Thursday, May 6, 2010

Need a Diagram in your Comic Book?



http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Specific_diagram_types

helpful little images of different diagrams. I thought it would be a lot easier to find them, but not so much

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Jamie McKelvie - Comic Book Layout Tutorial


Hey guys,

In response to the handout on comic print output, I revisited a certain ImagineFX workshop tutorial focusing on comic book layout by Jamie McKelvie, author of Suburban Glamour. This free download workshop shows his techniques - from his uses of references to converting to CMYK. Enjoy!

~Nace

Sunday, May 2, 2010

hey class,

I wanted to share a really nice resource for the following sorts of visuals:
"Books~~Illustrations~~Science~~History~~Visual Materia Obscura~~Eclectic Bookart."

it's like a blog version of the library image collections.

http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Potluck Crit Party

Here's the list of what everyone's signed up to bring for our last comics class:
Chad - cups + plates
Ellis - coffee + creamer
Christa - orange juice
Lisa - fruit (grapes +/or strawberries)
David - bagels + cream cheese
KD - donuts
Izzy - potatoes (?)
Nat - pigs in a blanket
Joe - chips
Mercedes - deviled eggs / pastry roll (?)
Nace - taffy apple pizza!
















"coworker potluck" image courtesy of www.nataliedee.com

interactive inkiness on the web

So, probably I shouldn't be offering you all a digital diversion from finals, but this interactive flash site is all about letting loose your inky aspirations. Maybe a good way to loosen up and enjoy the unpredictability of the material (yes, ironic, since it's all digital). Takes a few minutes for the site to load, but totally worth it. Once you're done you can replay your own drawing/music video. Good times. Here's the LINK.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Paul Pope giving a talk...

Here's a funny lecture by Paul Pope from a series on "creating worlds." It's not the most illuminating talk, but it has some nice insights into Pope's creative process and arts background/history. Just skip to the "Pope Opening" part if you're not interested in sitting through the other speakers. Enjoy!

http://fora.tv/2007/09/27/Creating_New_Worlds

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

C2E2 - Get ready!

If you're a comic fan in Chicago, definitely keep an open mind towards C2E2- the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo.

http://www.c2e2.com/

Just thought our class might like to know, there's actually going to be some huge names showing up. The convention is Friday April 16th through Sunday April 18th. Hours are Friday 1PM - 7PM, Saturday from 10AM to 7PM, and Sunday from 10AM to 5PM. Tickets are $25 per day, or $50 for the weekend.

The Convention is going to have a pretty amazing turn-out, so it may be worth going just to meet with some of the best comic authors and artists working today, plus some media guests- Alex Ross (Kingdom Come), Dan DiDio (Marvel Editor), Garth Ennis (Preacher), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Geoff Johns (Blackest Night), Jeph Loeb (Batman: Long Halloween), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Joe Quesada (Marvel), Jeff Smith (Bone, RASL), Gail Simone (Birds of Prey), Chris Ware, Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman of Batman: The Animated Series), Max Brooks (zombie survival guide), fantasy author George RR Martin, and a TON of small-press/independent/underground/online comic artists like Daniel Corsetto (Girls with Slingshots), John Campbell (Pictures for Sad Children), Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content), KC Greene (Gunshow Comic), Laura Innes (The Dreamer), and a TON more I can't even begin to list here. Here's the official roster of guests-

http://www.c2e2.com/en/Guests/

In addition to guests, the con will also feature DOZENS of panels, some free movie showings, and a couple hundred exhibitors who'll be selling t-shirts, DVD's, comics, books, toys, and whatever else you can imagine. The tickets are a bit pricy, admittedly, but the turn out is going to be really amazing, so I suggest that everyone keep an open mind to the convention as a way to meet great artists, do a little nerdy shopping, and have a good time. Plus, you can also show up in costume. Or hang out with people who do. Or make fun of the inevitably bad costumes. You know, whatever.

- David Mitchell

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Rice-Boy


This is David here.

I'm a pretty big supporter of web-media when it comes to comic distribution, and I really can see the internet becoming the big new venue for comic releases. Web-comics are multiplying like rabbits, with thousands of new titles being put online yearly, may of which are actually quite good. I'm no expert on web-comics to the point where I could write a book on them or anything, but I've probably read upwards and above 100 webcomics since I started reading them in high school. With that in mind, I though I might post some links here to some of my most high recommended.

First up is Rice-Boy:

http://www.rice-boy.com/

Rice-Boy actually isn't just a single tale, it's a website with three sections. First up is The Adventures of Rice-Boy, a now-complete 450-page adventure tale about a cute little guy named Rice-Boy who lives in a sort of surreal fantasy world. It follows his quest to save the world after being selected by a mysterious robot named The One Electric. Beautiful art-work and a very imaginative world.

In addition to The Adventures of Rice-Boy, the website also has Order of Tales, a now 500+ page epic that's not yet complete. Taking place in the same world as The Adventures of Rice-Boy, it's a slightly darker tale that explores the vast fictional world of Overside. There's also a third section to the website which features a variety of short-stories taking place in the same world as the previous two mentioned stories. Really all quite looking in to. Enjoy.

- David

Comics in the News

Hot on the heels of discussions around the "economics of comics" raised during last week's Chicago Comics Symposium, here are two news articles of interest:

The first addresses the decision to pull weekly comics from newspapers across the country, including a "survivor-style" contest to nix less-popular strips that I find rather horrifying. Whether newspaper strips are of interest to you as an artist or not, they have historically been many people's first introduction to basic "comics literacy." What do you make of it?

The second article is less about graphic narratives and more about miniature paper laboratories that diagnose illnesses with comic-book inks. Some excellent comic-book-reading scientists are surely behind this plan. This reminds me to mention that the Union of Concerned Scientists is planning a Student Edition of its regular annual Science Idol: Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest .The winner will receive $1,000 for their design, and runners up will get $500 and $100, respectively. More info on this as it develops!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Chicago Comics Symposium

Just wanted to remind you about the upcoming Comic Symposium, taking place in SAIC's very own Ballroom on Thursday and Friday, March 10-11, from 4pm - 7pm both days.
It's an aMAZing opportunity to see comics professionals like Anders Nilsen, Sarah Becan, Jeffrey Brown, Paul Hornschemeier and more speak on their work and ideas. Artists/SAIC faculty Jeremy Tinder, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Surabhi Ghosh and I myself will be speaking on a panel or two as well.

Here's a link to the Symposium SITE, and the schedule of events is:

THURSDAY, March 11th, 2010
Getting Out: Distribution and Self Publication- 4:30pm-5:30pmModerator: Jeremy Tinder
Panelists: Ian McDuffie, Joey Jacks, Sarah Becan, Anders Nilsen

Comics, Art and the Between- 5:45pm-6:45pm
Moderators: Bad @ Sports and Guest Jason Dunda
Panelists: Paul Hornschemeier, John Porcellino, Christa Donner, Bernie McGovern
**********************************************************
FRIDAY March 12th, 2010
Imagining Identity of Self and Others in Comics- 4:30pm-5:30pm

Moderator: Stanford Carpenter
Panelists: Lucy Knisley, Jeffrey Brown, Nicole Hollander, Tyrell Cannon

Professionalization in Comics- 5:45pm-6:45pm
Moderator: Anne Elizabeth Moore
Panelists: Surabhi Ghosh, Beth Hetland, Jeremy Tinder

Friday, January 29, 2010

That guy I was talking about...



Hey, this is Ellis. Here's that painter guy I was talking about in class briefly. His name is Miodrag Dado. He's not a "comic artist" per se, but he's pretty great. Check it out.

Welcome to Narrative Ink!

Welcome to the class blog for Narrative Ink: Drawing on Comics. This is a space for you to find interesting comics resources and things discussed in class, as well as a place to post things of interest for the larger comics community.

Once you've logged in as a user, you can either create a new post containing text, images, videos and links, or start a conversation by commenting on an existing post. (Note - people can post a comment even if they're not a part of the class). This is a visual class... so please don't post text without some sort of image (still or moving) to accompany it! Check back often to participate in our discussions and stay in the loop about comics-related events and news.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Indepth Talk With Scott McCloud