ex. the movie "Speed", "It's like Diehard on a bus, A BUS!!!"
4. Find a way to personalize your pitch towards each individual publisher. If it's towards a company ex. Image or a person ex. Eric Stephenson (who says he reviews all submissions at Image) I'm not sure which is better. I personally think it's weird to personalize something towards a person you never met, so I didn't do it.
5. You really need to make the first few sentences "hook" the attention of the publisher.
6. This one is just a rumor but some people send "gifts" to publishers. It makes since but I think it's sketchy.
7. Most people get their "big break" in comics in nontraditional ways. i.e. not through emails. 

From what I could gather from a few stray message board posts, emailing a pitch to Image (one of the only publishers that would even accept an email pitch) is simply a waste of time. I don't know if it's true or just a way for me to justify the dismissal of my pitch but the rumors of a phantom email submission program is just too believable. One that is there to only facilitate the masses approaching the higher ups of Image at cons asking "I have a great idea for a comic" only to be shooed away by "that's great, send us an email and we'll review it". To avoid throwing the dagger a word like "no" can represent towards an eager creator, they simply give them another place to direct their energy. Though whether this is just me trying to blame my rejection on the rumored trickery of Image Comics or if there is some truth to this, I knew I had to find another way to grab the attention of publishers. end pt.2 

Page 1, Page 2

first 2 pages of Bait.

One of the themes of the first story arc is the "Stomach". The killing that occurs in my book, for the most part, is not about murder or simply violence, it's about the need everything has for food, even monsters. The whole process of killing, eating and digesting is so violent but it's just part of life.

First real page to the book

A Failure to Submit pt1

Around November I finished the first issue of Bait. After numerous edits, which I realized would never end as I grew more critical with every glance, I decided I needed to just finish this book. In my mind "finish" meant, send it to publishers because once it was in their hands, it was too late to make any changes. So I went online in search of every publisher I could find, in hopes of emailing them my book. In hindsight, I guess I was thinking I would just find a list of 100 publishers and mass email them my book only to be bombarded by a series of responses begging to print my book. It did not work like this, not at all. What I found out was that most publishers won't even accept submissions albeit emails. I checked most of the top independent comic book publisher and most won't even look at unsolicited submissions. So pretty much they want established creators only. Which I kind of understand, they don't want to be hammered with countless zombie books (cough, my book will probably have a zombie in it.) but in doing so also turn away many legit creators just trying to get a start in a very difficult profession. One bright spot was that I did find out that powerhouse Image Comics did accept online submissions. I kind of thought Image was a little to prestigious for an untested creator like myself but fuck it, i'll give it a try.

They wanted to be sent a "pitch". This is something that took me a week to write up, as it ended up being way more difficult than I ever thought it could be. The process of doing a comic book pitch seems to be a somewhat mysterious process, one I'll talk about some other day. The pitch took me forever to do. Imagine taking a book which you've spent months creating a world full of interweaving stories and themes and having to compress that into a few paragraphs, it's tough. Though it is necessary, you can't expect a publisher with stacks of books to blindly read an essay about a story that only has a small percentage of a chance to even interest him or her, it's your job to quickly grab their attention with just a few sentences. It was a struggle to pick apart my story and try to take something that I pride on it's complexity and make it so.. simple. I spent so much time on this, though later on I found out this didn't even matter. end part 1

this helped me locate a lot publishers and what they wanted.  Submission Guidelines

cover to Bait #1

Intro to a Blog

I've never been big on "putting myself out there" but as I get to a point where my book is ready to be published, I'm learning that being anti-social might be a little hindering to what I need to accomplish. I've been reluctant about showing people my work for a long time but I guess that attitude needs to change if I want to get serious about a career as illustrator and writer. So this blog is my attempt to be a little more forefront about my book, the art, the process of getting a book published and myself. I really want this to be a somewhat instructional blog to other would-be comic creators while also helping me find a way to be more expressive about my own work.

I was thinking of a video that will help represent this blog and I think this might be the one. It's not the funniest thing I've seen but I think it will represent my posts pretty well. A grown man bitching and whining about things that most will see as childish but hopefully doing so with as much intensity and class as these old British dudes.