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

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

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/

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.

Indepth Talk With Scott McCloud

On www.comicbookresources.com they revealed the results of their Top Two Comic Book Storylines of All Time as voted by the readers.

"Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen #1-12) - 2003 points (78 first place votes)


"The Dark Phoenix Saga" by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin (X-Men #129-137) - 1472 points (59 first place votes)

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/12/18/top-100-comic-book-storylines-2-and-1/

Full results. ^^ Has anyone read these??

James Jean

Hey, everyone. I just thought you should all take a look at James Jean if you haven't before. He's not a comic artist per se but he has done some cover art for comics and gets a ton of work doing commercial illustration. Plus his sketchbook is just incredible.

His main website is:

http://www.jamesjean.com/

but he has a great blog at:

http://www.processrecess.com/

Really makes you want to draw!

More Recommendations?

Hi all- thought I'd take the chance to share one of the webcomics I follow- Girl Genius, written and drawn by Professors Phil and Kaja Foglio. The tagline of "Adventure, Romance, Mad Science!" sums it up rather nicely, but it has plenty of comedy and a lot of world building too.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104

I know there's Bakuman from the team behind Deathnote and Moebiuss work- does anyone have more titles or authors they would recommend off hand?

Moebius/Sci-Fi Site

HI ALL!!

file:///Users/stephenoliver/Desktop/Picture%20clipping.pictClipping

I decided since Moebius is one of my favorite artists to post the site that shows him actually drawing and his process. Also If you would like a copy of my power point just in case anyone wanted to look at it again to get some information on him and see more of his artwork let me know and I can send it to you in an email :). Just copy and paste this link and you should be redirected to it. Also underneath the link for Moebius' video is another link to a website that has a lot of information for sci-fi artists. This is where i found the video Time Masters that Moebius worked on in the early 80's and tons of other information on other science fiction artwork and videos! Enjoy!

http://drawn.ca/2008/07/07/moebius-redux/

http://starfruitsurfrider.blogspot.com/

Good ol' Ink tip

How's everyone doin?

Just recently stumbled upon a tutorial video by Mark Crilly.
In this video Mark Crilly, artist of Miki Falls, presents a lesson on how to ink with micron pens, with some helpful tips about crosshatching technique.
I like how this vid show how much crosshatching is enough so it will not ruin the drawing. Also the video, not only he teaches how to do crosshatching, he teaches how to ink properly (hair, eye, mouth, and ear).

Check it out, and I hope it helps you!~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AetUX0akcC8

PS Ignore the site that shows up on the video, some person took the vid and began to use it as an advertisement.

Characters

Hi comic peoples!

I've always liked character designs - I usually burn hours and hours of my life looking at this stuff - so I just wanted to share these two site. These cats do one heck of a job coming up with some awesome character - Rich is one of my friends. Justin Sweet is another artist I use when I am in need of inspiration for compositions. He has about 3 different styles of drawing and painting that he uses for his work and I think he bases it on the theme if the concept . . . so check them out, especially their environments

Justin Sweet: http://www.justinsweet.com/index.html

Richard Loung: http://luongart.esmartdesign.com/index.html

Paul Pope on Wednesday Comics

Paul Pope talks a bit about his experiences with Wednesday Comics. Wednesday Comics was an experimental format DC played with a few months back. Publishing a weekly anthology of comics, using only one page per title. In 14x20 newspaper format. Pope contributed with The Adventures Of Adam Strange.

http://pulphope.blogspot.com/2009/10/muad-dib.html