Friday, October 30, 2009

Comix Battle this Tuesday, November 3!


Hi all,
Comix Battle this Tuesday, 6pm. Free. Be there!

Infusing the sacred art of comics creation with the flippant irreverence of improv comedy and the swaggering bravado of professional wrestling, the “Comic Art Battle” is a live art spectacle that pits the comic book world's most talented creators, writers and artists against each other in a clash of lightning-quick wits and spontaneous draftsmanship.


 A successful team of battlers will have to deploy talent and strategy as well as natural charisma in order to win over the audience during a series of timed matches, all of which are heavy on audience participation and ultimately judged by audience applause. The menagerie of challenges ranges from one-on-one cage matches where two artists must sketch a volunteer from the audience in an audience-suggested setting, to an all-out brawl where every team member must get up on stage at once and put their heads together to create a six-panel comic based on an audience-suggested theme in under five minutes.

With an ever-revolving roster of contenders, dynamic team line-ups, and a growing assortment of bone-crushing challenges, these unpredictably uninhibited events are never the same and always full of surprises!


More info (including video and photos from past battles) is available HERE.

Super Duper Awesome Amazing Comic Group


hey guys, as i mentioned in class today, i'm gathering a group to produce and distribute a bi-monthly anthology of comic works. anyone can join.

you don't need to have a 12 page epic every issue. works range from 1 pagers, political cartoons, to an on going series. if we have too many people, its possible we can do a rotating roster. if it does turn out to be a rotating roster, the possibility of this turning into a monthly thing is more than possible.

this is not by any stretch of the imagination a money maker. this is just for fun, get our work out, and learn about the annoying side of comic production. its also good to have a group of people serious about comics to get feed back outside of class. AND if you join, you'll get access to my giant collection of comics.

email me if you're interested. me and my co-organizer will organize a meeting within the next week to discuss production, printing, and distribution outlets we've come up with. its also a chance to give us inputs and ideas, and just to get everyone on the same page.

my email is: blue-caravan@hotmail.com

Monday, October 26, 2009

Pose Maniac

Hey guys. Just dropping by to let everyone know of a pretty good site for reference poses to help with the process of drawing your scenes.

Check it out

Friday, October 16, 2009

Best manga ABOUT MANGA!!!


Hey everyone, this is Tatsumi.

I want to share a manga with you guys, but sadly its not translated into English,
and I dont think it will be anytime soon, or ever.

It's called "Bakuman" and it's the newest (and still ongoing) series by the two authors
of Death Note. It is a story about two middle school (currently high school in the series)
trying to become a manga artist in the most popular manga magazine in Japan, "Shonen Jump".

Alot of people have questions, including Japanese people like myself, on the steps and techinques, what goes on during drawing a manga, and such more. Everything is in this comic starting from these two kids submitting their work to win prizes, all the way to becoming a professional manga artist in Japan.

If you ever wanted to experience what it feels like to be a part of the manga culture in Japan, this is the manga for you. The good news is that probably because the authors are the same as Death Note, many foreign fans have translated this comic. Below is the link.


If this doesnt work for you, tons more will come up if you type "read bakuman online" or something in google. I am usually against illegal uploading and viewing of comics, but some things you just gotta share! But if it ever does come up in the US, please buy it after you read it online. I'm sure you will sympathize more and buy it too after you read how hard it is to survive as a manga artist in a weekly magazine :)

Enjoy!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Guy Davis



If anyone missed Guy Davis today, he's doing a signing tomorrow the 15th at Graham Cracker Comics.


If you aren't familiar with his work. Davis first came onto the scene with Baker Street, which lead him to do Sandman Mystery Theater for DC's Vertigo. Currently he's working on his own project The Marquis and B.P.R.D (Hellboy spin off written by Mignola).

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

International Comics Arts Forum at SAIC THIS WEEK!

This year's International Comic Arts Forum will be held in Chicago this year, hosted by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago! That means you'll have the chance to see comics artists and scholars from all over the world present on their work, covering diverse topics including Ethics + Comics, Questions of Identity, and Innovative Forms. Panels and presentations will take place in the Grand Ballroom and at the Gene Siskel Film center THIS WEEK ONLY, with a full schedule of events from Thursday, October 15 through Saturday, October 17th.

Check out the full schedule of events on the ICAF site HERE!

Call for Illustrators


Chris Kullstroem, a writer from Norwich, CT is currently seeking illustrators for his upcoming book "Deadly Roles," a collection of interactive murder mysteries in which players take on character roles, search for clues and solve mysteries in a themed party setting. He's seeking several illustrators so that a different style can be applied to each chapter.

This is an unpaid assignment, but great experience, and good for your portfolio.

Chapters focus on the following themes:

  • The Plague
  • Death Omens (ravens, banshees, hellhounds, etc.)
  • Alchemy
  • Funeral Home
  • Underworld Legends (Heaven, Hell, Greek Underworld, Limbo, etc.)
  • Cursed Cemetery
  • The Undead (vampires, zombies, ghosts)

  Each chapter includes roughly 8-12 character illustrations, 6-8 full page illustrations and 5-10 small images. You must be able to put all images into high resolution TIFF and JPEG format.

  Looking to start project immediately for completion date of early 2010.

  If you're interested, contact Chris at chris@monstersandbooks.com with sample work.



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Windsor McCay Talk 10/28/09

Winsor McCay - Conservative Revolutionary
October 28, 2009
6:30 - 7:30 pm


An examination of the life and work of Winsor McCay, creator of Little Nemo and the "Father of American Animation." Rick Marschall, editor of eight books and author of many articles on McCay's work, will discuss aspects of foundations and innovations in McCay's style; and the role of technology and mass-production in his art, particularly Sunday comic supplements and animated cartoons.

The event will be held at Columbia College Chicago, Hokin Lecture Hall, 623 S. Wabash Ave., Room 109. It's FREE and open to the public.