What a wild ride!

A ROUGH JOURNEY

Yes, I admit it. Over the past two years, I’ve neglected this site. It was a rough journey. I went through a very emotional breakup, relocation to the other side of the country and tons of other stress. In the mist of it, I had a tongue-in-cheek but informative article on this site go viral, which should have been a good thing, but instead brought me in contact with some very humorless and toxic people who seemed to be unhappy with the direction of their careers and wanted to take out their frustrations on me. 

OH, THE BURN OUT

Well, enough was enough. I suffered a social media burnout. It was time to retreat to what was most important to me- the art. As an artist, I‘m more of an introvert anyways. We slave over our work, often by ourselves, in deep concentration for most of our lives. I have a fear of crowds and large spaces and tend to be most comfortable by myself. Occasionally, I’ll come out from under my rock, as if to prove to the world, and perhaps myself, that I’m not a hermit.

NO MORE

No more of that bullshit. No more proving shit to anyone. No more neglecting this site. No more allowing myself to be over-stimulated by social media or its numerous trolls. 

THE TURNING POINT

This year was a turning point. In June 2019, I fired my boss and decided to focus on my own company, one that I’ve incorporated nearly 20 years ago and I haven’t looked back since. My new focus was on commercial art; freelancing as a logo designer and art consultant. The results have been tremendous. I’ve since rebuilt a sizable and respected client base, which brought me to the conclusion that I’ve only been holding myself back all of these years by working for others and not believing in myself. I wish that everyone could experience the newfound freedom that I’ve discovered. However, I understand that not everyone is in the position to quit his or her job and make a leap of self-trust. 

NEW REALIZATIONS

Now with the challenges of the Covid-19 virus, it has help me regain my focus. I realized that my talents aren't really for me at all. Most of my life I've used what I'm good at, in art and music, to try to bring other's dreams to fruition, bring them happiness or escape from the stresses of life. I'm now able to see the impact that my work has on others. I feel like during these times, this is more necessary than ever. That is why I choose to continue to move forward.

FREE COMIC! Store opening!

What a year so far…

COVID-19: a mysterious new virus that attacks the respiratory system has ravaged the planet. The economy has all but shut down as people now adhere to house arrest-like quarantine. The citizens of the world try to balance between maintaining normalcy and social distance. The worldwide death toll is currently in the hundreds of thousands, specifically 217,132, with millions having contracted the virus.

A SCIENCE FICTION REALITY

It sounds like a science fiction movie but the fact that this is reality is terrifying to most of us. Alternatively, on the other side of that fence is…the boredom. Oh my god, the boredom.Times like this, we are reminded that half the world are extroverts who rely more on interaction over introspection, but I digress.

Realistically, during these times, people need productive outlets. People need those positive distractions – the entertainment, the mental escape – to calm their emotions. I'm an artist who tries to offer this type of entertainment, which is why I’ve decided to open my store.

GRAND OPENING

In my store, I’m offering two new products. The first is a limited edition lithograph to celebrate the debut of my new comic, Project 45. An autographed version is also offered. The second is a downloadable digital preview of Project 45, along with some other goodies. Due to COVID-19 quarantine boredom, I’m offering it for FREE!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

So please, check out my store to download the Project 45 #1 Preview Package and use the coupon code: 2PGZRRD1S8KM during check out. Enjoy and be safe and healthy.

My logo for a new show: PROSPECT PARK!

So I was contacted by Fragile Wildflower Productions to create a logo for Producer/Director Courtni Saizon's new show, Prospect Park.

I looked at tons of old show titles that have influenced me over the years and I knew that I wanted mine to stand out. Right off the bat, I wanted to design a geometric sans font that has round counters. ;)

To ensure maximum originality, I went back to my roots, using Fontagrapher and Photoshop to design the letters from the ground up.

Once the letters were done, it was suggested that I make the logo look like a New York City park sign and that was that.

Please check out Fragile Wildflower Productions on Facebook and Instagram for more updates!

Unboxing the Huion Light Pad

So about three weeks ago I acquired the Huion L4S. I waited until now to open and use it so I could make my first unboxing video. Huion is one of the upcoming Chinese competitors to Wacom, who specialize in art tablets and touchscreen monitors for digital art. I must admit that with Huion also making this light pad, it has peaked my interest in their touchscreen monitors. I currently use an Artograph Light Tracer II for my light box work but I think that the Huion may soon replace it. Check out why in the video!

I'm Bestselling on FIVERR!

So now I'm a bestselling graphic designer on Fiverr! Earlier this year, I've decided to do logos there and the response has been great!  Although I've decided to post comic book style logos, I also do corporate styles as well. Come check me out!

https://www.fiverr.com/weaponk9/create-your-comic-book-logo

Photoshop Tutorials on Making Comics

Wow! It's been a whole year! Before I catch up on what I've been up to, I'd like to bring some attention to some tutorials I did last year.

Comics Economics 101: Comic Book Budgets

So, do you want to be an independent comic book publisher or release your own comic? Well, dreams definitely come true but this one may cost you a pretty penny! People rarely think of the cost to produce a comic book. Keep in mind that this is not to deter you but to inform you of a realistic budget to make your comic book dreams come true.

Firstly, comic books are an art form that is mainly done with a team, that is, unless you can or want to do it all yourself. Many people do, but that takes a LOT of time to do correctly or at least to the level that will sell enough books to make the time worth it. If not, you will need a writer, penciler, inker, colorist, etc. All of these people need to be paid depending on their personal rates. We will look at some of these rates, based on pro artists that I know and we will build our budget!

Most, if not all, of these artists are professional indie freelancers. They cater their prices to the common audience and not to big publishers like Marvel and DC, so they are much cheaper but still good. Despite this, you’ll see how quickly their prices can add up.

MAKING YOUR BUDGET

Every book needs a cover, so we'll start here. A good cover will cost you between $100 and $300 so let's choose the $200- right in the middle. Pencilers charge between $25 to $100 a page but I know a good one who charges $35 and a great inker who charges $40 per page. I'm a colorist and my rate is $45 a page and I work with a separator (who lays down the flat colors for me to do my stylized detail work) who charges $10 a page. A letterer typically charges about $25 a page.

To round out our team, we'll pay our writer, an editor and a graphic designer a measly $100 per book, each. Also remember that a typical comic is 24 pages. So let's plug in these figures and add this all up with the chart below: 

DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB

Yes, $4,220 for ONE 24 page issue! Remember, this is a more conservative price because many of these artists are on the cheaper side! So now, you can see why you would need additional income outside of comics to start publishing. Many people just don’t have that kind of disposable income and end up doing it themselves, which takes a LONG time. Even if you have the money to pay a team, the artists also have other jobs on their plates as well, in order to survive, and have to balance their time for your project with other deadlines, which also takes a LONG time! Either way, patience is a virtue that not many people have to complete projects in this line of work. It’s just too costly and takes too long.

I know you are thinking that you can probably cut some corners and consolidate or eliminate some of these jobs on your book. Some you can and some are more essential than you think.

Take the graphic designer for example. You may think his job is done with just the title and company logos but these days comics are sold digitally as well as print. You need a graphic designer to import/export and convert to correct file formats, make sure the page bleed is correct, the color-coding and resolution are print ready, pre-flighting, etc. Hell, even the legal info on the inside cover and all of the ads are laid out and designed by a graphic designer for each issue.

Looking at the editor, you need one for proofreading, spotting art and layout inconsistencies, plot holes, continuity errors and all around damage and quality control. Simply put- if you want a GOOD book, get an editor.

REALITY CHECK

Here’s where it gets real… again. If you plan to sell your book at the common cover price of $3.99, it’ll take you to sell more than a thousand copies just for you to break even and get that $4,220 back before you'll even see any profits. Do you think your book can sell those units? Well, it’s possible if the quality is there. That quality just may cost you $4,220.